Running his palm over her ponytail before he released her, he shifted so that he had his back to the precipitous drop behind him, while she and Venom stood in front of him. The wind whipped at his black T-shirt, the color the same as his jeans and his boots.
“Can we go inside?” Holly blurted out. She was loath to betray any weakness in front of Venom, but she hated seeing Dmitri so close to the edge.
To her surprise, Venom didn’t comment at all as they slipped inside Dmitri’s office. At which point he told Dmitri what had happened. Dmitri’s dark eyes sharpened, the lethal predator in him suddenly evident—this was the man spoken of as being merciless, Raphael’s “Blade” who made bloody mincemeat of his enemies.
“The bounty hunters specifically wanted Holly?”
“No doubts.” Venom pulled out the phone they’d confiscated. “I’ll have Vivek see what he can do with the e-mail address.”
Dmitri nodded before turning to Holly, the violence of his power making her teeth ache. “Were you hurt?”
“No.” She pointed at the torn shoulder of her top. “My father gave me this top just last week. The stupid goons ripped it.”
Dmitri’s smile was lethal. “If there’s a significant enough bounty, this will only be the first attempt.” He folded his arms. “The bigger threats will be the old ones so bored with life that risking death by attacking one of the Tower’s people will be a dangerous thrill. They won’t be as incompetent as this trio.”
Holly got a prickling at the back of her neck. “I can take care of myself,” she reminded him. “You made sure of that.” He was the one who’d thrown her into training designed to increase her control over her abilities.
Pinning her to the spot with the darkness of his gaze, Dmitri raised an eyebrow. “Could you have taken all three vampires today?”
Holly opened her mouth . . . and couldn’t lie. Not to Dmitri. “No,” she finally grated out. Mike and his fellow idiot goons had been big bastards, and while Holly could fight, she wasn’t an experienced hunter or warrior.
“You don’t go anywhere alone until we figure out who it is that wants you and why.” The words were an order. “I’ll speak to Janvier and Ashwini, see who best to assign you.”
“I can babysit,” said the aggravating vampire beside her, the one whose power kept sliding around her, the feel of it warm, living snakeskin across her body.
4
“Thank you for your generosity,” Holly said in her politest “nice young lady” voice, her smile wide enough to cut into her cheeks, “but I’d rather shack up with a flea-infested rabid dog.”
Venom’s eyes did that fascinating thing they did sometimes—they nictitated. The flash of the membrane coming horizontally across his irises was so fast that no one else believed her when she told them what she’d seen. It was like they couldn’t see it, the speed was so rapid. Instead of being creeped out by the act, she wanted to lean in close, see if she could track the movement.
She also wanted him to do it slower so she could fully appreciate the beauty of it: the membrane that came across his eye wasn’t totally transparent or milky white like she’d seen in images of birds when she’d looked up the topic online. The translucent membrane was cracked through with white, creating a fine net through which the green of his eyes could shine. The effect was incredible.
And only visible for a millisecond at most.
“You’re not exactly my first choice, kitty.” A leisurely scan down her body. “I prefer to spend my off time with women.”
Holly didn’t rise to the bait. “I’m sure Ashwini won’t mind if I hang with her.” If she had to have a bodyguard, either Ash or Honor or Janvier would be her choice. Since Honor was teaching a class at Guild Academy this semester, and Janvier had extra duties while Raphael and Elena were away, that left Ashwini.
“Ashwini is in advanced combat training, as is Janvier,” Dmitri told her. “They also have a heavy schedule of duties.” He looked over at Venom. “I was planning to ask you to take over some of their tasks while Illium teaches them what they need to know.”
“Isn’t Galen involved?”
“What do you think?” Dmitri’s smile was sharper now. “I think they’re both already ruing the day they agreed to be in Elena’s Guard.” A glance at Holly, his amusement fading before he shifted his attention back to Venom. “This situation needs to be brought quickly to heel. It’s your priority—keep an eye on Holly and find out who’s after her. I’ll split the other duties between the stronger vampires like Trace until you’re done.”
Holly folded her arms. “Sorry to break into your cozy little chat,” she said, struggling past her desire to obey Dmitri, “but I’m a grown adult. Don’t make decisions for me like I’m not here.”
“You sure you’re full grown?”
“Venom.” Dmitri’s cool voice cut Venom off before he could needle her any further. “Talk to Vivek, then get some rest. Holly can shadow me for the rest of the day.”
She managed to keep her mouth shut until after Venom had left. “Dmitri, I won’t fight a bodyguard”—no matter how much the extra leash chafed—“but don’t stick me with him.”
“No one will dare touch you with Venom nearby. He’s one of the Tower’s strongest—and he’s light-years ahead of you in utilizing his abilities.”
“He’s also an asshole.”
“So, according to many people, am I,” Dmitri said, clearly not bothered by that. “It’s either Venom, or I confine you to the Tower.”
Her hands fisted, her heartbeat accelerating. The world began to gain a hard clarity washed in acid green. In front of her, Dmitri watched her with no indication of fear or worry. “Holly, shut it down.” The words were mild.
She screamed instead, the frustration inside her snapping out into a loud sound. “I’ve earned my freedom, Dmitri! I’ve done everything the Tower has asked, everything!”
Walking around his desk, he leaned back against it, his arms folded across his wide chest. “And you’ll keep doing it,” he said in a tone that demanded obedience. “Four years is nothing in an immortal existence, less than a heartbeat, less than a child’s first breaths. You have no idea how dangerous you might be.”
“So you plan to watch me forever?” He’d put her officially under Contract, but unlike normal vampires, she wouldn’t automatically walk free after a hundred years of service in return for the “gift” of vampirism—the Tower would decide if she was ever safe enough to be freed.