The baroness tipped her head in a polite nod. "You've done very well with this case, but be careful how far you step. Our enemies unleashed vampires on London last month without even a thought to the carnage that might have occurred. If they are the ones behind this, then they won't hesitate to remove you from the situation. If I had the option I'd replace you with Gemma or Charlie, purely because they're more capable of protecting themselves, but they're still not back, so... be careful. "
A chill ran through her.
But Kincaid rested his hand on the small of her back. "If someone wants to hurt Ava, they'll have to go through me first."
And somehow, Ava felt perfectly safe, in a way she hadn't since before Dr. Hague got his hands on her.
Nine
SHE COULDN'T BREATHE.
That was the first thought that struck her. Ava froze, trying to drag her hand to her face. There was something there. Over her mouth. And her skin felt warm and wet, as though some sort of liquid surrounded her. Metal under her touch. The brass filtration device over her mouth and nose, with a tube leading back to an oxygen canister.
She felt the beginning of that old panic. She knew this place. Knew where she was, how she'd been trapped.
Naked limbs. Naked all over. Her only decoration was the enormous scar up the center of her chest, where Hague had cut her heart out and replaced it with his own clockwork version.
Ava screamed, bubbles slipping from the breathing mask over her face, rippling over her delicate cheeks and shooting toward the top of the small tank she floated in.
Hague's healing tank, he'd told her.
She pressed her hands against the glass, her vision blurry through the water. Ava pounded her fists against it, but it would not break. She'd tried, a thousand times before, ever since she'd woken up here in Hague's dark laboratory. She was trapped in here, trapped forever, unable to ever escape-
"Ava! Ava!" Hands caught her shoulders.
She fought him, trying to push Hague away, but then he said the one word that stayed her fury. "Damn it, kitten. You're going to give me a black eye."
Kitten?
Only one man ever called her that. Ava caught Kincaid's wrists and gasped. Cool metal met her left hand, the bare spars fused into flesh with exquisite workmanship. Suddenly she could see again. Recognize where she was. Kincaid knelt on the edge of her bed, his palms cupped around her shoulders. He loomed over her, but there was a lantern in the corner and its golden light backlit him, revealing just how quickly he'd rushed in here. She caught a vague glimpse of naked skin, but the darkness threatened to suck her under again.
"Here." Warm arms enveloped her even as she sucked in a sharp breath. "I've got you. You're safe. You're with me. I've got you."
Ava burrowed her face against Kincaid's throat. The first sob took her by surprise, a spasm ripping through her chest as she tried to suppress it. She might be safe, but she'd never be entirely free of Hague and the shadow he cast over her life.
Kincaid held her for a long time as she struggled to fight back the tearless sobs. His human hand stroked her hair, catching in tangles of it, and then gradually easing them free. It was that which brought her back to the present. The patient, slow way in which he finger combed her hair. Not a single question, or a demand she fight her way through her panic-fueled nightmares, but just letting her find her way back when she was ready.
He'd done the same to her in the Garden of Eden when she'd suffered her hysteria attack-whatever else this man might be, he was patient when he needed to be. And surprisingly gentle. She'd have never expected it of him, with his brutish body, the sparse steel of his mech hand, and the fierce expression he so frequently wore.
Ava turned her head, pressing her lips to his throat and breathing in the scent of him. She couldn't stop herself from darting her tongue against his skin and tasting the salt there. The kick of his pulse against her tongue made the shadows rise again. But this time they were different shadows. The craving ignited inside her as the predator within her raised its head, scenting blood. She could hear his pulse in her ears, feel it flickering against her lips, just daring her.... So near she could almost taste it-
"That's enough," Ava said, pushing him away with a gasp.
Kincaid reared back onto his knees on the bed. He wore trousers, at least, but the sight of his light-touched skin drew her gaze, and made her uncomfortably aware of how quiet the night was.
How they were possibly the only two people in the house right now.
"What are you doing in here?" she whispered, sitting up and dragging the sheets under her chin.