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Zane’s head jerked back around, and he stared at Jana with wide eyes. Demon eyes. Eyes so dark. Eyes that had seen into her.
“I wasn’t prepared for you before,” Kelly added with a hint of victory in her voice. “I am now. My stepbrother believed in sharing his findings with me. He studied the monsters, and he told me how to fight them.”
Bitch. “Not monsters,” Jana managed.
“Yes, you are. Now cuff her or I’ll shoot you both.” Jana couldn’t see the agent, but Kelly sure sounded close. “The bullet will blast right through you, Wynter. Through you and into her. You’ll survive. Odds are good she won’t.”
Silence hummed for a moment. Then Zane caught Jana’s wrist, his fingers warm against her. She felt the cold bite of metal and heard the soft click of the cuff locking.
“We’ve been here before,” she whispered as the buzzing slowly faded from her ears. His magic cuffs. Unbreakable. Whatever happened, they’d be together. The Feds wouldn’t hurt him. They might want her head on a platter, but the Bureau wouldn’t take out a hunter. Pak wouldn’t let them.
“This is going to hurt you,” he whispered, and the words feathered against her ear as he leaned in close, almost as if he were kissing her. “But I’m not letting her take us out of this lot. I’m taking her out.”
Sounded like one fine plan to her. “Guess I’ll see how strong you are,” she breathed the words back at him. Jana pressed her face into his neck and inhaled his scent.
You don’t really want to see this.
The words drifted through her mind. His words.
Jana frowned. “What?—”
His fingers slid over her cheek. “I’m sorry.” Then he spun around. “Now what?”
“Step to the side, demon. I want to see her face.”
But Zane shook his head. “No. Put down the fucking gun.” He exhaled on a heavy breath. “If you don’t, you’ll wish you had.”
Thunder echoed in Jana’s ears. No, not thunder. Gunshot. The agent had shot Zane! “No!”
But he laughed. Laughed. And the bees were back in her head. Buzzing like crazy. The earth seemed to roll and tilt, shaking beneath her. Jana fell to the ground, and the cuffs jerked on her hand.
“That the best you got?” Zane taunted. “Because it’s not even close to being good enough.”
Rising to her knees, Jana caught a glimpse of the agent’s face—right before Kelly was lifted into the air by unseen hands and tossed back five feet. She crashed into the bumper of a patrol car.
“I told you to put the gun down.” He took a step forward. “I’m done with warnings.”
The ground was bucking and rolling again. Lightning streaked across the sky, and Jana grabbed tight to Zane’s hand. “Hold on, Zane, just—” His blood was on the ground. Around her. Her back teeth locked. “We can?—”
“Zane!” The cop’s voice. Tony barreled out of the building with his gun drawn. He took in the scene with a quick glance. Blood. Cuffs. Woman sprawled over the back of the squad car.
Kelly started laughing. What the hell was up with the laughter?
But then Zane stumbled. His body shuddered and Jana’s heart seemed to stop.
Kelly had shot him, but with what? The agent’s gun lay on the ground. Dropped. Forgotten.
Zane lifted his right hand toward Kelly, and her laughter cut off. Her face drained of color, and she started gasping for breath. Desperate, she clawed at her throat.
“Let her go,” Tony ordered flatly. “I’m here, man. I’ve got her. She’s not going to hurt you or your lady again.”
But Zane didn’t let her go. Kelly’s body started bucking on the car. Long, thin, bloody scratches appeared on her arms.
“Zane, let her go,” Jana urged, worried, really worried, for him. Because this wasn’t Zane. He didn’t attack this way. He took his opponent down, but he didn’t torture. She grabbed his chin and jerked his face toward her. “Let her go!”
His eyes. They flickered wildly from green to black. Again. Again. “Zane?” Fear threaded through his name.
His eyes squeezed shut.
