Page 23 of Leif

My gut churned as I stepped forward and hauled the prisoner to his feet. “You’re coming with me.”

“I like the sound of that,” he said with a disgusting grin, and I shoved him toward the front of the cave. I wasn’t going to let him get to me.

The guy’s gun went right through me. He asked if I was one of those freaks. He knew something. But what did he know? And what was Leif hiding?

I lifted my chin, meeting Leif’s stare as he hauled the other guy to his feet and began moving toward the exit with us.

I was going to find out what he was hiding.

No matter what.

12

Leif

“They’re on their way.” She’d called in her brothers in blue, and they were sending guys out. As she tilted her head, studying me, I knew she was on to me. Maybe she didn’t know exactly what, but she knew something was wrong. She knew I had a secret.

And I’d shown myself to her. I’d betrayed my own secret.

But when they put their guns to her head, I couldn’t let her die. So I’d focused every bit of my attention on her and managed to render her intangible. Something I hadn’t known I could do from a distance. The first time, she seemed to have written off as luck. I could only hope she’d thought he’d missed, but he hadn’t. I’d seen the bullet hit the ground behind her; he’d have shot her directly in the forehead.

The second time I’d made her intangible, though, that had been much more obvious. There was no hiding it. Of course, I’d knocked out the guy and could only hope he’d forget what he saw. Or that they’d think he was crazy or something. But there was no way I’d conk her over the head and make her forget what she’d seen.

As the wail of sirens grew closer, she stood shoulder to shoulder with me. The guy who’d taken her hostage was standing before her, her hand locked on his zipties as we waited.

The other guy was hanging limp from my grasp, but I didn’t trust the crafty bastard to not come to and try to charge us; so I held onto him all the same.

I’d already tied up everyone else I’d come across in the cave, and I knew each one would be processed. I hadn’t found the strong man; I had no idea where he’d gone. But I knew we’d find him at some point. He was one of us, after all. He’d turn up somewhere.

The voices of the cops echoed through the cave, and their lights swept across us. Mel spoke out, her words running together as everyone talked at once. But all I saw was her; her wide brown eyes, her mouth moving, her brown hair shining and still piled on top of her head, out of her way.

She was fucking beautiful. And she knew I had a secret. What was I going to do about it? Would I protect myself and her and refuse to tell her? Or put her potentially in harm’s way by telling her a secret some might kill for?

If I told her, I’d have to make sure she was safe. For good.

The cops walked up to us and took the men from us. One shouted profanities, calling her a bitch and saying she hadn’t seen the last of him. He was promptly kicked in the back of the knee and taken down by an officer who told him that threatening an officer was another offense he would be charged with, and was he aware of his rights?

Another cop stopped near us and began to talk to both of us. I ignored him, focusing on Mel. She glanced up at me once or twice, a slight smile on her lips and a new warmth in her eyes as she studied me.

“We’ll give you some time to come to terms with everything before you have to come in and give your statement. Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?” The cop arched a questioning eyebrow at her.

“No,” she said with a little shake of her head.

“Yes,” I said at the same time.

She gave me a glare as the officer glanced back and forth between us.

“I’m fine,” she insisted.

“Really?” I wasn’t so sure. The psychological toll might be too much. After everything that had happened to her…” Shouldn’t you be looked at, just in case? You know, be on the safe side?”

“No matter what, she’ll be put through counseling before returning to the force.” The cop nodded at me, and she glanced at him, annoyance twisting her features.

“I’mfine.”

“I’m sure, but protocol is protocol.” The guy—who’d introduced himself as Grady—smiled at her. “We’ll get your statement in a few days. Until then, take good care of yourself.”

Grady scribbled a few notes, then left us alone in the waning sunshine.

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