Alterant (Belador #2)(93)

You didn’t put moves on a woman who had been hurt by a man.

Especially when he’d caught the signs of sexual abuse.

But finding her beaten to hell and running late on top of the spirit guide’s warning had left his jaguar teetering on the edge of violence. Tristan had been wise not to return after dropping off a battered Evalle.

Storm shouldn’t have touched her with a dangerous animal raging inside him. At the sight of Evalle injured, his animal had reacted violently with a primal objective, demanding blood . . . or sex.

Had Tristan been there, Storm might have relieved his need for blood. Without that, his control had stretched until it was paper thin and taut as tight wire cable.

Evalle had picked a hell of a moment to take the initiative to kiss him for the first time.

Nice way to fracture what trust she’d allowed you, idiot.

When Evalle stepped off the top of the escalator and moved to the side, Storm was a step behind her. Thunder and howling rain waited for them outside the North Avenue MARTA terminal. The earlier thunderstorm had picked up strength, pounding watery fists against every surface.

Would something as simple as rain destroy the yellow haze attacking part of the country?

Evalle paused short of walking out into the downpour and turned to Storm, stopping him with a hand on his arm. “I think I know where Tristan is going.”

Between the roar of rain battering the concrete roof and the clatter of foot traffic going in and out of the station, this wasn’t the spot for talking. He guided her over to a wall that protected them from sheets of rain.

Storm spoke loud enough for Evalle but kept his head turned away to shield his words. “Where do you think Tristan’s headed?”

“To get his sister.”

“Have any idea where she lives?”

“Not specifically, but we might get close enough to track him. When we were on the way out of the maze, one of the other Alterants started to ask Tristan if they were going to . . . something that sounded like Deck-A. Tristan cut him off. I think the guy might have been saying Decatur.”

“That doesn’t narrow it down much and, unless you can teleport again, we can’t follow him.”

“I don’t think we need to teleport. Tristan’s power isn’t constant. He has to regenerate after drawing heavily on it. The battle with Kizira weakened him.”

Storm let his gaze slip past her to keep an eye out for threats. “You think he couldn’t get the other two out of the maze?”

“No, I think he did get them out, but that he can’t just jump again. He can only teleport one person at a time, and it takes a toll on him. Also, he would want to avoid the fog. I think he may use the subway to transport all three of them to Decatur. If that’s the case, you could track them from the MARTA station where they exit.”

Storm would have to shift into his jaguar for any hope of carrying a scent in this rain. “How far ahead of us do you think he is?”

“Maybe not that much. The other two Alterants were shifting back into human form when Tristan teleported me out. He still has to get them out and dressed in clothes, then onto a train. Plus, they have to change trains in town.”

“You sure enough to go to Decatur?”

“I don’t have another idea and no time left with VIPER hunting us and this fog expanding.”

“What specifically happens when you’re out of time?”

“They’ll send Sen for me. The Tribunal turned an hourglass over. When the last sand runs out, the hourglass will lead Sen to me.”

How was he going to get her somewhere safe from that? He couldn’t, but if they found that pack of Alterants, the Tribunal would have to let her go, according to their ruling. “How far is Decatur?”

Thunder boomed. The rain pounded harder.

Evalle grimaced. “In this weather, maybe twenty minutes if traffic doesn’t bog down to a stop, but it shouldn’t be too bad this late at night.”

He gave her a look that suggested she’d forgotten how bad traffic could be anytime in Atlanta, especially when it rained.

“Traffic was nil when I came through. Kizira said the fog was going to continue to expand.”

“That confirms VIPER’s suspicion that the Medb are behind the fog.”

“If they know that, why aren’t they stopping it?”

“I don’t know. Wonder if the rain will help?”

“I doubt rain will make a difference. In fact . . .” She looked at him, then down, as her voice trailed off.

In spite of lecturing himself about keeping his distance, he couldn’t feel all that distress coming from Evalle and not touch her. He put a finger under her chin and lifted until their gazes met. “What’s worrying you?”

She tried to sound cavalier, but concern bored deep into her voice. “You mean besides not showing up with three Alterants, trying to make sure the two I might take in get a fair deal if I do talk them into it, or the end of the world in general?”

“What’s worrying you about me?”

“That the fog might cause you to lose control of your jaguar.”

Should he tell her why his jaguar wouldn’t hurt her? That he’d marked her with his scent before the Tribunal meeting so that he could find her? “I know my jaguar won’t harm you. If I lose control . . . let’s just say you should have enough power to stop me.” Only because he’d never fight her. “And I won’t blame you.”