Tall, Dark & Heartless (Pyte/Sentinel #3)(26)

If any other shifter had spoken to his little Munchkin like that he'd already be dead, but his mate had a soft spot for the bastard which meant he had to behave. Then again, he actually liked the guy, not that he would admit that to anyone. He really enjoyed busting the shifter's balls.

He walked into the room and sighed heavily as he took in the scene before him. Izzy sat in front of the wall of monitors that she somehow kept track of while she made a huge show of finishing off a bite of what appeared to be fudge cake while Kale glared down at her, growling softly.

"That was my cake, woman," Kale snapped.

"You left it on the counter for ten seconds," Izzy pointed out with a careless shrug. "You know the rules."

Yeah, it was sad. These two junk food addicts actually had rules. They came up with their rules three months ago when Kale swung by to visit her and check on Joshua. As far as he could tell, the two of them came up with this idea after Helga, the chef who ran the compound's cafeteria, made the mistake of not baking enough chocolate chip cookies for the two addicts. After that, the two came together and created "The List." They made everyone's life a living hell if anyone got between them and their junk food.

He was actually surprised to see the shifter. Last he heard the man was in Germany hunting down a rogue Alpha who'd stolen from a Master. Of course he only knew that because the damn man called or texted Izzy at least once a day. If he didn't know the man thought of her as his sister he probably would have said the hell with it and killed the shifter by now.

"It was only nine seconds and you damn well know it!" Kale sneered. While most women would have probably run screaming, his little Munchkin rolled her eyes and called the man, "A big baby."

"Mind if I interrupt?" he asked since he knew from experience that the two of them could keep this up for hours.

"Fine. I was just heading downstairs to my room anyway," Kale said, throwing Izzy one last glare, but the fact that he bent down and planted a loud kiss on her cheek killed the effect.

"You don't have a room," Chris reminded him.

"Of course I do. It's the room with the large flat screen and endless supply of Coke," Kale said, stealing the box of Twinkies and bag of peanut butter cups out of Chris' hand as he headed for the door.

It didn't really surprise him that the man considered the lockup suite's recroom his, considering the man spent all of his time there when he was supposed to be a prisoner. Now the bastard snuck in and out of the compound anytime he wanted. If he didn't think his little mate had something to do with that he'd be a little nervous about the lapse in security.

He shoved his worries aside and leaned down to kiss his beautiful mate. She returned the kiss briefly before she pulled back. It was then that he noticed the tension around her eyes. He placed the orange juice on the long counter that served as her desk and kneeled in front of her.

"Is he okay?" he asked, placing his hands on the large swell of her belly.

"He's fine. We have another problem though," she said, worrying her bottom lip.

"What?"

"Tattletale found a video stream being transmitted twenty minutes ago."

"What did it find?" he asked, already wondering what her program that learned on its own and could break into anything, found now.

"This," she said quietly, reaching over to type something. Seconds later a video popped onto the large flat screen that had his stomach dropping.

"Fuck me......."

Chapter 10

Why in the hell had he reacted?

He should have stayed the hell out of it. A few more seconds and she would have been dead and he would have been freed from this damn hold she had over him. He could have escaped without having to worry about what would happen to her. Right now he could be starting over somewhere and making damn sure never to allow another human into his heart ever again, but he just had to open his f**king eyes, hadn't he?

When he saw the twisted smile on that sick f**k's face as he shoved Danni down in the water and started pressing the green button down, something in him snapped. In that moment he knew he couldn't allow Danni to die that way. He owed it to that little girl who used to make him smile to make sure that she died as a very old woman in the safety of her bed and surrounded by her family.

In a matter of seconds he tore the arm that kept shoving her down off and took her in his arms, ready to kill anyone that got in his way. Instead of taking the time to gently lay her on the mattress he should have finished the job and killed the bastard when he had the chance. A mistake he would not make again.

He kept an eye on the vampire as he stepped into the room. When Greg didn't appear he scented the air, but couldn't detect him so he shifted his attention back on the man as he stepped in front of Danni.

"If you have a moment, I would like to speak with both of you," he said, watching them with open curiosity. Caine watched as the man's eyes shifted to the tank that was already filling the room with a vile scent.

"What do you want?" Caine demanded, never taking his eyes off the man. He already noted that the man wasn't holding a remote. After a quick scan of the man's attire, a simple pale blue dress shirt and slacks he didn't believe the man carried one either. The man was either cocky or he wasn't a coward like Greg. Then again, he didn't need a remote as long as the person watching the monitors had one.