Torrent of Tears (Scourge Survivor Series Book 3)(75)

At first, he seemed oblivious to me, inserting a miniature USB thing into the neck piece. When that beeped, he closed the clasp and I prayed that would be the end of it. But no. As he moved behind me, he gripped the towel at my hips and pushed me up against the counter. Before I could turn he swung the door shut and closed us in together.

Rowan cursed and by the muffled scuffle and thud going down on the other side of the door, the other Strati was dealing with Rowan’s protests. My heart skipped a beat then kicked into high gear. Should I fight back and expose us? Could we still get away with him thinking I was Elani?

A meaty hand grabbed at the tuck of my towel and I raised my hand to stop him. He was ready for me, capturing my wrist and pulling it behind my back. “Feeling feisty today are you, little girl?”

I drew a deep breath through my nose and kept my head down. Raised voices bled through the door. Rowan was about to lose his shit. I had to make a decision here, one way or the other. When fingers slid under the hem of my towel and grabbed my bare crotch I snapped.

Spinning around with my elbow I caught the bastard in the temple. The force of my blow sent him into the wall and I swept his supporting foot. As he ass-planted on the tile floor I plowed him one in the face.

Dazed, he scrambled to block my fists.

“Fuck you,” I growled, pulling my fist back for one more strike. “Not used to little girls fighting back are you, big man?” The fire in my gut ignited and it felt so good to let that shit fly. I lost track of the pummeling I gave him, but when I was done, I picked the blood splattered towel off the bathroom floor and tossed it over the piece of shit. That taken care of, I grabbed a fresh towel to wrap around myself and snagged big man’s pain stick.

One down, three hundred to go.

It took a bit to cover my hair again and give myself a quick rinse off. I moved as quickly as I could. After the scuffle in the bedroom, it had gotten far too quiet out there. I needed to get to Rowan, but if everything was cool, I didn’t want to tip our hand either.

Opening the door only enough to slip through, I closed it behind me.

“Done so soon—” The other soldier was pouring himself a drink at the bar.

I kept my gaze down but found Rowan sitting by the fire in his boxers, looking like he was fighting not to explode. He had a split lip to go with his shiner and didn’t that make my blood boil. His gaze locked with mine and I nodded.

S’all good, Doc. Stay cool. I got this.

The soldier realized something was wrong almost instantly. The energy in the air changed and everything slipped into a slow-mo action sequence like in the movies. His glass slid onto the top of the buffet with a dull thud and I curled my fingers tight around the leather grip of the Strati weapon hidden behind my thigh.

His fingers edged toward his hip. “Where’s. . . ?”

In one powerful surge, I sprang the distance and engaged. When you’re light on steel, there’s nothing like the advantage of a surprise attack. I took him to the floor with a flying tackle, catching him around the neck and shoulder and wrenching him around like a pretzel. We landed hard, his considerable weight more than double mine. My hip screamed like a bitch. He managed a solid hit to my gut, but even as the air punched out of my lungs I smiled.

Gods, I love a good fight.

The combination of my strength and him underestimating me from the get-go—probably thinking I was Elani—made it possible to deliver a paralyzing blow before he even clued in he was about to be expired.

Straightening over the body, I felt Rowan’s gaze burning into my spine. Damn. He’d never seen me in action before. Would he be horrified that his wife was a killer? As the silence droned on, I took a long inhale and gathered my shit. After I reclaimed my towel I pivoted and met his stare. He was focused, his eyes peeled wide.

“Are you okay?” I asked, raising my palms to him. I stood my ground, giving him a minute to see that I was still me. Lexi. His wife. “I’m sorry. Sometimes when I work, I get—”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he said. “You told me you were a warrior. You said you could take care of yourself, but I had no idea. I never imagined.”

“Is that good or bad?”

With his gaze locked on me, he rose up and stalked forward. “You amaze me. More every moment.”

I exhaled the breath frozen in my chest and stepped into his arms. “How’s your lip?” I gave his face a gentle prod and he shook his head.

“Please don’t think I’m useless.”

I eased back to see him better. “Why would I think that?”

“Both times we’ve faced trouble, I’ve done nothing to help you.” He stepped back and gripped my shoulders, looking serious. “I swear, I can hold my own. I’m not a coward. I want you to know that. I was just trying to keep you safe.”

“Whether you can fight or not, I don’t care—”

“I can fight,” he said. His grip on my shoulders was getting painful and I understood why. I grew up with warriors. It was the universal law of cock and balls: Men protect their women.

I reached up on my tiptoes and kissed his lips. “Let’s get cleaned up. If we’re taking down my mother, we need ammunition.”





CHAPTER THIRTY


“Why couldn’t it be this way?” I gestured down the stark empty hallway that led away from the hustle and hoopla of the palace kitchen and sighed. “But no,” I whispered. “Since we need secrecy, the room we want has to be splat in the middle of the fricken circus that is our lives.”