Page 49 of Forbidden

Talon ushered him down the stairs, chuckling. “You did well. There aren’t many who could stand up to her like that.”

“I definitely wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been there.”

A strong hand clapped him on the shoulder. “You helped Alex, and Wolf has been a good friend for many decades. It was the least I could do.” At the foot of the stairs, he added, “Besides, that bitch needed to be taken down a peg or two.”

Ira laughed weakly. “Great. Next time, I’d rather someone else do it. That was enough excitement for me.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself,” he said, reaching for the door. “You did a lot better than—” He opened the door a crack, but whatever he saw on the other side had him pushing it shut, twisting the knob so it wouldn’t make a sound. He turned the lock quickly and whirled around.

“What—”

Talon slapped a hand over his mouth, his other hand going to the back of Ira’s head to keep him from pulling away.

“Don’t make a sound,” he whispered. “There are paladins outside the door.”

Oh, God, Wolf.

Chapter 12

Wolf could barely focuson the work in front of him after Ira and Talon disappeared. He poured drinks and swiped cards, his mind upstairs and in the office where Ira was facing down a monster—to protecthim. He shouldn’t have let him do this. It was too dangerous. And taking Talon would just piss her off even more. Maybe she wouldn’t hurt Ira right now, but there were plenty of ways she could get back at them for this. Why had he agreed to this at all? Ira wasn’t a fighter. He wasn’t meant to face down threats like this. Wolf was supposed toprotecthim. Instead he was standing down here and serving Lilith’s guests like a well-trained dog.

Alex slid onto the stool in front of him. “He’ll be okay. Talon’ll make sure of it.”

Wolf blew out a breath, bracing his hands on the bar and abandoning the mask he’d been wearing. He ducked his head and said, “I know. It doesn’t make waiting any easier, though.”

One corner of Alex’s mouth quirked. “You really care about him, huh?”

An unfamiliar curl of embarrassment went through him. “I… do, yes. It feels like he was always meant to be by my side, I just didn’t know it until he suddenly arrived.”

“He’s a good guy. I’m glad you two found each other. And,” he laughed helplessly, “I’m really glad he joined us. We’d still be fumbling around blindly without his help. He’s given us direction.”

That much was true. They probably wouldn’t have found the Rink without his help. They wouldn’t have rescued those kids. Ira had blown into all their lives and changed things completely.

The front door banged open, audible even over the pulsing music, and a familiar white-haired figure tumbled down the stairs and into the room. The crowd parted around him, and Wolf made a move toward the edge of the bar to help. The pulsing music stopped abruptly, leaving the shouts of shock and alarm from the customers to echo off the high ceiling.

“No, wait!” Alex hissed, grabbing his wrist.

“He’s—”

Three men strolled in after Storm’s broken body. All of them wore swords strapped to their backs. Fuck, Storm wasn’t moving. Did they kill him?

The humans visiting the club reacted the way anyone with sense would. They screamed and ran for the door. The paladins let them go, leaving only halflings scattered around the club, clustering together near the bar and the dance floor. They outnumbered the paladins, but they were all afraid of those holy weapons. They were one of the few things that could permanently kill them.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” a brave halfling demanded as the last of the humans escaped. Wolf couldn’t remember his name, but he approached the paladins aggressively.

The man leading the trio barely glanced at him, pulling something from his pocket and flicking it at the halfling. He reacted instantly, screaming in pain as steam rose from the liquid dousing his face and neck.

Holy water.

Alex lurched to his feet. “Michael!”

The paladin turned his head, his expression cooling when he spotted Alex. “I should’ve known we’d find you here.”

Movement in his periphery caught his eye. Luke and Malachi were approaching slowly, telegraphing their movements as they stopped beside Alex, creating a united front.

Michael’s lip curled at Malachi. “I know you. I saw you on a surveillance recording at the guild’s front gate.”

“Just returning what you sent to us,” Malachi said cheekily.

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