Jaci Burton - Taken by Sin

“I’ll handle her. But first we need to get through this situation with Dalton and Isabelle. One crisis at a time.”

“Do you think there’ll be a problem when we get there?”

Michael took the change from the clerk and they walked outside. He shrugged. “No idea. You know Dalton better than I do.”

“Yeah, I do. But what he did wasn’t like him. He’s always been pretty much by the book. So I have no idea what we’ll find.”

Great. Michael hated surprises. Then again, in their line of work, every damn day was a surprise.

“I do know one thing, though,” Derek added.

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Dalton’s a good guy. We need to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Michael shrugged. “Why? Just because he’s a ‘good guy’ doesn’t mean he gets a pass. But I’m not going to go up to him and shoot him, either. I’ll listen to what he has to say.” And then decide what to do.

The last thing he wanted was more bloodshed, more death. Especially of one of their own. Michael would do anything to avoid that.

Frankly, he didn’t think Mandy could handle it if it came to having to take drastic measures against Dalton. Not that Mandy’s feelings were his concern, or his primary consideration when tackling an issue.

Or at least they shouldn’t be. But part of his decision-making in this situation did take her feelings into account. Mandy was on the edge, teetering on the cliff. One gentle push and she’d go over. It wasn’t his personal feelings for Mandy-or that’s what he told himself-he just didn’t want to lose another team member.

Yeah, he’d be handling Dalton with care.

At least until he found out what the hell was going on.

By late afternoon the puddles had mostly cleared and the sun was out, doing its best to dry the rain-soaked area. Frankly all the sun was doing was making it even more hellishly humid. It was damned near unbearable outside, but Dalton couldn’t stand being cooped up in the house. The sense of expectation had become intolerable.

Isabelle seemed to feel it, too. She’d been quiet since he told her about the Realm coming. He could only wonder about what she was thinking and having to deal with: everything he’d told her about himself, plus her realistic dreams about the Sons of Darkness-now she also had to worry about what would happen when the Realm showed up.

He’d protect her. Nothing bad would happen. He wouldn’t let it. They’d come too far to fail now.

He was out back when he heard the sounds of car engines approaching along the main road. It would take the hunters a bit to maneuver their way to the main house, then figure out where Isabelle and he were. Abandoning his work, he grabbed a towel to wipe the mud off his hands and headed inside to clean up. Isabelle was standing at the front window, her arms crossed. A light breeze blew the curtains inward.

“I heard cars,” she said, not turning to look at him.

“Yeah. It’s probably the hunters.”

She nodded. Even without touching her, he felt her tension.

“It’s going to be okay.”

She turned to him. “Is it? How do you know?”

“You’re right. I don’t know. But I’ll make it okay. We haven’t come this far for me to let them strike you down. And I know the Realm, Isabelle. They don’t operate that way.”

She tilted her head back, her hair picking up sunlight and shining like golden fire. “They ordered you to kill me once, and you defied them. They may just decide to kill me now and then talk to you. Or kill us both.”

He shook his head. “It’s not going to happen that way.” He swept his knuckles across her cheek. “Please, just trust that I will do whatever it takes to protect you.”

She nodded. “You always have, haven’t you?”

“Yes. And I don’t intend to stop.”

She inhaled and let it out on an audible sigh. “I’ll be fine.”

He wanted to go to her, hold her, tell her to relax. But he knew it wouldn’t help. She wasn’t going to be calm. Not until this was over.

He washed up, threw on jeans and a sleeveless shirt, and came back out. Isabelle was still standing at the window. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

“My sister is with them,” she said. “I’ve felt my connection to her growing lately.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess so. But I can’t help but wonder: If Angie broke through long enough to help the Realm locate me, maybe the Sons of Darkness can find me, too.”

“Isabelle, it was only a matter of time before the Realm picked up our trail. Angelique may have had nothing to do with it.”

“Maybe. But I feel her. I know she feels me, too.”

“Isn’t it possible you let her in? That you can distinguish between light and darkness?”

“True enough. I do need her.”

“It’ll be good for you to see your sister again.”

She laid her head back against his chest. “I liked being alone with you.”

He liked it, too; he wasn’t ready for the intrusion of reality. But there was nothing either of them could do about it. It was time. “We’ll get through it.” He took her hand in his. “Come on, let’s go outside and greet them.”

She looked up at him in disbelief. “Couldn’t we hide in the closet instead?”

He laughed. “Nice try. But some things have to be faced. And it’s better if they see us waiting for them than if they have to come hunt for us.”

He watched the hunters come down the path from the main house and toward the cabin. A bunch of them, making Dalton wish he had a weapon by his side. But holding a weapon in front of him and Isabelle behind him wouldn’t be a show of good faith, no matter how exposed he felt.

He spotted Derek in the lead, and relaxed a little. He wasn’t sure who would be there, but he knew he had at least one friend. If only Lou were here …

Derek walked with Gina on one side, Michael on the other.

Dalton frowned. What was Michael doing here? Dalton held tight to Isabelle’s hand.

Michael, Mandy, Derek and Gina, Ryder and Angelique-they were all there.

“Hey,” Dalton said, offering up a casual smile. They all smiled back. That was a good sign.

“Hell of a time for you to take a vacation,” Derek said, stepping forward for a quick embrace and a clap on the back.

Gina hugged him, Ryder shook his hand. Angelique flew forward to embrace her sister. Dalton let go of Isabelle’s hand-reluctantly, but she needed this time.

Dalton looked to Michael. “Why are you here?”

Michael frowned. “We need to talk. Dalton, if we could go someplace private.”

Dalton shook his head. “I’d rather keep this public if you don’t mind. Besides, I don’t want any secrets. Isabelle needs to hear it all.”

“Isabelle doesn’t need to be privy to Realm business.”

Dalton crossed his arms. “I’ve already told her a lot. More than you all know, probably.”

“What does that mean?” Angelique asked, searching Isabelle’s face.

Isabelle shook her head. “That’s for Dalton to say, not me.”

Michael shook his head. “If that’s the way you want it.”

Georgie had showed up and stood next to Dalton. Michael turned to her. “Do you mind if we use your house?”

“Of course not.” She led them all to the main house. They went in the back way and toward Georgie’s sitting room. It was dark and cool in there.

“I’ll leave you all to your talk.”

“Georgie, stay,” Dalton said. “You’re going to be in this shortly anyway.”

She paused, then sat, smoothing her voluminous skirt down as she did. “All right.”

At Michael’s frown, Dalton said, “Georgie knows all about the Realm. About the Sons of Darkness and demons.”