Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Eight

Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twenty-Eight
Ryder

There were no other people better to protect her, but Corrine had known the clever devil woman that she was.

Thank you, Corrine said immediately. My sons don’t think such nice things about me often enough.

Is there ever a time when you’re not in my head?

Occasionally, when I have something better to do, but right now, I’m bored. You’re way better than TV.

“Don’t worry, Cat. You’re in our crew now,” Holly promised, leaning against the door and crossing his arms, attempting to look malevolent.

“Thank you,” Catalym said quietly. “Just hope I don’t cause too much trouble for you, but I know differently. I can’t get away from it.”

As she looked out the passenger side window, Catalym’s eyes turned glassy with tears, but they never fell. My gut clenched at the sight of it, but Kelly wouldn’t allow me to have my anger back even now.

“We’re used to trouble. It’s only another day, another war. No big deal,” Marcus said, shrugging nonchalantly. Kelly snorted.

I hope so.

I flinched at those hopeless words, leaned over, and kissed Cat’s cheek softly.

Yet another horn blared behind me, and the light was green, probably had been for some time. I had to start paying more attention.

I gunned the engine, and we were off again, flying through moderate traffic. Marcus yelled from the backseat to cut this person off or change into the other lane, accented by Sara’s flipping off a driver and telling him where to shove it.

Damn, backseat drivers.

I groaned along with the others because of the stories Sara and Kelly decided to tell Catalym about us. When we pulled into the club's employee parking lot, they had her laughing at every stupid thing we’d done when they had known us.

Thankfully, they hadn’t seen most of them.

We fell out of the SUV, a loud and pumped crowd, ready to start our work night. Catalym walked just ahead of me, and I placed a hand on the small of her back when she stopped dead in her tracks.

The sun sank behind the warehouse that enclosed the bar, creating long-reaching shadows from all sides. The previous camaraderie was lost as a mixture of sick fear and cold determination fell over the group.

You could tell the difference between the Hunters in the group and the civilians. Kelly and Catalym were scared, while the men and Sara discreetly moved to shelter the others in formation.

Catalym looked around at us. Her spine straightened, and something changed in her face. I smiled to see it. She refused to hide and would face this with us at her side.

“He’s here.” She turned up and down the alley, trying to get a range on Judo, her mind-expanding to fill every crevice.

Sara turned and snarled in the same direction she’d settled on.

“Great, now we have to fight,” Kelly mumbled. Marcus growled at those words. “I’m going to break my new heels, damn it. I just got them comfortable, too!” She muttered to herself.

Marcus pulled her behind him, wrapping his arm around her back. The moment she could no longer see his face, it faded to death.

I drew Catalym protectively to my side as a significant, imposing figure stepped out from the shadows of a dumpster. I recognized him on sight. So, this was the man who haunted her dreams.

He didn’t look at anyone except Catalym. There was a strange direction about him, a quality of obsession. I could see the cruelty behind his false smile.

“Hey, sweeting. Where have you been?” his thickly accented voice called.

He moved into the dying light sliding behind all the buildings, which backed us on both sides. Energy pushed at our skin, something so profound we never expected it, and the power this man wielded became oppressive with each deliberate step. We didn’t concern him in the least.

Like any foe, I studied him closely. I felt his pure lineage, but instinctively felt he hid something. He was thrumming with energy, and my first gut feeling said Original.

Yet something was distinctly missing. Manuel Martinez was an Original and was so much more than this. The longer I thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

Why would an Original Cursed One come here for this woman? They were a breed all by themselves and had more power than Catalym could consume on her finest day. They were so unlike anything else on earth, and nothing was unattainable to them. They alone knew everything about what we were, secrets they never divulged.

There was no way this man could be a first.

His well-developed arms were covered in black tribal tattoos, far more intricate than Marcus’. There was magic woven into the designs, older than my mind could wrap around. I doubted they were legal, at least here. I filed that away in hopes of a later use.

“With my new friends and my Aunt’s family,” she answered, without the hesitance I felt in her mind.

Her voice was strong and almost arrogant, but she huddled in my arms for reassurance that I wouldn’t leave her. She wanted to trust me, but so much of her life had taught her differently.

I was determined to prove that fear wrong.

When you have your chance, pin him, I barked the order.

Marcus and Kev nodded discreetly. Holly tensed, more than ready. They would never dare fail me in this.