Page 22 of Under a Wicked Moon
Ky glanced at Vivi. “Make that two.”
Flynn offered her a red one, which she took and began unwrapping.
She stuck it in her mouth and fell on the bench. “Amazing. The first food that’s not good for me in…” Insecurity flooded her face. “A really long time.”
“Where’s Roman?” Ky asked.
“He’s clearing the building and gathering information on occupants. And setting detonators. Small warning: he’s in a super bad mood. He killed a few on the way in, which you know is totally not his MO when it comes to handling humans. Ro got one whiff of it in here—reeks of tortured lycans—and lost it.”
“I kinda wanted to kill them.” Ky stepped toward the door.
“Wait,” Vivi said. “Collar.”
Ky tugged at the metal band.
Flynn moved behind him and fingered the collar. “It’s got an electronic release. We need the control.” He pressed on his ear. “Hey, Roman, Ky’s wearing some sort of electronic collar. We need whatever they use to release it. Got to get it off before he can get out.” Pause. He whispered as if trying to convey only to Roman, “It’s complicated and not good. There’s a woman in here with him. Lycan.”
“What’s not good?” Ky asked.
Flynn’s forehead wrinkled, and he rubbed his face. “Let’s get you out of here.”
The diplomatic words, atypical for Flynn who usually laid it out without decoration, meant Ky must be in rougher shape than hethought.
Before he could question further, Roman appeared, holding up one of the small remotes the guards usually carried. Tall and broad in his fur-lined leather coat, styled dark hair, and smooth-shaved face,thiswas the guy who saved people, arguably the world, over and over with a suffocating sense of responsibility. Sure, the three of them were ordered to complete their missions, but they didn’t have to be thorough. They didn’t have to try to save those who could be saved. They could stick to the mission parameters at all costs, the rest be damned, but that was unacceptable with Roman in charge, whose moral compass ran true north. Roman would fight to save every innocent he could during their missions, even if it meant they worked until they were burned out and crawled home half alive. He was their unequivocal leader, sometimes motivator, but most of the time their ass-kicker.
Roman’s eyes widened momentarily when he took in Ky. His chin went tight, and he shifted into his someone’s-going-to-die mode.
If the situation were reversed and he found either of his brothers in his state, he’d lose it. And he excelled at killing. It was a tribute to Roman’s control that he kept comments to himself.
Ky smelled human blood on Roman, not that he felt an ounce of sympathy for whomever he took down to get the remote and maneuver through the prison.
“Who’s that?” Vivi asked Ky.
“Who areyou?” Roman countered, distrust etched into every angle of his face.
“Roman, meet my full-moon cellmate, Vivi.” Ky met Roman’s gaze. No need to say more. There’d be only one reason they’d put him in a room with her once every four weeks. “Nothing happened. I swear.”
“Looked like something wasalmosthappening when I busted in,” Flynn muttered.
“But it didn’t.” He might’ve gone with it as far as she allowed this time. Or last time. Or any future time.
Flynn said, “You’re a better man than me. Not meaning to offend, Vivi, but you’re gorgeous, and you in that skimpy getup on full-moon night… You’re lucky it was Ky you got stuck in a room with. The man’s got an iron will when he puts his mind to something.” He leaned in and whispered to Ky, “No clue why you decided to resist her.” He waved the remote near the back of his collar. It clicked open. Ky ripped it off and flung it to the far wall.
Flynn repeated the release with Vivi’s. Her neck had a ring of red, irritated skin where the collar had been. She should heal fast. Did that mean they’d zapped her with electrical charge recently?
“We’re leaving,” Roman announced. “Flynn, you got Ky?”
“I can do it on my own—”
“No, you can’t,” Roman glared. “You’re barely able to stand. Vivi, you look…” He worked his jaw back and forth and his eyes narrowed. “Better than him.” The distrust returned, which iced his face even colder. He glanced to Ky in an are-you-sure-about-taking-her-with-them look.
“She’s going with us, especially if you’re blowing up the place. Are there any other lycans here?” Ky asked. “We need to get them out, too.”
“Nobody else here. Which is weird, since the place is set up to hold ten or eleven, minimum.” Roman waved for them to follow through a series of dark hallways. No windows, which suggested underground.
“Where are we?” Ky tried to catch words on a door but missed them in their hasty movements.
“Manzhouli.”
