Rebecca Zanetti - Provoked

Mason nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

A tingle warmed the back of Amber’s scalp. A slight pain, more of a tickle, but something strong enough to catch the breath in her throat.

She started to turn just as the front door ripped from the hinges and flew hard into the stairs. Splinters cascaded in all directions. Leaping to her feet, she pivoted to put her body between June and the threat. Mason was faster, reaching the end of the table and settling his stance.

The wind threw snow to cover the wooden floor.

Two men stomped inside. Huge men, they wore black uniforms with an odd silver insignia across the left breast. White-blond hair and deep black eyes made them almost twins, but their faces lacked similarity. Large and trim, their shoulders drew back as if at attention. The one in the lead lifted his head and sniffed the air. Seconds later he zeroed in on her, sharp canines flashing in a smile. “Destroyer.”

The tingle exploded in her head. She staggered back. Sparks flashed so hard behind her eyes her eyelashes singed. Pain, internal and complete, compressed her lungs.

She shook her head with a whimper.

Mason leapt for the guy, one hand going to the jugular, the other punching to the gut. The guy growled, slamming a fist on Mason’s head. Her friend went down hard.

June screamed, and Mildred clutched her chest.

Sucking in a deep breath, Amber crept toward Mason and dropped to one knee. A sigh of relief escaped her as she checked for the pulse in his neck, even as agony spurted behind her eyes. She glanced up at the guy in front. “Who are you?”

His eyes morphed to yellow and then back to black.

She gasped, leaning over Mason to shield him. Shaking her head, she shoved down bile. Okay. Something was going on with her head and eyes. Some sort of extreme migraine. Grandma Hilde had migraines. Maybe the condition was hereditary, and Amber’s escape of them had ended.

The guy grabbed her arm, yanking her up. “We have orders to take you, Destroyer, but killing you is permissible.” Rough and gravelly, his voice passed beyond hoarse.

Permissible? Who talked like that? What the hell? She swallowed. “What am I, some sort of prize in a nutso scavenger hunt?” Kane had called her a demon destroyer. “What is really going on?”

The long fingers around her arm tightened, and she bit her lip to keep from wincing. No way would she give the jackass the satisfaction. His fingers chilled her flesh even through the shirt.

He leaned down, breath somehow cold against her ear. “Leave with us now, or we kill everyone here. With great pleasure.”

Amber stilled and glanced at her family. Mason was unconscious, and not one of the elderly ladies could take on two huge guys. A vibration uncoiled in her gut—fear. She’d never truly felt terror until that moment. She forced her face into calm lines and whispered back, “What do you want with me?”

“We’re going to kill you.” His soft tone matched hers. “At some point. But first, we will figure out your gifts.”

A shiver shook her shoulders. “I don’t have gifts.” Besides having the greenest green thumb around, she had no true talents, or the last job she’d take to pay Grandma Hilde’s hospital bills wouldn’t have been in a Western bar.

“Let’s kill them anyway.” The other guy ground out his words as if gravel lodged in his throat. “They’ve seen us.”

Okay. There didn’t seem to be any way to reason with them. She was a pacifist, but she’d protect her family with any means necessary. If she kicked the guy holding her and he went down, did she have enough strength to take down his buddy?

She’d left her ballpoint pen in the car.

Her thoughts crawled through her brain as if mud had been inserted in her skull. What was wrong with her? She shook her head and focused. If nothing else, she needed to get the guys away from her friends. “Let’s go now, and I won’t fight you.” For now. Once she was away from June and the others, she’d figure something out.

The one holding her nodded and jerked her toward the open doorway. “I’ll take her out, and you get rid of these people.”

The other guy purred and pleasure lit his dark eyes.

Heated air spiraled down Amber’s throat. “No.” She wrenched away from the brute, yet he held tight, tugging her toward the doorway.

Dawn light glinted off the snowy entryway, peaceful and serene, even with the freezing air riding its beams. Amber folded at the stomach, her butt out, struggling in his grasp. “I’m not leaving them to die.”

“Yes, you are,” he said in a hoarse monotone, pulling her into the morning.

“No, she isn’t.” Strong and dark, Kane stood on the porch, long coat flapping in the wind.

Her kidnapper halted and released her arm. “Kayrs.”

Relief rushed through Amber so quickly she stopped struggling, her eyes widening on Kane. Two seconds later, her brain kicked in, and she shot a kick toward the guy’s knee. Her foot hit to the side and bounced off like she’d attacked a brick wall.

With a hiss, he took a step forward and swept his hand toward her head.

She ducked.

Then Kane was on him, grabbing the guy around the neck and throwing him into the living room. He settled his stance, his back to Amber. “Leave, now.”

The other guy in black smiled again and dropped into a crouch. “Killing a Kayrs will make me a legend. Hand-to-hand?”

“No.” Kane yanked out a glowing gun and shot the guy in the chest. Green lasers rippled from the weapon, impacting the man. The jerk stumbled back, blood squirting from the wounds. “You should watch more movies, asshole,” Kane muttered. Three steps had Kane at the end of the stairs, gun pointed at the man rising to his feet. “Where’s my brother?”

“Dead.” The guy lifted his chin, his lips tipping.

Kane shot him in the knee.

The guy fell to his one good knee, a low groan escaping his destroyed voice. “Still dead.”

Kane’s shoulders vibrated. “We both know that’s not true.” He spoke softly, a promise of death in the low tones. “You know who I am?”

“Yes. Kane Kayrs . . . the smart one. Useless in a fight.” Grabbing a sofa-end, the man shoved to his feet.

Kane chuckled, the sound emerging harsh. “Right. I’ve spent centuries learning your anatomy. There’s a reason you sound like a Halloween ghoul, and I know all about making your vocal cords hurt even more. I can keep you alive for months during torture. Maybe years.”

Yellow swirled in the guy’s eyes again, and his face paled. “Possibly. But I’m sure it’s nothing compared to what your brother goes through on a daily basis. No matter what you do, no matter whom the king sends, you’ll never get the youngest Kayrs back in one piece.”

Kane’s head jerked up. “Thank you.”

Surprise had the other guy stilling. “For what?”

“Confirming he’s alive.” Kane fired three strange green shots into the guy’s neck and sent him sprawling into the old brick fireplace. Turning toward her, Kane’s face lacked the charm from earlier, leaving a hard predator in its place. “Believe me now?”

“No.” She choked, coughing and glancing from the two downed men to Kane. “I don’t understand what’s going on. What is going on?”

“What’s going on”—Kane tucked the gun in his coat—“is that I have to decapitate these two, and then we need to get on the road. More demons will be coming.”

Jesus. Maybe she’d taken him too literally. Maybe “demon” meant some sort of weird cult. “So these guys are demons?” Regardless of their affiliations, and death threats, she couldn’t let Kane cut off their heads. They were dead. Someone needed to call the sheriff. Though, what could the two dead guys possibly have wanted with her?