Page 100 of The Guardian's Curse

The man’s face creased. “I haven’t seen Shoshanna in a while. She used to come over every week and make some bombass nachos for movie night. Like with little jalapenos and—”

Alistair lunged in and grabbed the man’s throat. He was five seconds from taking down his hood and letting him think the Devil himself had come to call. “What about Ruby?”

“She’s been gone a couple days,” the man said, batting at Alistair’s arm to escape. “She was hooking up with this new guy. Eric, or Edward, or something.”

“Elliott?” Alistair asked.

“Yeah, that was it,” he said, nodding frantically. His dark eyes were comically wide. “He was here a few nights ago. I didn’t like him, but Ruby said I was jealous. I’m not fuckin’ jealous of that douche. Besides, Ruby’s my cousin.”

“Shut up,” Alistair said, giving the man’s throat a warning squeeze.

“Yep,” he squeaked. In the background, a whining female voice was begging someone to stick it in. Charming.

Paris shot him a look. “Then this is the Casteron.”

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Alistair replied. Eduardo be damned. He should have hunted the bastard down a week ago.

“Don’t kill me, man,” the man protested. “I told you everything!”

“Not you,” they replied in unison. Alistair released the trembling man, and he clambered backward with a whimper.

Paris wrinkled his nose. “Go back to your entertainment. And for God’s sake, get an air freshener. It smells like farts and sweaty testicles in here.”

The man’s face flushed, and he bolted down the hall like a rabbit at a race track. As they left the apartment, Paris called Nikko. “No Ruby here. Roommate said she was hooking up with Elliott and hasn’t been home in a few days. Sounds like he’s got her. Maybe used her to get to Shoshanna.”

Alistair could hear Nikko on the other end. “Same here,” he said. “The Wang shop is closed, but I had Safira call Ruby’s mother and pretend to be Shoshanna looking for her. She said Ruby wasn’t at work today, and that she’s been talking to some new guy. She didn’t know his name, but she said, and I quote, if Shoshanna talks to Ruby, to tell her that she’s in big fucking trouble.”

“We’re going to Elliott’s,” Paris said. “Meet us there.”

As they climbed back into car and pulled onto the interstate, Alistair felt as if he would burst out of his skin. “If he touched her, I’m going to kill him. Scratch that. I’ll kill him regardless. But if he touched her, I’ll make it take a decade.”

“Alistair.” Paris’s voice was eerily calm.

“He was warned,” Alistair seethed. “I will flay him. Peel his fucking skin off centimeter by centimeter.”

“Alistair, calm down,” Paris said.

“This is Shoshanna,” he retorted.

Paris shook his head. “If you kill him outright, you will ignite a war with the Casteron.”

“I don’t care,” he said. “Let them come to war.”

“I care,” Paris said. “As does Eduardo. Everyone else in the court will care when they are thrust into war because of your impulsivity.”

“I cannot sit by while he hurts her,” he said. “She is mine now, and it is my responsibility to protect her.” A responsibility that he had failed twice now.

“I’m not asking you to,” Paris said. “Just use your head for a moment. Elliott had sufficient opportunity to kill Shoshanna. That’s clearly not what he wants. He wants her power.”

“But if he touched her,” he said quietly. “If he violated her...” As a disgruntled ex-boyfriend, there was no telling how the vampire version of Elliott might take out his old complaints on a vulnerable Shoshanna.

Paris was silent. “I know. He will pay for this.”

“I will not let Eduardo sideline me this time,” he said. “He cannot remain neutral.”

Paris gave him a look, eyebrows arched. “I’m on it already.” Alistair just tilted his head. “Circumstances have changed slightly. Shoshanna isn’t blood bonded to the court, but she’s bonded to you, and that surely counts for something. Second, Shoshanna can untangle the security at Infinity. Eduardo isn’t going to leave her in the wind and jeopardize the entire court.”

“It’s somewhat less than encouraging that he values her as a security risk more than a person,” Alistair said.

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