Darkness Rises(114)

“I can take you where you need to go,” Zach said, his eyes never leaving her.
She shook her head. “I can’t leave these bodies here. I need to contact the network and have them come clean things up, hide what happened from the humans.”
He sighed. “If I were a different man, I’d say you owe me one.”
One what? And shouldn’t being in this powerful immortal’s debt alarm her? “For killing the mercenaries and saving me?”
“No, for this.” He closed his eyes.
He was so handsome. Straight nose. Strong, shadowed jaw. Ebony brows over eyes so dark a brown they were almost black . . . when they weren’t glowing golden. Just like Seth’s.
He opened those eyes and met hers. “Help is on the way.”
“It is?”
“Can you sit by yourself?”
She hadn’t even realized he had been supporting her with an arm behind her back.
“Yes.” She sat up straighter.
Withdrawing his arm, he rose and backed away.
“Thank you,” she said, sensing he wouldn’t stay until help arrived.
He nodded. Bending his knees, he leapt up into the air and brought those powerful wings down, shooting into the sky like a missile and disappearing from sight.
Lisette didn’t know what to think. Of him. Of what he had done.
Seth appeared several yards away, his back to her. “What?” he growled. “I don’t appreciate being summoned so . . .” He trailed off.
Lisette felt as anxious facing Seth now as she had the first time she had realized just how much power he wielded.
Would he view her interaction with Zach as a betrayal?
He took in the dead mercenaries and turned around. “Lisette!” In a heartbeat, he knelt beside her and touched her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Just weak. I’ve lost a lot of blood.”
A couple of humans strolled in their direction, not yet in sight of the carnage.
Seth waved a hand in their direction, mentally guiding them away. “I was summoned here by another,” he said, studying her closely.
She swallowed. “Zach was here.”
No visible reaction. “Did he hurt you?”
“No. He saved me.”
A long pause followed, during which she fought the urge to squirm.
Was he reading her thoughts, surfing through them and replaying what had happened?
He drew out his phone and dialed. “Chris? Seth. Send a cleanup crew to UNCG. A couple of dozen mercenaries attacked Lisette and are dead. One fled bearing a tracking device.”
He had definitely read her thoughts. Lisette just hoped he hadn’t noticed the fascination and, yes, attraction she felt for the other elder.
“They did? Excellent. Keep me posted.” He pocketed his phone. “Étienne and Krysta also engaged mercenaries tonight, over at UNC Chapel Hill, and succeeded in planting a tracking device on one. Chris is already tracking him.”
“Good.”
“Can you hold out until the cleanup crew arrives, or shall I take you home or to David’s for blood now?”
“I can wait.” For blood. She couldn’t wait for a verdict on her encounter with Zach. “Are you angry?” she asked tentatively.
“With you? No.”
“With Zach?”
“I haven’t decided.”
“Who is he, Seth?”
He looked at the bodies around them again. “I’m not sure anymore.”
“He said he’s your cousin,” she pressed.
“Did he?”
A human approached, accompanied by staticky walkie-talkie speech.
Lisette’s heart skipped. More mercenaries?
Seth covered her hand with his. “Campus security.” He looked in the direction from which the sounds came.
The human’s footsteps stopped, then carried him away.
Disturbed’s “Down With the Sickness” swelled from Seth’s pocket. Retrieving his phone, he answered, “Yes?” He met Lisette’s gaze and smiled. “Word travels fast. Yes, she’s here. She’s fine. Her phone was just destroyed.” He held out the phone. “It’s Tracy.” Don’t mention Zach.
Lisette took the phone, aware that Seth had neither confirmed nor denied that Zach was his cousin.
“Two mercenaries tagged,” he murmured as she assured Tracy she was fine and glossed over what had happened, leaving out Zach. “It’s been an interesting night.”
 

 

Once the immortals and Seconds staying at David’s had bedded down for the day, Seth and David retreated to David’s study.
Seth told him what had happened with Zach and Lisette.
David’s brow furrowed. “He helped her?”
Seth nodded, still unsure what to make of it.
“How did he kill the mercenaries? I didn’t think he carried a weapon.”