“Torin is aware of the situation, and he will be here soon.”
“He’s going to think I’m fucking stupid.” He noticed a twitch as Josef fought a smile.
"He will not, I assure you," Josef told him. "He is your beloved, and he will be glad you're safe."
"Tell that guard thanks for saving my ass out there. I really appreciate it."
"I will." Josef patted him on the shoulder as he left the room. Shae remained there, waiting for Torin. There were guards at the door he saw them when Josef was leaving. He should have just stayed in the apartment and waited. Whoever pretended to be Lauren did a damn good job; it sounded just like her. He had a lot to learn about this new world he'd stumbled into. The first thing he needed to learn was to recognize liars.
***
Torin received the message after he swept the Second Street apartment building in the lowlands. They'd rousted out a few low-level magics but hadn’t discovered any of the heavy hitters.
Massey's men were mostly on the run, but he had hired a few snipers who were still out there killing anyone who had beenpresent that day. Massey had put a bounty on his head, although Massey didn't know who he was.
From all reports, Massey was currently held up in his office suite in the Arles building. It was a building he owned, and he occupied most of it with his business ventures. His office suite was on the tenth floor.
The more he fought, the more he lost, but the man was infuriated and decided that going all in was the way to handle this attack. He made a bad call, a very bad call, but he was too far in now to stop. His empire was crashing, and all he had left was to kill as many as possible.
It was a move made by losers, and Massey had been a loser his entire life, according to Killian. He was propped up by others, and those people had currently turned their backs on him. He was on his own, and although struggling, he was still inflicting a lot of pain and destruction.
After finishing with the apartment building he planned to head over to the business district of the lowlands. They would finish the lowlands and then do an entire sweep of the city, making their position clear regarding Massey and ending anyone who thought differently. They were saving Massey and his private guards for last. It seemed like a good plan.
A strange feeling of alarm struck him, and he did a quick survey of his surroundings. Then he recognized the source, and he grabbed his phone just as it began to ring.
"Your beloved Shae was in the Plaza and was targeted by Massey's men." Josef began. He explained the call, supposedly from his friend Lauren, and his attempt to leave and meet her at a nearby coffee shop. The shooters, two of them, were waiting for him in the Plaza.
"He's safe and unharmed, and the shooters have been dispatched. I have Shae waiting in the debriefing room off the lobby. He is fully guarded, and there are no windows." Josef assured.
“Tell him I will be there soon. I have something to take care of first.” Torin stated coldly.
"Take someone with you, Torin, don't storm that place alone," Josef interjected forcefully.
“I work better alone.” He said and then closed the call. He dared to attack his beloved, dared to harm what was his. Torin moved on the wind, and within a beat of a human heart, he was standing on the tenth floor of the Arles building.
He could smell the man and his guards, who were clustered around his office, inside and out. Jarod Massey was angry, flustered, and spitting orders that were killing his own men. There was no time for strategy, there was only time for death.
He stepped into the main office and saw Massey standing behind his desk as if using it as a barricade against the chaos he had instigated. "You." Massey shouted and looked around. "I'm going to kill you, take you apart, and watch you beg for death." Torin smiled.
"Where are your men, Massey? Where are those who do your fighting for you? You're alone here in your hidey hole." Torin kept his eyes on the man and slowly walked toward him.
There were no men in the outer room, in the hall, or in the elevators because they were all dead. Torin had ended them before they knew what was happening. The rage he felt upon hearing of Shae's attack had left him cold and focused on retribution, and that retribution was painted red.
The guards by the elevator had been wolf shifters they died in an instant, no time for fighting or distractions. He had one goal in mind, and that was to tear the heart from the man who dared to come after Shae.
The men in the hall were human and went down with three shots. Torin didn't even have to break his stride. The outer office was one man, the jackal from the woods. He was surprised to see Torin and even more surprised when Torin called forth his demon and tore the man's head off. The shock on his face was delicious.
He didn’t usually deal in so much unreserved carnage, but this day seemed to call for it. This man and his minions thought he could touch what belonged to Torin, and he was going to learn otherwise. It was a lesson he would not live to contemplate, but, in the moment, he would understand his mistakes just as the jackal had understood his.
He could feel Shae; he could feel his uncertainty and his discomfort, and he reached out to him, channeling love and understanding. None of this was his fault. His beloved had been caught in the crossfire of a battle he knew nothing about. Torin vowed to protect him, and he was keeping that promise.
Massey moved to the corner of the room by the floor-to-ceiling windows and began negotiating. "I don't know who hired you, but I will pay you twice whatever they paid."
"We're beyond any negotiations you set assassins onto my beloved, and for that you will die and die painfully." Torin moved forward, and Massey pulled out a gun and started shooting. All the shots hit him in the chest, but nothing penetrated.
It would take more than a 9mm to penetrate the hide of a Shadow Demon. If he’d had a larger gun, it might have atleast stung a bit, but Massey preferred the smaller caliber to not bother the cut of his suit. “You really are an embarrassment to your father.” Torin mocked.
Massey pulled out a knife from his vest and dove at Torin, a stupid and final move that resulted in him being thrown to the wall with Torin's forearm pressed against his neck. Torin held his right hand, the one with the knife, and twisted it until it was pointed at Massey's own heart.
