Page 116 of Bosse
Clearing his throat, he said, “I’ve sent a message for my friends to come inside in fifteen minutes, but it is probably closer to twelve minutes by now. I want you to stay here until I return. Bar the door with a chair, and do not open it to anyone else.”
Her heart leaped. He would come back to her.
“Not just me. If someone named Adrian, Justin, or Vic comes here, then open the door.”
A lump lodged in her throat. “Why would they be here instead of you?”
“I’m only saying in case I can’t get back up here before one of them.”
She didn’t need a dream to know he was saying in case he died. “Wait up here with me.”
“I will not abandon the men who brought me here.” He opened the door.
“Bosse, wait.”
“Why?”
If she told him she loved him, he would think she was just saying it and not trust her at all. “Be careful.”
Nodding, he never looked back as he stepped out and closed the door. His muffled voice came through the door. “Put the chair in place.”
She grabbed a chair and dragged it over, shoving it under the lock. “It’s in place.”
Leaning close to put her ear against the door, she listened. Had he left? Being a shifter, he could walk as quietly as a ghost, especially in the shoes he wore. She counted to one hundred, then pulled the chair aside.
She peeked into the hallway. No one was there. Closing the door softly, she tried to be quiet but had to get down there to find out what Bosse intended to do. The guards used titanium ammo. They could kill him.
Instead of taking the back stairs she’d initially used to reach this level, she headed for the stairs that descended directly into the main room. Taking a corner too quickly, she almost fell when she spun back around to hide.
Bosse crept halfway down the stairs and stopped, leaning into the shadows.
The only lights below were two oil lamps hanging near the large entrance doors.
She held her breath, peeking around the corner. What did he think he could do? Ten guards slept along the walls of the large room with rifles at their sides.
Had it been fifteen minutes yet?
Where were his shifter friends?
She debated what she could do to help him, but she’d have to know what kind of help he needed.
The doors burst open, and three big men rushed in, shooting the first three guards who jumped up, scrambling for their weapons.
But no one was bleeding. Had Bosse’s friends missed? No. The guards dropped their rifles, wobbled around, and hit the floor. Those three hadn’t waited to see the result. They were coming in like a military team.
Bosse put his hand on the wooden rail and leaped over, shouting as he landed. “I am the wolf shifter. Put down your weapons, or I’ll turn my wolf loose!”
By then, more half-awake guards were up and fumbling. They froze at Bosse’s yell and turned to him, looking terrified.
Still too many rifles. Someone would shoot.
She searched her mind for what to do and snapped her fingers. Lifting her voice, she called out a spell to make the triggers on rifles held by guards freeze in place. Though her words had rung clearly through the main hall, she feared her magic had failed. Should she keep yelling it, or would she impact weapons Bosse’s friends carried by accident?
Guards lifted their rifles quickly to shoot Bosse, then pulled the weapons back down. They yanked on the triggers and shook the rifles, trying to make them work.
Shocked at the result, she stepped farther down the steps, ready to do more.
Guards poured in through the kitchen from outside.
