She gaped and partially turned to keep both Ivar and the door in sight. Her body went numb with what had to be shock.
Ronan ran inside, bare to the waist, blood pouring from a wound in his right shoulder. Faith was behind him. She wore pajamas decorated with bright pink stethoscopes, her eyes wide and a gun in her hands.
Ivar stepped over the corpse, his face a hard mask of anger. “Status?”
“Two down in the hallway, more breaching the roof, I think.” Ronan partially turned. “We take the stairs down. It’s the only way.”
Ivar grabbed the gun right out of Promise’s hold and took her hand with his free one. “We have to run. Now.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ivar finished covering the black SUV beneath a thatch of branches. He’d parked the vehicle in between two massive pine trees with canopies of branches and needles, so there was no way anybody could see it from the sky. A river rushed by beyond the weeds, and he’d already jumped in and washed off the blood before changing into clothing he’d borrowed from Benny, who had been staying in a secure cabin since the night before.
Ivar turned to survey the smattering of other cabins along the full banks. He had hoped to find somewhere more comfortable for Promise. The summer camp had been deserted for winter, and the starkness of the dead foliage and rapidly browning trees cut through him more intensely than the chilly wind off the water.
They’d driven an hour away from the city, and now the sun illuminated the area from behind clouds. It was light enough that the Kurjans and their white-haired, creepy Cyst soldiers wouldn’t be able to survive outside.
Even so, he couldn’t relax the taut muscles down his back. The ride to safety had been tense and silent, out of necessity. He shook out his arms and strode inside Adare’s cabin, kicking pine needles off his boots first.
“Hey.” Adare finished putting more wood on the roaring fire in the fireplace before standing up and dusting off his hands. There was a small kitchenette in the corner, a big bed in the other corner, and no other furniture. “You okay?”
“Yes.” Ivar glanced toward the silent brunette who was putting the finishing touches on the bed. “I’m glad you’re here, Grace.”
Grace Cooper turned around, her pretty face set in hard lines. “That’s nice, Ivar, but I’m not staying.”
Adare didn’t look at her. “You are staying, and that’s the end of that.” The Highlander’s brogue deepened in a way that conveyed both warning and annoyance.
Grace and her sister Faith shared similar bone structure and stubbornness. “Ivar? Now that your physicist is safe for the time being, you promised to fly me to Realm headquarters so I can get the virus that will negate our stupid mating and get rid of this asshole.” Grace’s smile was both smart-ass and kind of cute. “No offense, Adare. I do appreciate your saving my life.”
Adare still didn’t look at his small mate. “You’re welcome. Now stop being ridiculous. There is no way you’re going to be infected with a virus after being mated only four months, especially since you’re recently out of a coma. I will not discuss it any further.”
“Whatever. I didn’t ask for your opinion.” Grace crossed to the door and brushed by Ivar. “We’ll talk later.”
“Where are you going?” Adare growled.
Ivar looked longingly at the door. Why had he dropped by there?
“To see my sister, although it’s none of your business,” Grace returned, all but stomping outside and slamming the worn wooden door.
Adare glared at the closed door.
Ivar shuffled his feet. His friend had mated the young human to save her life. Usually mating took love, sex, and a good bite, but Grace was special and the bite alone had done it. “No peace on the domestic front, huh?” That seemed a bit of an understatement.
Adare snorted. “No. She doesn’t seem to understand that mating is forever. You’d think she’d at least be appreciative of immortality. But no. Not that woman.”
Interesting. Usually nothing upset Adare. “Why don’t you court her?” Ivar asked.
Adare swung around, and his eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? I want nothing to do with humans, even one who has become my mate. We’ll go our separate ways once the Seven completes its destiny.”
Destiny? Was there truly such a thing? “It could take decades, even centuries, for us to kill Ulric. His world, dimension, whatever it is…might not fail for a long time.” It would make a