Keystone (Crossbreed #1)(33)

“You’ve gone mad,” he said with a shake of his head.

“We’re all mad here.”

Christian launched to his feet and stalked toward the Mage. In a swift movement, he pulled out the knife and then punched him in the face.

The laughter died in my throat, and I stared up into a canopy of darkness. “This wasn’t in the brochure.”





Chapter 10





After Christian admonished me about the mess I’d made in the Mage’s car, he tossed the body into the trunk and then hefted his motorcycle before busting it through the back windshield.

I passed out, and when I awoke, I was in the passenger seat of the Mage’s car with a black coat tucked around me.

I smirked when I noticed the Vampire behind the wheel.

“Something funny?” Christian asked.

“You’re naked.”

“Not entirely, but the night is still young.”

He’d removed the rest of his shirt and only had on a pair of black trousers. The next thing I knew, I was staring at the back of my eyelids again.

“Don’t ask inane questions. Just get Niko,” he said in clipped words.

Bewildered, I opened my eyes and realized how much time had passed. We were no longer in the car—Christian was carrying me through a hall in the mansion. A bone-deep chill made it difficult to move, and every muscle tightened as I shivered uncontrollably. My neck hurt, my back hurt, and my legs were numb. All I wanted was a warm pair of socks on my feet.

The lanterns were making me dizzy, so I rested my cheek against Christian’s bare chest. Who would have thought that a Vampire could feel so warm to the touch? Christian’s body felt like a blanket that had just come out of the dryer, and all I wanted to do was wrap him around me.

“I see someone’s awake,” he murmured against my hair.

“How did you know?”

“Your lashes are tickling my chest.”

Wyatt peered down at me as we passed by him. “You really screwed this one up. Where’s the Mage?”

Christian snapped his head around, his tone sharp. “In the trunk of the car. Why don’t you go outside and say hello?”

“Shepherd! I need you down here. Hurry up before the freshy gets in!” Wyatt’s voice grew distant.

“Set her down here,” Viktor said.

The next thing I knew, I was on a metal table with sterile instruments all around. I shivered uncontrollably when the cold surface touched my back.

Viktor pulled Christian’s coat away from my body. “This is unacceptable.”

Christian leaned against the table on my right, blood smeared across his chest. “I called in our cleaner to take care of the scene. There was blood and emotional imprints left behind, but nothing he can’t clean up.”

“And the body you decided to bring home with you as a souvenir? How did this happen? I thought we had an understanding.”

“Apparently the shitebag who put a dagger in her back and leg didn’t get the memo. He drove her over the county line and into the woods. Maybe we’ve underestimated how many times this has happened to them before. She put up a hell of a fight. I’m guessing he was the sort of man who got his jollies by roughing the girls up.”

Viktor pointed his finger in Christian’s face. “Why did you let her get into the car? All this for nothing. If Darius’s men saw Raven with the victim, they’ll be able to ID her.”

“I had on my brown contact,” I mumbled.

Christian’s lips twitched.

“Let me paint you a picture,” Viktor began. “Darius discovers who we are, and instead of taking matters into his own hands, he reports us to the higher authority. They will strip away everything we have worked for because they will have no choice, even if they have backed our previous cases. Only a chosen few are delegated to use funds for such things; they don’t all know what we are doing for them.”

“They can’t ignore what you’ve done for them already,” Christian retorted. “And I don’t think we have to worry about this dolt going to the higher authority if he’s busy going after humans.”

“You cannot take such risks. We’re not bound by the laws, but I do not operate a casino,” Viktor argued, his voice reverberating off the walls. “You’re gambling with the life of this organization when you break my rules.”

“I know where he lives!” I cried and then rattled off the address.

The bickering ceased.

I swallowed, my throat parched. “Do you think I went through all that and didn’t get what you needed? Darius knows about me, and he warned his men to be on the lookout. He thinks I’m working for someone, and Owen tried to get me to talk.”

“You summoned me?” Niko called out from across the room. He paused at the foot of the table. “Who is that?”

Viktor turned away. “Raven is injured, and we cannot stop the bleeding. Normally there is some clotting. Can she last until dawn?”

“Move aside,” Niko said, entering my line of vision. He hovered over the left side of the table, looking at me but not really looking at me. “Three stab wounds.”

“Two,” Christian corrected.

“Did you miss the one behind her neck or on her back?”