Tynan opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, the bell above tinkled. In walked the biggest, baddest leather-clad man she had ever seen. Kari could make out nothing of his eyes behind black sunglasses, but sensed that his gaze zeroed in on Tynan.
“You O"Shea?”
A long pause later, Tynan shifted, subtlely putting her behind him. She peeked around his side in time to see the huge bloke with long, dark hair and bad attitude smile. “What do you want?”
Tensing, Tynan was clearly poised for a fight, but the other man merely slouched with a practiced air. She didn"t buy for one second that he was relaxed. “Shock Denzell. ”
“Denzell?” Tynan"s tone rang with suspicion as he eyed the man. “You followed me here?”
“I hear you don"t like me. ”
Tynan tensed. “I doubt
you came here because you worry we won"t be best friends. ”
Shock snorted and crossed his arms over his massive chest, then sent him a dark smile.
“You interested in playing the hero or do you have another agenda?”
“Answering that question may be hazardous to my health. Despite the fact you"re supposedly one of the Doomsday Brethren, you Denzells have a long history of supporting Mathias. ”
The scary stranger raised a brow. “Verbal diarrhea in front of the human?”
“She knows. ”
Kari sensed Denzell"s disapproving gaze taking an instant inventory of her. “So you don"t trust me because of my family? You always blame a son for his father"s sins?” Shock goaded.
“Trying to convince me you"re not following family tradition?”
“I"m a bitter disappointment to Mummy and Daddy. ” His mouth twisted bitterly. “Why do you want Mathias dead?”
Tynan briefly explained Auropha"s rape and murder. Kari"s stomach turned as she heard the details. That poor woman… How Tynan could speak of such evil without breaking was beyond her.
Shock, on the other hand, didn"t seem at all surprised. “Bram can use more blokes like you. Good luck staying alive. ”
Kari wasn"t sure if that was a quip or a genuine warning.
Then Shock disappeared—literally.
Kari had seen a bit of magic before but to watch it, here then gone… Unbelievable.
“Who is that?” she asked. “Odd name, Shock. ”
“From an even odder family. Lots of rumors that he"s half-vampire or infected with Dark Lust. No one knows for certain. ”
Half-vampire? Dark Lust? Kari shivered. She wasn"t sure she wanted to know what that meant. Magickind"s world was far more complex than she"d imagined. Ronan had shielded her from most of the details.
Another indicator he doesn’t see you fitting in.
“I don"t trust him,” Tynan cut into her thoughts.
Shock following Tynan here seemed odd, as if Mr. Bad-to-the-Bone had been sizing Tynan up, gauging his motives…
“Watch yourself around that one,” she offered.
“I definitely will. ” Then Tynan focused on her with a concerned stare. “But let"s discuss you. Dark circles under your eyes, whisker burn, and a sad frown on that pretty face. Need I ask who put it there?”
Kari blushed. “No. ”
Tynan leaned in, sniffed at her hair, her neck. Then he froze. “I smell him on you. All over you. ”
She gasped. “I showered! Twice. ”
“The only way to leave you covered in his scent like this is to be very thorough. ”
Ronan had definitely been that. Kari looked down, fearing he could read every thought on her face.
“Which would be all well and good, if you looked happy. What happened?” He folded her hand in his. “Do I need to be ready to fight him like any big brother defending his sister from a cad?”
The offer, even if delivered in jest, touched her. “No. I"ve nothing to blame but my own foolishness. I"d hoped that he would think I was his mate but—” she choked. He used me and I let him, stuck in her throat. She couldn"t say the words. Voicing them would only make the truth more real.
To her horror, tears stung her eyes and overwhelmed her defenses, falling before she could stop them. Immediately, Tynan came to her rescue and wrapped his arms around her.
“Oh, little one. You love him?”
She nodded miserably. “He doesn"t feel the same. ”
Tynan held her tighter and kissed the top of her head as the bell run again. The door crashed against the wall. Ronan appeared.
In a glance, he took in the scene, Tynan"s arms around her, hers clasped desperately to him in return.
Ronan slammed the door behind him and growled. “Get your fucking hands off her, wizard. ”
CHAPTER FIVE
Slowly, Tynan pulled away from Kari. She clung to his biceps, her blue eyes round, stunned.
Ronan cursed. “Let him go. ”
“Don"t hurt him!” Kari insisted.
Her words twisted the knife in his guts.
Beside her, Tynan wriggled loose and laughed. “You don"t have to protect me, little one. ”
Bloody bastard even had an endearment for her. Ronan wanted to rip the other wizard apart with his bare hands. Using magic wouldn"t be gory or satisfying enough.
“You have no right to touch her. ” Ronan took a menacing step closer, hate thundering through his veins.
“Nor do you. You made no Call. She did not Bind to you. Until then…” Tynan poured petrol on the flames by leaning down to kiss her cheek and stroke her hair.
Ronan knew the wizard was messing with his mind. Didn"t matter; the sight of another wizard"s mouth anywhere on Kari sent him ballistic.
And by Tynan"s smirk, he knew it. “I will return later. ”
Ronan charged at Tynan, white-knuckled fists at each side, ready to kill the bastard. But Tynan disappeared, leaving nothing but air in his wake.