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“Had...to s-save...you.”
Erin choked back the sob that rose in her throat.
“Who the hell...is he?” Dee’s strained voice. Erin glanced at her. She was up now, on her feet, wavering a bit as she inched toward the naked body on the ground.
The fur was gone. The beast always vanished in death.
Erin’s hands fisted. “His name’s Lance Harper.JudgeLance Harper.”
“Well, fuck.” Comprehension darkened Jude’s voice. “The dick in the basement.”
Yes.
“Erin, I-I’m s-sorry...” Her mother’s whisper.
Erin straightened her shoulders and turned her stare back to her mother. “It’s not your fault. What he did—you had nothing to do with that.” Theresa had loved the wrong man. The wrong,psychoticman. But her mother hadn’t known. “It’ll be okay, Mom, just stay with me.”
Her mother swallowed, the gulp loud and painful. “Trying...Legs are a...m-mess...need sh-shift...”
But she wasn’t strong enough for that, not yet.
“A judge?” Dee asked and the scent of her blood burned Erin’s nose. She was still bleeding.Human.She’d scar from the wounds, they were too deep not to scar.
She could understand Dee’s disbelief. Her stalker had been Lillian’s citizen of the year for five years running. He’d sure been good at fooling the world.
“Huh. Never did care much for judges.”
At that, Erin fired a look over her shoulder in time to see Dee toeing the judge’s body with her right foot. The hunter had her gun against her hip, and she was painstakingly loading fresh bullets into the chamber.
Better late than never.
Jude’s hand curled around Erin’s shoulder. “Hey. You okay?”
She would be.Finally, she would be. Her eyes fell to Harper’s still face. Handsome, even in death. Refined, almost?—
His eyelids flew open.
Sick understanding burned through her. The shift had saved him. He hadn’t shifted to die, he’d shifted to live.
“Dee!”
Too late. Harper lunged up and grabbed her, jerking Dee down onto his body and anchoring her against him. One hand rose to clutch her throat and his claws dug into her jugular.
“I can kill her with one slice.” His voice was hoarse, guttural. Because Jude had nearly ripped out his throat. The wound was still there, still red and jagged and angry, but he’d healed enough,just enough.
Erin knew he wasn’t bullshitting. He’d kill the hunter in a heartbeat of time. “Harper, let her go.” She rose to her feet, deliberately keeping her mother behind her.
Jude’s fingers tightened around her.
Harper’s eyes narrowed at that small movement. “Touching her...always...touchingher...” He licked his lips.
Dee didn’t move. Her face was blank, her body tense. Her blood pulsed from her wounds.
Erin shrugged free of Jude’s hold and took a step forward. Behind her, she heard the rumble of his fury. “Let her go,” she repeated.
But Harper shook his head. “Bitch...could have been...perfect...”
“There’s nowhere to go.” Jude’s hard voice. He hadn’t stayed back. Now he stood beside her, naked and strong and more than ready to face down the devil with her.
