Page 46 of Shadow Warrior
We stopped at the sign, and Larkin’s ears twitched as he sniffed the air. “The hounds are close. I’ll go first and lead them away. Please, be quick.”
I gripped his shoulder. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
He blinked up at me as if surprised by my concern and then grinned, showcasing his sharp teeth. “Hounds are no match for the likes of me. Wait for the count of five, then go.”
There was still so much we didn’t know about Larkin: what his world was like, what his people were like, why the weavers had chosen him to drag to this world. But these were questions that would have to wait.
“Be careful,” Kash said.
Larkin nodded and then sped off, moving fast from pocket of shadow to pocket of shadow.
Shadows that were useless to me here. Fuck.
“Five, four, three, two,” Kash counted down. “Let’s go.”
He took my hand, and we slipped through the gates and onto the Lane property.
The lights on the lower floor burned bright, spilling onto the lawn in huge rectangles, which we skirted expertly.
Kash and I moved as if our bodies were in tune, like we’d been running across lawns and dodging lights together forever. No need to nudge or tug, we glided across the lawn in unison and then pressed to the wall of the house, side by side, beside a set of patio doors that were slightly ajar.
He held a finger to his lips, and we sidled closer to the entrance. A shadow fell across the huge oblong of light on the lawn, and Kash rolled away from the door. I grabbed him around the waist, pulling him against me and deeper into the shadows.
Voices drifted out of the building, male and female, but my senses were locked on Kash. His lean, hard body was flush against mine and my lips mere centimeters from the pulse at his neck. I could hear the rush of blood beneath his skin and smell the sweet, luscious scent of his body. This wasn’t a lotion or body wash. It was him. This was his body odor. Fuck, I wanted to taste him.
His hands flexed on my waist, and then he leaned back a fraction, enough to lock eyes with me. His expression was saturated with intensity. I lifted my chin slightly, and my lips grazed his chin. I resisted the urge to lick him and tuned into the conversation.
“—do we do?” a female voice said.
“We scout the surrounding areas,” a male voice replied. “All the abandoned haunts.”
“Earl’s sedated. He’ll be fine,” another male voice said, gravelly in timbre. “I’ve loaded him into the van. I’ll take him back to the inn and tuck him into bed. Eloise is probably worried sick about him. God knows what possessed him to go for a walk this late at night, especially with how busy they’ve been the last few days.”
“Thanks, Blake,” Trinity said. “But you know Earl suffers from insomnia.”
“Harrumph. Are we working this case tonight?”
“Yeah,” Trinity said. “The others will be here soon. Bring pizza. We need to eat before we hunt.”
“Half and half?” Blake asked.
“You know it.”
A door shut, and there was a moment of silence.
“You were great out there tonight,” Trinity said.
“I didn’t do anything except be there,” Payne replied.
“I know I don’t say it often, but I’m glad you came back. I’m glad you’re alive, Dad.”
My heart skipped a beat, and every muscle in my body tensed up.
Dad?
What. The. Fuck.
“You’re everything I could have hoped for,” Payne said. “We’ve missed out on too much. I don’t want to miss a second more. Once we wrap up this case, we’re out of here. Road trip for two.”
