Page 44 of Shadowed Radiance

My body grew more alert when I heard footsteps outside the door. Seconds later, it slid open. Tom--or, as Shea kept calling him, Todd--swept into the room with that fake-ass smile that made it look like he'd been using a dozen too many whitening strips each day. His two security guard escorts weren't far behind, but they stayed in the hall with the rest of our guardians.

Tom nodded toward the metal box. "I'll just return that to the vault and leave my two colleagues to escort you back to the bank entrance. Unless there's something else I can help you with?"

Shea and Ava exchanged a wordless look, and then Shea shook his head with an artificial smile of his own. Not that anyone who didn't know him well would recognize how fake it was. There was a reason he was the CEO among us three. "No, thank you. We found everything we needed. Your assistance has been quite helpful."

Tom gave a half-bow and reclaimed the safety deposit box. "My pleasure. If you do need further assistance later, don't hesitate to reach out." He turned and strode past his two security guard buddies. Leaving the rest of us to step out after him.

Those two security guard buddies must not have perfected the same poker face as our Pack guardians. They seemed unusually interested in the brief conversation Shea had with the rest of our group, quietly explaining how we were going to retrieve the girls and take them to a more secure location outside the city. Or so we wanted people to believe.

Despite our intended ruse, Shea, Connor, and I remained on red alert as we followed the security guards back to the front entrance. Ava went so far as to pull out her cell phone and pretend to call Regina, asking her to get the girls ready for an impromptu road trip. I could only hope Alexander's spies were paying attention—and that his offer to let us leave town without any further showdowns had actually been sincere.

Despite the heavy doubt making my imaginary glass look half-empty rather than full, we didn't run into any trouble between the conference room and front desk. The woman who'd replaced Tom at the front desk flashed a much more subdued smile and sent us on our merry way.

I had actually started to believe Mother Moon must be smiling upon us by the time we stepped into the elevator that would return us to the building’s lobby. Someone hit the button for the ground floor, and sudden intuition stirred. My hand whipped out to stop the door from closing. Shea and Connor had learned to trust my instincts over the years so immediately shielded Ava’s body with their own. The guardians and Spellbinders picked up on our sudden tension and split up, half leaping out of the elevator to scout for trouble, while the others surrounded my brothers and Ava as another protective layer.

“Trouble?” Shea asked while glancing toward the hallway where half our group now investigated the surroundings.

A strange scent hit my nose and had my inner wolf growling. “Something smells…off,” I threw over my shoulder.

Half of me wanted to shift into wolf form so I could better identify the smell that had set my internal alarms blaring. But that would limit my ability to verbally communicate. And a stubborn part of me refused to so easily give in to my inner beast. Sometimes all it took was one little spark to set off a blaze that would make it pretty fucking hard to regain control.

Sparks…Fuck!

“Everyoneoutof the elevator now!” Nobody wasted time asking why. “Ava, throw up a Radiant Seal between us and it!”

The telltale whisper of magic skimmed across my skin as she summoned a barrier while Shea and Connor quickly herded her out of the elevator. When the door closed and the car began descending toward the ground floor, I thrust my body between the door and my brothers to further block Ava from harm. Her Radiant Seal should make that overkill, but the urge to shield her was impossible to ignore.

I counted breaths after the door closed and barely made it to five before a loud roar split the air. Tremors shook the ground beneath our feet, but Shifter grace made it easy to stay upright. Ava’s barrier kept us safe from the blast of flames I could hear storm their way up the elevator shaft from the car we had only moments ago been inside. But it couldn’t prevent the explosion’s aftershocks from affecting the building around us. And it also wouldn’t stop any further attacks our enemies might have planned.

That thought had me frowning at the bank of elevators and wondering how they had known which elevator we would take down to the lobby. Or had they placed explosives on all six elevators? The buzz filling my veins suggested that might have been the more likely strategy. Either way, I don't think any of us would have felt safe stepping into another one of those elevators. Only by the grace of the Moon Mother had I picked up that faint odor soon enough to keep us from a fatal error.

By now, all four of the on-duty security guards had burst out of the nearby bank to investigate. Our guardians and one of the Spellbinders blocked them from getting too close. I left them to deal with the guards, and pointed to draw Shea's attention to the nearest emergency exit signs. "Not trusting any of these elevators right now."

He nodded grimly. "Agreed. Let's send two of the Spellbinders and half the guardians first to make sure there aren't any more traps."

I relayed that order before ushering my brothers and Ava to the stairwell to wait for an all-clear signal. Ava's body trembled as she leaned against the wall, rapid breathing another sign that either this latest attack had pushed her dangerously close to the edge or her body was nearing a breaking point from all the magic she'd been forced to channel. Possibly both.

Fear of rejection tempted me to pretend I hadn't noticed, but Shea and Connor were using their cell phones to communicate with the guardians who had gone ahead. I told myself to man the fuck up and tentatively placed my arm around Ava's shoulder. "Good job shielding us back there. You okay?"

Shockingly (to me anyway), Ava leaned into my touch rather than pushing me away. "Emotionally? Hell no. Physically? I'll survive." She shook her head and met my eyes with an emotion that seemed pretty damn close to awe. "You did a good job back there yourself. How did you know what was going to happen?"

I used my free hand to tap my nose. "My superior sniffer. Something about the smell of those explosives set my wolf on edge."

She reached up to tap one finger against my nose, taking me completely by surprise. I couldn't remember the last time someone had booped me. I probably would've bitten the finger of anybody else who dared do such a thing. From Ava? It seemed ridiculously adorable.

"I for one am glad you have a superior sniffer. So my compliments to your edgy wolf."

Shea and Connor hung up on their calls and urged us to start down the stairs. They stepped in front of Ava, and I brought up the rear ahead of our remaining escorts. Humans might have found the prospect of jogging down 28 flights of stairs daunting, but it was just a walk in the park for those with Shifter blood (even those who weren'tpureShifters). Every single one of us felt the tension as we descended, bracing ourselves for further explosions or unexpected arrivals. Fortunately, we made it to the ground floor without either event.

Ava began looking a little unsteady on her feet the last few flights of stairs. I managed to hold back my urge to sweep her into my arms, knowing she would fucking hate that. So I settled for taking her hand in mine and supporting her as best I could.

Shea turned toward us when we caught up with the rest of our group at the bottom of the stairwell. "Ava I hate to ask this of you because I know how exhausted you are. But we don't know what to expect out there. Can you borrow energy one more time and shield us as we walk back to the garage? I don't trust those bank employees and I for damn sure don't trust the mortal authorities. Except formaybeCunningham and Rosen. And I'd rather our Spellbinders be free to defend us if needed. Not to mention magically sweep our SUVs for explosives when we reach them."

Connor flashed a charming smile and said in a quiet voice, as if he didn't want the Spellbinders to hear. "Besides, we all know you're one of the best at casting Radiant Seals. We’re much less likely to be detected if you're the one shielding us."

Ava gave a determined nod. "I can do that. Can’t promise it’ll be up to my usual magnificence, though." She added that last with a tired smile, and it took a lot of willpower to fight back my urge to make like Fabio. My inner wolf demanded we carry her back to the parking garage so she could rest on the way, but I shoved that macho-man streak down deep. Ava needed mysupport, not me trying to do everything for her.

Not that I could have channeled magic if I tried.

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