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“Whoa, easy on the merchandise there. The enemies are the ones who’ll want to hurt me, not you.”
“Sorry,” I said, quickly letting go of her bicep. I might have forgotten about my shifter strength for a second there. I'd need to be careful, though. Simple hiccups like that could definitely reveal me to the others. “Listen, I need a favor.”
The sentence shouldn’t have brought that much joy to the psychic, but it was written clear as day across her features.
“A favor?”
I nodded, trying to put together the perfect words inside my head.
“Of course, bestie, whatever you need.”
She was being awfully genial about the whole thing. I knew that she considered us friends, but she was handing me a lot of trust. What if I asked her for her firstborn child or a liter of her blood?
“First I need you not to ask questions.”
“Hmm, I’ll try, but you’re already making it hard.”
“Right, well, uh… look, could you be a buffer between me and the others? Especially the captain? I cannot ever be alone with him.”
I could tell that a million and one questions were passing behind Darla’s eyes as the seconds passed, and every single one made my heart pound even louder in my chest. If she didn’t answer soon, I was sure Kai would be able to hear it, even from a few feet away, and come over to ask what was wrong.
Finally, she did speak. “I can’t help but notice that you saidcan’t, and not that you don’twantto.”
Why couldn’t Darla just be a brainless beauty? That was probably a cruel thing to think, but goodness, she really was too bright for her own good. Then again, if she couldn’t easily see through my bluster Ireally wouldbe alone.
“I’m not asking a question and therefore not violating your favor, but I can’t help but wonder why you’d want to keep away from a great shifter that you’re clearly interested in.”
“The only reason that isn’t a question is semantics,” I rebuffed, crossing my arms in disapproval.
“Ah, but you admit that it’s not a question, then?”
Rolling my eyes, I tried to ignore how hard I was blushing. I could feel the burn on my cheeks like a falling star. “Look, Kai and I are not interested in each other,” I said unconvincingly. “I just want space, and that’s all there is to it.”
Darla raised her hands in a conceding gesture, but I could tell she wasn’t buying it. Oh well, as long as she still went with it. “Okay, okay. If you need a buffer, I’ll be the best one you could ask for.”
“Thank you.”
I was immensely grateful for that. I didn’t know what’d spurred me to ask Darla for such a big help, but I was glad I had. At least I wasn’t completely alone in my conundrum, even if Darla didn’t know the full story.
“Now, come on, let’s introduce you to the crackpot team I’ll be buffering for you.”
Swallowing hard, I let her lead me forward. I tried to concentrate on the three people standing beside him, but as soon as Kai grinned, my eyes went to that dazzling smile of his. Geez, he really was so unfair.
“Everyone, this is Medic Everton. She’ll be the lead for this mission. Everton, this is Sargent Maddox Benson.”
The tallest, burliest man of the group stepped forward, offering his hand. “You can call me Mad Dog.”
“Mad Dog?” I vaguely recognized him. He was quite the ferocious warrior and wolf shifter.
“Yup, that’s the long and the short of it.”
“This is Tristan. He’s one of our most skilled scouts,” Kai continued, pointing to a young man beside him. I’d most certainly heard of Tristan and his salacious ways. I kept a wide berth from him usually, not wanting to deal with all of…that.
“Last, but certainly not least, is Sergeant Avantgard. I think you’ll recognize her.”
Looking to the final member, I realized that it was indeed the vampire from my escort on the battlefield. The one I’d run away from, now wearing a sun protection bracelet on either wrist.
Oh dear.
