Kyler's Justice (Assassins of Gravas Book 3) - N.J. Walters Page 0,44

His lips firmed and his jaw tightened. She grabbed his arms and tried to shake him. “You’re maddening. You know that?”

Releasing him, she took a step back. “I don’t understand you.” And she honestly didn’t. That made her unaccountably sad.

“You know what I am now.”

“What do you mean?” Now that he was finally talking, he was being enigmatic.

“I’m an assassin.”

“I already knew that.” She put her hand against his cheek. He did seem warmer than usual. “Did you drink any of that ale? I’m not sure if Loralie might have slipped something into it.”

Kyler caught her hand and pressed it more firmly against his face. “You’ve seen what I can do now.”

Was that his problem? “I grew up in this bar. I’ve seen plenty of bloodshed in my day. It’s never pretty, but sometimes it is unavoidable.”

His throat rippled when he swallowed. “You don’t think me a monster.”

“No.” Strangely enough, she never had, even though he was the bogeyman of the universe. Still, there was a question that needed to be asked. “Are you going to kill me?”

“Never.” A fierceness glittered in his eyes that was almost frightening. He cupped his hand around the back of her head and dragged her toward him. “You’re the one person in the entire universe who is safe from me.” His mouth covered hers, his tongue thrusting deep.

It wasn’t a declaration of love, but somehow it felt like one. Madness overtook her. She fisted his hair in her hands and pulled, needing him closer. Their kiss was hot and deep. Relief and passion merged, making it sharper and sweeter.

“I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again,” she managed to gasp out between kisses.

“I couldn’t stay away.” The only place he was touching her was his hand on the back of her head and when their lips met, but his passion was not in doubt. Even now, he held a part of himself back. She tried not to take it personally, even though it was difficult not to. It was just the way he was.

Smart, too. Now was not the time or place. “We should go.” How had she forgotten the girls, even for a brief second? Their kiss seemed to have gone on forever, but in reality, only a couple of minutes had passed.

He gave a curt nod, grabbed her hand, and dragged her down the hallway toward the inner door. “Grab what you need, and make it fast.” Not bothering with the locks, he pulled his blaster.

She grabbed his hand before he fired. “Stop. There’s another Barskan upstairs. If he hears the blast, we’ll lose our advantage.” And they’d only have one shot at this.

“Do you trust me?”

She hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip. “The girls…”

“Do you trust me?” No change in the tone or volume of his voice, but she sensed a deeper issue was at stake here.

“I shouldn’t.” When all he did was stare at her, she sighed. “But I do.”

He raised his blaster and fired in quick succession, melting all the locks before kicking the door open. “Move.”

Worried in spite of his confidence, she surged up the stairs, surprised when he didn’t stop her from bursting in through the front door. There was no sign of the Barskan.

Terror grabbed her by the throat and threatened to choke her. Unable to call out, she raced to the girls’ room. They were gone. “No.” She dropped to her knees and half-crawled under the bed. “Sera? Maggs?” She heard Kyler in the doorway and whirled around, seated on the floor between their beds. “They’re not here, and their bags are gone.”

“I have them.”

Those three words hit her like a laser blast, stunning her into silence. First came pure relief. The girls were safe. Volcanic anger followed. She shot to her feet and threw herself at him.

“You took them? And you didn’t tell me?” She balled up her fist and swung. Flesh hit flesh when he caught it, wrapping his large hand around it. “How could you?” It seemed the ultimate betrayal. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I agonized over my decision, not knowing if helping you would damn them.”

“I know.” His expression was blank, his tone brisk.

“How could you?” she whispered.

His expression remained unchanged, but seemed somehow grimmer. Maybe he was as unfeeling as he acted. But he’d gotten the girls out.

“Get your things. We have to leave now.”

She shoved past him, raced to her room, and grabbed the bag she kept packed, ready to take advantage of any chance to