Shadow's Pleasure: The Shadow Warder Series, Book Two (A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance Series) (22 page)

“Mine.”

“Seriously,” he pressed. “What is she?”

Kiernan rose to his full height, looming over the seated figure. “I’m deadly serious. Sorcha is mine. That’s all you need to know.”

Though his claim sent a thrill through her, Sorcha elbowed Kiernan in the side. “I’m not one of your toys,” she said.

He turned to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. “Not a toy,” he said. “But you are mine.” He gave her a swift kiss on the cheek, ignoring the curious gaze of their onlooker. “Aiden Mackensie,” he said, “this is Sorcha. Sorcha, Aiden.”

Sorcha ignored the introduction. She lifted one hand and traced her fingers over the bloody cut on Kiernan’s cheek where Aiden’s elbow had laid him open. Kiernan winced as her touch lingered, drawing out the swelling before knitting the skin back together. A skilled healer could have repaired the wound without causing him pain. Unfortunately, Sorcha’s healing skills were only mediocre. She could heal burns with much more finesse than other flesh wounds. A possible side effect of her affinity with heat and fire, and a good thing for Aiden. If he had to suffer her healing skills on a different wound of similar severity, he’d be in for a miserable time. As it was, he had to be in a lot of pain.

Sorcha had never met a Sicarius, but she knew fighters. She’d been a tracker for years, as close to a soldier as the Shadows came. And she knew a warrior like Aiden wouldn’t have stayed on the ground for this long unless he wasn’t sure he could get up. Knowing Kiernan would never agree to leave her alone with the other Warder, she said, “Give me the truck keys. It’s not that far. I’ll go bring it back and we can go to your place.”

“You remember where we parked?” he asked, digging in his pocket for the keys.

She just stared at him. “Tracker, Kier. I can find the truck.”

He dipped his head in for a glancing kiss across her cheekbone. “Be fast,” he said. “I don’t like you out there alone.”

“I can take care of myself,” she protested.

“I know you can, Scorch. Humor me.”

Sorcha nodded at them and took off in a jog. Now that she wasn’t looking for traces of Caerwyn, she flew back over their steps, arriving back at the truck in a little over ten minutes. It had been more than a decade since she’d been in the field, but she’d kept up with her training during her time at the Sanctuary. Trail running in the mountains made the flat terrain of Charlotte a breeze. Another five minutes and she was pulling behind the strip mall.

Stopping the truck as close to Aiden as she could get, Sorcha hopped out to help Kiernan get the Sicarius in the back of the truck. The bleeding had stopped, but adding dried blood to the raw flesh and pus-filled blisters on his chest and abs only made it all look worse. She swallowed hard as bile rose in her throat. How could she have done this? As if he read her mind, Aiden reached out and squeezed her hand. Through her shock at the touch, Sorcha heard Kiernan growl.

Aiden ignored them both and said, “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“I can fix it,” Sorcha said, stepping away as Kiernan got him settled on the bench seat in the back of the truck. “When we get to Kiernan’s, I’ll fix it. I promise.”

Kiernan stopped her before she could open the passenger door. Wrapping both arms around her, he squeezed her in a warm, hard hug. His heat flowed over her in a wave, soothing her rough edges with the care and affection so clear in his touch.

“You did good, Scorch. You’re looking at him and you feel like shit. But he attacked us and you defended. If he didn’t want to risk getting hurt, he should have come at us a different way. Or picked another line of work.”

“I can’t believe—”

“I know, sweetheart. That’s why you’re you and not some psycho running around burning anyone who pisses her off. Let it go. You’ve got enough weighing you down right now. Don’t add this to the pile, okay?”

Sorcha nodded against his chest. “Okay,” she whispered, still a little freaked by what she’d done in the heat of the moment.

“Now get in the truck and we’ll go home.”

Kiernan let her go and opened the door, waiting for her to climb up. As she passed him, his hand slipped down the back of her jeans to squeeze her bare ass. With an embarrassing squeal of surprise, Sorcha jerked away.

Kiernan leaned in to whisper in her ear, “After we get rid of Aiden, this is mine. Just so you don’t forget.”

Her cheeks flaming, Sorcha climbed to her seat, refusing to look at Kiernan as he shut her door and rounded the truck to get in the driver’s seat. They were halfway home before she risked a look at him. His grin was blinding.
Asshole
, she told herself, even as she knew she was looking forward to having his rough, hot hands on her bare skin again.

Chapter Twelve

Sorcha bent over Aiden’s naked torso, her fingers hovering a millimeter above the burned flesh, repairing his injuries with painstaking precision. If he’d had a broken leg, or a cut like Kiernan’s, she wouldn’t have been capable of this level of healing. Somehow, her affinity with fire led her to an understanding of not just how to burn, but the nature of the burn itself. It took time and attention, but inch by square inch, smooth, pink skin replaced the ravaged burns.

The smell of Italian food drifted through the loft. She was starving. Healing used up her energy at a faster rate than creating fire. She didn’t know why. Maybe because the fire felt like a part of her, while the healing was a trained skill. Whatever the reason, Sorcha thought she could eat a whole lasagna herself.

Kiernan had the food delivered instead of picking it up. Not only was he unwilling to leave her alone with Aiden, he hadn’t moved more than ten feet away from her aside from accepting the food delivery and putting it in the oven to keep warm. He hovered, watching Aiden like a hawk. It was weird. She could have sworn he’d shifted to a careful trust of the Sicarius. Did he think Aiden was going to attack? Sorcha had the funny feeling it was simply that Kiernan didn’t want Aiden so close to her. Oddly, she didn’t want Aiden this close either. And not because she was afraid or thought his presence might upset her empathy.

As intimate as the healing connection was, she could read that he had no immediate plan to attack them again. And touching him, even the hand squeeze as they were putting him in the car, wasn’t bothering her at all. No, the really weird thing was, she just wasn’t comfortable being so close to a male who wasn’t Kiernan. Sorcha didn’t know why that should be. They were partners. Who were fooling around. They hadn’t even had sex yet. But touching Aiden felt wrong.

Too bad. She’d done the damage, she had to clean it up.

Fifteen minutes later, Aiden’s torso showed only a well-defined chest, six-pack abs, and a line of dark hair leading to the snap of his jeans. A worn t-shirt smacked into his face.

“Here,” Kiernan said. “Put this on.”

Aiden pulled the shirt over his head and stood, heading to the bar in Kiernan’s kitchen. Pulling up a stool, he said, “Got a beer?”

Kiernan handed him one and turned to get their food from the oven. Sorcha busied herself pulling out paper plates and plastic utensils from the take-out bag. By the time Aiden had his beer open, Kiernan was sliding food in front of him. Sorcha reached for her own plate gratefully, her mouth watering in a flood. Her gnawing stomach felt like she hadn’t eaten in months. She dug in, the flavor of tomato sauce and cheese so good it brought tears to her eyes.

Sorcha’s plate was scraped clean before she looked up at the two men in the kitchen with her. Kiernan watched her with one of those melting grins.

“What?” she asked, annoyed. She was a Shadow who’d burned a lot of energy between the fireballs and the healing. She was hungry. So what if she wanted to eat like a pig?

“You’re cute when you’re stuffing your face,” Kiernan said. The affection in his eyes said that he meant it. He wasn’t insulting her.

Sorcha scowled at him anyway and headed for the fridge. “Anyone want another beer?” she asked. She’d never gotten a first. Too eager to inhale her lasagna. Aiden shook his head. Kiernan lifted the beer he was still drinking, in answer.

Apparently tired of being patient, Aiden turned to Kiernan. “What do you know about Gabe?” he demanded.

“That depends,” Kiernan answered. “Who are you working for?”

“No one. Not the way you mean. I am Sicari. I work for the Warders who hold to their mission. And for the humans.”

“And the Directorate?” Kiernan pressed.

“They have the authority to suggest targets.”

“What about Michael? Do you trust him?”

“I don’t trust any of them,” Aiden said with a wry laugh. “Warders weren’t built to be bureaucrats. The only one I come close to trusting is Amelia. Ranald Gray can be an ass, but he’s mostly honest. The rest?” He shrugged.

“Yet you came after us on Michael’s word?”

“No. My own information sent me after Conner. And you. Michael was only the catalyst.”

“What do you know?”

“I know everything about the Warders in my region,” Aiden said, putting down his bottle and shifting on his stool to face Kiernan full on. “Everything. A few weeks ago, I never would have believed Conner would betray us. You, maybe, but not Conner.”

“What makes you think Conner has betrayed us?”

“He’s with a Shadow,” Aiden said. “From what I can see, he took off with one. Abandoned his mission. Are you claiming something else is going on?”

“I’m not making any claims about Conner. You’ll have to work that out on your own. I will tell you that he’s no traitor. And that it’s possible none of us really understands exactly what a Warder was built to be. Our laws, the Citadels, the Academies—all of it is a distraction.”

“Now you’re talking anarchy. Are you consorting with Shadows too?” Aiden looked at Sorcha, studying her.

She was suddenly very glad for the ink covering her back, despite the pain it had caused. She had the feeling if this Warder knew what she was, he’d destroy her in a second just for being with Kiernan. She took a pull off her beer and resisted the urge to spin a comforting ball of fire.

“This isn’t about the Shadows,” Kiernan said. “Not at its root. When was the last time you heard from Gabe?”

“A few months ago. He said Amelia was sending him out on a mission. He didn’t say where.”

“Nothing since then?” Kiernan asked.

“No. I’ve tried to call him. Gone by his place. He hasn’t been back. And his phone keeps going to voicemail.”

“So why aren’t you assuming he ran off with a Shadow?” Kiernan challenged. “Why pin that on Conner?”

“Two reasons. First, because word got around that Conner was with a Shadow.”

“The source?” Kiernan interrupted.

“I haven’t been able to pin it down. And second, because I assumed Gabriel is dead.”

Kiernan stared at him in shock. Sorcha guessed that wasn’t close to what he’d thought Aiden was going to say.

“Why would you think Gabe is dead?” Kiernan asked, his astonishment clear.

Aiden drew a breath and held it. Everything about him paused for a long second. When he let the breath out, his shoulders slumped. “It may be foolish to tell you this, but the only thing more dangerous than me telling you, is you repeating it.”

“What?” Kiernan asked.

“Sicari have been dying. Or disappearing. Five of us have gone down in the last fifteen years. Another two vanished.”

“How is it that I never heard about this?” Kiernan asked.

“We’re not exactly above the radar. No one is officially keeping track of the Sicari. Since he killed Daniel, Gabe has been making uncomfortable assertions. I figured he was shut down.”

“Who are Gabe and Daniel?” Sorcha asked, finally tired of not having any clue what the two Warders were talking about.

“Gabe is a Sicarius. His brother Daniel was a Warder. Ten years ago, Gabe executed him,” Kiernan answered. Looking at Aiden, he said, “You know why, right?”

“Officially—” Aiden began.

Kiernan interrupted. “I know the official story,” he said. “Do you know what really happened?”

“Gabe claimed that Daniel had been infected. Which is bullshit.”

“How sure are you?” Kiernan asked. “Because I always thought it was crazy. Until the last few weeks. Now I think a lot of shit has been going on that we don’t know about.”

“What about these missing Shadows? What makes you think Michael has them?”

“The Shadow Conner’s accused of running off with? Conner turned her over to Michael, following protocol, and she ended up locked in a lab hidden beneath the Citadel. There were other Shadows there with her. And she saw Michael. Working with a Voratus. She said the demon is the strongest she’s ever seen. They were plotting to impregnate a Shadow, trying to create a Shadow-Warder.”

“That’s absurd. Trying to create a Shadow-Warder? Why? And you want me to believe the word of a Shadow I can’t question? Against a Director?”

“No,” Kiernan said. “I want you to do your job. Gather information. I know about you, too, Sicarius. Your observations and your notebooks filled with details about all of us. So go. Find the lab. He’s probably got it shut down, but you should be able to find a sign that it was there. Hannah left through a hidden set of fire stairs. Ask Alexa. She’s seen it.”