Page 28 of Magic Claimed
“Kes asked you to watch my back.”
“Keep your siren magic to yourself, Kendrick,” he growled at me.
“I don’t do it on purpose,” I snapped. “Why not just tell me the truth yourself?”
Perhaps because Shane Isaacson, feared mercenary, would not want anyone finding out that his weak point was a fragile half-fae woman currently being hunted by the most dangerous bounty hunters in the country.
And also because he would rather be watching out for Kes instead of babysitting me.
“I’m fine,” I informed him dryly. “Kes didn’tknow Kira would be coming with me. You can go back to keeping an eye on her, and we’ll handle this.”
The look he shot me was swift and questioning.
“No, you haven’t been spotted. Kes has no idea you’ve been watching our place.”
He wanted to ask howIknew, but feared he wouldn’t like the answer.
“She’s too trusting,” he finally muttered. “Too unaware of her surroundings. And she freezes in the face of danger. She needs a bodyguard, and Ethan is more of a liability than a help.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Make a deal with me?” I suggested.
His silence indicated he was at least willing to listen.
“I need a favor. I’ve been getting recruitment offers from mercenary guilds, and they’re causing problems for Faris. If you can put the word out that I’m not for sale—at any price—I’ll convince Kes that she needs a bodyguard.”
His arms crossed, and he looked down at me, eyes narrowed. “Not just any bodyguard, Kendrick.”
“Fine. I’ll see how she feels about letting you protect her.” I gave him back stare for stare. “That’s all I can promise you, Shane. I won’t take away her right to choose—even to choose danger if that’s what she wants—and you shouldn’t either.”
After a few moments, he nodded. “Fair. I’ll see to it that you’re taken off the market. And you’ll inform me immediately when Kes makes her decision.”
It was not a question.
“I will inform you,” I said with a sigh, digging out my phoneand unlocking it before holding it out. “Here, go ahead and send yourself a text. Congratulations, you’re only the”—I counted silently in my head—“eighth person to have my contact info.”
He didn’t take my phone, but looked slightly uncomfortable as he pulled out his own device.
“I already have your number,” he confessed, right before my phone buzzed with a text.
My mouth dropped open. “Kes didnotgive you my phone number.”
“No, she didn’t.” His expression had gone very deliberately blank.
“Then how did you get it?” We didn’t have any other mutual friends who would just hand over my information like that.
He paused for a moment, then muttered, “Magic.” He looked dead serious too, so I just rolled my eyes. I had no idea what goblin magic was actually capable of, but even considering they were good with tech, stealing phone numbers seemed like a stretch.
“Fine, whatever. Don’t tell me.” Though I was definitely going to pursue this at a later date. “Go stake out the apartment. Kira and I have got this.”
He unbent far enough to throw Kira a quick glance, then waved at Monique before walking away into the darkness. Back to his lonely vigil. I wondered how many hours he’d slept in the last week. How long he could keep this up before he collapsed.
How long before he and Kes were willing to publicly admit to this… whatever was happening between them.
“Sometimes I wonder if he’ll ever forgive me,” Kira murmured.
Kira was one of the kindest, fiercest, most loving people I knew, and the rift between her and Shane had to be a bleeding wound in her heart.
