Alterant (Belador #2)(63)

Isak’s concern for her safety stirred up strange feelings and tugged at her emotions. Especially the night she’d shared a private meal with him and seen the charming side of this black-ops soldier.

He leaned down and surprised her with a tender kiss. His lips were firm and hot for the two seconds their mouths touched. When he lifted up, his eyes gleamed with keen interest.

Heat shivered over her skin.

She liked Isak, but spending time with him added one more problem to her unending list, and she had enough sense to keep her distance from a man so intensely sexual.

Or not, if she considered that she spent so much time with Storm, who had ruined her chance at a quick nap after his kiss.

She’d never had a man in her life who’d been more than a friend and had never wanted a relationship with any man, but now she had two showing decidedly male interest and . . . to be honest, she was starting to like the attention.

Storm and Isak were as different as two men could be except for when it came to their protectiveness around her.

Isak smiled with sly humor. “One of these days, I’m going to find out what’s going on behind those dark sunglasses.”

Let’s hope not. She returned his smile. “We’ll have to get back to that over the dinner I owe you.” She hoped he wouldn’t take that as an invitation to kidnap her again. “But I’ve got to run.”

And she would run all the way to her bike, just as soon as she determined which direction he took. That way she could take a detour even if she had to circle back around. She didn’t want him to see that she’d spray painted her beautiful gold bike black, or he’d ask more questions.

His radio crackled. He lifted it from his vest and keyed the button. After a quick exchange with one of his men, who had located a wide patch of fog, Isak put his radio back. “I’ve got to go, too. Where’s your bike?”

“Just another block over that way.” She pointed because it was in the opposite direction of his men. “I’ll watch out for the fog.”

“One more thing?”

“Yes?”

“Why is a man by the name of Tzader Burke looking for you?”

Uh-oh. She had zero acting ability but gave a casual shrug and tried to keep the worry from her voice. “I don’t know. How do you know him?”

“I know of him.”

Just how much did Isak know “of” Tzader? “How do you know he’s looking for me?”

“He contacted me wanting to know if I’d seen you on any of our surveillance equipment.”

If Tzader had reached out to Isak for help, then he was really worried. This would turn into the night of living hell if the Tribunal caught her communicating with Tzader or Quinn. “Why did he want to find me?”

“Didn’t say. Do you want to be found?”

More than anything she’d have loved to have Tzader and Quinn at her side, but not at the cost of the Tribunal’s wrath. “No.”

“Okay.”

Her heart stuttered at how quickly Isak agreed to shield her even when he didn’t know why.

He asked in an overly curious tone, “How do you know Tzader?”

She had no idea what Tzader had said and couldn’t deny knowing him.

Taking a step back to indicate she was leaving, she said, “I ran into him at the morgue a couple times. Not my type.”

That relaxed the stern lines between Isak’s eyes. “I don’t like him stalking you. Next time we meet, I’ll know everything there is to know about Tzader Burke, so you won’t have to worry about him again.”

She could not let Isak turn his formidable resources on Tzader. “That’s not necessary. He’s a friend, that’s all.”

Isak nodded and allowed her to leave without more questions. She wished that meant he accepted her explanation and wouldn’t go snooping around about Tzader, but she knew better.

If she got out of this mess with the Tribunal, Isak would get that dinner she owed him.





TWENTY-ONE




Riding along the two-lane road behind Grady Hospital, Evalle had twelve minutes before she had to meet Storm at the MARTA train station. Flashing lights glowed from the front of the hospital and sirens screamed heading in from the interstate.

How were they going to stop this fog and all the killing?

She parked near the curb, cut the engine, lifted the visor on her helmet and glanced around. Most people avoided the dark corridor between the rear of the hospital and the interstate, especially around eleven at night.

She called out sharply, “Grady?”

“You rang?” He took form in front of her, smiling.

Oh, dear Goddess. He shouldn’t have been able to take human form without having shaken the hand of a powerful being like her. But here he was, looking human. VIPER agents were allowed to trade a handshake for one minute maximum.

If anyone in VIPER found out what she’d done for Grady, Sen wouldn’t have to wait on the Tribunal’s decision to have her locked away.

Grady hadn’t been able to do this yesterday—had it only been a day ago? She’d held his hand on and off for over twenty minutes so he could maintain human form at his granddaughter’s wedding. Grady had died in the ’80s, so he hadn’t wanted to talk to his granddaughter, only smell the flower-laden chapel and hear her wedding vows spoken, because his human senses were sharper than his Nightstalker ghoul form.