Broken Warrior (The Weavers Circle 1)

Beyond the physical fatigue, he was trying to ignore the ache in his heart. What the hell was he supposed to do about Dane? Yes, they’d shared a hot kiss at the club, but it already felt like it was so much more than a kiss. The silence coming from the front seat made it clear Clay had disappointed him in some way. He wished he didn’t care. Wished it didn’t fucking matter what Dane felt or thought.

But it did.

And despite how much Clay told himself that he wasn’t planning to stick around, and that all this Weavers’ Circle shit wasn’t going to tie him down, it still mattered that he’d hurt Dane.

Did it mean telling him about his and Baer’s powers? Did he tell Dane that Grey was very likely one of them? Did he mention that there were three more guys heading their way and that the crazy old ladies were actually goddesses?

Fuck, no!

Even if he could convince Dane that he wasn’t crazy and all this shit was real, Dane would run. Any sane person would run. Dane would leave—and he could because there wasn’t a damn thing tying him to the Circle.

But was he a target now?

Had the pestilents marked him as a potential Weaver or just a friend of the Weavers? If they had, Clay didn’t doubt they’d go after Dane to get at the rest of them.

He couldn’t allow Dane to leave the plantation house. It wasn’t safe.

But it wasn’t fair to trap him there.

It wasn’t fair to lie to him either.

Clay rubbed his eyes against the dull throbbing that was starting there and stretching out to his temples. It had been more than a week since his last headache, but this was purely stress related. It would have been so much easier if Dane had been an asshole.

Why did he have to be so…so…so perfect?Chapter 10Clay was a damn liar.

Or a magician.

Those poles falling couldn’t have been coincidence, but Dane had no way to explain them. Or anything else that had happened. All he did know was that Baer, Clay, and now even Grey seemed to know what was going on while he was left in the dark, and it didn’t sit well with him.

No, it fucking pissed him off.

He stared out into the darkness as they made their way home while everyone remained quiet. The plantation house was so far out of town, no lights penetrated the woods and sky. The stars shone so brightly overhead. Often at night, when he couldn’t sleep, he walked outside and looked up at them. They’d always had a calming effect on him.

Not tonight.

Tonight, anger burned inside him. Anger and fear, but anger was winning the race.

Baer parked his Jeep in the garage this time. Dane climbed out of it and grabbed Clay’s arm as soon as his feet hit the concrete.

“You and I are going up to my place and having a talk. Now,” Dane snapped.

Clay gave him a curt nod, but then he met Baer’s gaze, and something passed between them that made Dane even angrier. It wasn’t a sexual thing—he wasn’t worried about that. But they were hiding something from him and from the expression on Grey’s face, he knew something more as well. They’d only met the guy tonight! And he’d said outright it felt like he knew Baer and Clay.

Dane strode up the narrow stairs that led to his apartment, through the small kitchen, and flipped on the lamp in the living room. This time, he didn’t care about the clothes strewn about the place.

He took a deep, calming breath; then he faced Clay, who stood watching him from the doorway. Fuck, the man still looked hot, and he tried not to think about the kisses they’d shared before everything had gone sideways. They’d been hotter than he’d ever imagined they would be. Clay had raised something in him he thought long dead.

But that had been before the bar and the damn car chase.

“What the hell is going on?” Dane demanded.

Clay sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. “You know as much as I do.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. You said these men were after you. Why?”

When Clay didn’t answer, Dane growled and took a step closer to him. “You flat-out said you’d explain once we were safe at home.” He waved his hand around the room. “Well, here we are.”

Clay briefly shut his eyes and when he opened them, true regret shone in that brown gaze, and Dane could tell he wasn’t going to get the answers he really wanted. “There are some men after us. Baer and me. I’ve told you that. I’m pretty sure they’re after Grey as well. All I know is, they’re relentless, and they’ve been after me for a long time.”

“And you have no idea why?”