From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4) (26 page)

“This is not Arlo’s style.” Ryker rubbed the
back of his neck with one hand. “Not sure he even knows the word
imperative. And he’s not one to plan. He just slinks in on someone
else’s raid and steals it.”

“Then who else?” I tossed up my arms with
irritation. “It’s not like we have a lot of people on our
side.”

“Do we have any?”

“Exactly!”

“Think back. I know there were a lot of
people, but do you remember anyone getting exceptionally
close?”

“I don’t know, Ryker.” A sudden burst of
irritation lashed up my body, streaming out of my mouth. “We were
in a market
full
of people. I got close to a lot!”

His lids narrowed, his jaw clenched. He
sucked in through his nose, keeping his expression guarded.

“Sorry,” I huffed, pinching my eyebrows
together. “I’m just tired.” It was true, but we both knew it wasn’t
what had me lashing out.

Tension took hold of the room, lasting what
felt like forever, my gaze on the floor, before Ryker spoke evenly.
“I meant anyone bumping or knocking into you.”

My head lifted, my eyes widening with a
sudden memory.

“Yes.” I nodded. “At the same time I saw
Arlo. This man knocked into me hard enough that he had to grab on
to me so I wouldn’t fall over. He must have put it in then.”
Another realization hit me. “Man, I had been so focused on Arlo, it
didn’t even register then. I’m so used to seeing it with you
guys.”

“What?”

“He was fae. It was sunny out, but he had a
glow.”

“What did he look like?”

“He had on a hat and kept his chin dipped so
I didn’t see his face. He was tall, built, but I don’t remember
much else. Nothing useful.” I paced the room. “When he said sorry,
I heard a slight accent.”

“What kind?” Ryker sat on the corner of the
bed, the note still between his fingers.

I squeezed my lids closed, replaying the
moment, trying to hear his voice in my head. “English.
Scottish…maybe Irish.”

“Yeah, that narrows it down. Pretty much
covers most fae.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m pretty certain I
didn’t know him. His aura was new to me.”

Auras were as different as human
fingerprints, everyone giving off their own. The more magic you
possessed, the brighter it was. When I first met Ryker, his almost
blinded me. Now, because of the magic that had chosen me, I could
look at it more clearly.

“You want to check it out, don’t you?”

“There’s something telling me to go.” I
nibbled my fingernail. “I can’t explain it, but yes, I want to
check it out.”

“Even if it might be a trap?”

I padded over to him, not responding. He knew
me better than that.

He rolled forward till the top of his head
pressed into my stomach. “You can’t stay out of trouble for a
moment, can you?”

“I’ll let you have tonight off.” I laced my
fingers through his silky hair.

“Gee. Thanks.” He turned his gaze up to
me.

I placed my hands on the sides of his face,
running my fingers over his brows and temples. “Thank you.”

He huffed, wrapping his arms around my hips,
pulling me into a hug.

“Flamingo tulips, don’t insult me, beaver. My
wood is perfectly good,” Sprig muttered in his sleep, rolling over.
“The woodpeckers are quite fond of it.”

I chuckled, letting my forehead fall to the
top of Ryker’s head. “Oh, please say he is gambling in his sleep
again.”

Ryker grabbed my thighs, pitching me onto the
bed. My back bounced against the mattress as he crawled up, leaning
over me. “The amount of dirty puns I could make off that. Too
easy.” He kissed me.

“Easy? My monkey is trading his pecker wood
to a bunch of beavers,” I said evenly. “I don’t see where you’d get
any dirty puns from that. Sounds perfectly normal to me.”

“That is normal for us.”

“Sadly, so true.” I inched up, meeting my
mouth with his. “We still have at least three minutes left.”

“What I want to do will take way more than
that.”

“I’m still feeling a little dizzy and shaky.
I might need a shower monitor, to supervise.”

“I take my duty very seriously.” He nipped my
lip. “Oversee, inspect, and examine.”

We were teasing and laughing, but my thoughts
never ran far from Lexie, Annabeth, and Croygen. So much had
happened in the last day, I needed to find the humor, to relish
this time with Ryker. Because if I didn’t, I would fall apart.

The hurt and darkness I carried was as molten
as lava and as liable to explode, burning my heart and soul beyond
repair.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” I
looked around the deserted section near the water. Boats bobbed and
weaved against the wind that brought in the storm. Yesterday’s sun
was now eclipsed by dark clouds and torrential downpours.

Amara didn’t appear to be overly thrilled
when Ryker and I took off, giving her few details about where we
were going. She whined about being left behind, but Sprig moaned
even louder when he found out he was being left with her. I assured
Sprig I would bring him back a treat if I could.

Rain flowed heavily off the roof. Not one
person stirred around the area, and there was no indication of a
pub here at all.

“Yes,” Ryker replied. Only a hint of his face
peeked out from his hood. “Heard a lot of stories about this
place.”

“What place?”

“Headless Queen.” He nodded toward stairs
leading below. “A pub.”

“Headless Queen?”

“Not too subtle coming from dark fae, huh?”
he replied. “Haven’t been there.”

“Really?”

“It’s full of thieves, murderers, and
scoundrels.” He turned to me with a hint of a smile on his
face.

“Sounds like your type of place.”

“No, sounds like yours.” He bumped me
playfully before returning his focus to the dilapidated building.
“I’m better skilled than any of those in there. Wouldn’t benefit
me. Actually, I would be a target.”

“You? A target?” My eyebrows lifted. “Sorry,
I can’t picture it.”

“Lace my drink with a little goblin metal.
Kidnap me and force me to work for them.” A nerve in his neck
twitched.

“I’m thinking this is not hypothetical.”

“There is no honor among thieves. Believe
me.” He took a step forward, glancing back at me. His gaze was
serious, his eyes roaming over my body.

In an instant lust bloomed through me. Ryker
could tap into my emotions, altering them with just a look. He was
another thing I was addicted to.

Sex had been a no-go the night before. My
headache and tremors had grown so bad, all I could do to ease the
pain was sleep. Also spending the night in the room with the woman
who used to sleep with your man made for awkward bedfellows. Being
kind to Amara, we took our showers separately and as soon as my
throbbing head hit the pillow, I was out for the rest of the
night.

However, waking up with his muscular build
touching me… To say I struggled was not a strong enough word.

Today I felt a little better, but still off.
Fidgety and irritated. Looking to release my edgy mood, my hormones
were working overtime. Ryker seemed to be the only thing able to
reduce my agitation.

He turned to stand in front of me, grabbing
the edges of my jacket.

“This is completely a dark fae pub. Keep the
hood on and try to blend in with the scenery. You being a
beautiful, young girl are just asking for trouble.” He grabbed my
hood, pulling it forward. “This is not a place where you fool
around. I don’t want to spend the whole time defending your
honor.”

I nodded. I had been raised on the streets so
I understood better than he thought. There were times you just
needed to be smart, stay quiet, and not attract attention. My small
frame and heart-shaped face had always caused people to challenge
me, thinking I was a sweet, fragile girl, an easy victim. I was all
for being a strong woman, but sometimes it was better to let the
huge Viking fae take the lead.

“I would prefer you not even be here, but I
know there is no way you wouldn’t come or that this person would
talk to me without you.” His fingers drifted to the zipper of my
jacket, tugging it up. “Plus, I know you can take care of
yourself.” His voice went softer, and I stared into his eyes.

Ryker’s fingers slid under my jaw, tipping my
head back. He closed the gap between our bodies, pressing against
me. He leaned his forehead against mine, his lips grazing my
own.

My lungs decided to stop working as his
breath traced over my lips and down my neck like fingers. I thought
he was going to kiss me, but instead he spoke. “Stay close to me.
If I feel anything is off or wrong, we are out. No questions asked.
Okay?”

I tilted my head, inching us even closer.
“Yes, but the same goes for you. My seer senses are good detectors
too. I don’t want to have to defend
your
honor the entire
time either.”

I felt his mouth twitch with a smile. “I
don’t know. I find it hot when you protect me.”

“Well, then maybe I’ll pick a fight.” I
brushed my lips against his.

His throat tightened, and he struggled to
swallow. “Dammit, human,” he mumbled before stepping back and
taking a deep breath. “I am really wishing we didn’t have to meet
up with this contact, and I could just take you to the alley right
now.”

“Oh, now an alley is all right?” I said,
recalling the night we first were together.

He gave me a look. “Then I didn’t know... now
I do. No place is safe anymore.”

“Let’s get this over with, then we can talk
about the alley,” I said as I passed him, keeping my voice
nonchalant. I heard a slight moan behind me before his footsteps
joined mine on the pavement.

“Stay behind me.” He quickly lapped up my
lead, surpassing me. “Let’s try to get in and out without any
life-and-death incidents.”

“You’re talking to me.”

“Exactly.” He sighed, beating down the steps
to the tavern.

The smell of dank wood, stale beer, and smoke
from a chimney climbed into my nose. The stairs creaked underneath
us. The entrance was unmarked and just slightly off kilter, adding
to the feeling this building was extremely old.

Ryker opened the door, ducking to step in,
his shoulders barely fitting through the lopsided doorway. Like a
shadow, I followed close behind him, dwarfed by his huge frame.

As my eyes adjusted to the dark room, I saw
it wasn’t a large space. A fire blazed in an old stone fireplace on
the wall opposite the door. The bar stood on our left, filling most
of the wall. To my right were at least twenty small, round tables
with chairs, and against the far right built-in seats with a line
of rectangle wood tables butted against each other. Either Scottish
or Celtic music filled the room loud enough to drown conversations
to a general murmur. It looked exactly what I pictured as an old
pirate-type tavern.

In the early rainy evening, the bar was busy
enough so our arrival didn’t attract too much focus. Only a few
heads turned our way, assessing us. Wary eyes watched Ryker. He
wore jeans, a hoodie, black leather jacket, and biker boots.
Nothing which stood out here, but his size alone made people
nervous. His magic was still being blocked, but you could not deny
the power in his stance, which was intimidating as hell. I would
know.

“Do you see him?” Ryker muttered to me.

“No.” I checked for any familiar auras. The
glow of fae encompassed the room. Shifters, trolls, and dark
Otherworlders occupied the seats. This place was obscure and
secretive, far too dangerous for even a partial human to come. Good
thing I wasn’t one anymore.

“Can I help you?” The bartender’s unfriendly
tone spun my head back to the counter.

I tried to hold in a gasp. The fae did not
need to hide his true form here. He stood shorter than Ryker, but
muscular enough to be menacing. I guessed him to be in his
thirties, although with fae you never knew their true age. He wore
a tight black T-shirt and jeans. From a distance it looked like his
shoulder-length hair was gelled into a bunch of spikes around his
head, but where I stood I knew they were black twisted bones
protruding out of his scalp. His squashed nose had a bull ring
through it, and he was covered in tattoos.

I shivered at the sight of him up close.

“Just a drink,” Ryker replied, keeping his
tone hard.

The bartender crossed his arms, looking us
both up and down, like he was considering if we were trouble.
Finally he flicked his head toward the room. “Take a seat. What’d
you want?”

“Two scotch whiskies.” Ryker headed for the
back of the room, snaking between the tables. Sconces hanging on
the wall gave off a dull light, but most of it came from the huge
crackling fire. Ryker sat us in the farthest, darkest corner, where
we blended into the shadows. I slid into the booth against the
wall, and he sat down next to me. I hated being pinned in the
corner, but it was better to be able to see the room and know what
threat was coming.