Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats 1)

Jaxton growled and everything started to vibrate. He needed to find a way to break the two-way mirror before the bastard laid another fucking hand on his woman.

Kiarra was nearly ready. Another thirty seconds and she should have enough energy to fuel her fire and knock the mysterious asshole fondling her breast across the room.

But then Ty’s double ripped away the shirt from her body and exposed her torso. When he tugged at the pants at her waist, fury ran through her, turning her cheeks pink. The asshole mistook it for desire and said, “That’s right, little slut, you like it.”

Enough. Kiarra focused her flame outward, directing it from behind her to the particles floating between her and the man. She barely had time to note his surprise before a massive ball of flame slammed him against the wall on the other side of the room. A split second later, the window behind her shattered.

Her fire had burned away her bonds, and Kiarra turned around, ready to attack. She froze as Jaxton barreled toward her; he cupped her face with his hands as soon as he was close enough. “Are you all right?”

She blinked, but brushed aside the shock. All she wanted to do was curl up against Jaxton’s chest to make sure he was real and not a dream, but that would have to wait. They didn’t have much time. “I’ll live. But we need to get out of here.”

He shucked off his shirt and threw it over her head. She’d momentarily forgotten that she was half naked.

Jaxton nodded and removed the gun tucked into his waistband, and then they both went over to the asshole on the floor. The man was groaning, yet despite the fact her fire had definitely made contact, he was unscorched. Strange. She tucked that piece of information away for later.

Jaxton hefted the man up by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Judging by the look in Jaxton’s eyes, he’d kill the man before they had a chance to question him.

She went over and placed a hand on Jaxton’s arm. “Stop. He’s our best bet for finding Millie.”

Jaxton’s grip tightened on the man’s throat as he glanced at Kiarra, his eyes deadly. “But he deserves to die for what he did to you.”

Kiarra’s breath hitched at the look in Jaxton’s eyes. He was being sincere. If she wanted Ty’s double dead, Jaxton would do it without hesitation. For some reason, she found that oddly sweet, and it meant more to her than she would like to admit. Still, the rational side of her brain knew better. “Surviving his failure will probably be a far worse punishment. Ask him about Millie so we can get the hell out of here.”

Jaxton gave a male grunt and returned his gaze to the man pinned up against the wall. He eased his grip on the man’s throat a fraction and said, “They picked up a young woman named Millie Ward from a pub the other night and brought her here. Where is she?”

“Don’t…know.”

Jaxton leaned closer to the man. “Last chance, where is she?”

The man shook his head and Jaxton slammed the man’s head against the wall hard enough to knock him unconscious.

Kiarra squeezed Jaxton’s arm. “We’ll find her.”

“Once Darius—” Jaxton stopped mid-sentence and pushed Kiarra behind him. “People are coming.”

She’d been so distracted by Jaxton’s interrogation that she hadn’t heard the shouts coming from the hall. Kiarra tested her fire, put a hand on Jaxton’s arm, and felt her power increase tenfold. “As long as I can draw power from you, I can take care of them.”

Sounds started to filter in through the broken two-way mirror, and Jaxton turned so they were each facing a door. “You’re going to have to explain that to me once we’re out of here, pet. For now, we’ll take them out together.”

She squeezed his arm again. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Believing in me.”

“Betwe

en your wall of fire and the force you used to throw that bastard over there against the wall.” He motioned to the unconscious man on the floor. “I’d be a bloody fool not to.”

Unused to praise, Kiarra bit her lip and avoided Jaxton’s eyes by focusing on the door. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” This time she chanced a look at Jaxton and wished she knew what he was thinking. But before either one of them could say another word, men simultaneously crashed into the room from behind both the broken mirror and the door exiting into the hall.

With guards on both sides, they were trapped. Without hesitation, Kiarra called forth her fire and pushed outward, slamming into the first slew of guards entering the room from the hall. Shots fired behind her, but before she could turn and tackle the guards entering through the broken two-way mirror, Jaxton hooked his arm around her waist and dove down beneath the steel table, taking her with him.

Something ricocheted off the table, but the flimsy barrier wouldn’t last for long. Rather than question Jaxton’s actions, Kiarra peeked out and saw more guards entering the room. Surprisingly, their position on the floor offered better access. She was less vulnerable and could take out more guards in one go.

She was focusing, taking a second to decide the best pathway for her attack, when a strong gust of wind danced around the room and knocked all of the guards up against the ceiling before dropping them back to the ground. Darius entered first, followed by the shadow-shifter and a few other people she didn’t know.

While Darius and his team started checking the guards on the ground to see if any of them were still conscious, Kiarra turned her head to see Jaxton on the floor. He was pale and breathing heavily as he gripped the side of his neck with one hand. Her stomach did a little flip. “Jaxton, what’s wrong?”