Page 66 of Cast in Shadow
“I know where you are.”
My eyes snapped open. My skin prickled. My magic surged in warning, and the next instant, he was there.
Nguyen shot to his feet with a growl. Shay let out a yelp that tore a hole in my heart as she tried to disappear into the corner of the couch. And Dennis, bless his heart, stared in shocked silence even as he angled himself in front of her.
I put out my hands, one toward Nguyen and one toward Shay and Dennis, as I stepped in front of Emerson. “He’s here at my request.” Though, I’d been hoping he would walk throughthe door like a normal person rather than appearing out of thin air.
“Emerson,” Nguyen said his name more like a curse than an acknowledgment.
“Bear,” he replied, again without a hint of emotion. But standing this close, I could feel the frustration rolling off him in waves.
I shot him a look.“Family.”
His expression tightened.“Even him?”
“Yes. He’s been my right hand for over a decade.”
“From the way he’s looking at you, he’s been more than that.”
Was he really pulling the jealousy card?
I was too tired to keep hiding. If he wanted the truth, he would get all of it.“There hasn’t been anyone else since you.”
Scorching heat rolled through our connection. He licked his lips, and something dark flickered in his blue eyes before his expression went business-like. “Agent DeBruin.” His voice was clipped, unreadable, but through the link, I felt the fire still burning.
24
Tension filled the space between the five of us like noxious smoke. Emerson was at my side, staring at Nguyen while the other man glared at me.
“Convenient timing.” The hint of a snarl rode Nguyen’s words, and his eyes glittered with trouble.
If he shifted in here, now, it would be a shit show. Wards meant to block eavesdropping were useless against the spectacle an eight-hundred-pound grizzly would create.
“Like I said, I asked him to come,” I said.
“How did he know when to show up?” Again, there was that flicker of mischief in Nguyen’s eyes, and not the fun kind.
“We share a bond.” Emerson tapped the side of his head. “All she has to do is call for me, and I’ll be here.”
“Really?” Shay asked hesitantly. Curiosity glittered in her hazel eyes, temporarily overshadowing her initial anxiety. “He can read your thoughts?”
A little of the rigidness left Emerson’s big frame when he replied in a surprisingly gentle voice, “Only when she lets me.”
Why did that bit of softness toward my daughter hit me like a hard thump to the chest?
Dennis had been watching in silence, then it was like a light bulb went off in his head. “Not all demons can get into a person’s head, right?”
Emerson nodded. “Correct. It’s an ability typically reserved for primordial beings. Gods and demons,” he said, casting me a pointed glance.
“But you can.” Dennis paused for a beat, looking down at the polished black oak table. “And the demon that latched onto Senna back in the daytriedto get inside her head when she reached out to the veil. I wonder if there’s a way to use that.” He was basically talking to himself at that point, which was a good thing, because Emerson’s head snapped around and he pinned me with a dangerous look.
“You didn’t tell me that part.”
“It wasn’t relevant.” And I wasn’t ready to go through that nightmare with him just yet. It was hard enough telling my team about it, and I’d only given them the highlights.
“Isn’t it though?” Dennis cut in. “If Megan gathers enough power to touch the veil, which would give her access to even more power, won’t she already be strong enough to fight off an intrusion like that?”
I used the opportunity to get some distance from Emerson, moving in beside Dennis and taking a seat. “Not necessarily. I already had experience keeping Emerson out of my head. Those barriers were the only reason I was able to withstand the attack.”
