Alterant (Belador #2)(26)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

While the old guy lashed out blindly, Evalle dragged Kell out of the fog zone. Once he had taken a few breaths, she shook him. “Are you with me now, Kell?”

“Yes. I don’t know what happened.”

“I do. Told you that fog is dangerous. Can you find Kardos?”

“He’s sleeping at the shelter.”

“Is he sick?” She couldn’t think of any other reason the born troublemaker would be inside when he normally roamed the streets at night.

“Sort of. Drank something nasty.” He straightened the navy blue golf shirt he wore, a donated shirt too big for his slender frame.

“He deserves the hangover. Go to the shelter and make him stay there until you hear this fog has passed.” She lowered her voice and leaned in close to Kell. “It’s causing some people to shift into beasts.”

Kellman smiled with embarrassment. “Tell me about it. I’d never attack old Joe.”

“No, I mean real beasts with fangs and claws … and some power.”

That blanched his face. “Really?”

“Yes. Now where does Joe live so I can get him home?”

Kell told her he stayed in a vacant building close by, then gave his chessboard a pained look.

“You can’t go back in that fog to get it,” Evalle told him. “I’ll find you another one.”

“Don’t worry about it. Take care of yourself, and thanks for getting Joe home.” He took off for the shelter, running around the outside of the fog.

Evalle went back into the yellow haze and tugged old Joe backwards while he jerked and swung at everything, yelling that he was going to stomp some butt.

Take a number. She’d like to stomp some herself.

Once she had him in fresh air, he calmed down. She hated having thrown dirt in his eyes earlier. “Kell told me where you live. If you’ll let me lead you, I’ll find some water to clean out your eyes, okay?”

He agreed. Leaving her bike at the park, it took fifteen minutes to walk him two blocks and locate a newsstand that had water. She bought him a sandwich and another bottle of water for his dinner. When she had him settled with clear vision again and convinced to stay away from the fog, she rushed back the way she’d come.

Sweat soaked her short-sleeved shirt and jeans. Between the heat and this fog, the attacks were only going to escalate.

She swung around a corner and skidded to a stop in front of two men carrying heavy weapons.

Demon-killing weapons just like the one Isak Nyght had toted around when she’d first met him. He’d used his blaster to kill a demon she’d been trying to interrogate.

“Hello, Evalle,” Isak said from behind her.

She turned around. “What’s going on, Isak?”

Some men had a presence. Isak consumed space, owned the territory surrounding whatever piece of real estate he stood upon, whether he was in full battle gear or slacks and a dress shirt. Tonight he wore black cargo pants and a matching T-shirt with a weapon-packed vest over his supersized body. Those huge hands had held a delicate wineglass and cupped her face when he’d kissed her speechless.

His gaze took in everything around them and still managed to hold her in place when he said, “Word’s out humans are shifting into beasts everywhere. We’re here to keep the streets safe.”

Take a breath. Isak doesn’t know that I’m an Alterant. “Have you seen any?”

“Not yet. Saw the victims though.” Isak looked over at his team. “Go ahead and I’ll catch up to you.”

That’s all it took for her to end up alone in the dark with a man who had once kidnapped her in order to have dinner with her because she’d kept standing him up.

He’d mentioned not seeing any beasts. She asked, “What do you think these things look like if you haven’t seen any?”

“Saw one overseas right before it killed my best friend. An Alterant. They look human, then turn into a monster that murders anything in sight.”

She didn’t want him killing any Alterant, but she didn’t believe the thing she’d fought in the fog had been an Alterant. Not like her and Tristan. Isak and his men could help protect humans if they knew how to see the beasts in the fog.

“I’ve heard some reports on the attacks,” she started, hoping he would heed what she was about to tell him even if she had to fabricate a little to be able to share intel. “Sounds to me like the fog hides the beasts. Maybe makes them invisible.”

He let the weapon hang from the cord hooked to his vest and used a hand to scratch his chin, which was covered in short whiskers. Some men wore a five o’clock shadow for a sexy look. In Isak’s case, he just hadn’t taken the time to shave today.

That didn’t change the fact that it still gave him an edgy attractiveness.

His eyes sliced down at her. “Invisible would explain why we haven’t seen any in the fog even with our night-vision gear.”

“But you have thermal imaging equipment, right?”

“Sure. But I won’t risk killing a human by shooting without a clear visual of the beasts.”

This was where she had to be careful. “Have you gotten a description of the beasts?”

“One of my teams out west took one down. The thing turned back into a human when it died, then it just vaporized.”

“Did they say how tall the beast stood?”

“Yeah, the things are at least ten feet.” Understanding dawned in his eyes. “We can pick up the heat signature and tell the difference between something that big and human.”

She let out a breath of relief, but she had to go. “That’s great. I’ve got to run, but it’s good to see you.”

He reached over and caught her hand, lifting it and inspecting the scrapes on her elbows. “Why is it every time I see you, you’re banged up?”

“Just clumsy, I guess.”

He pulled her hand up to kiss her knuckles, then let go and used a finger to lift her chin.

Her heart strummed with new energy. Isak wouldn’t raise a hand against her—not as long as he didn’t know she was an Alterant. She hadn’t known him long, but in that short time he’d killed a demon that had considered her a meal, then helped her escape a sticky situation with law enforcement and offered to “take care of” someone if they were bothering her.

She had no one she wanted to have “taken care of” … except maybe Sen, but she doubted even Isak could go up against Sen and survive.

Isak’s concern for her safety stirred up strange feelings and tugged at her emotions. Especially the night she’d shared a private meal with him and seen the charming side of this black-ops soldier.

He leaned down and surprised her with a tender kiss. His lips were firm and hot for the two seconds their mouths touched. When he lifted up, his eyes gleamed with keen interest.

Heat shivered over her skin.

She liked Isak, but spending time with him added one more problem to her unending list, and she had enough sense to keep her distance from a man so intensely sexual.

Or not, if she considered that she spent so much time with Storm, who had ruined her chance at a quick nap after his kiss.

She’d never had a man in her life who’d been more than a friend and had never wanted a relationship with any man, but now she had two showing decidedly male interest and … to be honest, she was starting to like the attention.

Storm and Isak were as different as two men could be except for when it came to their protectiveness around her.

Isak smiled with sly humor. “One of these days, I’m going to find out what’s going on behind those dark sunglasses.”

Let’s hope not. She returned his smile. “We’ll have to get back to that over the dinner I owe you.” She hoped he wouldn’t take that as an invitation to kidnap her again. “But I’ve got to run.”

And she would run all the way to her bike, just as soon as she determined which direction he took. That way she could take a detour even if she had to circle back around. She didn’t want him to see that she’d spray painted her beautiful gold bike black, or he’d ask more questions.

His radio crackled. He lifted it from his vest and keyed the button. After a quick exchange with one of his men, who had located a wide patch of fog, Isak put his radio back. “I’ve got to go, too. Where’s your bike?”

“Just another block over that way.” She pointed because it was in the opposite direction of his men. “I’ll watch out for the fog.”

“One more thing?”

“Yes?”

“Why is a man by the name of Tzader Burke looking for you?”

Uh-oh. She had zero acting ability but gave a casual shrug and tried to keep the worry from her voice. “I don’t know. How do you know him?”

“I know of him.”

Just how much did Isak know “of” Tzader? “How do you know he’s looking for me?”

“He contacted me wanting to know if I’d seen you on any of our surveillance equipment.”

If Tzader had reached out to Isak for help, then he was really worried. This would turn into the night of living hell if the Tribunal caught her communicating with Tzader or Quinn. “Why did he want to find me?”

“Didn’t say. Do you want to be found?”

More than anything she’d have loved to have Tzader and Quinn at her side, but not at the cost of the Tribunal’s wrath. “No.”

“Okay.”

Her heart stuttered at how quickly Isak agreed to shield her even when he didn’t know why.

He asked in an overly curious tone, “How do you know Tzader?”

She had no idea what Tzader had said and couldn’t deny knowing him.

Taking a step back to indicate she was leaving, she said, “I ran into him at the morgue a couple times. Not my type.”

That relaxed the stern lines between Isak’s eyes. “I don’t like him stalking you. Next time we meet, I’ll know everything there is to know about Tzader Burke, so you won’t have to worry about him again.”

She could not let Isak turn his formidable resources on Tzader. “That’s not necessary. He’s a friend, that’s all.”

Isak nodded and allowed her to leave without more questions. She wished that meant he accepted her explanation and wouldn’t go snooping around about Tzader, but she knew better.

If she got out of this mess with the Tribunal, Isak would get that dinner she owed him.

TWENTY-ONE

Riding along the two-lane road behind Grady Hospital, Evalle had twelve minutes before she had to meet Storm at the MARTA train station. Flashing lights glowed from the front of the hospital and sirens screamed heading in from the interstate.

How were they going to stop this fog and all the killing?

She parked near the curb, cut the engine, lifted the visor on her helmet and glanced around. Most people avoided the dark corridor between the rear of the hospital and the interstate, especially around eleven at night.

She called out sharply, “Grady?”

“You rang?” He took form in front of her, smiling.

Oh, dear Goddess. He shouldn’t have been able to take human form without having shaken the hand of a powerful being like her. But here he was, looking human. VIPER agents were allowed to trade a handshake for one minute maximum.

If anyone in VIPER found out what she’d done for Grady, Sen wouldn’t have to wait on the Tribunal’s decision to have her locked away.

Grady hadn’t been able to do this yesterday—had it only been a day ago? She’d held his hand on and off for over twenty minutes so he could maintain human form at his granddaughter’s wedding. Grady had died in the ’80s, so he hadn’t wanted to talk to his granddaughter, only smell the flower-laden chapel and hear her wedding vows spoken, because his human senses were sharper than his Nightstalker ghoul form.

So Evalle had broken a rule and held his hand longer than the allowed one minute, which could result in her suspension from VIPER. She couldn’t bring herself to regret helping him after seeing his unbridled happiness last night.

Considering her current list of supposed transgressions, holding Grady’s hand too long was a minor one.

“Stop lookin’ at me like I’m a ghost,” he grumbled.

“You are a ghost, sort of.” She rubbed her tired eyes. “What else has changed after that handshake?”

“You mean besides me gettin’ better lookin’?” He grinned, his teeth a soft white against his raisin-brown skin. He scowled at her. “Only lasts a few minutes when I do it on my own, so it ain’t like I’m gonna be walkin’ around all day like this.”

She smiled, though it was a sad one. “I wish you could.”

He angled his head, looking her bike over. “What the hell you do to your ride?”

The paint job on her GSX-R motorcycle would have been ugly even if she hadn’t been in a rush. “I sprayed black over the gold to camouflage it so no one would recognize my bike, but I can clean off the paint when I’m ready. I covered the tag with pieces of sticky vinyl numbers.”