Bound by Darkness (36 page)

Devlin cleared his throat. “Look, we should be going. Larem, call if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

Larem stood back and held on to Chance's collar as they all filed out. The big dog had inexplicably taken a liking to Sasha's father, a feeling that wasn't at all mutual. The man had been trying to brush a layer of white hair off his pants as he walked out the door.

Now that everyone was gone, a strained silence settled over the room, but at least they were alone.

He and Sasha had a lot of ground to cover before her father returned. They certainly hadn't done much talking during the night, but they'd communicated in other ways. Never had he experienced something quite as sweet as holding Sasha Willis by his side. Making love to her had soothed his soul.

Larem watched Devlin's car disappear down the
street, with Chance at his side. Sasha had disappeared into the kitchen. If he had to guess, she was making a pot of tea. Maybe she needed a few minutes to gather her thoughts. If she didn't come out soon, he'd check on her.

A short time later, she returned carrying a tray with a teapot and two mugs. He crossed the room to take it from her, setting it down on the coffee table. Chance stretched out in front of the door and closed his eyes, leaving them to fill in the silence on their own.

She looked frustrated.

“Sasha, say what you need to say.”

“You know, all of this is difficult enough without you deliberately provoking my father.”

She poured herself a cup of tea and took a seat at the far end of the couch. He sat down on the opposite end.

“I'll try to do better, but there's not much about me that is going to make him happy. You know that.”

“That might be true, at least at first, but there's no use making a bad situation worse.”

“I said I'll try.” He sipped his tea. “What else is on your mind?”

“I don't know why you're here. Not here in the condo, but here in this world.” She angled her head to look him straight in the eye. “No one wanted to explain, saying it was your story to tell.”

“All you had to do was ask.”

As she listened, he poured out the whole tale. About serving as Lusahn's Blademate. About how Cullen Finley crossing into their world had changed everything. About the betrayals that would have ended with Larem's
execution if he'd refused to follow Lusahn and her Paladin lover into this world.

“You loved her. Lusahn, I mean.”

He considered the idea. “I thought I did, but now I don't think so. Not really, more that I liked the idea of being in love with her. For sure, Lusahn never felt anything beyond friendship for me. You only had to see her with Cullen once to know that he had claimed her heart.”

“Still, it must have been hard for you to lose everything because of them. I'm surprised you're not bitter.”

Hard
didn't even come close to describing his rage over his life being shattered by the selfish actions of others. If Lonzo hadn't offered Larem both a home and his friendship, Larem didn't know how he would've survived those first few weeks. It wasn't until Hunter Fitzsimon had allowed Larem to serve at his side, hunting the traitors who had betrayed both their worlds, that he'd found a renewed sense of purpose.

“I'm not the same man I was then.”

He thought he'd lost everything when he'd been dragged into this world. But now, with this woman and the child they'd created, he realized he'd been wrong. Nothing he'd left behind came close to what he stood to lose if something happened to Sasha.

“You're looking pretty fierce there, Larem. What are you thinking?”

“About what happened yesterday.”

“There's nothing to be done about it now. The police will let us know when they find the guy.”

Larem didn't want the authorities to get their hands
on her attacker—he didn't want the culprit behind bars. No, he wanted the bastard where he could watch him die slowly and painfully.

Sasha's eyes narrowed. “You're not thinking of going after him yourself.”

He didn't bother to respond. Any warrior worthy of the title would insist on avenging his woman.

Sasha knew it, too. It was there in the frown lines bracketing her mouth. “I'm thinking maybe Dad's right. I should meet with him alone.”

“Why?”

Although he suspected he knew. She wanted to make plans for her future, one that didn't necessarily involve him.

“Because he's going to be hurt and angry, and you don't need to be here for that.”

“Why?” he repeated.

Sasha stared down at her cup. “Because you've already done enough, and it's not your problem.”

He set his own cup down hard enough to slosh tea onto the table. He ignored the mess. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Slowly, her dark eyes came up to meet his. “It means I like you too much to tangle you up in my life any more than you already are. I may have to tell Dad that I'm pregnant, but that doesn't mean I have to tell him who the father is.”

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. “And you think he won't be able to guess? And after everything we've been through . . . after last night and this morning . . .” It took all he had to ask the question. “Are you going to deny me my child?”

Before she could answer, Chance barked softly and then growled down low in his chest. He moved away from the door, dividing his attention between it and the windows. Larem stood up and reached for his gun.

“Sasha, get down behind the kitchen counter and stay there until I say otherwise.”

As he spoke, he pulled out his cell and dialed the number Devlin had given him for the guards outside. No answer. He tried the Paladin leader's number next.

“Dev, something's going on. Chance is sensing danger, and the guards aren't answering their phones.”

But any help Devlin might send was going to be too late. The front door took a heavy blow at the same time the window shattered. Two canisters of gas hit the living room floor and started spraying smoke into the air.

Larem shoved the phone back in his pocket and ran for the kitchen. The air in the living room was already growing hazy enough to make breathing hard.

Sasha was crouched down near the floor. “Larem, what's going on?”

“We've got to get out of here.”

He quickly considered their options, which were damn few and none of them good. Whoever was after them had to be pretty desperate to attack in broad daylight.

“Where does the side door in the garage lead?”

“A sidewalk to the alley behind the building.”

That was their best option. “Let's go. Crawl to the door. The air is safer down low.”

He let Sasha go first as he called the dog.

“Chance, come!”

The dog backed toward Larem, never once taking his eyes off the front door, his hackles up and his teeth bared. The door gave way just as Sasha disappeared into the garage, and two men charged inside already shooting. A burning pain shot up Larem's left arm as he stood up and fired at the first guy, hitting him three times, while Chance leaped up to grab the second shooter's gun arm. The guy screamed as the dog savaged his wrist.

Larem's target dropped to the floor choking on his own blood while his companion tried without success to fight off Chance's attack. Larem stripped off the dying man's gas mask to cover his own face. The man no longer needed it.

Deciding the dog had done enough damage, Larem grabbed Chance by the collar and hauled him off the shooter. He kicked the injured man's gun out of reach and then dragged him into the kitchen where the air was slightly clearer. Stripping the guy's mask off, Larem pressed the barrel of his automatic against the guy's forehead.

“How many are out there?”

“Go to hell, Other,” his prisoner choked out. “You and the other freaks are already dead. You just don't know it yet.”

Larem leaned in close. “That may be, but I'm betting you'll be there before me.”

Then he shot the floor right next to the cringing fool's head, sneering when the guy screamed as if he'd been hit. “Tell your friends that Kalith warriors defend their own.”

Larem ran for the door with Chance hot on his heels. Sasha stood near the door, holding the handle of a rake like a ball bat, ready to defend herself. It wouldn't have done much against a bullet, but he loved her warrior spirit, loved her.

“Let's go.”

She backed toward the door, keeping her eyes on the kitchen. “Are they dead?”

There was no point in lying to her. “One is. The other is chewed up but still breathing.”

He unlocked the side door and peeked outside. If there was anyone waiting out there, he couldn't sense them. He could, however, hear sirens approaching.

“Someone called the police. We need to get out of here before they arrive.”

“Why not wait for them?” she asked, but she followed him out anyway.

“Because right now we don't know who we can trust. I promised to protect you and our child, and I will.”

He tossed the gas mask into a trash bin in the alley as they cut between a couple of buildings to the street on the far side. At the end of the alley, Larem stopped to think. His arm would be of little use if they ran into more attackers. At least he was wearing a dark shirt, so the blood wouldn't be immediately obvious to anyone who saw them.

For now, they were in the clear.

Sasha appreciated the chance to catch her breath, but why were they standing there so long? If Larem wanted to avoid the police, shouldn't they be putting a
lot more distance between themselves and the condo?

“Larem, where are we going?”

When she looked at him, waiting for his answer, he was using the hem of his shirt to wipe away a trickle of blood running down his wrist.

“You've been shot!”

He winced in pain as he nodded. “It's just a graze. We'll go to the animal shelter. The vet will help us.”

“You need a hospital. Or at least let me get you to Laurel's lab.”

Larem was already shaking his head. “Can't risk a human hospital getting a look at my blood, and I don't trust the guards. We'd have to get past them to reach Laurel.”

There was no time to argue. “All right, but let's get moving then.”

He nodded as he tucked his gun in the back of his jeans. As they started down the street, she let him set the pace. As tempting as it was to run, walking would draw less attention even if it left her feeling exposed. Chance brought up the rear but stayed close.

Finally, Larem stopped outside a heavy door in an alley and rang the bell. A few seconds later a white-haired man in a lab coat opened the door.

“We're closed.” Then he spotted Larem. “Oh, it's you. Did you forget your key?”

“Doc, I need your help.” Larem held up his bloody hand.

The vet's bright blue eyes widened in surprise. He stepped back and motioned them inside. “Come in and let me take a look at it.”

He managed a small smile for Sasha. “You must be Sasha. I'm Dr. Isaac.”

“Nice to meet you.” Although the circumstances seriously sucked.

Chance butted the vet's hand, startling a laugh out of him as he slipped the dog a treat. “And Chance, I certainly didn't expect to see you back so soon. Let's go see if your friend is a better patient than you were.”

Larem was waiting in the closest examination room. Sasha hurried forward to help him remove his shirt. The fabric was slick with blood, and his white T-shirt underneath hadn't fared much better.

“There's a washer and dryer down the hall that you can use after we get him stitched up.”

Then Dr. Isaac peered at her over the glasses perched low on his nose. “You're looking a bit shaky, so do me a favor and sit down. Were you hurt, too?”

“No, just Larem. That's bad enough.”

“I'm sure,” he said as he started gathering supplies.

Larem reached out to catch the vet by his arm. “Doc, I'm sorry to have brought troubles to your door, but I didn't know where else to go.”

“Not a problem, son. What are friends for if not to help out in times of trouble?” He pulled on a pair of surgical gloves. “Now sit down and let me get this cleaned up.”

When he started to fill a syringe, Larem stopped him. “Regular pain medicine doesn't work for me, Doc. Just stitch it up.”

Dr. Isaac looked puzzled. “Why? Do you have allergies?”

Larem met Sasha's gaze with a small shrug. “No, it's because I'm not originally from this world and don't always react well to human medication.”

The vet froze briefly and then nodded, a broad smile lighting up his face. “Well, that certainly explains a lot. Okay, so we'll do this the hard way. Brace yourself because this is going to hurt like hell.”

Sasha couldn't stand to see Larem hurting and not try to do something. Maybe a distraction would help. She wheeled her chair over closer to his and took his other hand in hers.

“We haven't talked about names yet. What do you think of Ella for a girl?”

Dr. Isaac's bushy eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he continued working as Larem kept his eyes trained on Sasha's face. “That sounds almost like my mother's name, although in Kalithia we would put the emphasis on the last half of the word. Eh-
lah.
”

She squeezed his hand. “Then that one goes to the top of the list. How about if we have a boy?”

Despite how much he was hurting, Larem shot her an impish grin. “If it would help your father accept me, perhaps we should name our son after him.”

Perish the thought. “No way. One Chaz in the family is more than enough,” she said, studying the vet's name tag.

Obviously the man and Larem were close friends, probably the only one Larem had outside of the Paladins. She liked the way the man had accepted Larem's explanation with such ease and offered his help without hesitation. Friendships like that were rare.