Unique Ink (Shadow Assassins Book 5) (17 page)

“That should do it.” Lor’s voice sounded strained as if he was trying not to laugh. “The next few days should be interesting for you two.”

“How far apart can we get?” Roxie asked.

Elias opened his eyes and arched his brow. “Trying to escape me already?”

“Actually I was wondering if I could still use the bathroom alone. If you must know.”

She was lying. He could see a clear image of them together in a steamy shower and he was more than open to the idea.

“The bond will keep you within ten feet of each other. That should give you enough of a separation for bodily functions and the occasional moment of privacy.”

“Why don’t you see if it works?” Morgan suggested.

Roxie rushed toward the bathroom and Elias felt a shockingly strong pull as she hit the proximity limit. He was literally dragged across the floor until they were within ten feet of each other again. “Okay, this is going to be strange.”

“Better strange than separated.” Roxie looked at him, a complex tangle of emotions making her blue eyes shine. “And I think you should have this.” She held out the suppression collar. “If he’s focused on me, you’ll have a better chance of actually getting that thing around his neck.”

He wasn’t sure he agreed with her, but he accepted the device. She was obviously overwhelmed and he would do everything in his power to make her feel safe. “Whatever you need, I’m there.”

She smiled. “I appreciate you doing this for me.”

He started to say it was his job, but the words felt dishonest now. She was more than his assignment and he couldn’t pretend otherwise. “We’ll get through this together.”

* * * * *

Sevrin stood in the parking lot outside Roxie’s apartment building, feeling like a desperate voyeur. “Are you sure she’s in there?”

Flynn shrugged. “That’s where she lives.” He pointed to the corner unit on the second floor. “Whether or not she’s in there is anyone’s guess.” He scraped at the pavement with the toe of his boot, obviously restless and annoyed. “I could slip in behind an invisibility shield, but every time I use my abilities I risk detection. A wise woman once told me that.”

Her only response was a smirk. She’d issued the warning because the hunters had been using their abilities indiscriminately. People on Ontariese were used to Mystics flashing into sight and walking through walls. Earth was different. Humans stopped and stared when anything out of the ordinary happened. And worse, they whipped out their phones and started recording.

“Why don’t you go up there and knock on the door,” he suggested.

“Maybe I will.” The sarcastic retort sprang automatically to her lips, but the idea took root within her mind. If the Mystic Militia had gotten to Roxie, Sevrin needed to know about it now. She could not allow Lor and his team of busybodies to realize Roxie’s true value. Sevrin had suffered too many setbacks already. She had no choice but to press onward. “If they tagged her, will you be able to sense it?”

Flynn stopped fidgeting and looked at her. “My abilities don’t work that way.”

“Your father was a sweeper. Didn’t you inherit any of his abilities?” Flynn frequently bragged about all of the things his father had been able to do. Only Varrik, the alpha sweeper, had been more skilled, at least according to Flynn’s stories.

“My aptitudes more closely aligned with hunter training.”

She glared up at him. “That didn’t answer the question. Can you sense Mystic energy or not?”

“I can, but Roxie is a hybrid. Mystic energy will resonate from her even if her abilities are latent. It’s unlikely I will be able to sort through the specifics with any reliability.”

“We know Lor and at least two of his men were in her shop. I need to know what happened after Nazerel left.”

“And you think she’s going to tell you?” His scoff, though quiet, made her palm itch for contact with his lean cheek. She tolerated insubordination from no one. “She’s terrified of you.”

“Exactly,” she snapped. “And I want to make damn sure she stays that way.”

“She’ll tell the Mystic Militia you’re still in town. Right now, they have no idea where you are.”

“Maybe, and maybe not. There was no way to completely shield the arrival of the supply convoy. We avoided human detection, but any Ontarian ship would have been able to identify where the transports landed. If Lor is as clever as they say, he knows we’re still in the area. I’m not quite ready for Roxie, but from this point on, I need to know her exact location.” With her decision made, Sevrin smoothed down her narrow skirt and started across the parking lot.

It was still early, yet already the sun glared across a cloudless sky. Rodymia was hot compared to Ontariese and Bilarri, but the air was soft and moist, and trees were plentiful. It was far superior to this barren wasteland. She took the nearest staircase to the second floor then strode to Roxie’s front door. The complex was clean and well-maintained, yet far from luxurious. There was no doorbell, so she raised the metal knocker and rapped several times. When no one responded, she had Flynn pound with the heel of his hand.

“What do you want?” Roxie called without opening the door.

“I just want to speak with you. Open the door.”

“I can hear you just fine like this.”

Sevrin looked around to make sure no one was about then moved closer to Flynn. “Flash me inside.”

“Say please.” He leaned down and nipped the side of her throat.

“We don’t have time for this.” She smacked his shoulder. “Flash me inside.”

His arm encircled her waist and he yanked her hard against him. An instant later, they stood in the front room of Roxie’s apartment.

“How did he…”

Roxie’s shock was almost believable. “Don’t pretend you’ve never seen someone teleport before. I know for a fact you have.”

Instantly Roxie dropped her little-girl-lost act. “Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I did everything you asked me to do. What do you want now?”

“Where did they take you after Nazerel left your shop?” Sevrin watched Roxie carefully, waiting for a twitch or guilty glance, any sign of deception.

“They all went after Nazerel. I never left my shop.”

Roxie remained composed and sounded sincere, but Sevrin knew better. “You’re lying. After an inadvertent exposure, you would have been debriefed. Where did they take you and what did they do?”

“This is between you and them,” Roxie insisted. “I want nothing to do with it!”

Sevrin crossed her arms under her breasts, pleased by the flicker of fear in Roxie’s gaze. She was a latent hybrid, unaware of her true worth. She should be frightened. “Answer a few simple questions and I’ll be on my way.”

The bedroom door inched open and Flynn sprang into action. He flew across the room and kicked the door inward, driving the unseen observer back. But rather than retreat, the dark-haired man attacked in an admirable—though foolish—attempt at bravery. The stranger slammed his shoulder into Flynn’s stomach, wrapped his arms around his hips and drove Flynn to the floor, flat on his back. Momentum carried the stranger down as well. Flynn gasped in a breath then his hands glowed as he prepared to launch energy pulses at the other male.

“Don’t kill him,” Sevrin commanded, her voice sharp and urgent. “I want to speak with him.”

Flynn’s fingers curled and the glow slowly dimmed. “Get off me,
human
.” He snarled the last word, making it sound extremely unpleasant.

The human climbed off Flynn, and Sevrin had her first good look at him. He was tall and muscular, with short yet wavy hair. His sharp green gaze settled on her for just a moment before he looked at Roxie. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You should have stayed out of sight.”

Roxie was trying to protect this mass of muscle? How sweet. “Who are you?” She moved closer, wanting a better look at his eyes. Was he truly human or an Ontarian in disguise?

“He has nothing to do with this.” Roxie reached for her upper arm, but Flynn intercepted her attempt, moving her hand well out of range. Roxie jerked her arm out of Flynn’s grasp and insinuated herself between Sevrin and Elias.

The human wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. “I can take care of myself, darlin’. You don’t need to worry about me.”

There was a slight accent to his speech that Sevrin found intriguing. Was he Roxie’s lover or something more interesting? “I wasn’t aware you had a significant other,” she prompted. “Why have I never seen him before?”

“This is the first time we’ve actually been together.”

“Let me guess,” Sevrin muttered. “You met online.”

Roxie’s gaze sharpened as she shot back. “Recent events prompted his visit.”

It was an explanation and yet so much was left undefined. “Which events do you mean and from where does your handsome suitor hale?”

“That would be Austin, Texas, ma’am.” He held out his hand with an unassuming smile. He was like a large canine, ever eager to please his master. She wasn’t sure if she was amused or disgusted by his friendliness. It was foolish for anyone to be that trusting.

After a quick handshake, Sevrin focused on Roxie again. “What happened after Nazerel left?”

Roxie licked her lips, clearly uncomfortable with the subject. “The weapon he discharged gave me a terrible headache.”

Sevrin fought back a smile. So that was how they explained her sudden unconsciousness. The Mystics hadn’t admitted to using a mental compulsion; Nazerel had discharged some mysterious weapon. “Go on.”

“They wanted to make sure—”

“Who are ‘they’? How many people did you see?”

“I just saw Jillian and her boyfriend.”

Did Roxie really think she was stupid? “If you only saw two, who went after Nazerel?”

“Jillian mentioned the others. I never saw them.”

Possible, but not probable. Roxie’s caginess could be the result of fear, but she could also know a whole lot more than she was pretending. “I interrupted you. What were you going to say?”

“They wanted to make sure Nazerel hadn’t harmed me, so they insisted I come with them.”

That was interesting. “Where did they take you?”

“I’m not sure. I was blinded by the headache on the way there and they blindfolded me when they drove me home.”

“And when was this?”

“Five or six hours later.” Roxie shrugged, looking more uncomfortable by the minute. “I don’t know exactly. The entire day is sort of blurry.”

Had they taken her to their ship? No, that would have created more problems than it solved. “To what sort of facility were you taken?”

“It was a small clinic or doctor’s office in a building all by itself. There wasn’t much around it either. I have no idea how they stay in business.”

“How long did it take to get there? Could you tell what direction they drove?” She paused for a challenging smile. “Did they drive you there or choose a faster means of travel?”

“Like a helicopter?” the human suggested in an attempt to be helpful. Too bad he didn’t have a cunning mind to go with that handsome face. It might have been amusing to provoke Flynn with the possibility of competition.

“We were in a SUV, nothing more elaborate.” Roxie licked her lips again and snuggled back into her companion’s embrace. “They gave me something for the pain, so I was pretty groggy on the way there.”

“And on the way back? How long were you in the SUV?”

Roxie shrugged again. “I’ve never been good at gauging time, especially when I can’t see what’s going on around me. Maybe an hour and a half.”

“Who did you see while you were at this clinic? Describe them for me.”

The Texan had a calming effect on Roxie. Her voice grew stronger, her expression more composed as she leaned back into his embrace. “Jillian stayed with me. She felt really bad about everything that had happened. I saw a doctor and a nurse. The doctor was a balding man in his fifties. The nurse was maybe thirty-five, blonde, a little on the heavy side. Neither of them were anything special. Why do you ask?”

Why indeed. Had the Ontarians taken her to a human doctor or had Roxie agreed to keep their secrets? Sevrin could usually sense it when someone lied to her. Roxie just seemed nervous and impatient. “How did your boyfriend become involved?”

“He
isn’t
involved. That’s the point.”

He caught her gaze over the top of Roxie’s head. “She called me in hysterics, ma’am. Asked if I could fly in for a few days. I wasn’t about to tell her no.”

“You flew in from Texas?” Why would he drop everything and come to the rescue of someone he’d not yet met? Humans were so strange.

“Yes, ma’am. We kept saying we should meet in person. This gave me a hard enough push to make it happen.”

“When did you get in?”

“Around three yesterday morning,” Roxie told her. “We’ve been here ever since.” She made a bland gesture toward the bedroom.

That explained the sexual tension sizzling between them, but Sevrin lingered a moment longer. Flynn had said Roxie’s car wasn’t at her apartment when he’d checked the day before. He might have been lying about checking. Sevrin had been angry with him at the time. It was hard to believe Roxie knew nothing more than she was saying. It was just too convenient. Or Roxie had been carefully insulated against information that could harm her. But why would the Mystic Militia care about the fate of a latent hybrid? Something here just didn’t add up.