AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Riker!” My shout was half-warning, half-terror.
Apparently that was enough to free him from Zayn’s compulsion to remain still. Riker moved with a speed that would’ve made any yoga master envious, but not fast enough to dodge completely. The flames licked his arm, and the scent of singed fabric and flesh hit my nostrils.
“Damn,” Riker grunted, patting out the remaining embers on his sleeve. His jaw clenched, a muscle ticking. “That’s gonna need some ice.”
“Or maybe an exorcism,” I added, eyeing the scorched material. It had been a nice shirt, too.
“Quiet,” Zayn commanded, his voice slicing through the tension. His fingers twitched, and the air around us shimmered.
I didn’t have time to brace myself. One moment we were standing in the lair of a power-mad djinn king, and the next, we were blinking against the familiar clutter of my office. I stumbled, nearly knocking over a precariously stacked pile of supernatural bounty hunter magazines. I caught myself on the edge of my desk, papers fluttering to the floor.
“Teleportation. Ugh.” I grimaced, rubbing my temples. “Anyone else feel like you’ve ridden the world’s worst roller coaster?”
“Could be worse,” Riker mused, examining his singed arm. “We could still be in there with his royal combustibility.”
“True.” I cast a glance at him. “But now we’ve got three days to figure this out before Dallas becomes a barbecue pit.”
“Three days,” Riker repeated, a hardened resolve settling into his expression. “We’ll find a way, Tessa. We always do.”
“Right,” I said, cracking a smile. “Because nothing says ‘bounty hunting’ like beating the clock and a fire-wielding djinn with a god complex.”
CHAPTER 15
The scent of antiseptic stung my nose as I dabbed at Riker’s wound with a cotton ball. “Hold still,” I mumbled, trying to ignore how the muscles of his arm tensed under my touch. The first aid kit, a kaleidoscope of band-aids and gauze, lay splayed open on my desk like a surgeon’s tray.
A crappy surgeon. I was about as gentle as a rabid chupacabra.
“You know, if you keep flinching, I’ll start thinking you’re not such a tough guy after all,” I teased.
“Always knew you’d enjoy inflicting pain on me,” he said, a smirk playing on his lips even as he winced.
“Keep it up, and I’ll ‘accidentally’ pour alcohol on it.” I secured the bandage with a flourish. “There. You’ll live.”
Riker flexed his arm, testing the bandage’s hold. “Thanks, Doc. Now, about Zayn?—”
I leaned against my desk, arms crossed. “Why is he waiting three days to leave Dallas? Why dawdle?”
“Maybe he enjoys the Texan hospitality,” Riker offered. “Or the barbeque or Tex-Mex. Or maybe there’s something else tethering him here.”
“Like what? A sale at Cowboy Boots R Us?” I snorted. But inside, I was turning over stones in my mind. Zayn wasn’t the type to stick around without reason. There were pieces we were missing—dangerous, fiery pieces.
“Zayn’s all about power plays,” Riker said, his tone shifting to serious. “He wouldn’t delay without some advantage. We just can’t see it yet.”
“Advantage or not, we’re running out of time.” I started pacing, my boots clicking against the tile floor with each step. “Three days to figure out his game and beat him at it.”
“Or we could walk away. Let someone else play hero.” Riker’s voice was flat, but his eyes held a challenge.
“Since when do you back down from a fight?” I stopped pacing to stare him down.
“Since never. But I’m not the one King Zayn wants to torch.” He stood, towering over me, his concern barely concealed by his tough-guy act.
“Look, I know you don’t always believe I’ve got the chops for this bounty hunting gig,” I said, “but Cairo and Poppy are relying on us. And I’m not about to let them—or this city—down.”
“Even if it burns you?” Riker asked, his gaze searching mine.
“Even then.” I met his gaze unflinchingly. “I didn’t choose this life because it was safe.”
I flicked a glance at the calendar tacked to the corkboard wall, its dates mocking me with their relentless march toward doom. “Zayn’s not just twiddling his thumbs waiting for a tan in this Texas sun,” I mused aloud, tapping a finger against my lips. “There’s got to be another reason he’s sticking around.”
