Alterant (Belador #2)(62)

Kell told her he stayed in a vacant building close by, then gave his chessboard a pained look.

“You can’t go back in that fog to get it,” Evalle told him. “I’ll find you another one.”

“Don’t worry about it. Take care of yourself, and thanks for getting Joe home.” He took off for the shelter, running around the outside of the fog.

Evalle went back into the yellow haze and tugged old Joe backwards while he jerked and swung at everything, yelling that he was going to stomp some butt.

Take a number. She’d like to stomp some herself.

Once she had him in fresh air, he calmed down. She hated having thrown dirt in his eyes earlier. “Kell told me where you live. If you’ll let me lead you, I’ll find some water to clean out your eyes, okay?”

He agreed. Leaving her bike at the park, it took fifteen minutes to walk him two blocks and locate a newsstand that had water. She bought him a sandwich and another bottle of water for his dinner. When she had him settled with clear vision again and convinced to stay away from the fog, she rushed back the way she’d come.

Sweat soaked her short-sleeved shirt and jeans. Between the heat and this fog, the attacks were only going to escalate.

She swung around a corner and skidded to a stop in front of two men carrying heavy weapons.

Demon-killing weapons just like the one Isak Nyght had toted around when she’d first met him. He’d used his blaster to kill a demon she’d been trying to interrogate.

“Hello, Evalle,” Isak said from behind her.

She turned around. “What’s going on, Isak?”

Some men had a presence. Isak consumed space, owned the territory surrounding whatever piece of real estate he stood upon, whether he was in full battle gear or slacks and a dress shirt. Tonight he wore black cargo pants and a matching T-shirt with a weapon-packed vest over his supersized body. Those huge hands had held a delicate wineglass and cupped her face when he’d kissed her speechless.

His gaze took in everything around them and still managed to hold her in place when he said, “Word’s out humans are shifting into beasts everywhere. We’re here to keep the streets safe.”

Take a breath. Isak doesn’t know that I’m an Alterant. “Have you seen any?”

“Not yet. Saw the victims though.” Isak looked over at his team. “Go ahead and I’ll catch up to you.”

That’s all it took for her to end up alone in the dark with a man who had once kidnapped her in order to have dinner with her because she’d kept standing him up.

He’d mentioned not seeing any beasts. She asked, “What do you think these things look like if you haven’t seen any?”

“Saw one overseas right before it killed my best friend. An Alterant. They look human, then turn into a monster that murders anything in sight.”

She didn’t want him killing any Alterant, but she didn’t believe the thing she’d fought in the fog had been an Alterant. Not like her and Tristan. Isak and his men could help protect humans if they knew how to see the beasts in the fog.

“I’ve heard some reports on the attacks,” she started, hoping he would heed what she was about to tell him even if she had to fabricate a little to be able to share intel. “Sounds to me like the fog hides the beasts. Maybe makes them invisible.”

He let the weapon hang from the cord hooked to his vest and used a hand to scratch his chin, which was covered in short whiskers. Some men wore a five o’clock shadow for a sexy look. In Isak’s case, he just hadn’t taken the time to shave today.

That didn’t change the fact that it still gave him an edgy attractiveness.

His eyes sliced down at her. “Invisible would explain why we haven’t seen any in the fog even with our night-vision gear.”

“But you have thermal imaging equipment, right?”

“Sure. But I won’t risk killing a human by shooting without a clear visual of the beasts.”

This was where she had to be careful. “Have you gotten a description of the beasts?”

“One of my teams out west took one down. The thing turned back into a human when it died, then it just vaporized.”

“Did they say how tall the beast stood?”

“Yeah, the things are at least ten feet.” Understanding dawned in his eyes. “We can pick up the heat signature and tell the difference between something that big and human.”

She let out a breath of relief, but she had to go. “That’s great. I’ve got to run, but it’s good to see you.”

He reached over and caught her hand, lifting it and inspecting the scrapes on her elbows. “Why is it every time I see you, you’re banged up?”

“Just clumsy, I guess.”

He pulled her hand up to kiss her knuckles, then let go and used a finger to lift her chin.

Her heart strummed with new energy. Isak wouldn’t raise a hand against her—not as long as he didn’t know she was an Alterant. She hadn’t known him long, but in that short time he’d killed a demon that had considered her a meal, then helped her escape a sticky situation with law enforcement and offered to “take care of” someone if they were bothering her.

She had no one she wanted to have “taken care of” . . . except maybe Sen, but she doubted even Isak could go up against Sen and survive.