Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,50

form. Metal cuffs swung from his wrists and ankles, clanking across Talon’s back as he sprinted toward me.

“Let’s go,” he growled as he raced past.

I darted behind them, struggling to keep up with his long strides. How the heck could he move that fast carrying a full-size male? I finally caught up to him and examined Vander’s still form from the corner of my eye. I could just make out faint breaths. A wave of relief crashed over me, and I slowed my frantic pace, immediately falling behind.

He was alive, thank the gods.

Picking up my pace again, I stepped in stride with Talon. Dozens of questions swirled around my mind, but I couldn’t get my mouth to form the words. It was like Vander’s presence had suddenly created a gigantic wolf-sized wedge between us. And he wasn’t even conscious yet.

I side-eyed Talon’s brother unable to contain the conflicting emotions as we darted down the quiet passageway. What would happen when he awoke? I shook my head. I was getting way ahead of myself; first, we had to find the others and get out of this place. That was all that mattered.

Talon slowed his unrelenting pace to glance at his watch. “They should be right up ahead, around the next bend.”

“Okay,” I panted out, slowing.

We turned the corner, and my magically cloaked crumpled-up coat on the floor caught my eye. But no Logan, Hayden or Dallas. “Isn’t this where we were meeting the guys?”

Talon shifted Vander’s body to his other shoulder, a faint groan rumbling in the back of his throat. “Yes,” he muttered. Checking his watch again, he paced a tight circle. “We’ll give them five more minutes and if they don’t show, I’m going in after them.”

He bent down and slid Vander off his shoulder, propping him up against the wall. I grabbed my coat and tucked it under his head, hazarding a quick peek at the infamous guy. Even unconscious and unkempt he was attractive, with dirty-blonde hair, high cheekbones and a wide scruffy jaw. I could almost imagine what he’d look like with his tousled hair clipped and scraggly beard trimmed back.

“Something’s wrong,” Talon muttered, yanking me from my musings.

I popped up and reached for his hand, but he shoved it into his pocket. The moves were nearly simultaneous, so I tried to convince myself he wasn’t avoiding my touch. Swallowing back the pang of hurt, I said, “Okay, so we go in there and help.”

“Not we, Azara. You have to stay here with Vander.”

“Talon, he’s fine. Nothing’s going to happen to him in the tunnel, but you guys could need me in there.” I pointed through the wall at what I assumed was Thax’s private chamber. “What if Delacroix was screwing with us, and it was all a trap? You can’t go in there by yourself.”

He closed the space between us, and his fingers entangled with mine. “Please, Azara, stay with Vander. I can’t risk losing him again and you…” He shut his eyes and exhaled a long, slow breath. “Just stay.”

I crossed my arms over my chest in defeat. When he looked at me like that, like I was the only person left in the world, I had no option but to concede. “Fine.” Unless I hear that you’re in trouble, I added to myself.

“Thank you.” He jerked on my hand and pulled me closer. “One more thing.” His eyes seared into mine, and my head automatically tipped forward. “If we don’t come back in fifteen minutes, you take Vander and you get out of here.”

My head whipped back and forth. “Absolutely not. I’m not leaving you guys.”

“Azara, this isn’t a request, it’s an order from your team leader.”

I pressed my lips together and scowled. “That’s a bunch of B.S., Talon. I’m not even officially in the SIA yet.”

“But you will be soon and if you can’t follow orders, you won’t make it past day one. That’s exactly why relationships within teams are highly discouraged. Neither of us would be able to make a rational decision.”

“Well, it’s a little late for that isn’t it?” I held my breath waiting for an answer. I knew this wasn’t the time to discuss this, but I couldn’t help myself.

“We’ll talk about this later, Azara. Right now, you need to follow my direct order. Can you do that, agent?”

I wasn’t sure I liked that name much more than inmate, but I supposed it was a step up. “Yes,” I finally hissed. Lie.

His lips crashed into mine before I could