Battle Bond: An Urban Fantasy Dragon Series (Death Before Dragons #2) - Lindsay Buroker Page 0,44
not a short curly black hair out of place, not a smudge on his dark robe. I had orc blood on my disheveled clothes, and my own blood was making my shirt stick to my side.
“What?” I demanded, barely remembering not to point any weapons at him. We were allies now, at least for as long as we both had a use for each other.
“The proper address is, Lord Zavryd, you honor me with your presence—how may I be of service to you and dragonkind?”
“I’ll keep that in mind should the day ever come that I want to kiss your ass. What do you want?”
He squinted at me and then looked over his shoulder. At his ass?
I would have laughed if I hadn’t been gritting my teeth in pain. The bullet had done more than graze me. I could feel it inside, grinding against my hip bone. I’d have to go to the hospital to have it removed, and I’d have to do it soon. As I’d learned in the past, my fast healing became an impediment if it healed around a bullet lodged inside me. A military surgeon had cut me open again the last time that had happened.
“I came to see how you are progressing with your research. Dobsaurin had a message delivered to me.” Judging from his tight jaw, it hadn’t been a party invitation with the address to his cave on it. Zav’s gaze shifted to my hip.
I wasn’t favoring it or holding a hand to it, and my black tank and duster hopefully hid it, but his sense of smell had to be at least as good as an orc’s.
“You are injured again,” he stated.
“Yes. You’re as perceptive as you are magnificent.”
“You are mocking me?” His dark brows rose.
I couldn’t tell if it was surprise or indignation or both. Ally, I reminded myself. Ally.
I forced myself to lift an apologetic hand. “Yes, but I mock everybody who gets in my way. It’s a bad habit. I’m sorry. I’m in pain and that makes me cranky. I’m also worried about all the people who might have just been hurt—or worse—because some idiot orcs got an itch to take me out and make some money.”
No, that wasn’t even it. It was because I’d gone to the Pardus brothers’ house and turned them into enemies. Looking back, I wasn’t sure how I could have avoided that, but someone with more smarts and more charisma surely could have managed it. I’d only made things worse for myself and for anyone standing next to me.
A wave of dizziness washed over me—how much blood had I lost?—and I stumbled over and pressed a hand against the cool brick wall for support. I closed my eyes, struggling for equilibrium and calm, but thoughts raced through my head. I had to check on Nin and the people at the restaurant, and if I didn’t want to deal with talking to the police, I needed to hobble out of the area. And back to my Jeep and to the hospital. I didn’t even know where we were. Miles from where I’d parked by now, I was sure.
It was only because I sensed Zav coming closer that I opened my eyes. And almost pitched over because he was less than a foot away. Only the wall kept me upright.
I planted my hand against his chest, remembering the times I’d been close to him before. It had been so he could touch my head and put his stupid compulsions in my mind. That tingle of power that always emanated from him stirred goosebumps on my skin, and I grew aware of the hard muscle of his chest through the fabric of his robe. He was another shifter who opted for the bodybuilder persona when in human form.
“Whatcha doing?” I asked as casually as I could manage, though having him so close unnerved me.
He looked down at my hand, a faint glow to his violet eyes. He was probably appalled that I was touching him. Presuming to touch him. “There is a metal projectile lodged in your hip.”
“No kidding. I hadn’t noticed.”
“I must remove it to heal you.”
I wanted to push him away and say something flippant about how nobody had asked him to heal me, but a wave of hope washed through me at the notion of having the pain taken away now, instead of hours later in the hospital, after a surgery that I would have to pay for, since my self-employed freelancer insurance was