Page 12 (1/2)

But the ruse wasn’t necessary Aidan had si office door, which was conveniently hidden froed the master key

Armed with the required accessory, he si, his hands in his pockets and his thoughts with Lyssa, aited in the car with a fully loaded Glock in her lap

In his rim lines, her dark eyes hard and wary He loved that she was coh, s to do whatever was necessary to keep theh romance novel-based fantasies with Dreae their situation with as much practicality Some would wail and cry and wait to be rescued

Aidan paused before the correct door, noting the lack of light eeNo one home He was both pleased and not At least if the Guardian had been inside, he would know her location As it was, she could be anywhere Or she could be so the key from his pocket, Aidan slipped it into the lock and turned The mechanism tumbled open He thrust the door wide and flicked the switch on the wall The light on the table between the two beds ca oneand another pristinelyarea was a sink, mirror, and door to the bathroo inside, Aidan shut the door behind him and kicked his foot at the bed skirt The toe of his boot connected with hollow-sounding plywood, a cheaper alternative to traditional metal bed frames No one could hide under the beds He thenthere for possible a to the items of interest on the mattress--a comm unit, an assortment of maps and knives, and a data chip, which unfortunately lacked a reader

Aidan took it all anyway, tossing everything back into the duffle As he thrust his hand into the bag, he touched so hard and cold His pulse rate leaped He wrapped his fingers around the ste wrapped carefully in thick cloth He pulled out the s awith his fingertips, Aidan revealed delicate filigree scrollwork He had no idea what it was and wouldn’t know until it was thoroughly cleaned, but its importance was obvious to his trained eye

He rewrapped it and slipped it into his pocket, then returned his attention to the taza

It looked just as it did in the renderings in the Elders’ journal A silver-like s where jewels once decorated the lip What purpose it served, he hadn’t yet figured out, but it was his In his possession His enuine smile that reflected the tiny sense of accomplishment he felt He was another step closer to the truth A truth that would hopefully set Lyssa free

A quick search of the drawers and closet came up with little else Some clothes andearlier Still no reader for the data chip Sorry-assed luck, but so handle of the bag over his shoulder and turned toward the door just as a key was heard pushing into the lock Aidan froze for a heartbeat, his hts were on and clearly visible fro

The door flew open in an explosion of ht for him, herblack skirts A screa hi upward just as her body would have hit his The opposing velocity of his attack jarred therunt froe frole of liht there with her, fighting back, refusing to allow his brain to acknowledge her gender It was her or him He couldn’t look at the altercation any other way

She rolled hi her torso up with one hand so that she could free her other for a doard punch It was then that Aidan caught a quick glih to shock hi, taking the full force of her fist in his jaw

The bite of pain snapped him out of his horror

Feet flat to the floor, he bucked his hips upward, tossing her over his head He rolled to his stoe of bloith gritted teeth His arm drew back and punched hard to her tee s and hissed like a wild ani to restrain the feral Guardian

Together, they crashed into the nearby dresser hard enough to bang the furniture into the wall

Her nails tore at the exposed flesh of his forear Aidan had ever experienced in centuries of living The wo into some power that allowed her to continue when anyone else would be unconscious

In the end, he had only one choice

Griht to maneuver into position and encircled her head with his ar like he would a twist-top beer, he attempted to snap her neck A task that should have taken less than alike ahie he needed to Wrench her neck far enough The splintering of her spinal cord reverberated through the roo, labored breathing--was chilling

Aidan stared down at the lifeless body in his ar with her eyes, which were solid black with no pupils or irises for relief, and her teeth, which were jagged and wickedly sharp within the gaping hole of her mouth

Whatever the hell she was, she wasn’t a Guardian

That was for damn sure

Aidan pushed to his feet and then stu, he saw the dagger e the vicious spear of pain he’d felt earlier

"Dah, Aidan ripped off a strip of the redhead’s flowing black cotton skirt and tied it around as a , but he had the interi on the floor