Page 9 of Hidden Magic

He felt more than saw Hunter ready to attack. He may have only been human, but he had a way of moving without making a sound. Even better, he seemed to let him lead, which Brant respected. And it was for that reason that as soon as they saw the first man, he refrained from ending his life, and only deprived him of air until he fell unconscious to the floor. Hunter was quick and only clubbed the second one unconscious.

It was far from satisfying in Brant’s opinion, but there were still two more scumbags in the house after all.

Climbing the stairs, it was easy to locate the breathing and beating hearts. His entire being wanted to focus on the soft tempo of Kat’s heart, but he couldn’t until they had eliminated the threat to her.

The stairs led to an open area, so he couldn’t get as close as he would have liked. It took a minute for Hunter to join him. He didn’t know why it took him so long, maybe he’d been communicating with the other humans outside.

“We can’t leave her like this.” The male’s voice sounded more annoyed than concerned. “This wasn’t what we expected. If we can’t get what we want, why keep her? It’s a lot of trouble for nothing in my opinion.”

Brant’s blood boiled at the words, but he was bidding his time. But through the haze of fury, he didn’t recognize either of the two men’s voices he had seen at the bakery, although his nose told him they had been close to them at some point.

“I know, but maybe if we wait a little more, she will come to her senses.”

“And what if it’s only a ploy? For all we know it’s a trick. She may be trying to fool us.”

“That’s why we’re keeping her here for the time being. Tomorrow, if she’s still like that, we’ll try a little pain. She’s cute enough to keep us entertained until we grow tired of her. Might as well turn a bad situation into a good one. And if we’re lucky, I know a couple of guys who are looking for a permanent housekeeper, if you get my drift.”

The evil laughter echoing in the attic was drowned by Brant’s roar of fury as he launched himself against the first man. The moron only had time to turn in his direction before Brant took his body and swung it against the wooden wall with such force, a sickening crack resonated before he fell limply on the floor.

The second one took out his gun and aimed, but Brant didn’t care, his lynx wanted blood and no amount of bullets would be able to stop him.

Before he could reach him and tear his throat out, thunder boomed, and the man fell like a tree before him. It was only a second later that Brant realized that Hunter had shot and killed him.

Senses on high alert, Brant examined the room, listening to Kat. Even if the fight had only lasted mere seconds, he realized he hadn’t heard her speak or scream. He knew she was there, her heart and breathing, as well as the smell of her skin confirmed her presence, but something was wrong.

“Are you all right?”

Brant ignored Hunter as he moved toward a door. A wall divided the space and there was no doubt Kat was on the other side. Maybe she was bound, or wounded... The idea terrified him, and he had to get to her.

The door was unlocked, and a window shone light into the small space. There she was, on a chair, sitting facing the window, her back to the door.

She was alive. That single fact was almost enough to bring him to his knees. There were people running downstairs now, but he couldn’t care less as his entire being was drawn to the woman in front of him.

As he rounded the chair, he realized that she wasn’t bound to it. She was sitting there, facing forward, hands on her lap. Immobile and eerily quiet.

People came rushing up the stairs, and he heard Hunter barking orders, but he didn’t mind. When he rounded the chair and finally saw Kat after the most agonizing moment of his life, he couldn’t move as he looked into her eyes. They were unseeing, and white as snow.

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