Page 98 of Kingdom of Chaos
Titus and Kade are evenly matched in height, but Kade has at least thirty pounds of muscle on him. Still, Titus is a powerful fae with some wicked magic, so in my mind he holds the upper hand.
All around us, I hear the cocking of guns again, sending a spike of anxiety through me.
Kade could probably fight back, but instead he holds up his hands in surrender.
Titus has his forearm pressed up against his throat as he holds him in place. He must not be putting too much pressure on him because Kade can still speak.
“I’m sorry,” he begins. “That was all just a misunderstanding.” He glances over Titus’ shoulder at his men. “I told you all to stand down!” he snaps.
When they lower their weapons again, Kade orders them to return to their normal duties. A tense ten seconds pass before the group finally begins to disperse. Once they do, Kade’s gaze shifts to Imogen.
“I’m going to guess you’re the vampire?”
Her eyes widen in initial shock before she schools her features. “If you’d like to go somewhere private, I can show you exactly what kind of creature I am,” she says. Then, letting her fangs descend, she gives him a sultry smile that’s clearly more of a warning than an invitation.
“We’re not on the friendliest terms with vampires here in this world,” Kade replies. “They’re the one creature humans have almost always been at war with. When a vampire enters headquarters, it triggers an alarm that emits a frequency designed to disable most creatures.”
Kade looks at Titus, who still has him pinned up against the wall. “I understand why you’re angry, but can we move this into a conference room? There’s a lot we need to talk about, and despite what just happened, I am still on your side.”
Ensley makes a noise next to me, drawing Kade’s attention. “If that were true, you’d release my brother.”
I kind of agree with her, but I keep my mouth shut.
“Let him go,” Talon says. “We’ve come this far. Let’s at least hear him out. I’ll let you fry him with faelight later if we don’t like what he has to say.”
Kade has the sense to look a touch nervous at that comment, which makes Talon smile wickedly.
“Fine,” Titus says. “But anything like that happens again and I’m unleashing on you and every one of your human friends here, understood?”
Kade nods as best he can with Titus’ arm still pressed against his throat, and Titus finally releases him. Kade cracks his neck, looking like it takes real effort to keep himself in check, then gestures for us to follow.
He leads us down a narrow hallway to a room centered around a long conference table. After what just happened, we’re all a little wary as we take our seats around it.
“I’m just going to cut to the chase,” Kade says once we’re all seated. His gaze shifts to me. “When you opened the portal and let that lunatic into the human world, you might have just kicked off the apocalypse. We need your help to stop it—or more accurately, him.”
“Starting the apocalypse. That sounds about right,” Imogen mutters under her breath beside me, but I ignore her.
“Him?” I ask, already dreading the answer.
Kade pulls out his phone and after unlocking it and running his fingers over the screen, he lays it flat on the table and then slides it across to me.
I stare at it as if it’s poisonous before cautiously reaching out and grabbing it. On the screen is a photograph of a man just before he pushes through a set of double glass doors. The kind you’d see leading into an apartment or office building. He’s glancing over his shoulder, his gaze almost connecting with the camera.
Kerrim.
The image of him in the nightmare I had where he stabbed Becks at Sloan’s rises unbidden in my mind’s eye.
Murderous. Deranged. Off.
My stomach roils, and I feel the blood drain from my cheeks.
“A shifter named Kerrim,” Kade replies. “Ring any bells?”
Across from me, Ensley’s eyes go wide as I nod slowly, sliding the phone back to him.
I dread whatever Kade is about to say next. Considering the lengths Kerrim went to in order to get to the human world, I seriously doubt he’s planning to live out his days as a quiet store owner anymore. Whatever Kade is about to tell us about Kerrim, I already know it’s going to be bad.
Putting away his phone, Kade starts to say something else when a sharp knock interrupts him. I glance over to see a red-haired male filling the doorway. Tall and lanky, I’d peg him for mid-twenties. He surveys the room with a keen eye, taking each of us in.
