Page 59 of Don't Bait Me (Nora Jacobs 3)

Judging from Oliver’s scrunched brow, he doesn’t really understand, either. But Terrance’s jaw is hanging open, and Parker hasn’t blinked yet.

“Yeah…” I agree slowly. “My thoughts exactly. So come help me figure this out.”

Terrance looks down at the booth, where Illren is patiently waiting for us to return. T-man doesn’t look nearly angry enough about this. Is he really okay with it? I’d have thought, of all of them, Terrance would be the most pissed. He’s fey, after all. He must know what it means to swear fealty to someone—that Illren has bound himself to me.

“Personally, I think he just wants in my pants,” I joke, trying to break the silence and lessen the tension.

Terrance cuts me a sharp look. “No. He’s done you a great honor. You should respect his sacrifice.”

Now it’s my jaw dusting the floor.“Seriously?”

My stubborn troll throws me a glare full of reproach. “Yes.”

Geez. This fealty thing must be even more serious than I thought. I sigh again. “Well, then come help me figure out what to do with him. I don’t know—”

Dread tingles up my spine, stealing my breath and cutting off my ability to speak. Goose bumps break out all over my skin. My stomach sinks, and I start to sweat. The warning hits me so hard I nearly collapse. My vision blurs, and I stumble. Rook catches me and holds me on to my feet. “Nora? What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Premonition.” I gasp. “I’m in danger. The get-out-of-Dodge-now-or-I’ll-be-dead kind of danger.”

The men move to the door without questioning me. Parker takes point, scanning the outside for possible danger. “What is it?” Illren demands, joining us at the door.

It’s Oliver who explains while Parker, Terrance, and Rook discuss possible threats and an exit strategy. “Nora gets premonitions of impending danger. Someone means to harm her right now.”

“Kill me,” I correct. “Someone nearby wants me dead.”

Illren blinks at this news. One blink. And then he’s all business. “It must be the hunters.”

Terrance whirls around. “What?”

“We just came from the casino,” Illren explains. “They must have followed us here.”

The men all exchange looks. “I’ll go,” Parker says quietly.

Before he can disappear, another wave of danger hits me so hard my entire body gives out. If Rook weren’t already helping me stand, I’d be in a heap on the ground. Pins and needles shoot sharp pains through me, making me cry out. “No time! Something’s wrong! I need to get out of herenow.”

“My car is bulletproof,” Illren offers.

“And if they shoot her full of arrows the minute we leave the building?”

“I can cover her,” Oliver murmurs.

Everyone turns to him, speechless. He gulps. “I’ll cast a shield around us.”

“You sure you can hold one?” Parker asks.

Sweet, nonconfrontational Oliver glares at Parker. “We’re talking about Nora’s safety.”

Parker nods. “Then do it.”

There’s a beat of silence, and then Oliver clenches his jaw. “It’s done. Let’s go.”

I’m impressed. Not because he’s using magic—well, that too—but he’s so confident about it. No whispered spells or wild hand gestures, justdone. If I weren’t so stressed from being in mortal danger, I’d think it was totally sexy.

I’m too weak to move, so Rook scoops me into his arms, and we all pile out of the diner with Illren leading the charge to his Volvo. We’re maybe thirty feet from the building when the whole thing explodes. It happens in a blink. One second everything’s fine, and the next a noise so deafening it rattles my brain shatters the night air. The building explodes into flying rubble. A giant fireball swallows us up. I scream, and we all duck—but the fire flows effortlessly around us, and not a single piece of debris hits us. We don’t even feel the heat of it. Oliver’s magic shields us from it all.

Shock has us all crouched for several long seconds after the blast. My ears are ringing, but there’s nothing else wrong with me. The men all seem as flabbergasted as me. All we can do is stand there and stare at the destruction around us. Skinny’s has been leveled to the ground.

The only thing that remainsof the underworld diner is the foundation and a little bit of the frame—and even that is on fire. The rest is scattered all around us in piles of rubble. Our little group is the only thing to survive the blast. We’re standing in a perfect circle. I look at the rubble, and then our little circle, and afterward I stumble into Oliver’s arms. “You saved us.”

---