House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)(103)

“You need to come with me. You’re in danger.”

His accented demand was low and husky. For an instant I craved to hear some sort of music or song from his lips, because he had a voice like an instrument, deep and rich, vibrating right through my body.

“Did you hear me?” The snap of his question knocked me out of my stupor, and managing this time to ignore the way his voice made me feel, I sent a scowl right back at him.

He took another step toward me and I straightened, shifting into a fighter stance. “Who the hell are you? Where is my mom?”

Those intense eyes remained on my face. I couldn’t even tell what color they were; the lighting was shit in here, but they looked dark and … somehow also light at the same time. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen a man like this before. He looked a few years older than me. He had a shaved head, a crap-ton of ink – from what I could see – very well-toned biceps and chest muscles. This dude was ripped, and yet, despite his bulk and height, he moved smoothly, which was the most worrying thing so far. Every now and then there’d be a fighter like him in the gym. They were lethal: strong, athletic, able to kick ass without breaking a sweat.

I needed to get out of here.

We were only a few feet apart now and I remained outwardly calm, hoping to distract him enough that he would be unprepared for my sudden break away. “Where is my mom?” I repeated, mostly to keep him talking. I did not expect an honest answer. He clearly hadn’t been in the apartment when I first entered, no way could I miss him, but he might have already taken my mom and was back now for me.

“I have no idea, I got here just after you did.”

My stomach clenched at that voice again. On top of that he had the sort of raw masculine beauty that I generally thought existed only in Hollywood. Why was it always the physically perfect men who were deranged psychopaths on the inside?

“You need to leave. Now!” I was slowly edging to the right, aiming for a clear path to the door. “Or I’m going to call the police.”

I would never call them, of course. We didn’t trust police. They were corrupt, blah, blah, blah. Even when my mom wasn’t here, her voice was still in my head.

Tall, dark, and deadly paused, tilting his head to the side. “You’re caught up in a world you have no idea of. The police can’t help you, Human. I’m your only hope. Right now I don’t have time to enlighten you, so you’re just going to have to trust me.”

Panic like nothing I’d ever felt before hit me. So hard that my knees went weak and I almost hit the ground. A world I have no idea about… oh, he was wrong. So very wrong.

I reacted then without another thought.

Leaping, I dive-rolled forward and popped up right before him. As I rose I slammed my first into his groin and he let out an angry rumble of noise. I continued rising, smashing my fist into his gut with a power hit, and then finally into the side of his head. I was fast; it was my greatest asset, and I knew exactly what angle to use and how hard to hit for maximum impact.

He let out a low groan, dropping to his knees, eyes wide as he cupped himself, blinking at me. The shock on his face was almost laughable; he had definitely not seen that coming.

Never underestimate a woman, you’ll always end up on your knees holding your balls.

His eyes, only inches from mine now, locked onto to my face and it felt like I’d been the one kicked. They were even more beautiful than he was, and that was saying something. The color was an unusual light brown, cinnamon dusted with gold. These gilded circles cut through the deep amber color. They were also framed by ridiculously dark and thick lashes.

Focus, Callie…

I called on my years of training – this is what she had been preparing me for. The only reason my mom allowed me to learn, fight, and train was because one day I would have to deal with this other world. One day the daelighters would come for me.

Looked like today was that day.