Page 33 of Cast in Shadow
“There you go again, calling them members ofyourteam.”
I could have slapped him for the way he said it, with thatcondescending twist. Instead, I pulled in a breath and dug deep to find the professional mask I usually wore when I was on the job. The one that let me feign indifference to the horrors I’d seen through the years even as it convinced arrogant assholes that they were messing with the wrong woman.
“This is not a game. Bring them out here or take me to them, or I swear to all the gods, I will make you regret it.” The threat came out smooth and calm, with just a hint of the turmoil roiling inside me.
He studied me carefully, the silence threatening to swallow us both. “What’s your plan if I don’t? Who will you call to take care of things? Your director?”
Confusion and fury coiled inside me. “What the fuck does the director have to do with this?”
“Everything.”
That was when it hit me. I was standing in another trap, only in this one, my former lover and his immortal brothers were torturing one of my closest friends and my adopted daughter. Why? Because they were trying to draw me out.
Emerson was just failing to realize how well their little plan had worked.
My skin tingled dangerously. “You’re making a mistake,” I ground out.
He studied me again, then shook his head. “Leave, Senna. Before the others realize you’re out here.”
I wasn’t afraid of them. I probably should have been. Primordial demons were terrifying creatures. Immortal and powerful beyond anything else I’d ever seen, but I was starting to wonder if they weren’t just as prone to massive errors in judgment as the rest of us. Immortal wasn’t the same as infallible, after all.
“I can give you the director,” I offered. “But only if you let Shay and Nguyen go right now.”
“Nice try, but that’s not going to happen.”
“I was trying to play nice.” I eased back another step and raised my gun.
“Don’t.” He held up his hand as if that would be enough to stop me. “If you fire that thing, the others will come out here. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”
“I know.” I pulled the trigger.
The bullet slammed into him, and he rocked back with a grunt. The warning gleam in his eyes turned molten. “Careful, Senna. You know I like to play rough.” His rich voice was thick with more than just anger.
I wasn’t a complete fool. I knew some part of him loved it when I fought back. He was half-man, half-animal, and he loved a challenge. Every instinct in my fragile human body demanded I run when he gave me that look, but nothing would stop me from getting my people back. Not even him.
“Let them go, Emerson.” As I spoke, I pulled power from the ribbon. It was still too far away to reach the peak of my abilities, but I would take what I could get.
“No,” he said firmly.
I shot him again.
The sound ricocheted between the buildings, but I didn’t miss the “tink, tink” of metal as his body expelled the pieces of the bullet and they fell to the ground. Then a door slammed open and there were people running. In a matter of seconds, I was facing off against three of the Brethren: Emerson, Phineas, and Jabiah.
“What the hell is going on out here?” Jabiah asked, casting me a look of disdain that I felt in my toes. He stalked forward, and Phineas closed ranks behind him. Only Emerson hung back, watching.
“Are you…?” His question faded as his gaze bounced between Emerson and me. “Is she who I think she is?”
Emerson didn’t respond. He just kept his wild ocean eyes locked on me.
“Get the hell out of here, Senna.” Jabiah got right in my face, his brown eyes glittering dangerously. “While you still can.”
“It is so touching that you remember my name after all this time. Really. But you are all failing to understand the gravity of your situation. A fact I was trying to drill into your brother’s thick head.”
His eyes twitched once and he pulled back, just a little.
“Let my people go. Right. Fucking. Now,” I demanded, letting some of my power roll through the order.
He ran his tongue along the edge of his teeth, a predatory move if ever there was one, but when he reached for me, a large hand wrapped around his wrist, yanking it back.
