J.R. Ward - The Shadows

“Everyone has been so kind,” she murmured, her head back against the seat rest, the flaring lights from the streetlamps at the highway junctions giving him blue-tinted hints of her face.

“Yeah. Good people.”

He thought of his brother. Rhage. Rehvenge. He’d even gotten a text from Tohr—who had walked a different version of this path. And then there was Doc Jane. Manny. Ehlena.

“All of them trying so hard to help,” she said.

“Yeah.”

“Doc Jane and Manny have been working around the clock, attempting to find solutions.”

“Yeah.” He kissed her hand again. “They have.”

“And Rehvenge went up to his people.”

“He did.”

“And iAm went to the Territory—”

Trez ripped his head around. “ What ?”

She turned her head to him, her eyes half-lidded and sleepy. “iAm went to the Shadows—” Abruptly she frowned. “Ow, you’re hurting me.”

Shaking himself, he let up on his grip. “Sorry. I—what did you say?”

As she repeated it for a third frickin’ time, his heart started to pound. Keeping his voice deliberately calm, he asked, “Do you know when he went?”

“No, Doc Jane just mentioned it when I went to see her. You were having your migraine. Trez, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He brought up her hand for yet another kiss. “Nothing at all.”

The rest of the trip home was a Sybil experience, one part of him connected with Selena, the other half hunting down iAm and screaming in the male’s face something along the lines of, What the fuck were you thinking, you asshat motherfucker, putting yourself in danger like that!?!

Or something to that effect.

“. . . changed before we go up there?”

“I’m sorry?” He took the right-hander that led up the mountain. “What did you say?”

“I’d like to get changed. This cooking thing is going to get messy.”

“You could do it naked. I’m just saying—cleanup would be a breeze, because I could take you directly into the shower. Plus I could lick off cake batter if it landed . . . you know, anywhere.”

She laughed. “Might be cold.”

“Then I could keep my hands on you the whole time.”

“I won’t get any cooking done.”

“Don’t underestimate the power of takeout.” He leaned in and kissed her shoulder. “But that’s fine. Whatever you want.”

When the great gray mansion came into view, he parked the car in front of the steps as Manny requested, and then went around to open his female’s door. As she reached her hand out, the diamond caught the light from the house’s security lamps and flashed a rainbow.

“I love it so much,” she said.

“Good. That was the plan.”

Once inside, he took Selena up to their bedroom. Fritz and the doggen had moved clothes into his closet for her, and he had to admit he loved all her shit mixed in with his.

Thank God she needed to change, he thought as he acted as nonchalant as he could.

“So listen, I’m just going to go next door,” he said, keeping his voice level. “For a second. You know, to check on iAm.”

“All right,” she said, smiling.

The instant he was out of her sight, he bared his fangs and ditched the all-cool act. At his brother’s door he didn’t bother to knock; he just whipped the thing open.

“iAm!” he barked, even though he doubted the guy was there.

Not waiting for an answer, he took out his phone and hit the guy up. One ring, two rings . . .

“Yeah? Trez? What’s wrong—”

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

There was a pause. “Excuse me?”

“You went to the fucking Territory?” He tried to keep his voice down. “Are you out of your fucking mind!”

“Trez—”

“What the fuck are you doing!”

“I am not discussing this with you over the phone.”

“Then get your fucking ass home now.”

He hung up and marched around. Then, snapping himself out of it, he masked up and went back to his room. “Hey, Selena?”

“Yes?” she said from the closet.

“I’ve got to hang here for a little bit. Not long. If you want, you can head on up and I’ll be there quick?”

He knew in the back of his mind that he wasn’t thinking right—she shouldn’t be alone—but he was seeing red, his brain locked on his brother’s idiot move.

Sticking her head out, she smiled and said something that didn’t sink in. Going by her nod, though, she was going to leave. He went over and kissed her, and then shut himself into iAm’s bedroom.

It felt like it was an hour until his brother showed up, but it was probably five or ten minutes. And as the guy walked into the room, a strange scent on him dimly registered: It was female. But whatever.

“What the hell , iAm?” he demanded. “Like I don’t have enough problems?”

“You need to back off. I went there because I wanted to see if there was any record of the Arrest in the healing journals. It was just a trip in and out—”

“How. Who did you make a deal with.”

“Myself.”

“Bullshit.”

“Trez, no offense, but why are you wasting time with this? I got out—”

“Was it s’Ex? Did you use s’Ex?” When iAm didn’t reply, he threw up his hands. “Oh, come on! Are you kidding—”

“Calm down—”

“Calm down! You don’t think that it might be seriously fucking nuts for you to turn yourself over to the Queen’s executioner? Who I’ve spent the last nine months buying off with a supply of prostitutes? That doesn’t strike you as irresponsible, considering they want me to go back there?”

“You know what? I’m not doing this with you. I’m not—”

“The fuck you’re not! You exposed us both going there! They could have used you as leverage—”

“They didn’t—”

“—to get me back there to service that fucking Princess! You told me I had ’til the end of the mourning period—that’s only three days and I’ve got shit I need to deal with here! I don’t need you wild-carding—”

“Trez, I know you’re caught up with Selena. I get it. But you’re outta line here—”

“Out of line? What if they’d kept you? What if AnsLai had come to me and been all like, ‘I got your brother, time for your mating’? Did you think for even a second what kind of position that would put me in? Either you and a life of imprisoned fucking for me—or not being here for Selena at the end of her life! What the fuck—”

For some reason, iAm’s abrupt change in affect registered: The male had frozen in place and was staring over Trez’s shoulder, his expression instantly going blank.

Trez clamped his mouth shut and closed his lids. Even before he turned around, he knew what he was going to find in the doorway to the bedroom.

Yup. Selena had opened the way in and was standing between the jambs, pale as a ghost.

“You’re to be mated?” she said in a thin voice. “In three days?”

* * *

iAm cursed under his breath. Just exactly how this didn’t need to come out.

And worse, as Selena came forward, her gait was off, like her knees or maybe her hips were giving her bother.

“What are you . . .” She stopped in front of Trez. “Are you going to mate that female in three days?”

Time to go, iAm thought. This was definitely something the two of them—

“No,” Selena said as he went to head by her. “Stay.”

Like she wanted him available to fill things in if she felt her male wasn’t being straight with her.

“What’s going on?” she demanded.

Even though Trez had been rip-shit only moments before, the guy looked as composed as an inanimate object: “It’s not important.”