Page 27 of Awaken the Dragon
“I have guards.” She wasn’t sure why she told him that, but noted the flicker of humor in his eyes at her words.
“Yes, I know. I’ll take care of that as well.”
In the next seconds, she grabbed all of the rocks in the palm of her hand, letting the purse fall to the floor, and welcomed the persistent buzz of power simmering beneath the surface of her skin. Her heart was pounding, eyes wide, mind waiting with expectancy.Give me the words. Great Orisha Oya, please give me the words.
A thumping knock sounded at the door.
Warrick’s smile vanished.
“I will come for you. Be ready,” he told her. “Be ready, my sweet.”
The knocking continued and she closed her eyes, hoping the words would come if she could just center her mind and focus on the power. The balance. Her destiny.
Wings.
Thump. Thump. Thump!
Fire. Together.
The door crashed open, bringing with it a ferocious wave of hot air. Her eyes snapped open to see Warrick was gone. Where the hell was he? She turned around so fast she almost fell, but instead found herself being pulled into Theo’s embrace, intense blue eyes glittering as he stared down at her.
She sat in the back seat of the truck, glaring out the window, hands balled into fists at her side. Her purse was open on the seat between them, and Theo could see a box was inside.
“Is that the box you needed?” he asked, even though he knew the answer. Bleu had rushed into the room behind him while Theo tended to her and when Bleu picked up her purse, the box along with a bunch of rocks slipped from her hand. Bleu had given silent acknowledgement to Theo’s questioning stare.
She sighed heavily in response to his question and he thought back to the events that had just transpired.
When Aiken and Reece had entered the building, Theo and Bleu gave them a quick rundown of the situation. That was all the time he’d been willing to wait before taking off to find Shola. By the time he’d followed her scent to the room, Ziva was already banging on the door, and the moment he appeared, she’d fallen to her hands and knees, roaring with the intensity of a vision. Ignoring Ziva because he knew she would be fine once the vision passed, Theo opened the door with his mind and ran inside. Shola had been standing there, eyes closed, body swaying as if she were in some way possessed.
In that moment, fear, thick and consuming, had streaked through him like a vicious storm. Now, sitting in the back of this truck, he hadn’t totally recovered from that but was working purely on instinct to press forward.
“You’re gonna have to tell me what’s going on, Shola. I can’t protect you if I don’t know everything.” That wasn’t entirely true. He was going to protect her if it meant putting his own life on the line to do it.
Bleu had advised Theo to take it slow with her. She’d appeared frail in that room, when he’d finally touched her and she wouldn’t speak. Magnum, Steele, Aiken and Reece had contained the newborns in the main hall, but didn’t kill them. A delicate truce existed within the preternatural world on this realm, and if they weren’t bothering anyone or anything, they were to be left alone. While Theo had no idea why the newborns were there as guests for Shola’s engagement party, they’d done nothing threatening to him, his team or, from what he could tell, Shola. Ziva had sworn she’d been locked in that room alone.
“I do not need a guard,” Shola said evenly. “I am not sure why my parents hired one, but it is unnecessary. I can handle this.”
When he wanted to yell and point out exactly how untrue that was, he concentrated on keeping his breathing steady instead.
“Whatever this is, you’re not handling it well. The woman who died at the hotel was booked in a room under your name. There were vampires at your engagement party that I’m certain you didn’t know were invited. And your husband-to-be is a no-show.”
He left out the part where Ziva’s vision captured blood and fury filling the room that Shola had been locked in. A tall dark figure, black smoke, and a burst of fire had also been part of the cryptic vision. Ziva didn’t normally have incomplete visions.
“It is none of your concern. I can do this!” she insisted, her tone filled with frustration.
“Do what?” he pressed, because right now her emotions didn’t trump the danger that seemed to be following her. “What were you sent here to do?”
He wasn’t surprised she didn’t respond, but hewaspissed off.
“I’m not going to keep asking, Shola. But I will find out and when I do—”
She turned quickly in the seat, icy eyes capturing him. “When you do, you will do nothing, because there is nothing you can do! You are not a part of this, and therefore, are not equipped to handle whatever may come. You are just a security guard, and I no longer need your services.”
As if that were the equivalent of a slap in the face, Theo felt it with a significant sting. Never in all his life had he been spoken to in such a disdainful way, and he didn’t like it. His lips had already begun to peel back from teeth growing sharper against his will.
The truck swerved at that moment. It turned and tires screeched along the asphalt. Shola slid across the seat, banging into him just as a big explosion came from outside. The truck was in midair when Theo threw his body over hers. They bounced and tumbled before finally coming to a stop.
They lay on the ceiling of the truck as it had landed on its roof. In the pit of his chest, a growl rumbled as sharp teeth pressed into his lips. He kept his arms tight around her, holding his breath for long moments, waiting to hear the sound.
