But the moment he moved closer with the screwdriver in hand, his ears caught noises that were so out of tune from the rhythm tapped by the moving train they might have been a swarm of locusts about to consume him to the bone.
Voices. Male voices barking commands that sounded like seconds counted to Gray’s failure. The window of opportunity was almost closed, and the more it shrunk, the more obvious it became that if Gray couldn’t bring back the ruby, the life he knew would be over.
His fingers had never worked this fast. Focused on the screws and the box that held the key to his future, he barely registered Shadow kneeling beside him under the table, but he broke out in cold sweat when the door on the nearest end of the car opened and banged the wall. The multi-tool fell out of his hand, and he rolled to his back, grabbing the two firearms he had on him. He braced for a bloody fight in which the odds were stacked against him, and the flimsy table was his only shelter.
Next to him, Shadow fell head-first to the floor.
Chapter 10
It was as if a bomb had exploded in Shadow’s mind.
Gray was in danger.
Gray was pale, his muscles stiff like steel ropes. He was afraid.
Shadow’s first impulse was to shield him with the dark, flexible arm hiding in his body, but the moment it breached his skin, he knew it wouldn’t provide sufficient protection. Yet there was more of him, hidden away inside the imperfect human body that was so vulnerable to damage, invisible though still at his disposal like any other part of him.
Time slowed when his instincts kicked in. He crawled out of the human sheath and created a bubble of shadow around Gray, uncaring about the fate of the form that so far had brought him so much misery. At once, he was free from the pain in his arm, from hunger, from fatigue, his desires once more focused on the only person who counted in this whole universe.
Gray trembled violently when they pressed together, but now that Shadow became his shield, even his voice would be inaudible to outsiders. Safe in the warmth of Shadow’s arms, Gray was still tense with fear—his body secreting delicious sweat, his lungs unable to fully expand—but he remained alert.
A tall figure in black entered the restaurant with an assault rifle. Shadow could see the man just fine in the dark, but moments later lamps flickered and covered the entire car in a bright glow. The man made a small gesture with his fingers, but he approached on his own, face hidden behind a mask of black fabric.
The closer he was, the more Gray froze, until he no longer breathed, following the stranger’s movements and gently moving his gun to keep it aimed at the man’s head. His fingers trembled. His heartbeat became a warning signal.
But Shadow would keep him safe.
They remained still when the man stopped next to Shadow’s deserted body and nudged it with the tip of his boot. The kick rolled the flesh sheath to its side, limbs spread at awkward angles, black blood staining Shadow’s clothes. Its face was pleasant, even though lax, with empty eyes and purple lips.
It was hard to think of the flesh as his own when he’d only lived in it for a couple of days. Then again, it wasn’t like he could enter another body. This was the one Baal had chosen for him, the only bones Shadow was bonded with, so he’d grown some tender feelings for them.
Gray’s flesh pulsed so loudly its rhythmic sound felt like a caress, but when his finger twitched against the trigger, Shadow’s entire form spoke to him.
Stay still.
Gray gasped, but he loosened his grip on the firearm just in time. The man in black must have heard the noise and ducked, his eyes alert yet unable to see more than darkness under the table.
When Gray’s mouth opened, about to release a sudden noise, Shadow poured himself into his mouth, blocking his throat. Gray initially stiffened, shaken by sudden tremors, but when the stranger ignored their presence and rose, it was as if all of Gray’s muscles turned into liquid in Shadow’s arms. Only then did Shadow slowly retreat, freeing Gray’s lips, no matter how tempting it was to stay inside of Gray’s body. The rising warmth of Gray’s skin gave him a thrill, as if the quickened heartbeat, the relaxed shoulders were a tribute to his performance.
Gray might not know this yet, he might remain stubborn and refuse Shadow his affection, but that didn’t change the fact that he was Shadow’s the same way Shadow was Gray’s.
“Is this for real?” Another man approached with a rifle in his hands and looked down at Shadow’s human body.