Page 61 of Primal Bonds

Her heart pinched. “Ditto, squirt.”

“I just want you to be careful.”

“I will. But I like him. I really like him.” She slanted him a look. “Would it be so bad?”

“Nah, he seems like an okay dude. A hardass, but not like that guy I talked to—Corban. He was cold right to the bone. That guy would slit your throat and smile the whole time.”

A chill inched up Evie’s spine. Right then and there, she decided to stay with Jace as long as necessary. She and Kyler were in over their heads. They couldn’t even go to the cops; the fada policed themselves. Yeah, there were rules—the fada weren’t supposed to mess in human affairs. There was even a human-fada treaty between the US and the American fada. But everyone knew that in reality, the fada did whatever they damned well pleased. The authorities turned a blind eye to everything but the most blatant violations of the treaty.

“Jace and Adric will get Corban,” Kyler said. “You’ll see.”

“I know.” She didn’t doubt that for a second.

“And it’s okay with me.” He waved a hand. “If you two…you know.”

She compressed her lips, trying not to laugh. “Thanks.”

“Like I said, he’s an okay dude. But that doesn’t mean you’re more to him than a piece of ass.” And with that brotherly warning, he put his ear buds in and leaned back in the car seat.

Jace pulled his bike into the shed. As he eased his injured leg over the seat, he stifled a groan. Damn thigh had stiffened up during the hour ride south. But what worried him was the way his knife wounds were burning. He slid a hand under his shirt and grimaced when he touched blood. Just a few drops, but he’d definitely ripped something open.

Behind him, Evie’s car wheezed to a stop and let out a couple of explosive pops. He made a mental note to have Sam go over her car. He was the clan’s best mechanic; the engine would be purring by the time he was through with it. It was the least they could do after dragging her into what was shaping up to be a clan war.

Besides, Jace wanted to help her. The woman carried too much weight on those tough little shoulders. As a fada, he never understood why the humans didn’t rally around their single parents—female or male, raising a cub alone was a damn hard job. Evie wouldn’t accept his money, but he figured she wouldn’t say no to Sam tuning up her car, especially after she saw that nothing made the tiger happier than to be elbow-deep in an engine.

Evie and Kyler exited their car, backpacks in hand. As they walked toward the shed, they glanced around, taking in the freshly painted house and the neat, fenced-in backyard.

“I’ll show you around in the morning,” Jace said. He was proud of his block. He’d worked hard to make it safe for his human neighbors. The rats had been chased off, and he made sure that the landlords kept the houses up to code. In return, when a house fell vacant, he helped the landlord find a responsible tenant. Adric might tolerate drug dealers on his block, but not Jace.

It had paid off. The yards were well kept and blooming with flowers, and a group of elders had started a community garden on a vacant lot. The woman who rented his house had tubs filled with tomatoes and zucchini on the front porch, and as soon as morning came, the street would ring with the shouts of children unafraid to play outside.

“I’d like that,” Evie said.

He walked toward them, intending to take her backpack, and then winced as his leg protested. Evie hurried up and slid an arm around his waist.

“You’re hurt.”

He grunted, but set an arm on her shoulders. If she wanted to plaster that sweet little body against his, he was all for it.

“Where’s your den?” Kyler asked.

“Here.” Jace touched his quartz and murmured the words that dissolved the look-away spell.

“Wowzer.” The teenager’s jaw slackened as the stairs appeared. “That’s frickin’ cool.”

“Your den is underground?” Evie peered down the two flights.

“Yeah.”

He’d never taken a human into his den. Ever.

And his cat was calmly satisfied. As far as it was concerned, everything had worked out just as it should. Except that Evie was in danger. The cat didn’t like that, but that was all the more reason to keep her close. And her brother, too, because the cub was essential to Evie’s happiness—and besides, the cat liked him.

“Sick.” That was Kyler. “Ben would never believe this.”

Evie’s scent was wary, but interested too.

“What’s the matter?” Jace asked her.

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