Unbound

“So…” He paused and shook his head, trying to make sense of the things she was sharing. He thought he was taking it remarkably well, all things considered. “I’m trying to understand. Help me out here?”

Eavan stood and crossed her arms over her chest. “Nyx wanted my first to be someone I’d remember fondly. She’d prefer I sleep with you than with Daniel, and she, undoubtedly, thinks I’d be in danger if I continued…stalking him. He’s making some zombie powder that he’s using to enslave and sell girls. I was just going to try to scare him, rescue some of the girls, but I got caught up. And Nyx thinks that whatever he’s doing with the zombie powder is dangerous to our kind.”

Cillian sat speechless, watching the people cross through the park. A preacher or madman perhaps was harassing passersby, calling them “harlots” and misquoting the Christian Bible.

If only he knew what dangers really lived in his city…

He wasn’t sure which side of the good-evil fence she belonged on—or which side her family was on—but there were nights when he wasn’t sure where he belonged, either.

“I’ll tell Nyx that you left. Get out of here, Mr. Owens, before you get trapped.” She turned and walked away. “Get out, and don’t look back.”

Eavan was midway across the park before Cillian could formulate a reply. He wasn’t sure what to think about the things she’d told him, but he was sure that Nyx—and possibly Eavan—had answers to help him stop Brennan. That’s what he’d been sent here to do. He’d expected to do so by ordinary means: the C.D.A. might track and eradicate Crypto Drugs, but he had no direct and open dealings with the world of the Others. The human world still functioned in ignorance. He was to continue to act as if he, too, was ignorant. Other C.D.A. members had a higher security clearance and were thus able to do otherwise.

Did they end up involved this way, too? Was it just a random case gone off the rails?

On a personal level, he wasn’t sure if he was flattered or horrified. He didn’t want to think long on that detail. He’d watched her at the clubs with Brennan; he’d watched her stand up to Nyx. And held her in my arms like something molten and too dangerous to touch. There was something different about her, but getting involved personally with a case was a bad idea.

He caught up to Eavan and said, “You need a lift?”

She gave him a strained smile. “It’s a bad idea, Cillian.”

He shrugged. “I’m not running—from either of my jobs.”

“It’s a mistake,” she said.

“It’s my mistake then.”

The way she held herself aloof made him want to comfort her, but in light of what she’d just revealed, that was the very last thing he could do. Instead, they walked silently to his car and drove to Nyx’s house.

10

Nyx was dressed in the closest thing to proper attire that she ever wore. Eavan knew when she walked in that they weren’t staying. She shivered. “Will you let Mr. Owens leave?”

“Mr. Owens?” Nyx repeated with a knowing smile. “Your Cillian is perfectly free to leave if he’d like to go.”

Eavan’s distancing tactic was, like most things, utterly transparent to Nyx. How many times had they stood in the kitchen in a standoff? Nothing had changed, not the ridiculously artificial country-shabby decor of the room, not the fear that she felt, and certainly not the fact that Nyx had the upper hand.

Nyx gestured toward the door they’d just entered. “He can go. No strings as long as he doesn’t tell anyone what he’s learned of our world. I’m not a monster, Evvie.”

Before Eavan could dispute that claim, Nyx held up hand and said, “Not now.”

“So…” Cillian’s tone was relaxed, but he stood nearer Eavan with his body slightly at an angle, positioning himself between the two women. He hadn’t left. Instead, he’d chosen sides. For whatever reason, he was still acting as if he was there to protect her.

Nyx stepped toward him, each pace measured and timed to give him a chance to back away, to acknowledge her as the alpha predator she was.

Cillian stepped forward, moving away from the kitchen counter to give himself room to maneuver. He grinned. “If you’re going to get hostile over her figuring out that you hired me because of Brennan, now’s the time, Grandma.”

Nyx paused.

Eavan winced.

“You’re either brave or foolish, Mr. Owens.” Nyx reached out beside him and took a pair of bone carved hair sticks from the counter. “My granddaughter is precious to me. I want you to keep her safe. In exchange, I will help you in your job. That hasn’t changed.”

Eavan was speechless.

“Done. I’ll do my best, but”—Cillian scowled—“I’m not a stud for hire. Eavan told me about…the other thing.”