Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jenson Guardian 5)

I glanced at Patrin, then said, "Rhoan, all finished up here. Meet you out front." I looked back at Blake. "And don't think about enlisting your cop or judge buddies to help you out of this situation. They're going to have enough problems of their own."

He didn't say anything. Didn't do anything. He couldn't, and he knew it. It was sweeter, so much sweeter, than using my fists as I had so often dreamed of doing.

I gave him a smile, then turned and walked across to the balcony. The leap down to the ground jarred my leg, but I refused to limp as Rhoan joined me and we walked away.

As soon as I got home, I rang Kellen. I desperately wanted to see him now that everything else had been sorted out. I wanted to tell him my news, my decision. Get my new life - our new life - underway.

My fingers were shaking as I pressed his number. It rang several times, and then a voice said, "Yes?"

For several beats I wasn't entirely sure it was him. His voice sounded rough, tired almost beyond recognition.

"Kellen? It's Riley."

"You're home?"

"Yes. Do you want to meet somewhere, or would you rather I come over to your place?"

"I'll come to you," he said, then hung up.

I frowned down at the phone for several seconds, not quite believing that he'd hung up on me. He wasn't usually so abrupt, but maybe it was just the tiredness. He'd sounded like hell, so maybe work had been a pain in the ass again.

"Everything okay?" Rhoan asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah." He was coming to see me, and that was all I had to worry about for the moment. "What are your plans for the evening?"

"I'll shower, change, then head over to Liander's. He'll be wanting to kiss my war wounds better."

I snorted. "You hardly have a damn scratch on you."

"I have a bump on the head."

"Hardly worth sympathy."

"You're just jealous of my beautiful, unmarred skin."

This from the man who had almost as many scars as I did. "Totally," I said dryly.

He grinned and gave me a hug. "Being a guardian is so much more fun now that you're one of us."

"Being a guardian is many things, but I wouldn't say a fun time was one of them."

"Depends on your definition of fun, doesn't it?"

"Well, getting shot and blowing away bad guys is not mine." I paused, feeling the lie in my words but still not wanting to acknowledge it. Dammit, I wasn't my brother, I wouldn't enjoy my job. I wouldn't. "The only guys I want to blow are sexy good guys, and only in a sexual sense."

Not that that was a thrill I'd be pursuing any time soon with anyone other than Kellen. And while there was a part of me that was sad over that, mostly I was just happy to be pursuing a long-held dream with someone I cared about, and who cared for me.

It might not work out in the end, I knew that, but at least I was here, taking the chance instead of skipping away from it.

The cab finally pulled up at the front of our apartment building. Rhoan paid the driver with his credit card while I raced upstairs to get first dibs on the shower and the hot water.

Once clean, and with coffee and chocolate in hand, I sat down on the sofa to wait for Kellen. My brother showered and then headed out, leaving me alone to a silence that seemed filled with expectations. Thankfully, it wasn't all that long before Kellen's footsteps echoed in the hall and his rich, warm scent drifted on the air.

I walked over to the door and opened it. He looked good, despite the tiredness etched deep in his face, and my heart did this happy little dance.

"Hey," I said, a smile splitting my lips. "Nice to see you again."

"And it's a damn relief to see you." He stepped through the door and wrapped his arms around me, holding me so tight it was difficult to breathe.