Predatory (Immortal Guardians #3.5)(24)

No matter how well intentioned.

Easily sensing the tension, Angela cleared her throat then began edging toward the doorway. She didn’t need her genius-level intelligence to realize that it was time for a strategic retreat.

“I think I’ll go take a shower,” she muttered, giving a tiny gasp when he grabbed her by the waist and claimed a possessive kiss before allowing her to scurry away, his gaze never leaving Arel.

With a roll of his eyes, the young Sentinel lifted his hands in defeat.

“You’ve made your point.”

The words were casual, but Niko was well aware that having accepted Niko’s commitment to Angela, Arel would fight to the death to protect her.

It was the way of Sentinels.

“Have you eaten?” he asked, moving to lean against the countertop.

Sentinels burned calories at an accelerated rate, which meant they were always hungry.

“Yeah, I hit a drive-thru before leaving Columbia.” Arel’s expression hardened. “Tell me about your meeting with Dylan.”

Niko grimaced. “She’s not going to be convinced to turn herself over to the Mave.”

Arel shrugged. “Good.”

“She was one of us.”

“No. She never allowed herself to accept being different,” Arel said. “She was a time bomb just waiting to go off no matter how hard Wolfe tried to diffuse her bitterness.”

Niko couldn’t argue. Wolfe had done everything in his power to reach the hostile young woman, but she’d never been capable of accepting that she would never be normal.

“A damned shame.”

“It will be more of a shame if she gets her hands on your scientist,” Arel pointed out.

“That’s not happening.” His expression held no compromise. He would do whatever necessary to protect Angela.

Arel paced toward the windows overlooking the pool. “Do you think Dylan’s still in the area?”

“Yes,” Niko responded without hesitation. “She won’t leave until I get Angela out of here.”

There was a short silence before Arel turned back to study Niko’s grim expression.

“Would it be possible?”

“What?”

“Could Angela alter Dylan’s DNA?”

“Maybe.” Niko hadn’t given it a lot of thought. His fascination with Angela had nothing to do with her rare talent. “According to Calder, her manipulation of cells, or whatever the hell it is she manipulates, is still small and random, but he has hopes that once she fully embraces her talent she’ll be able to offer hope to high-bloods who suffer from mutations that are killing them.”

“Our very own Dr. Frankenstein.”

“Careful,” Niko growled.

“It wasn’t an insult,” Arel hastily assured him. “Just the opposite. Think of the potential benefits of having her work with our scientists. She could save hundreds if not thousands of lives.”

Niko shook his head. “It’s too early to know how far her skills will develop. Or even if she’ll be willing to accept her gifts.” He deliberately held his friend’s gaze. “It will be her decision. I won’t have her bullied into giving more than she’s willing to offer.”

“Not even if she can help your family?”

“She is my family.” Niko straightened, his gaze challenging. “Any argument?”

Arel gave a sudden laugh. “Niko, if I ever find a female who lights up like a neon sign just because I walked into a room I intend to do whatever I have to do to keep her.”

Niko stilled, ridiculously pleased by the soft words. “A neon sign? Did she?”

Arel shook his head in disgust. “Wipe that smug smile off your lips. There had to be one woman in the world crazy enough to fall in love with you.”

“I only need one.”

“Good God. How the mighty are fallen.” Arel hissed as the sharp sound of an alarm pierced the air. “What’s that?”

Niko was already headed into the living room, moving to stand directly in front of the line of monitors.

“Someone just broke the perimeter.”

The men frowned in unison as they studied the thick woods that surrounded the house.

“Nothing,” Arel muttered as Niko manipulated the cameras to do a complete scan of the area. “Not even a stray dog.”

“It has to be Dylan,” Niko ground out.

What the hell was she doing? She had to sense that Arel was in the house. There was no way she could hope to overpower two Sentinels.

Not without help.

“Or a distraction,” Arel stated the obvious. “You stay here and I’ll try to flush her out.”

Niko nodded in agreement. As much as he wanted to be on the hunt, his heart was firmly committed to protecting Angela.

Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried about his friend.

“Arel,” he called as the younger man opened the door and stepped onto the front porch.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be careful,” Arel called, disappearing into the darkness.

Niko moved to shut the door and reset the alarm, then headed to the back of the house to check the locks. Stepping into the kitchen his instincts were on full alert.

Dylan.

The scent of her filled the air.