Warrior (Relentless #4)(200)

I shook my head. “Sara, you don’t have to worry about it.”

Panic filled her eyes, and she clutched my arm tightly. “What team, Nikolas?”

“Chris’s team.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh God. We have to help them.”

“We will,” I said confidently. I lifted her chin so her eyes met mine. “Chris knows what he’s doing and he’ll keep Jordan safe. Raoul said they are pinned down, but no one is hurt. They’ll be okay.”

She was quiet for a moment, and her normally expressive face was impossible to read. “Go,” she burst out. “Do what you need to do.”

I kissed her forehead. “I’ll call you when I find them.”

She and I would resume our talk when I got back, and this time I’d make sure there were no interruptions.

Five minutes later, I was on the Ducati, heading north to San Francisco with Elijah’s team following in an SUV. My mind wanted to go in two separate directions. I forced myself to focus on the most important thing now, which was the team’s situation and the best way to handle it when I got there.

The San Francisco wrakk – or demon marketplace – was located near the waterfront in a nondescript, two-story brick building. I parked my bike out of sight and walked toward the building, ignoring the wind and rain that lashed at me. Elijah’s team was ten minutes behind me, having gotten stuck in a traffic jam that I’d maneuvered around. I couldn’t wait for them. Gulaks were impatient and violent, and they weren’t going to wait around in a standoff for long.

I’d been to a lot of wrakks over the years, and they were all laid out pretty much the same – rows of stalls selling everything from food to clothes to medicines and glamours. They were one of the few places demonkind could assemble in public and socialize, and they were heavily warded to keep humans away. They didn’t like the Mohiri hanging around either, but they tolerated us. For the most part. Apparently, this wasn’t one of those times.

I rounded the corner, and my first indication that something was going down inside was a small vrell demon family huddled by the side of the building. The male, female, and two children wore hats to cover their horns, but I knew what they were right away.

When they saw me, they shied away, moving to the other end of the building, making me think of Sara’s comment about the Mohiri being like boogeymen to demons. Funny how I never realized that before, yet she had seen it after only a week of exposure to them. And then she’d scolded me for it.

Thinking about Sara, I smiled and raised my hand in a nonthreatening manner as I approached the demons. It was better to find out exactly what the situation was inside the building before I went in.

I stopped in my tracks as my Mori began to flutter. What the –?

Backing up a step, I looked at the main door to the building. The fluttering grew stronger.

“That’s not possible.”

Solmi, my demon whispered.

Confusion and a mounting sense of foreboding had me yanking the door open with more force than necessary. The door slammed against the wall, loudly announcing my arrival as I entered the building.

I sucked in a sharp breath when her presence surrounded me. My heart sped up and my throat felt dry as I strode through the mass of demons that scurried out of my way. I scanned the large room, even as my mind argued there was no way Sara could be here, no matter what my Mori was telling me.

The crowd parted and I spotted Chris standing in the middle of the room, wearing an uneasy expression that created a sinking feeling deep in my gut. Behind him, dead gulaks littered the floor, too many to count in a single glance.

“Chris, what the hell is going on here? And why do I feel –?”

Someone moved behind Chris, and I watched in stunned silence as Sara stepped into view.

Dressed in black, she had her hair in a ponytail, but a few strands hung around her face as if they’d been pulled free in a fight.

Blood roared in my ears as the weight of what I was seeing punched me square in the gut.

Chris raised an arm protectively in front of Sara. “Take it easy, Nikolas. She’s unharmed.”

In the back of my mind, I knew my best friend was trying to protect his cousin. All my Mori saw was a male trying to keep us from our mate. Red spots floated before my eyes.

“Move, Chris.”

“Shit,” he muttered, standing his ground.

Sara pushed his arm out of the way. She stepped around him to stand several feet away from me, just out of my reach.

Defiant eyes met mine. “Nikolas.”

Her lack of fear and the fact that she looked unharmed were the only things keeping my demon in check. But if I didn’t touch her soon, I was going to lose control.

I held out my hand. “Come here.”

“Listen, I know you’re upset, but you don’t get to order me around,” she said.

I breathed through my nostrils, fighting to calm myself. “Sara, I’m trying very hard not to lose it. I need to…”

Understanding lit her eyes. Without another word, she came to me, and I wrapped my arms tightly around her. The moment her soft body pressed against mine, my Mori quieted and the rage flowed out of me.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked harshly when I could speak again.

She inhaled deeply. “I came to help Chris and Jordan.”