Page 17 of Fanged Desire
“Also, while I have you –” Jordan’s voice took on a more casual, inquisitive tone. “I’ve been hearing some whispers. Word is you’ve been hanging around Micere lately.”
My pulse quickened. Unlike the others in our circle, Jordan couldn’t access my mind. Not to speak, and not to pry. There was no way she could have read my thoughts – and yet, she was right on the money.
I forced a light chuckle, the kind that put temperamental clients at ease. “Yeah, I’ve been keeping an eye on Elliot. He’s slippery. Figured it might help to learn his habits, see if there’s anything we can use to keep him on our side.”
I tried to not dwell on how easily the lie slipped out.
There was a pause on the other end, and for a moment I wondered if Jordan could hear the deceit in my words. But then her voice returned, warm and full of pride. “Smart. That’s why I trusted you with this to begin with. But just remember, Hunter, this deal is everything right now. I need you focused. No distractions.”
I slowed to a halt. Across the street, Micere beckoned with neon signage, dark doors wide open and welcoming. Jordan trusted me, relied on me. And yet, here I was, night after night, risking everything just to see Kinsley.
It’s time to call it off. It hurt to acknowledge, but a decision had to be made.Whatever this is with Kinsley, it needs to end.
For everyone’s sake.
I set my jaw. “No distractions. Understood.”
I knew what I had to do, but crossing the street felt like running the gauntlet – an impossible voyage to a painful end.
I thought about leaving, wiping Micere and its inhabitants from my mind and never setting foot inside the club again. But I wasn’t one for ghosting, not anymore at least. I had cut the habit after Maxine had the audacity to dub me a heartbreaker.
I owed Kinsley a real goodbye.
But the dancer was nowhere to be seen. Micere was pumping, packed to the brim with writhing bodies, but the one person I was looking for wasn’t on stage or in the crowd.
Maybe outside?I wasn’t sure if Kinsley smoked, but it was worth checking. With a quiet sigh, I slipped through the back entrance, stepping into the alley that led to the parking lot.
I sensed her before I saw her, the scent of fear and adrenaline hitting me first.
Kinsley was in the parking lot, but she wasn’t alone. She was surrounded by a group of men I didn’t recognize. One of them had her by the arm, twisting the limb behind her back as she kicked out at another. The look on her face was one of fear, and a vicious, burning anger that mirrored my own.
My vision tunneled, narrowing on the cluster of culprits as a primal rage surged through my body, blinding hot in my chest, faster than my own heartbeat. Every muscle tensed as my fangs itched to extend, the urge to rip and tear overwhelming my senses. I couldn’t reveal myself, not here on elf turf.
But Icouldbeat the shit out of them with my bare hands.
I stepped forward, every inch of me vibrating with fury. At that moment, I was no longer thinking about Jordan or the deal or any of the lies I had told. There was only one thing on my mind: Kinsley. And getting her out of there.
And God help anyone who tried to stop me.
Chapter 8
Kinsley
They had come out of nowhere, and I had no idea what they wanted.
My heart pounded in my chest, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I struggled against the man gripping my forearm. He yanked it, hard, twisting it up behind my back. Pain shot up my shoulder but I set my jaw, hissing a scream through my teeth.
My heels skidded against the asphalt of the parking lot as I tried to plant my feet, aiming a kick at the nearest guy’s shin. I missed by inches, and his laugh, low and mocking, grated in my ears.
"Hold still, sweetheart," the guy gripping me sneered, tightening his hold on my wrist. "We were told to teach you a lesson."
My mind raced, fear and strategy warding against the rising panic. I noticed odd details, the cuffs on my captor’s sleeves, the stubble on another, an odd charm dangling from the neck of the man in front of me.
My instincts told me to keep fighting, to claw my way out, but I was outnumbered and unarmed. Panic tore at my chest, and I felt the cold edge of helplessness creep in. I had been in tight spots before, but this... this was different. My mind flashed to Penelope, the same sickening feeling of being hunted.
And then, out of nowhere, a blur of movement cut through the shadows.
The guy in front of me barely had time to turn before something grabbed him, yanking him clean off his feet like he weighed nothing. I gasped as the man hit the side of a car with a sickening crack. He crumpled, unconscious before he even hit the ground, and the car alarm began to blare a screeching symphony.
