Page 24 of The Immortal's One
Looks like I was right.
Thane’s shoulders are rigid, his movements agitated.
The woman speaks again, but I can’t tell which one it is from my limited view. “I would’ve preferred that you never approached her at all.”
“I won’t be lectured.” Thane crosses his arms. “I did what I thought was best.”
“You shouldn’t have approached her.” Her accented tone grows colder as she shakes her head. She’s the woman with ink-black hair. “You endangered her life by bringing her to our enemy’s attention.”
My brows furrow in confusion. Enemy’s attention?
What is she talking about?
Thane doesn’t back down. “Our enemies would have found her eventually. There’s no way she could have remained hidden.”
“I don’t know,” the man in the chair speaks up, his voice low. “She managed to go unnoticed before you showed up in her town.”
Dread curls in my belly.
“Why couldn’t you just admit she wasThe Onebefore she left the club?” Thane’s voice sharpens, biting with accusation, as he whirls to face someone out of view. “If you had, she never would’ve walked out alone. And she never would’ve been hurt.”
The One?
I don’t know what that means, but I’ve clearly stumbled into something far more dangerous than I realized.
These people aren’t the men who attacked me in the parking lot. The dark-haired woman acts like she cares about my safety.
Still, I don’t know if I can trust them to protect me. Butgiven my circumstances, I don’t think I have much choice. I can’t hide forever. Eventually, they will want to talk to me. Might as well make it happen on my terms.
Decision made: I straighten my spine but wince when it tugs on my ribs.
I really need to see a doctor.
I brace my core, prepared for the pain, as I move to myself to make my presence known.
Before I can stake a step, a voice slices through the tension on the other side of the door, “Because, as I’ve already told you, she is notThe One.”
My heart skips a beat. I shouldn’t recognize that voice. I’ve only heard it twice. But I know, with a certainty that rattles me, that it belongs to Des.
“And it’s not my fault the girl was injured,” Des adds, with an indifference that makes my forehead crease.
“It most certainly is your fault,” Thane snaps back. “If you’d admitted the truth, she would’ve been protected. Instead, she was attacked.”
“You have no proof our enemies initiated this attack. The men were human.”
Human? As in… there are things out there that aren’t?
I place a palm against the door to steady myself.
What the hell is going on here?
I don’t manage to come up with an answer before the door I’m leaning against swings back, slamming into my forehead with a loud thud.
8
“Ow!”
I jerk back. Pain explodes through my head and then radiates down to my ribs. I start to stumble away, but something—someonegrabs my arm. Strong hands, warm and firm, steady me.
