Page 18 of Toward Immortal Ruin

And then he walked out in front of a bus.

Chapter Six

A horn blared.

The shrill sound spiked into her skull as soon as Nero had stepped off the curb. Heart leaping into her throat, Eden’s attention snapped to the left and the oncoming bus.

She tightened the grip on his hand and yanked him toward her with all her strength. He staggered backward as she pulled him off-balance, just barely missing the massive vehicle that charged past them.

Nero’s brown eyes were even wider than hers, understandably in shock. Around them, traffic soon stopped as the crosswalk lit up with the white walk sign. People moved past as if nothing had happened, while she and Nero remained perfectly still, locked in the intimate embrace, bags squished between them.

Seeing the man nearly flattened made her both outraged and bewildered. He’d been distracted—though she couldn’t tell by what—and hadn’t even registered that he was in danger. One part of her longed to crush him in a hug and the other part wanted to shout at him for stepping off the curb. The warring impulses made her incapable of doing either.

Eden purposefully took a breath to steady her nerves. “Did they not teach you crosswalk signs where you’re from?”

Cringing, he admitted, “That would’ve really put a damper on the whole protection detail we’ve got going, huh?”

“A bit.”

“Thanks for saving my life.Again.And speaking of,” he chuckled, “you’ve got a hell of an arm of you. I’m honestly impressed.”

“Adrenaline-fueled strength, I think. But I’ll definitely take credit for your rescue.” She nudged him with her elbow. “Anytime you’d like to play damsel in distress, I’ll happily put on some armor.”

Eden couldn’t stop herself from teasing him. In the short amount of time she’d known him, she had become addicted to Nero’s warm brown eyes and his mischievous grin.

“Well, in any case,” he said, “I appreciate your superstrength. You’ve got a knack for rescuing people.”

Eden gave him a sidelong look. “You’re the one who signed up to protect me from a shadowy terrorist group that apparently is gunning for me and saved me from being wolf kibble last night. Seems like you’re the one wearing the perpetual hero hat.”

“It’s a personality flaw. I’m working on it,” he echoed, repeating her earlier words with a trace of humor. “Sometimes, I just can’t help it. Find myself in deep water and just keep swimming further out.”

Something in his tone clued her in to the fact that he wasn’t joking. At one point in her life, Eden had tried to be everything to everyone. She understood too well what that suffocation felt like, when life just kept dealing you more than you could take on. Whether it was a diagnosis, responsibility for others, or even abandonment and loneliness, Eden knew when to shift her efforts into keeping those dark waters at bay.

“That’s a good way to drown.”

He grimaced.

“I’ll tell you what,” she bargained, “I’ll teach you how to start saying no to more hero missions, and you can teach me how to defend myself against rabid wolves.”

“Done. Just direct me to where you keep your silver-tipped daggers.”

“Closet, right alongside my taser and mace.”

He looked momentarily stunned.

“I’ve attended more than my fair share of Renaissance Fairs and ComiCon’s, Nero. You didn’t expect me to be completely weapon-less, did you?”

The purr-like rumble of laughter in his chest had her beaming. “This is going to be easier than I thought.”

As they entered her apartment building and climbed the stairs, he said, “I’ll reach out to my contacts and see if there’s any intel on the wolves last night. If there’s any mention of you, we’ll find it.”

“I’d appreciate that.” She shuddered. “At least then I’ll know for sure whether I’ve got a target on my back.”

An almost animalistic growl sounded from behind her. It quickly turned into a cough, and she glanced over her shoulder at Nero. “You okay there, Coffee Shop Cutie?”

“Got a hairball.”

Snorting, she opened the door and let Marianne out of the bathroom. Now was as good a time as ever to officially welcome Nero to her apartment—even if he’d already been there once. Once he got inside and the door was locked securely behind him, she gestured around her.

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