Blood Bonds(The Bonds That Tie #3)(10)

Patience, Oli.

I have to repeat that word over and over again until this is all over with.

I don’t bother undressing or tuning the water on. I’m not even going to bother with that sort of farce here. Instead, I walk over to the far end of the stall and crouch down to wave my hand under the small wall until Kyrie notices it and crouches down as well. I stick enough of my arm under there so that she can see the clothes I’m in and can hopefully tell it’s me. The gap is big enough that I can see that she’s still in her underwear, just rinsing off the same way I did for two freaking years. It’s smart.

You don’t want to get caught completely unaware in here… by anyone. The women are just as bad as the men, jumping each other in the showers in power plays. It’s stupid, and they shouldn’t bother fighting amongst themselves like that, but they do. Something about desperation and fearing this place brings out the worst in them all. I can’t really talk. If I were in their places, I’d be the same.

Once again, my bond saved me from that. Now I’m going to use the knowledge and the resources I have to keep Kyrie safe from it all too.

I pull Brutus down from my shoulder; his form is more smoke than solid. He doesn’t attempt to play or nuzzle me, completely subdued from the boisterous puppy that he usually is.

I wonder if Nox is watching me through his eyes right now?

He mustn’t have seen anything that would lead them to me, because there’s no doubt in my mind that Nox would be first in line to drag me back, if for no other reason than to have his favorite verbal target back.

It occurs to me that I’m just squatting here in the showers, silently staring at a nightmare creature while Kyrie is probably assuming I’m having a breakdown of some kind.

Hell, I might be.

I bring him up to my lips and whisper softly, “Keep her safe. No one touches her, jumps her, without your protection. Leave no evidence behind.”

When I drop my hand back down to usher him over to Kyrie, I see her startle and hesitate, her hand slow to come out and accept the little bundle of smoke, but Brutus moves to her without question. I have to believe that if Nox is watching, he’d be happy to know that I’m trying to keep Gryphon’s sister alive and safe while we’re stuck here.

I wait for a moment, and then I let our fingers grasp together for a second, squeezing them in the only reassurance I can give her right now, before I pull away and stand back up, rubbing my hands over my legs to brush away the soap suds and dirt from the muddy ground of the shower.

When I snap the curtain back, the woman is waiting there for me, her ear pressed close to the fabric like she was trying to figure out what I was doing in there without the shower on.

Good luck with that, bitch.

“I’m ready to go,” I drawl, and she scowls at me.

“You didn’t even wash anything. What’s the point in me getting you over here?”

I shrug at her and enjoy the huff of frustration I get back, not even caring when she’s rough about tightening my restraints and jerking me around to get me moving again.

Kieran is safe because of my lie.

Kyrie is safe with Brutus.

I’m as safe as I’ve ever been thanks to the bond growing angrier and more savage by the hour in my chest.

We’ll survive until I can get us out.





Chapter Four





Gryphon



* * *



It’s getting harder by the day to keep my face passive and the contempt off of it while dealing with Gifted that we know are members of the Resistance. Daniella Jordan is no exception.

I’ve never trusted the slimy lawyer, and though North has always said I was just being difficult for the sake of it, it feels good to know that I was right. She doesn’t like me standing in on their meetings, especially when I stand on North’s side of the desk in his home office, behind his seat like I’m preparing to take a bullet for him as though he’s not the most dangerous man in our entire community. She doesn’t like the advantage it gives me, or that I’m looking down on her.

Well, I’ve never been looking down quite so hard before because this fucking bitch knows where my Bonded is. I know it. North knows it, and while she’s sitting there talking about asinine Council bullshit, she knows it too. We’re all just playing our parts and pretending the giant elephant isn’t in the room. It’s making my skin itch.

There’s no way her sister was working alone to mess with Bond Groups. There’s no way that Daniella has wormed her way into the good graces of North Draven for innocent reasons, and how much confidential information has she gotten directly from him in the last five years?

I’m going to call dibs on killing her, no matter how badly Nox wants it. There’s a reason he’s not here today. He’s terrible at keeping a poker face in this kind of situation.

Daniella paints a frown onto her face, the picture of a concerned lawyer worried for her boss’ Bond, but there’s something about the very careful way that she speaks around me that’s always flagged on my radar. Now we know why.

It takes everything inside of me to stop myself from reaching across the desk and choking the life out of her, at least until some useful intel falls from that sharp tongue of hers.

The way she smiles at me, she knows it too.

“I’ll get these documents drafted up for you, North. The Alpha and Bravo Teams will find her. They found her last time. I’m sure they have her scent already, it’s only a matter of time,” she says as she collects the papers in front of her and slips them into her briefcase.