Blood Assassin (The Sentinels #2)(94)

Of course he first had to depend on Kaede to find the location of the club.

Dammit.

He caught the scent of violets before the door to the office was pushed open and Vicky was crossing the room in obvious concern.

Wearing a dress that floated around her slender figure and her red hair left loose to frame her features, she looked young and enticingly fresh. Like a sensuous elf.

With a graceful movement, she sank to her knees beside his chair, her green eyes doing a swift survey of his less than pristine appearance.

“Vicky,” he murmured. “Thanks for coming so quickly.”

“You know you only have to ask for me to be at your side,” she said, lifting her hands. “May I?”

He nodded, grimacing as much from the husky invitation in the healer’s voice as from the gentle press of her hands as they ran over his shoulder and down his arms before moving to his chest.

He’d been fending off Vicky’s flirtations for the past twenty years.

“You’ve been a good friend,” he assured her, grunting as she located the source of his pain.

“Friend?” She grimaced, holding her palm over his ribs as she glanced up at him with open regret. “Not exactly what a girl wants to hear.”

“It’s all I can offer.”

Expecting her to drop the subject as usual, Bas ground his teeth as she continued to study his tense expression.

“Because of Molly?”

The unwelcome vision of a silver-haired beauty with velvet brown eyes flared through his mind. Myst. Instantly he slammed the door on the aggravating memories.

“In part,” he said between gritted teeth.

“And the other part?”

“I don’t have any interest in a relationship.” The icy edge in his voice warned the healer that this conversation was done. “Are they broken?”

Vicky lowered her head, accepting that Bas wasn’t going to change his mind.

“Fractured,” she said, pressing her hands against his side. “This is going to hurt.”

“Just do it.” The words had barely left his mouth when the heat of Vicky’s power slammed into him. “Shit.”

He gripped the arms of the chair, the sensation of his bones knitting back together even more painful than the blow that had fractured them in the first place.

Next a searing heat ran through the muscle and cartilage, repairing the damage.

By the time the healer removed her hands and slowly straightened, Bas was panting as if he’d just run a marathon at full speed, his body shivering with shock.

God. Damn.

This was why he only used a healer when he had no other choice.

“You need to eat and then rest for a few hours,” Vicky said, her face pale from the amount of energy she’d drained healing him.

“Thanks.”

She smiled ruefully at the sincerity in his voice. “It seems to be all I can offer.”

Walking across the room, the healer turned to send him a wry glance.

“Bas.”

“What?”

“Don’t get yourself killed.”

With a toss of her red hair, Vicky turned to leave the office, closing the door behind her.

“Amazing how many people suddenly want me alive,” Bas muttered, easily dismissing the healer from his thoughts as he closed his eyes.

He intended to concentrate on putting together a plan once Kaede found the location of the fight. Or at least consider his next step if the place couldn’t be found.

Instead his exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave, dragging him into a deep, dreamless sleep.

He was unaware of the passage of time until the sharp knock on the door echoed through the office. Then he snapped open his eyes to discover that dusk had filled the office with shadows.

Shit.

With a faint groan he forced his stiff muscles into action as he pushed himself out of the chair. He was relieved to discover his pain was gone, but furious with himself for wasting an entire afternoon.

“Enter,” he called.

Kaede pushed open the door and stepped into the office, his gaze discreetly monitoring Bas as he moved around the desk to perch on the corner.

Bas knew the younger warrior was judging whether he was fully healed. A practical precaution, but one that annoyed the hell out of Bas.

It reminded him that he’d lost control of his notorious composure and charged into the hotel room like a hotheaded novice. And worse, he’d indulged in his primitive lust for violence, allowing himself to be injured when he needed every ounce of his strength to rescue his daughter.

“You have a location?” he asked in crisp tones.

Kaede nodded, handing a scrap of paper to Bas with an address written on it.

“An abandoned warehouse on Broadway. Near the river.”

Bas tossed the paper on the desk. “When?”

“It starts in two hours.”

“That’s not much time,” Bas muttered, concentrating on what had to be taken care of immediately. They’d have to make up the plan on the fly. A method he detested. Careful preparation was the key to success. Trite but true. “Send Damis and Aldo to scout the building and have the other Sentinels begin to infiltrate the neighborhood two at a time. Make sure they stay out of sight. We don’t want to spook the manager of the fights.”

“On it.” Kaede whipped out his phone.