“Where?” Renault panted. “Where is it?”
The other supernaturals had finally sensed the disturbance in the force, and now a few of them were making their way over. Jaci had maybe thirty seconds before they realized their boss was hacking up blood and their security guard was a pile of smoking rubble.
Renault coughed again, trying but failing to get back on his feet. “Filthy mongrel. I… I will—”
“For starters, you’ll call off the goon squad, or they’ll be sweeping up your ashes by sunrise.”
He glared at her and shook his head, but Jaci wasn’t about to back down.
She got right in his face, letting her eyes turn black, her palm crackling with fresh hellfire. “Call them off, Renault.Now.”
With no other options, he held up a hand and shook his head, halting the advancing mob. They’d gotten close, though. Close enough to realize their boss was having arealshitty night.
Mages. Vampires. Demons. Grays. Too many to count. Jaci sensed the mages’ dark magic on the air, smelled the demons’ hellfire. Together they were an arsenal of weapons locked and loaded, every last one ready to blow.
“Stand down,” Renault ordered, finally getting to his feet. Pressing a hand to his chest, he cleared his throat and repeated the command. “Stand down.”
A murmur of confusion rippled through the group, but eventually, they backed off.
Jaci let out a sigh of relief.
Gabriel would join her soon.
They’d find Cole and get out of there.
The end was so close she could taste it.
Then Renault coughed again and dropped back onto his knees, andonevampire—one stupid, inbred, wannabe-hero vampire—decided to break rank.
She’d barely caught sight of his blur before he barreled into her, slamming her to the ground and pinning her beneath two hundred pounds of pure muscle. Jaci couldn’t catch her breath. Couldn’t fight him off. He fisted her hair, and with a monstrous gleam in his eyes, he bared his fangs, yanked her head to the side, and…
Collapsed in a bloody heap on top of her.
Blinking the gore from her eyes, Jaci looked up as the face of her rescuer slowly came into focus, one sexy inch at a time.
Chiseled jaw with just the right amount of stubble. Infuriating smirk. Gorgeous green eyes.
In his hand, he clutched the dead vampire’s heart.
Seconds later, the heart—along with the rest of the carcass damn near crushing her lungs—exploded in a cloud of ash.
“Honestly, woman.” Gabriel dusted off his hands and helped her up. “I’m all for a bit of role-play, but I think you’re taking this whole white-knight-saves-damsel thing too far.”
“You know I can’t resist a good rescue, Prince.”
“Speaking of rescues…” He leaned in close, whispering into her hair. “I assume you’ve got a plan? I mean, yousaidyou had a plan, but this… Well, this isn’t inspiring much confidence.”
Jaci glanced out across the sea of angry, confused faces, all of them clearly waiting for Renault to give the execution order. She could see it in their eyes—the weighing of the options.
Attack now, and risk embarrassing their boss and possibly getting executed for acting without a direct command.
Do nothing, and risk their boss dying before he could line their pockets with whatever riches he’d undoubtedly promised in exchange for their loyalty.
Turn tail and run, hoping like hell he never tracked them down.
Jaci knew the dilemma all too well.
She didn’t think the remaining vampires and demons would act, but the dark mages… She didn’t trust them. They were total rogues, and something told her Renault needed them a hell of a lot more than they needed him.
