Amber Kell To Bite A Bear

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

exposure to
the stern man had made reading Aden
come
down to an art form.
Sorry, he replied.
Aden nodded to show Harris was
forgiven. I ll
leave you here with your mate. You ve
worried
him enough.
Harris smiled as Aden turned and left
the room
without another word.
He really loves you, Rohan said as if
trying to
explain Aden s cold behavior.
Harris laughed. I know. He examined
Rohan s expression and saw stress
around his eyes
and the scent of worry pouring off of
him. What
happened? He unconsciously rubbed a
sore spot
on his chest.
Vick shot you, Rohan explained.
Oh right. He didn t know how to
soothe the
pain in Rohan s voice. Harris didn t
think they
had a greeting card for their situation.
But I m
fine now, right?
Rohan nodded. Yeah, your fine.
Tears filled the vampire s eyes. Harris
scooted
over on the bed. Come here.
Without argument, Rohan crawled up on
the
bed beside him. I thought I d lost you. I
should ve snapped the bastard s neck. I
was so
85
Amber Kell
shocked that I had no clue this entire
time. I guess
I m not as smart as I thought.
Hey. Harris wouldn t let anyone insult
his
mate, even Rohan. There s nothing
wrong with
trusting the people who are supposed to
have
your back.
Rohan laughed, a sad, forlorn sound.
Supposed to is the operative phrase.
What if he
wasn t the only one? What if more of my
coven is
involved? I never thought Vick would
turn on me.
We were together in the coven for six
years and
friends for a lot longer.
The pain in Rohan s voice tore Harris
apart.
Hey, you have me. Together, we will
figure this
thing out. If we have to, we ll have Aden
strap
them all to lie detector tests and force
them to
answer.
Rohan laughed; this time, real
amusement filled
the sound. I never thought a human
could be so
intimidating.
When I was young, I used to imagine he
was
part robot like in those Terminator
movies.
The last one where the guy looks
human?
Rohan asked.
Harris nodded. Yeah.
I could see that, Rohan agreed. I
haven t
been a very good mate.
Rohan s voice, low and confiding as if
he was
sharing a painful secret, tore away the
last of
86
To Bite a Bear
Harris dream. You are an excellent
mate. It s not
your fault you didn t know Vick was a
traitor.
He could smell the guilt and shame
pouring off
of Rohan. Hey. He cuddled his
vampire close
and stroked his hair. It amused him a bit
to play
the part of caretaker. Rohan generally
wasn t the
type to want to be coddled. Harris knew
he was
one of the privileged few who would
ever see the
vampire so vulnerable. It ll be all
right.
It will. Rohan said, his words gaining
some of
their former confidence. Rumors have
spread
over your death. I m sorry to say,
beloved, but you
didn t survive the bullet.
That is sad, Harris agreed. I ll miss
me.
Rohan laughed. I am going to return to
my
coven today and test them to figure out
who also
might be responsible. I doubt Vick acted
alone. He
wasn t exactly a mastermind, and even
with clear
direction from a sorcerer, he wouldn t
have been
able to pull it off.
I see you ve given this a lot of thought,
Harris
said. His heart sped up as he imagined
Rohan
confronting his people.
Relax, I ll be fine, Rohan said. I can
hear
your heart racing, and I know you are
worrying. If
I run into any trouble, I ll call you.
But, what if they kill you? How are you
going
to call me then? I doubt they ll have cell
phones in
hell! Harris snapped.
87
Amber Kell
Rohan smiled. So certain I m going to
dance
with the devil, my love?
Don t toy with me, Rohan, I don t like
this at
all, Harris warned.
Will it make you feel better to know
your
scary Aden is wiretapping me and
waiting outside
the coven house to intercede if
necessary, Rohan
said.
Yes. Is he going to do that? Relief
swept
through Harris. Aden wouldn t let Rohan
be
injured. Not that he didn t think his
powerful
vampire couldn t handle himself, but he
would
feel better if Rohan had backup.
He mentioned it as a possibility,
Rohan said.
Take him up on it. I ll worry a lot less
if I know
Aden is there.
You trust him that much?
Harris knew Rohan didn t understand
Harris
unwavering devotion to Aden. When I
was
younger, I d been captured by a hunter.
He d
killed my parents, and for his own sick
amusement, he locked me in a cage and
kept me
in his backyard. Carey ran across me
when he was
vacationing with his father. When Carey
realized I
was a shifter, he went and fetched Aden.
Aden
killed my captor in front of me so I
would never
have to look behind my shoulder for the
rest of
my life. Then, he took me home and
raised me.
88
To Bite a Bear
There s nothing Aden Gale could ever
do that
would shake my faith in him, Harris
vowed.
I had no idea, Rohan said. I must
remember
to thank your Aden for killing the man
who caged
you.
No need, Harris said. I said my
thanks years
ago. Aden knows I m grateful.
Rohan nodded. I begin to see why you
have so
much faith in your friends.
Harris smiled. I want to come with you
to the
coven. How they react to seeing me
alive might be
even more telling. I ll be able to scent
who is
deceptive.
You didn t with Vick, Rohan pointed
out.
I did, but I figured I just hated him
because
he d been in your bed, Harris
confessed.
He s never been in my bed.
I know that now. He d implied it
before.
Why didn t you just come ask me?
Because, I didn t want to come off as a
needy
idiot who couldn t cope with his older
lover
having sex before him. I was trying to be
sophisticated, Harris grinned.
Rohan kissed Harris on the cheek. Next
time,
just ask.
Harris nodded. Will do.
He d been foolish by trying to be
worldlier. His
mate didn t care if Harris had a bit of
innocence
89
Amber Kell
around him; anyone would be more
na�ve than a
centuries-old vampire.
Let s get you some food, beloved. After
you ve
eaten, we ll go see who in my coven
needs to be
burned to meet their gods.
Harris nodded. They were done messing
around. Whoever thought it was a good
idea to
mess with the coven leader had just
made their
last mistake.
Rohan entered the coven mansion,
Harris at his
back. He knew Aden was listening in
through the
small microphone mounted on Rohan s
shirt in
place of one of his buttons. He felt like a
secret
agent. Unfortunately, he probably
resembled one
of those bumbling, clueless spies they
had in
comedies instead of James Bond.
Harris squeezed his shoulder, laying his
nerves
to rest with one touch. He d been lucky
to find his
bear shifter. When he thought he d lost
Harris, his
grief had almost been unbearable. Rohan
knew if
Harris had died, he would ve happily
gone too.
Now, he figured someone else in his
coven had
figured out the same thing. Get rid of the
companion and the vampire would
follow.
The first person he saw through the
doors was
Madeleine. She barely paused in her
walk across
the foyer. There you are. Her gaze
flashed to his
90
To Bite a Bear
office and back. He would ve missed the
action if
he hadn t been looking for it.
Oh, Maddie, Rohan said softly. How
could
you?
Madeleine didn t even pretend to not
understand. Because he would make me
his wife.
To you, I ll always only be a soldier.
She pulled out a pistol.
It doesn t have to be this way, Rohan
objected. You can still get out of it.
His lieutenant s twisted smile told him
she had
no intention of doing any such thing.
You always
were blind, Rohan. I just never knew
you were
stupid, too.
She disengaged the safety, pointed it at
Rohan, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Pokrewne