Catastrophic Attraction - Eve Langlais Page 0,35
He shook his head, glad to see it didn’t ring with pain.
“Why would someone want to blow you into chunks?”
“I think a better question is, how did they agree to get anyone to do that in the first place?”
“It is rather insane.”
“Yes.”
“Is the King of Sapphire insane??”
He frowned. “No, he’s actually quite savvy. At least he was the last time we met.” Usually in secret so none of the Enclave around him knew he was consorting with their enemy.
“Then it’s probably not from him.”
“Could be someone in his court,” he mused aloud.
“To what advantage? You said they don’t care about the marshes.”
“Could be they’re lying.”
“Or someone is framing Sapphire.”
“Which again begs the question, to what purpose? If someone were framing Sapphire, shouldn’t the suicide squad have said something to us?”
He could see her pondering the question seriously. It pleased him she’d not scoffed.
“That crew was stripped of all identifying marks. Nothing in their garments or weapons indicated anything other than the Marshlands.”
“Yet they’re not from here.” The certainty wouldn’t be shaken.
“That’s not entirely correct.”
“Meaning?”
“What would you say your genetic genealogy savvy level is?”
“My what? If you’re talking breeding, then stop, because we don’t practice it.”
“You don’t. The underworld in your city does.”
He blinked at her. “What?”
“As if you didn’t know. There’s a thriving market that tracks lineage and genetics. Betrothals and partnering contracts are a business.”
“I did not know. Why does this concern the intruders?”
“Because one of them, the lizard one, is half marsh citizen. And the furry female was possibly from Emerald. We’ve seen that Deviant gene in the Wastelands.”
“I don’t see how this helps us.”
“It doesn’t yet.”
He rubbed at his rough jaw. “In other words, all that effort and we didn’t learn a damned thing.”
“On the contrary, we learned they are fanatical in their quest to remove you. That they are capable of creating breeds of human never before seen. And will probably try to kill you again given they weren’t the only team sent out.”
“What?” He almost dumped the tray when he shifted.
“The other group never made it to the city. They exploded out in the Marshes.”
“How did I not know this?”
“Word came in while you napping.”
“Not by choice,” he grumbled. “How many were hurt?”
“None. It would seem the second bomb carrier accidentally went off. The only damage was to some trees. In what Titan claims is good news, the explosion apparently weakened the ground enough that it caved in, creating a new lake in the area by draining the surrounding marsh. Word is they’ll be able to use the new land for planting crops.”
“Crops are good. Another bomb, bad.” He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall behind his bed. “There could be others.”
“Which is why the city is locked down. People coming in need to be verified. The walls and waterways are being watched.”
“In other words, under control.”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m going to shower.” He lurched from the bed and made it to the shower before he realized she followed. “Joining me?”
“You’d fall over trying,” she quipped.
“I might surprise you,” he grumbled, turning his face into the heat of the water.
“I have to go out for a bit, but I’ve got Anita coming by with Charlie after lunch. Until then, you’ll have a pair of guards inside and outside.”
“Where’s Titan?”
“He’s busy.”
He eyed her. “Busy how? The pair of you are up to something.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Your face says it all.”
Her features smoothed. “No idea what you’re talking about.”
He exited the shower, very wet and feeling more in control of himself. He snared a towel and stalked to Casey. She held her ground.
“I’m coming.”
“No, you’re not.”
“How will you stop me?” He had nothing but himself to intimidate her. No power of the mind. No magic to pin her to a wall and make her answer. Just him, in the nude.
Apparently, it had the power to make a fearless woman flee.
Chapter 9
The bastard found the one thing to send her running. Earlier than planned, too. She’d meant to escort the king down to the tunnels, let him poke around the ruins, then knock him out for another nap after lunch. A perfect plan that would allow her to head off and listen to the rumors of the undercity while Anita covered the princess and Titan kept an eye on Roark.
Wouldn’t you know, things didn’t go as planned. In her defense, she’d not expected to be affected by the view of him naked. She’d been raised in places that didn’t afford privacy. She saw cocks just about