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And Mira’s sweet, welcoive
He didn’t kno long it took before the aftershocks finally began to recede Could have been moments Could have been hours
All he kneas the warm cushion of her body beneath hiers playing in the hair at his nape while he rested his head next to her shoulder
It was her quiet voice that brought him back to the here and now
Back to the reality of what they still faced
"I don’t want you to go to the Order" He felt her worry in the dull throb of her pulse, in the tang of dread that filtered through their new bond, into hi you to plead your case, trying to convince the Order and the Council to pardon you I don’t want you to go anywhere near DC Neither one of us can ever go back there"
"Ah, Mouse" He kissed the bare curve of her shoulder, then caaze "You don’t mean that You’ve never been one to run and hide That was always otten us"
"I don’t care," she e to her tone "Let’s just stay here, like this For as long as we can, let’s just be together and ain, on the mouth this time, unrushed and tender "I don’t want this to end either Not now or ever But I don’t want it if itin shadows and fearing what lies around every corner I can’t do that, Mira And we can’t stay here It’s not safe for any of us now We all have to get out of here soon, go to another location Somewhere out of the line of fire"
"Where?"
"So in on hi And the prospect of either a stealth death squad or, after last night’s turn of events, a full-scale invasion was hed down on hi under heavy weapons fire amid the chaos of a raid As for Mira, he knew his Breedht to her own death if she thought she could save him
As he would for her
And would, in a short time from now
He hadn’t been much of a leader to his crew of rebels, not that it had ever been his intent to lead the close to a worthy
But he still had tiht by them all He could put measures in place that would ensure a minimum risk of injury or bloodshed to his Breedmate and his friends Only then would he be ready to do what he needed to do - confront the fate that waited for hily inescapable path
His plan took shape with resolute clarity as he took Mira’s hand in his, stroking his fingers over the perfectly healed heart of her pal"
She frowned up at hiht?"
"As soon as we can," he reiterated Now that he knehat needed to be done, he wanted the plan in et us a vehicle, no questions asked I’ll ride in back, out of the sun’s reach One ofWe can be there in a few hours"
Mira was staring at hiher chin to meet his kiss "You’re mine now, remember?"
"I’m yours" Her s She burrowed deep into the curve of his body, o, Kellan Proo, Mouse" He wrapped his arled tighter and her breathing slowed to a contented rhythlad for the absence of her link into his emotions
Because if she’d been bonded to him by blood, she would have understood no matter how much he wished he could keep that promise to her, before the next dawn, she would know it had been just a pretty lie
Chapter Nineteen
BY NIGHTFALL, NO LESS THAN A DOZEN MEMBERS OF THE Order had descended upon Boston
Nathan led a unit comprised of his team of three and Mira’s squad, Bal, Torin, and Webb, who’d come in from Montreal to aid in her recovery While Nathan and his crew scoured the old North End for leads on the rebels who held her, the other side of the city was getting a shakedown by Nikolai, along with Tegan, Hunter, and Rio, diverted fro Chase, director of the Boston command center
To a man, they’d all vowed that daould not coht safely back into the fold of her fae was cold water in Nathan’s veins as he and Rafe Malebranche split off fro their search into establishments known to be friendly to rebels and their ilk The club La Notte was their first stop, given that Rooster was a regular at the illegal arena there
Nathan and Rafe walked in together, both warriors scanning the crowd Upward of a hundred people were partying inside, cladto the grinding pulse of an industrial rock band screairls and punks, n of the cri for
As he and Rafe sliced through the churning throng, Nathan noticed La Notte’s proprietor eyeing theard Cassian broke away fro for him and strode toward Nathan He was dressed like many of his patrons, in head-to-toe black leather and heavy lug-soled boots Tonight his cropped hair was a crown of gelled spikes, his bright green eyes accentuated by dark brows, each pierced by a pair of tiny silver rings A black stud was stuck through the tip of his tongue
"Didn’t realize my club was so popular with the Order," he drawled "I don’t know if I should be flattered or offended"
Nathan hardly paid Cassian any attention "Check the arena," he told Rafe
As the warrior turned to carry out the order, Nathan continued to prowl the club at street level Cassian was right at his heels "The fights don’t start for hours, warrior"
"We didn’t come to watch your blood sport"
"No," Cassian replied, "frouess you were here to start so to do with the hotheaded female from your operation, would it?"
Nathan had his hand clamped around the other male’s throat before Cassian could take his next breath "What do you know about her?"
Sohter called Syn and a couple of others, eht tight in Nathan’s grasp, Cassian dislance and a subtle twitch of his head