Blood Lust - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,86
relieved as Bas was at the knowledge that his friend was safe, he was desperate to know that Myst hadn’t been allowed to slip away.
“Shit.” Bas grabbed for the pad at the edge of the bed and pushed a button, levering himself so he was seated upright. He hissed as a dull ache spread through his chest, reminding him he had a long way to go before he was fully healed. “The last time I woke I thought I was in heaven,” he muttered. “This time I’m fairly certain I’m somewhere much warmer.”
Kaede reached to lightly touch the side of Bas’s neck in a gesture of unspoken respect before he straightened to offer a mocking smile.
“Is that any way to talk to your devoted servant?”
Bas glanced around the room. “Where’s Myst?”
“In the nursery with Molly.”
He released a shaky breath. He’d been terrified she’d slipped away while he was unconscious.
“You’re certain?” he pressed.
“Of course.” Kaede frowned, easily sensing Bas’s concern. “I escorted her there myself.”
Still Bas wasn’t satisfied. In fact, he was frustrated as hell.
He understood her desire to be with Molly. He couldn’t wait to hold his daughter in his arms. But he needed to see Myst. To touch her and reassure himself that she was unharmed.
“She wasn’t hurt, was she?”
Kaede shrugged. “No, although she looks exhausted.”
Bas scowled. Dammit. He needed to be out of this bed. Myst refused to take proper care of herself when he wasn’t watching out for her.
“You should have made her rest.”
Kaede rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. Have you ever had any success in making her do something she doesn’t want to do?”
“Touché,” he muttered. Myst would no doubt have insisted on being with her daughter, even if she was on the edge of collapse. “Do you know how we got here?”
Kaede gave a low chuckle. “She charmed a local farmer, who turned out to be a psychic, into hiding you in the back of a wagon and driving you to the monastery.”
Bas’s lips twisted. He could easily imagine Myst twisting the farmer around her little finger. Unlike most females, she had no idea just how much power she had over poor, susceptible men. Which only made her more irresistible.
“She’s astonishingly resourceful,” he said with a wry smile.
“Is that another way to say stubborn as a mule?”
“She is that,” Bas readily agreed. For such a tiny thing, she was dauntingly persistent. He grimaced, reminded that her tenacious nature wasn’t always a good thing. Not when she was convinced there was only one way left to halt her vision. “I want you to keep an eye on her until I can get out of this damn bed.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t want her leaving Valhalla.”
Kaede studied him with blatant confusion. “Are you afraid she might try to take off with Molly?”
His hand unconsciously lifted to rub against the center of his chest. It wasn’t his wounds that bothered him. It was the gnawing anxiety that he couldn’t prevent Myst from doing something hasty.
“No. She’s convinced there’s only one way left to halt her future,” he admitted in dark tones.
“What . . .” Kaede’s words trailed away as he realized what Bas was implying. “Oh shit,” he breathed.
“Keep her close,” Bas commanded.
Kaede gave a solemn nod, accepting the responsibility for guarding Myst until Bas could regain his rightful place as her protector.
“I swear.”
Confident he could depend on his closest friend, Bas concentrated on the next worry.
“What about the Brotherhood?”
Kaede folded his arms over his chest. “We rounded up the Brothers in the Wyoming compound, but the ones who shot you in France are still MIA.”
Bas wasn’t disappointed. “Good. I want to personally track down each one and have a nice, long chat.”
“Why do I suspect the chats are going to involve a lot of blood and screams for mercy?”
Bas shrugged, not denying there was going to be blood and screams involved in his chat.
A lot.
“They shouldn’t screw with an assassin if they don’t want to get hurt,” he pointed out in reasonable tones.
Kaede’s lips twitched. “True enough.”
“What about the clairvoyant?”
The enforcer’s face tightened with frustration. “Dead.”
“That’s unfortunate,” he muttered. He’d wanted to personally convey his displeasure at the man for betraying Myst and delivering her into the hands of the Brotherhood.
“They have the female leader in the dungeon.” Kaede’s lips twisted. Obviously he wasn’t a big fan of the woman. “She might be able to give information on the weapon.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Bas assured his friend. He was done with the games. He was going to protect