Page 45 of Cast in Shadow
“This is your last warning, demon,” Nguyen growled. “Move away.”
With a slow blink, he finally turned to face the other man, openly taking his measure. “Or what?”
The shuffle of feet and my racing heart were all I heard over the tense silence that followed.
This could not be happening. There was not a pissing match going on between the man I fell in love with a lifetime ago and the guy who’d been pining over me for the better part of a decade.
“Nguyen, put your gun down. That’s an order. And you,” I glared at Emerson, “Do not provoke him.”
He arched one strong brow. “Does your big beary boyfriend always need your protection?”
Before I could snap back, Nguyen dropped his gun and launched across the room, shifting mid-run in an eruption of animalistic fury and tattered clothing. In his grizzly form, he stood nearly eight feet tall and weighed in at close to eight hundred pounds. Every ounce of that slammed into Emerson mercilessly.
If he’d been human, the impact alone could have killed him.
They smashed through the wall into the bedroom, snarling and growling like the wild animals they were.
The rest of the team closed in around me, following protocol that demanded they protect the director at all costs, but I brought them to a halt by raising my fist in the air. “Everybody out!” When they hesitated, I pointed toward what was left of the door hanging crooked on a single hinge. “Now!”
That was all it took to get them moving, thankfully. Before they were all out, I wheeled back around. Emerson’s eyes glowed crimson as he caught Nguyen’s bear form by the belly and chest, and hurled him to the ground. Nguyen was back on his feet in a matter of seconds, and when Emerson put himselfbetween me and my second-in-command, Nguyen let out a roar that shook the walls.
“Enough!” I yelled, the booming command rolling out of me like thunder. “I am done with today.” I stared hard between the two of them. “Nguyen, get your ass over here, shift back, and tell me why you just smashed your way through that door with a full tactical team in tow.”
Then I turned to Emerson. “And you, stay right where you are.” When he rolled his bottom lip between his teeth like he was planning to say something, I held up a hand. “Don’t.”
Nguyen stalked over on all fours, his multi-hued brown fur swishing as he moved. Even in bear form I could tell he was only slightly cowed by my irritation.
I wished I knew what the hell was going on with him lately. Did he have a death wish? Did he have any idea how easy Emerson went on him in that scuffle?
If he’d pulled that stunt on any of the other Brethren, with or without me there, he’d be bleeding out all over the gorgeous, rustic wood floor.
Nguyen shifted when he was about five feet away, angling himself between me and Emerson. Since he’d shifted on the fly and fully clothed, that also meant he had nothing to change into, so he was standing there as naked as a newborn.
“Explain,” I said, grinding out the order through a jaw clenched so tight I had no doubt I would feel it the next day.
“Dennis tracked your phone,” Nguyen said flatly.
I opened my mouth to respond, then snapped it shut. There was really no reason for me to be upset about him coming to my rescue. It was protocol. If any other member of the team had traded their life for mine, I would have been the one leading the charge to get them back.
Licking my lips, I offered him a curt nod. “I appreciate your concern, but as you can see, I’m fine.”
His nostrils flared, and his eyes took on an eerie golden glow like he was on the edge of shifting back. “Are you? Really?”
“You should leave,” Emerson said gruffly.
I shot him a look, a little shocked to realize he was talking to me. Why did that sting? “Yeah, that’s the plan.”
He sucked air through his teeth. “Not because I want you to. It’s so your agent, who clearly has feelings for you, doesn’t have to try to have a civil discussion about keeping you safe surrounded by...” He waved his hand in a small circle, encompassing the demolished space.
It took me a second to catch his meaning.
For fuck’s sake.
Nguyen’s senses were heightened thanks to his shifter blood, even when he was in human form. It usually came in handy, but right now, it meant he was surrounded by the mingled scents of my little “reunion” with Emerson.
“I’m leaving. Nguyen, you’re with me. We’ll finish this conversation at headquarters. And you…” I pointed at Emerson but hesitated to voice an actual threat. “Stay the hell away from my people,” I finished.
“Senna.” Emerson said my name low and soft, like a plea to stay.
