I froze, my arm still extended, still reaching for the pen.
No, Carter wasn’t looking at me. Neither was Blake. Instead, just as I peeked around the door, Carter had turned away from his visitor and toward the hotel mini bar. As he turned his back, Blake also moved, reaching into his combat boot and pulling out an enormous knife.
My mouth dropped.
What is he—no, my brain protested. Surely he’s not…
He was and he did.
Blake lunged for Carter, who was still crouching in front of the fridge. Carter was saying something about the fridge’s contents, inquiring what Blake wanted. Joab moved swiftly and silently. For a second, I was frozen in horror. Then, as he lunged, I shouted.
“Carter, look out!”
It happened so fast I could barely process it. Carter jerked, whipping towards the sound of my voice. He must have caught a glimpse of Blake bearing down on him out of the corner of his eye, because he twisted, throwing up his hands to catch Blake’s lowering arm. Blake was already bearing down with his body weight, however, and even Carter’s quick reaction couldn’t save him completely. The blade sliced through his side. I heard him cry out—a noise between a grunt and a groan. Then, in a blink, his body rippled, and it was no longer Carter kneeling there, trying to fend his assailant off, it was the bronze Talos.
Blood covered his bronze skin, which told me the transformation hadn’t healed him. He was still wounded. Judging by the amount of blood that had spurted and the angle of the knife, it was an ugly wound, too. I didn’t know how weakened he would be in his altered state, but I knew this couldn’t be good—especially when, with a ripple of its own, Blake’s body suddenly transformed.
An inhuman growl from low in his throat heralded the arrival of his shifter double. That night in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, when Blake had fought for us, protecting me from Nosizwe’s shifters, I’d caught glimpses of a huge, hairy body wielding a pair of machetes, but I hadn’t seen exactly who or what Joab Blake really transformed into. Now I did, and if my brain wasn’t fogged already by seeing the attack occur it was now to see a massive, and even familiar fur-covered beast standing on two legs in the middle of Carter’s hotel suite.
I’d been temporarily forgotten as both shifters strained against each other, grappling for control of Blake’s knife. Clearly, Blake had the advantage, not being wounded and also standing, able to press down more of his weight. The Talos, Carter, was still kneeling in a half turn, fighting to shove his attacker up and away. Both creatures grunted, Blake’s beast growling louder. I didn’t know how much even a colossal beast like that could hurt a bronze statue, except for the fact that Carter was already wounded.
I had to do something.
Something inside me snapped. The fog that had draped over me at seeing my former defender, Blake, attack his one-time ally lifted. Forgetting the stupid pen, I scrambled backward, diving for my purse. My fingers trembled as I snagged the strap, dragged it towards myself. They trembled even more as I dug inside, desperately seeking the weapon I’d carried ever since moving to Washington. It was a Kimber Micro 9, the same gun I kept in my bedside table at night, and I drew it now, jumping to my feet. I sprang past the door, spun, and pointed the weapon directly at Joab’s shifter alter.
“Blake,” I said loudly, not shouting, but loudly enough to catch the attention of both men.
The beast snorted, jerking the knife away from Carter, turned, saw me there. I clasped the pistol butt tightly in both hands, my finger on the trigger, ready to fire.
“Drop the knife and step away,” I ordered.
The animal snorted. It sounded derisive. I didn’t care. Maybe the gun did look tiny, like a toy in comparison to the massive animal, but it could still do serious damage. If I could get a bullet directly to the heart or eye, I could kill it.
“I promise you I will shoot if you don’t step away,” I said.
I couldn’t believe how calm my voice sounded when I could feel my insides quivering within my body cavity.
“You’ve seen me do it before,” I went on when the beast remained motionless. “You know I can and will do it.”
A ripple shuddered over the monster’s frame. The brute was gone, replaced by his human counterpart.
“You killed a shifter once for Carter, and you’re ready to do it again, huh?” he jeered. “Always knew there was something between the two of you.”
I didn’t bother replying to that.
“Get out,” I said softly.
Still clasping the blade, Joab took a step closer.
“What if I choose not to?”
“I’m giving you this one chance to get out, and then I’m shooting,” I replied.
I sounded much, much braver than I felt. At least I hoped I sounded brave. Threatening. I knew physically there wasn’t anything intimidating about me. Especially to a man who could shift into a nightmarish animal at will. I must’ve looked laughable in comparison to him, except for the Kimber in my hands. I was keeping it trained right at his heart and had no intention of lowering it.
From the edge of my vision, I saw Carter, the Talos, slowly rising to his feet. Scarlet blood dripped down his side, a grisly contrast to the bronze shell into which he’d changed. Even wounded, he was lethal. Blake must’ve known that too. Maybe he decided between the Talos and my gun that he’d had enough for now.
Leaning down, he stuck the knife, still coated in Carter’s blood, in a sheath in his boot.
“You win this time, girlie. I’m leaving.” Straightening, he pinned Carter with a look. “This ain’t over, Ballis. You pissed off the wrong people by not dying when you were supposed to. Watch your six. And tell your boss to watch his.”
He began backing out of the room, nodding once he was in the doorway. My gun was still trained on him.
“Later, kid.”
Then he was gone.
Chapter Seven
I waited several seconds with my arms still outstretched, the pistol still leveled at the doorway in case he came back, before I dared to dash over, shut the door, lock it. Only then did I lower my weapon. My breath, which I hadn’t realized I was holding, released in a rush. My hands started to shake. I clicked the safety back on, but still had to stumble over to the bed and lay the Kimber down before I dropped it. My knees gave out and I sank to the floor by the foot of the bed. My entire body was now trembling. I wanted to bury my face in my knees, close my eyes, and try to pretend none of this had happened. I couldn’t. Carter was wounded, and that was enough to make my medical training kick in.
I got up and walked over to him on unsteady legs. He’d released the Talos, shifting back to his human form. Like me, he’d also dropped to a seat, albeit on a nearby chair instead of the bed. He wasn’t saying anything, wasn’t making any noises of pain, but beneath his dark, olive complexion, his face was turning pale.
Blood loss. Have to stop the blood loss. What can I use? Is there anything sterile here?
An idea struck.
“Don’t move. I’ll be right back,” I told him.
He lifted his chin to look at me.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m grabbing something out of the vestibule. I’m not leaving. Don’t move,” I repeated, even as I sprinted for the door between his suite and the vestibule where I’d left his Christmas gift, an unopened package of t-shirts. It was probably the closest thing to sterile in this hotel room. I unlocked the door, glancing all around in case Blake had decided to stick around. He hadn’t, at least that I could see. I grabbed the gift off the table, stepped back inside, and re-locked the door, even though I was pretty sure a mere hotel door would do nothing to stop his colossal shifter alter if he chose to return.