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And you -- he turned to Nonnenberg with a grim little smile,  I d think since she
didn t take your balls, you d owe her some respect.
The red face turned maroon. Spitting profanities, Nonnenberg leapt, landing
heavily on Rayan with the intent of knocking him down. Instead, he simply bounced
off, landing on his back with a sickening thud that had the walls shaking. Conversation
and practice stopped.
Rayan s smile was small, bright and lethal. His gaze swept the cadets around
him.  As you were. Turning to Tai, he simply raised an eyebrow.  Upstairs.
Well, fuck.
Fiona Jayde Urban Myth - 47 -
* * *
Following her to headquarters, Rayan frowned at her scent. There was no
excitement from the fight, just like there hadn t been satisfaction on her face when she
floored that idiot. Her scent was strong but bitter, jarring and somehow sickly.
 Hey. Catching up with her, he took her arm, holding it gently. There was no
softness in her eyes as she spun around. She looked pointedly at where he circled her
wrist, an eyebrow raised in challenge even as her mouth was soft with& something. He
couldn t quite make it out.  Are you all right?
She tried to tug her hand away, but he firmed his grip over the camo sleeve,
making sure he didn t touch the bruises.  I m fine.
Except she wasn t.
She was probably confused about him and them and all the shit that was
happening between them. Hell, so was he. They d need to talk, she would be told the
truth. Keeping his gaze on her, Rayan took the first step. Slow and firm, he brought her
wrist to his mouth and trailed soft gentling kisses on the healing bruises. Mentally he
called himself a thousand names. He d hurt her. His mind had screamed for him to be
gentle even as his body screamed for more.  I m sorry, he started.  I didn t want to --
 Forget it. The sheen of tears in her eyes confused him. Before he could speak,
she yanked her wrist away.  Consider it adrenaline. Consider it whatever you want.
She shrugged, rubbed at her wrist and turned away to make her way into the
headquarters.
Rayan frowned after her, but this wasn t the time for explanations.
She was fine. She walked in front of him, head high, her scent slightly different,
probably because she was tired and nervous about the consequences from last night.
She shouldn t have been out, she shouldn t have fought alone, she shouldn t even be a
part of this war, Hunter or not.
Jakob, in his usual black clothes, already waited for her. He didn t smile when
she approached -- human pleasantries were always a mockery. Rayan wondered if Tai
knew the man who led this little op was fighting his own kind.
Fiona Jayde Urban Myth - 48 -
Shoulders back, Tai stood even as she was gestured to sit. Leaning on the
doorjamb, he couldn t help but admire her spunk. She thought she was getting her teeth
kicked in and lifted her chin for it. That s my girl.
The thought startled him, yet Rayan didn t have the luxury to dwell on it. With
two stabbing fingers -- the vamp never did get completely used to modern tech -- Jake
keyed in the monitors. As they lit up, Rayan watched Tai focus on the face that bore the
same mark as Keys, before she wrapped her arms around herself and slowly sank into a
chair. The room was silent except for her harsh breathing.  Joey.
A lover? Boyfriend? Stupid to be jealous.
 This is the man you found. Jake s voice was cool, impassive.
 Yes. Her own tone was a whispered rasp.
 He was killed by the vampyre you fought?
 Yes.
More tapping keys. Monitor three zoomed onto Keys face, maroon blood caking
over a blue-tinted cheek.  The mark is the same. Jake s voice was as cool as it was
merciless.  Do you know why?
 Angel. Tai choked on it.
Rayan fought the urge to wrap his arms around her. She d kick him in the teeth
first.  She turned, didn t she? Angel?
The sheen of tears in her eyes almost floored him when Tai glanced back to him
and nodded. As it was, he pasted on a mask, simply walked over to the comp to study
the marks.
It was barely a whisper when she said it.  I killed her.
 Apparently not.
Her head snapped back as if Jakob had physically punched her.  I killed her.
Tai s voice was strong with grief and guilt.  I staked a knife through her heart. She
scrubbed her hands over a pale, tired face.  Sometimes I wish it was the other way
around. His heart simply broke for her. Wordless, Rayan watched Tai straighten her
Fiona Jayde Urban Myth - 49 -
shoulders, attempting to pull herself together.  If someone carved her mark into Keys it
was probably as tribute. She died. I killed her. Almost, almost composed.
 Did you watch her turn to ash in sunlight? Jake s question wasn t gentle. The
way her shoulders tensed, Rayan could see the answer was no.
 I stabbed her, Tai repeated.
The vampyre was unmoved. Five hundred years of shit had left him numb to
human drama.
 A mark of a sire is the most intimate of bonds. Rayan didn t realize he d
spoken out loud. Absently he rubbed his shoulder.  No one would do it as a tribute. It
must have been her.
Her eyes were pools of despair and pain.  How? It came as a ragged whisper.
Jakob answered that one.  Blood. Human.
Through a sheen of tears, Tai frowned.  That would mean someone would have
found her after you -- She didn t finish. After Jake moved her to be burned by the sun.
Jakob shrugged, a movement so human Rayan nearly smiled.  The point is, she s
alive. We have a lead.
A newly-turned would lead them to the source. Rayan ran the probabilities,
composed the scenarios -- and barely caught Tai as she staggered. Her skin was hot and
clammy under his hands as he finally identified the scent.
Fever.
Chapter Six
Low murmured words drifted into her consciousness, some jarring her out of
sleep, some lulling her into it. Tai figured she was drugged -- she must have overdone it
with the pain pills. Her muscles didn t ache as she lay in bed. Somehow it wasn t
strange there were people talking in her room.
She heard Rayan. That was comforting. He would take care of her. His words
weren t making sense, but he was there and that was all she needed.  I fed from her.
Maybe too much. Damn it. There was a low thud of flesh hitting something solid.
 You forget the poison. Jake s voice. Low, clipped and exotic.  You don t know
how much she absorbed.
 I fed from her. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]