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He held her close then reached out with his senses into the rest of the house, searching for the enemy. But he found only a welcome stillness to the air. He carried her into the living room and laid her down on the couch. She sat up immediately as though afraid they would return, her hand still at her neck. Blood oozed between her fingers, and her legs shook. Shit.
She met his gaze, leaned forward, elbows on knees, then burst into tears. He watched her for a moment, his gaze drifting to the rivulets of blood that dripped down her chest and stained the lace of her nightgown. Fury filled him. He wanted that bastard’s blood on his sword and on the ground, pints of it until the death vampire was good and dead.
Her sobs increased in volume. He resisted taking her back in his arms, offering her that kind of comfort. He was already too vulnerable where she was concerned. Havily had somehow broken through his defenses and begun arousing something very tender, yet very primal within him. Not a good thing for so many reasons.
Because he knew the wound at her throat would heal, he was more worried about her mental state. She’d been attacked. She’d faced her death tonight, and he wasn’t exactly equipped to handle this kind of trauma.
He drew his card-like warrior phone into his hand from the narrow pocket of his black cargoes. As he dropped to kneel in front of her, he thumbed the card. With his free hand he rubbed her arm very gently back and forth.
“Central.”
“Hey, Jeannie.”
“What’s doin’, Medichi?” Always cheerful.
Medichi would have smiled if his heart hadn’t been gripped by the sobs coming from Havily. “I need Alison. Can you get her for me? Tell her it’s urgent.”
“Of course. One sec.” The phone fell silent.
Less than a minute later Alison’s voice, thick with sleep, drifted through the line. “Hello, Antony. What’s wrong? What’s going on? I have the worst feeling. Is Kerrick okay?”
“This isn’t about your man. I’m calling about Havily. She was attacked in her home. Death vampires. Do you think you can come to us?”
She didn’t respond and the phone went dead. He stared at it, wondering what the hell to do and why she had hung up on him.
He was about to thumb Central’s number again when suddenly he felt the air vibrate beside him. Shit. He was on his feet, sword in hand once more, but … okay, he took a breath … Alison stood in front of him. Of course she’d come.
She glanced at his sword then at the woman on the couch. He felt a wave of empathic concern flow over him as she turned and drew close to the sofa. “Havily, what happened?” she murmured.
Medichi took several steps away from both women. Jesus, his chest hurt. He stumbled in the direction of the window overlooking a large central fountain. He rubbed between his pecs and took deep breaths. This had been happening to him a lot lately, ever since Alison had bonded with Kerrick and Havily had been out of her mind when the breh-hedden hit her hard at Endelle’s palace.
He had forgotten what it was to have women like this in his life. Mothers, sisters, lovers, the warmth of family, something he hadn’t had for such a long time. Something he hadn’t allowed himself from the day he ascended, from the time he had slaughtered those who had raped and killed his pregnant wife.
He weaved on his feet at the swell of empathy that filled the room. Sweet Jesus, Alison had power. Sometimes he even thought she exceeded Endelle, which had to be impossible. Although certainly not when it came to empathy.
He looked back in the direction of the couch. Yes, the concern, the pure love that radiated from the woman who was now holding Havily in her arms most certainly exceeded Endelle.
Within a few minutes Havily had stilled in Alison’s arms, and her complexion took on more color. She blinked several times and even folded a tissue into her hand to wipe her cheeks.
Alison turned to him. “Antony, would you please see if Horace could come to us for a few minutes? I’d like him to tend to Havily’s throat.”
These words tensed his stomach and he was ready to fight all over again. He glanced at his sword. He folded the damn thing back to his vault deep within his villa.
He nodded to Alison and brought his phone back up to his ear.
Jeannie’s voice came back on the line. “How’s our girl?”
“We need Horace here.” He heard the gasp, so he said, “Just a small repair … at her throat.”
Jeannie never cursed, but the string of profanity that now left her mouth shocked even Medichi. “You okay?” he asked.
“There are some things that just get to me. I’ll have Horace over there in five. He’s been with Santiago at the Awatukee Borderland. Don’t worry, the brother’s okay. Just a skin burn.”
Medichi laughed. Skin burn was code for a cut deep enough to slice through layers of muscle but not so deep that an artery had been hit. “Thanks,” he murmured. “When you’ve relayed the message to Horace, I’ll need Thorne to call. I’ll be at this location probably through the night.”
“No prob, duhuro.”
“Jeannie, why the hell are you calling us that again?”
“Just showin’ the love.” She giggled as the phone went dead. He sure liked the girls at Central. Nothing fazed them … thank you, God. But the use of the word duhuro, an old-language word of deep, almost reverential respect—whose literal meaning was a combination of “servant” and “master”—still chapped his hide. He was a warrior who took lives every night of his life. The violent war he made didn’t deserve that kind of accolade, as necessary as the nightly battling was.
Alison met his gaze. She had an arm around Havily, who in turn had her head pressed into Alison’s shoulder. “I think we need Endelle in on this,” she said. “I’m sensing something malevolent here, purposeful, unfinished. And you?”
“The same. Jeannie’s contacting Thorne.”
“Good. We need them both.”
He nodded his agreement.
Havily shifted slightly to meet his gaze as well, and for just a moment he couldn’t breathe. Even with both women in no makeup, and hair standing every which way, they were beauty personified, something that always hit his brain hard. His chest started to hurt all over again. He cleared his throat.
“I intend to stay here in case Hav receives another visit. Do you want to call Endelle or shall I?”
Medichi stared at her and she stared back. Now there was a duty filled with a thousand poisonous snakes.
