Praise for Blind Salvage(3)

Will cleared his throat, maybe started to say something, but was cut off.

I turned around in time to see Liam lift his hand, his light golden eyes narrowing. “Enough. She isn’t yours and she isn’t staying here. Let it go, cat, before this gets ugly.”

Wow. I swallowed hard, a part of me bucking under his assertion that I was his, as in belonging to him, as in not my own person. I took a deep breath, opened my mouth and then shut it with a click. Maybe I’d matured, probably not, but whatever the case, I let that bucking part of me settle down, calmed it with the simple truth: Liam was right, but it went both ways. I was his, and he was mine through and through.

Will needed to understand that. He drew himself up, his brown eyes bleeding to the kitty cat green that preceded a shift to his panther form, and irises contracting as the feline in him rose up.

“Why don’t you let her decide that for herself? Damn wolves, you think you rule the whole bloody world.”

Liam tensed, fists clenching. At his feet, Alex let out a whimper. Looked like it was my turn to break things up.

Yippy.

“Seriously?” I put my hands on my hips. “Grow up, Will. Untwist your balls from the knot they’re in and chill the hell out.”

Pamela joined us, her face clearly showing her confusion, as she glanced from Will to me to Liam. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Say goodbye to Will. We’re leaving.” I pointed at him and she shyly stepped close to him to give him a hug, her face pinking up, lashes lowered over her bright blue eyes.

He spoke to Pamela, but his eyes never left mine, the intensity in them undeniable, even though there was no return of emotion on my part.

“Stay clear of wolves, they will pull you apart.”

Damn, he was going to push this with every second we had left here. Liam flexed his muscles and growled under his breath, and I had no doubt we were as close to a fight between the two of them as we’d ever been.

We needed to leave, now, or there was going to be a mangled body that had once belonged to a friend. Someone would get hurt badly, or worse, killed. And I knew it wouldn’t be Liam dying, not with the Guardian blood flowing through him. No matter how much Alex might interfere, the two men were going to come to blows very soon. And I really didn’t want to stitch either of them up. Will was a friend and an ally, but I would always stand with Liam.

Always.

I flicked a hand beckoning to Alex who scampered to my side. He whispered out the corner of his mouth. “Boss is maddy mad.”

“Yeah, but he’ll chill out once we get home.” Gods, I hoped that would be the case.

A quiver ran along my shoulders, a solid feeling of being watched rolling through me. I turned to see Jack standing in the doorway, watching us leave. He hadn’t spoken to me since Liam had shifted back, and Milly had stolen the violet book of prophecies. He didn’t come down to see us off, or even wave goodbye. Not that I cared, at least that’s what I told myself. The old bastard had lied and manipulated me with the best of them. Not something I tolerated well on my good days. But a part of me felt sorry for him, and I fought the urge to go and tell him he could come with us, that he didn’t have to die alone. In that, Jack was right. I had to start putting my foot down. No more charity cases, no more wards to take care of. I had enough trouble keeping those I cared about alive as it was.

The sound of tires on gravel brought my head around. Our ride was already here. Who the hell was it now?

A black, sleek sedan rolled to a stop, blocking off the driveway. Liam’s former boss—and my one time boss—Agent Valley pulled his short stubby body out of the car with some effort.

“Adamson,” he said, straightening his suit coat over his portly frame (which didn’t really help). “Why is it that I had to learn through the rumor mill that you’d found Agent O’Shea?”

I pursed my lips. “Sorry, my secretary must have lost that memo. Alex, why didn’t you tell Agent Valley we’d found Liam?”

Alex did an exaggerated point at himself his lips twisting comically. “Rylee said no tells.”

“Right, that’s why.” I lifted an eyebrow at Agent Valley.

Liam moved up beside me. He had shaved off the beard, but had left his hair long. Black as the night sky, it brushed the top of his shoulders, very definitely not FBI agent styled; there would be no more short cropped brush cut for him. I liked it.

“Agent O’Shea. Good to see you.” Agent Valley held out his hand and Liam took it.

“Just Liam now, sir.”

Agent Valley blinked several times. “What does ‘just Liam now’ mean, exactly?”