Page 50 of Tragic Ink
“Same here.” Rhys turned to me. “If it turns out to be a trap, I want youto—”
“Rhys,” I warned sharply. “Don’t say something that makes me sound like a damned damsel in distress. If it’s a trap, I’m saving your ass. If it’s not, I’m still saving yourass.”
His lips twitched, and he laid a hand gently against my cheek. “Deal. If you needme—”
“I’ll send Ethan. And Rhys? If this guy shows up and he’s... I don’t know, got his claws in my power or something, getElsmed.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, but something tells me he’ll know what todo.”
“Were you always this bossy andinterrupting?”
“Were you always thisoverprotective?”
“Yes,” he said withoutpause.
I shrugged. “Guess we haven’t changedthen.”
He grinned and pressed a quick kiss to my lips that left me panting despite the fact that it was over nearly before it began. Then he strode to the door, and with a final glance back that said everything with a single, smoldering look, he walkedout.
I waited, biting my thumbnail until Rhys appeared on the lawn below. He didn’t look up or acknowledge that he knew I was watching him. I hadn’t expected him to. I watched in silence as he made his way around the cottages and toward the thick trees that lined the back of the property. He stopped just short of entering them, and I called to Ethan, trying to pick up on any hidden dangers he’dfound.
But Ethan wasquiet.
A moment later, my familiar returned, swooping low and coming to land on the railing of the balcony where Istood.
“Nothing to see out there, huh?” I asked himquietly.
Ethan offered a jerky motion that I knew was meant to be anod.
I looked down again, but Rhys still stood at the edge of the trees, clearly debating something. Slowly, Rhys took a few steps forward until I could no longer see him from where Istood.
The moment he was out of sight, Ethan began to shriek. I gripped the railing, wondering if I should call out as well, urging Rhys back to the safety of the lawn. Too late, I realized the danger wasn’t down there after all. It was here. Withme.
