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Tayla jauys doing now?"
Cole grinned "I’ a new explosive that’s odorless and practically invisible Really cool Works with electronic devices"
"Stephanie must have developed it," Tayla said, and Cole nodded Steph was their cell’s chief spellcaster, but because her specialized talents worked best--or only--with electronics, they’d had to adapt
"We just blew the hell out of that mannequin with an MP3 player"
"Why do we need an explosive like that?"
"In case we ever get into a situation we can’t get out of" He shrugged "Take out a lot of scurimaced Sounded a little too suicide boo doinging a sword"
She mounted the steps to the rear deck and entered the house without knocking Laughter met her, the usual playful banter that filled the three-story house twenty-four-seven An outsider would see a disciplined, happy group of teens and young adults living in the well-kept facility, but Tayla knew better, knew everyone here could turn into focused, deadly warriors in an instant
As usual, soht everyone to cook and assigned baking days to ensure healthful treats would always be available Even now, theto the kitchen Instead, she cut through the living rooe as her entire apartahteen-year-old named Rosa, jumped to her feet
"Tayla! Lori and Kynan have been worried"
Tay strode past the TV, ignoring the curious faces "Where are they?"
"In the library, I think" Rosa tagged along "Where’s Janet?"
"Dead"
Tayla supposed she should feel bad for being so blunt, but the answer had the desired effect; Rosa stumbled to a stop in the hallway, and Tayla sped up to escape the shock and questions She pounded down the stairs to the giant multiroom basement It had, sometime before Tayla became a Guardian, been expanded froround facility complete with its own security syste attack the house, Guardians could shut themselves in the basement indefinitely, and could use the two exits as well
Two Guardians were sparring in the brightly lit workout area, their bare feet thuhts near the rock wall She hurried past theh the darkened lab, which was eic supplies The door to the library was closed
She opened it and immediately wished she hadn’t Inside, Kynan had his wife bent over the arm of the couch He drove into her frohs, one hand playing between her legs Lori whi her nails into the cushions Tayla would never sit on again
Quietly, Tayla closed the door and sagged against the wall to wait The sounds of their love made her wince in reh what they’d done had been anything but h, sex born of anger, horic Because what she felt for him when he was near had to be a result of some sort of incubus enchantusted to the point of wanting to kill him, but when he touched her, heck, when he looked at her, she fell under his spell
Yeah, he was a poster boy for hot doctors, but thein pain beneath the demon that raped and killed her, raked her brain like the back end of a claw hammer She pressed the heels of her pal thenad with Eidolon crash into her head
Stop She could tell herself that his incubus sorcery was still affecting her, but a tiny part of her, the part that had co the ultimate pleasure with hi about hier
Eidolon had to die
When the door finally opened, Kynan stepped out, graced her with one of his killer sh his blue eyes darkened with concern He didn’ta situation about ten seconds into the future Before she’d laid eyes on Eidolon, she’d thought Kynan was the eous ravelly low
"We soet to lock doors"
Soot into it, things ignited so quickly that they’d started up while people were in the room with them Only when they’d finished and found the room empty did they realize how carried away in each other they had beco so into someone Especially not someone like Eidolon, asn’t even a so
He held the door wider and motioned for her to come in "Where have you been? Where’s Janet?"
Tears unexpectedly stung her eyes Guardians died all the tiued her
if only Tayla had coe symptoms If only she’d taken herself off active duty status If only, if only, if only
Her self-lashing was pointless, but it was a family trait, an addiction as powerful as any other When she’d been clean, Tayla’s s she’d done while under the influence
The self-abuse had been as das
Tayla collapsed into one of the two overstuffed chairs, glad to rest the shaky noodles that were her legs
"Janet and I ran into some problems"