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He stood and scanned the room one more time, unable to find her. No matter. Determination settled over him as he walked toward the hallway that led to the sleeping quarters. No matter what, he was going to find her. And come hell or high water, he was going to make her listen.
Tarun reached the bottom of the steps, turning her head to laugh at something Damara said. She hadn’t known the other woman long, but she already felt a kinship with her that she hadn’t felt with many others before.
She couldn’t lie—at first, the fact that Damara was a griffin intimidated her a bit. She’d never met one, but if her new friend was anything like the legends, she was a whole other level of fierce.
She quickly got over the intimidation, though. Damara was outgoing, friendly, and hilarious, with an underlying sweetness that was hard to miss. It was easy to forget that not only was she a griffin, but she was an Enforcer. A double layer of fierce. No, triple. She was a griffin, a fighter, in both human and animal form, and she possessed a powerful gift.
Tarun didn’t know what it was, but it was sure to be a good one. According to Luke, it had to be, for her to be accepted as an Enforcer.
Her mood dimmed a bit at his name, and she quickly pushed thoughts of him away. She couldn’t let herself think of him, no matter how innocently. He clearly wasn’t good for her.
The point was, Damara was on a whole other level of badass. But when Tarun was hanging out with her, she felt like a friend. Just a normal, everyday variety of shifter.
Still laughing, she turned to face forward and immediately smacked into a brick wall. A brick wall with arms that reached up to catch her, and held her against a hard chest. A brick wall that smelled remarkably like Luke.
Shit. Closing her eyes, she resisted the urge to rest her forehead against his chest. That was too much contact. Hell, there was already too much contact. Forcing her spine to straighten, she yanked herself out of his arms, opening her eyes and looking anywhere but at him.
“Excuse me. Damara, you coming?”
She began to walk past him, but he put a hand on her arm. His touch was gentle—he wasn’t holding her or forcing her to stop in any way. But she still halted, her feet making the decision for her.
“Tarun. Can we talk? Please. Just me and you. I need to explain.”
Gathering her faltering resolve around her like a bullet proof cloak, she shored it up as she pulled her arm from his grasp. “No. There’s nothing we have to say to each other. Everything’s fine. I’ll stay out of your way. Just try to stay out of mine.”
“Tarun—”
Shaking her head, she ignored the pleading, borderline anguished quality in his voice and kept walking. How was she going to handle it? Seeing him multiple times a day, every day. Knowing he’d played with her heart while wanting another.
It seemed an impossible task, but she had to do it. He could die if she didn’t. The other Enforcers could get hurt. So she had to figure out how to deal with it, and fast. Before she lost a part of her heart before she went home.
No, not a part of her heart. If she was being honest with herself, she’d already lost that.
Next would be a piece of her soul. And she wouldn’t willingly give that to someone who didn’t want it—who didn’t deserve it.
“All right, stop,” Damara barked out. “Both of you.”
Tarun’s feet came to a stop automatically and she reluctantly turned toward her, making sure to keep her eyes away from Luke. Looking at him was more than she could handle.
Damara looked between them, a frown forming between her troubled, dark brown eyes. “I have no idea what’s going on. But Luke is one of my favorite people, and Tarun, you’re quickly becoming one. So you two are going to work whatever this is out. Go on now. I’m waiting.”
Tarun pursed her lips, looking up at the ceiling, not yet willing to give an inch. She could feel Luke’s gaze on her—it was like a physical caress, raising g
oosebumps on her skin. He kept his silence, but she wasn’t sure why. He wanted to talk, yet when Damara gave him the chance, he stayed quiet.
“Okay. I get it,” Damara said, coming forward a few steps. “You don’t want to talk with an audience. But you are going to talk.” She jabbed a finger toward Luke, her frown in full effect. “You. Chances are, whatever this clusterfuck is, it’s your fault. Don’t give me that look. It’s a man thing. Y’all always screw shit up. Whatever this is, you better fix it. I like Tarun. She’s my friend, and I will not have her hurt. Is that understood? Good.
“And you,” she continued, turning her finger toward Tarun. “You seem like a sweet, levelheaded woman. So I’m trusting that you’ll realize men are the biggest idiots on Earth. There’s something flawed with their thinking. Shut up, Luke. I’m speaking the truth, and I’m trying to help you, so keep your natural born idiocy in check. Now, Tarun, there’s no doubt in my mind that whatever’s wrong, it’s his fault. But I’m telling you now, Luke is one of the good ones. He truly is, and whatever it is he’s done, there’s a good explanation. It might not make sense to you, but trust that to him, it does. He’s good. All I’m asking is that you give a good man a chance.”
Tarun’s gazed dropped from the ceiling and she chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at her new friend, considering her words. Maybe—just maybe—there was some truth to them. Damara met her gaze steadily and she must have seen her resolve wavering, because her eyes softened, and she took a few steps forward, taking Tarun’s hands in her own.
“I know we just met today, but it feels like we’ve known each other forever, right?” Damara asked softly, her gaze intent. “I hope that you trust me enough to tell you the truth. But even if you don’t, I know you heard the honest notes in my voice when I spoke. Please. Give Luke a chance to fix whatever it is he’s broken.”
Squeezing her hands, Damara gave her an encouraging smile before walking away, her ever present Dmitri shadow following her. Before long, Tarun was alone in the hallway with Luke, the silence stretching out, unending.
Until he finally broke it. “Tarun. Please, can we talk? Privately? If you still want to tell me off once I’m done and avoid me for the rest of your stay, I won’t stop you, and I won’t keep bugging you. But please, hear me out first.”
Blowing out a deep breath, she finally looked into his eyes for the first time since she ran into him. A shiver wracked her as she saw the intensity in his light blue and gold gaze, the color indicating his lion was near almost completely taking over the blue.
