Darkness Rises(51)

“I suppose so.”
“And how many Immortal Guardians are we talking?”
“Fourteen or fifteen.”
Krysta inadvertently tightened her grip on him as fear returned.
“We won’t hurt you, Krysta. I know it seems like we’ve been doing a piss-poor job of it, but we’re here to help you and protect you.”
She nodded. She supposed she would just have to trust them. Go with gut instinct. Blind hope. Because what other choice did she have?
Richart and Jenna returned.
Rather than leap away from her as Krysta expected, Étienne kept one arm around her and shifted her to his side. As if they were a couple.
“Ready?” Richart asked. “I’d like to go and get back so I can rest for a few hours before the meeting.”
Étienne nodded. “See that he does rest,” he implored Jenna. “He was tranqed earlier.”
Jenna frowned up at her husband. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I didn’t want to worry you. Besides, Chris gave me the antidote.”
She nodded at Étienne. “He’ll rest.”
“Thank you.”
Richart stepped away from his wife and touched Étienne’s shoulder.
Blackness engulfed them. A second later, the room brightened. Only it was a different room.
Krysta glanced around.
In a different house.
 

 

“See you at the meeting tonight,” Richart said.
“I’m serious about you getting some rest,” Étienne said.
Richart’s lips quirked. “As soon as I finish what you so rudely interrupted earlier.”
An instant later he vanished.
“Seriously?” Krysta said. “After being shot and hunting whoever the hell that was at my house and being tranqed, he’s going to go home and make love to his wife?”
“They’re newlyweds,” Étienne said with a shrug. “That’s actually why I wanted to spend the day here instead of there. Their relationship is still new enough that they haven’t had a chance to soundproof the walls of their bedroom, so spending the day there can be awkward.”
“I would think so. With your ears, you can probably hear everything.”
He nodded. He and Lisette had learned very quickly that, although they were always welcome at Richart’s home (the three of them had always been close and routinely slept at each others’ houses to stave off loneliness), Richart wasn’t going to let their presence dampen his amorous pursuits of his wife.#p#分页标题#e#
Actually, Richart was so besotted that Étienne wasn’t sure it had even occurred to him that his brother and sister could hear him making love with Jenna. This situation was new to them. Lisette was the only one of them who had ever been married, and that had been before her transformation.
Cam entered, his hair mussed from sleep. He wore his usual sleeping garb: a T-shirt and sweatpants. When he had first been named Étienne’s Second, he had slept in the buff, which Étienne had nixed when he had arrived home one night battered enough to require immediate aid. Then had come boxers, which had been replaced by the sweats and a T-shirt after Lisette and Richart had made several surprise visits.
The pants were for Lisette’s benefit. Cam couldn’t care less about either of the men catching him in his drawers.
“Came home after all?” Cam said, eyeing Krysta curiously.
“Yes. Cam, this is Krysta. She saved my life tonight and lost her home as a result. Krysta, this is Cameron, my Second.”
Cam strode forward and offered his hand. “Good to meet you. Sorry about your house.”
Krysta shook his hand. “Thanks. Étienne seems to think it would be best if I bunk here for the day. I hope you don’t mind.”
“As long as you’re on our side, you’re welcome.”
“She is,” Étienne stated.
Cam nodded. “First things first. Are you wounded?” he asked Étienne.
“Yes.”
“Let me get you some blood.” He left, then returned with two bags of blood Étienne swiftly drew into his parched veins. “The men you fought were mercenaries?”
“Yes.”
Cam slid a glance Krysta’s way. “You’re sure she isn’t one of them?”
Krysta answered before Étienne could. “Would they have tried to kill me if I were?”
“Yes. The mercenaries we fought in the past considered each other expendable.”
“Cam,” Étienne warned, “don’t press her. She isn’t one of them.”
“You’ve read her thoughts?”
Étienne shifted. “Some of them. I can’t read her at will the way I can you and most other mortals.”