Page 26 of Black Hand
“I have every intention on finding the truth, Brooklyn.” Stretching his arms over his head, he lifted on his toes and his t-shirt climbed up and exposed his rippled stomach. I jerked my eyes away from that to his face to find him smirking. “The second I find a lie, you’ll die.” Cracking his neck, Dominic’s hands went to the belt holding his jeans securely to his waist and he started unbuckling it.
“What are you doing?” I panicked, not because he was planning to strip while having a conversation like this. I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself from touching him.
“Getting ready,” he told me simply, and then he let his jeans pool at his ankles.
I gawked like a fool.
The arrogant bastard had no underwear on.
“Ready for what?” I muttered, my gaze locked on the bobbing erection between his powerful thighs.
“They found us.” That snapped my attention back to his face. “They are coming.” It was hard to miss the excitement in those words.
And with that he shifted, leaving me screaming inside my head for allowing him to distract me enough not to notice the air around us change.
The Syndicate was on the land.
14
Bolting inside the house, I almost ripped the door off the hinges. It banged loudly on the opposite wall, the frame rattling behind me. The yellow paint on the walls looked dull and faded, but the small home had an air of calm that made you want to curl up in one of the armchairs that had seen better days and just breathe. That feeling was missing when I skidded to a stop looming over Alice’s sleeping form. The wolf was curled up on one of her shins, and when I arrived, he growled deep in his throat at me. Taking hold of the skin between his shoulder blades, I flung him at the wall and away from her. I had no time to waste on idiots.
Slinging Alice over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes, I frantically looked around, my gaze bouncing off the pictures of her with her parents hanging on the walls and pinging across the faded furniture and little knickknacks sprinkled over the small fireplace before diving to the shelves and side tables. The door to the kitchen stood slightly open, and I remembered that she showed me the claustrophobic basement where her mother loved keeping canned stuff that she made. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than leaving her out in the open if anyone managed to sneak through Dominic and me.
Rushing across the narrow hallway separating the two rooms, I shouldered my way inside the kitchen and headed straight for the pantry door. It was left open, the shelves still filled with mason jars full of jams and sauces I had no doubt were expired. Alice didn’t try to eat them, she just liked watching them, so I kept my opinion to myself. Adjusting her weight on my shoulder, I crouched and curled my fingers under the gap on the wooden floor, yanking the basement door open. It came up soundlessly, leaving a dark pit gaping at my feet. A shiver crawled up my spine when I realized how low the ceiling was and that I’d be standing there surrounded by earth-packed walls and floor.
Like a grave.
The wood protested from our combined weight as I descended, pulling the door closed over my head. Flicking the switch on the side, I had to blink many times when the bright yellow lightbulb buzzed and bathed us in light. Ignoring the damn shifter scratching at the door trying to get in, I lowered Alice on the dirt-covered floor and left her there with a whispered sorry before getting out. That place was creepy as hell, and it brought back memories of closed-up spaces, blood, and metal bars all around me. Still holding my breath, I almost knocked out the wolf when I pushed the plank up to exit.
“Instead of acting like an idiot, you can come help.” Hissing at him, I made sure he didn’t sneak inside to join the human. “Out of all of you, I’m starting to regret saving your ass.”
He bared his sharp teeth at me but stayed out of reach.
Not stupid by any stretch of the imagination.
The house was quiet. Too quiet for my liking, so on silent feet I moved around, flipping off switches as I went and blanketing everything in darkness. A low silvery glow peeked through the lacy white curtains hanging on the windows, giving enough light to break apart the thick shadows. Passing the wooden table and four chairs, I snatched the dagger that was placed on top of it visible for all to see. I left it there so Dominic didn’t pitch a fit at me for hiding it so I could slit his throat or something. It came in handy that it was within reach tonight. The weight of it settled in my palm, and I slinked out of the still-open front door, pulling it closed behind me. The wolf stayed on my heels as if he’d decided he had a better chance of surviving outside than locked inside of the house. He had nowhere to hide anyway, because his scent gave him away to any of my kind.
Pausing on the porch, I strained my ears and goosebumps covered my arms when the silence enveloped me in its embrace. Even the crickets that chirped constantly like there was no tomorrow were as quiet as if someone had pressed the mute button. A shadow moved at the start of the tree line, and my heart kicked painfully at my ribs. Dominic’s green eyes glinted in the moonlight. Without that, I wouldn’t even know he was there because he blended into the darkness. With a nod in his direction, I pushed off the balls of my feet and wrapped my fingers around the lace woodwork decorating the roof of the porch. Flinging my body up, I somersaulted over it and landed in a crouch on the sunburned tiles, my head moving left and right as I searched for any sign of movement. The wolf darted across the few yards of the open area in front of the house, disappearing between the trees. Perched on the roof like some gargoyle, I stayed motionless, waiting. I didn’t have long to wait.
A shrill scream split the night.
My eyes flicked to Dominic, who was still standing at the start of the tree line, and the panther grinned broadly, exposing two rows of deadly, sharp teeth. Another roar filled with pain bounced off the thick tree trunks in the sea of green, echoing through the expanse of land. Whatever the shifter had done around the property had ensured we had a head start, but it also made the Atua realize we knew they had arrived.
Tree tops and branches swayed all of a sudden, and whatever had disturbed them was coming at us full speed from three sides. Not taking away my eyes from it, I pointed in each direction, knowing that Dominic was waiting for it. It was strange how in sync I felt with someone I hadn’t known longer than a week. He weaved through the trees until he picked one side, his long, thick tail snapping once in the air before going out of sight. The wolf looped out in the open for a few feet before heading in the opposite direction of Dominic. I stayed on the roof, tracking whoever was coming right at me, my hand tightening on the dagger and my fangs throbbing in my gums.
Three figures emerged from the trees and stepped into the open.
There was no mistaking the guards of the Council, their bare torsos glistening in the moonlight as they fanned out in hopes to surround the house. My scent was thick here, so I wasn’t surprised they thought I’d be hiding inside. Everything they’d seen of me indicated that I should be afraid of the Syndicate. And I was, just not enough to stop me from wanting to tear their throats out. Before they had a chance to move out of sight, I dropped from the roof, making sure I made enough noise for all three of them to hear me. Three sets of eyes locked on my frame, the feeling of it forming an itch on my skin.
“How nice of you to visit,” I drawled, shifting slightly to have all three in my field of vision. “If you would’ve sent word before you came, I could’ve baked you cookies.”
“The Council requests your presence if you want to live.” The one facing me grumbled, his voice grating on my nerves like rocks grinding together.
I almost laughed. The scream coming from somewhere in the trees strangled the sound in my throat.
“Okay, go back and tell them I’ll come.” The puckering of his forehead was comical. “I just need to take a shower and do my makeup.”
“You’ll come?” The hand gripping a wicked-looking carved short sword dropped slightly while he gawked at me.
