Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Gorya had to resist comforting her. The tension was so thick he could cut it with a knife. She was too shaky. Fortunately, Timur was experienced enough not to move, and he wanted to understand what was going on. He had affection for Gorya. Everything he’d done had been because he loved his cousin and wanted only the best for him. He was willing to stand there with knife cuts and be humiliated in front of his men to hear the explanation. That was Timur. He might be overbearing, but in the end, he was always fair.
“It seemed to take forever before I located them, but I did. The sniper had a spotter with him, so that meant they were together. That feeling of impending danger didn’t leave me the way it should have. I knew something was wrong, that I’d missed something. I heard Meiling and Matvei both take their shots. That meant Rogue had taken the other leopard down and I’d run out of time. That’s when I realized that the leopard Rogue was fighting was a sacrifice.”
Gorya couldn’t take it anymore. Very gently he reached out and wrapped his palm around the blade of the knife, pulling it slowly from Timur’s neck. “Give me the knife, Maya.”
She took a deep breath and did as he asked. Her long lashes fluttered as he shackled her wrist and drew her away from Timur, tucking her beneath his shoulder.
“What happened next?”
“I had to find him fast before he could shoot you. He had to have a good line of sight on you. He wouldn’t have a spotter. I made the best guess possible and then made the decision to use my speed even though I knew there were others watching.” She lowered her voice and glanced at Ashe and her bodyguard, and then at Kyanite. “It was the only way to save your life.”
He stroked a caress down the back of her scalp. “It was all right, Maya.”
She shook her head. “They’re Amurovs.”
He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I’m Amurov,” he reminded her.
“Not like they are.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“He was up high, and I had to leap to distract him, to prevent him from taking the shot.”
Gorya’s heart clenched. He had been slowly walking her toward the house, but he stopped abruptly. “Tell me you didn’t leap in front of the fucking rifle.”
“I came in at a side angle and kicked it hard enough that the rifle went flying out of the tree. I landed on the branch hard though, and he was on me with a knife. Wraith rolled and kept rolling, so we fell and landed on the ground below. It was a good forty feet. We hadn’t shifted, not even partially, and neither had he. He dropped right in front of me, and I swept his legs out from under him. As he went down, he slashed across my ribs.” She lifted her palm to show the blood spreading on her shirt.
Gorya’s eyes met his cousin’s over her head, and then he looked at Gedeon. Send for the doc. The one we can trust. She’ll need a shit ton of antibiotics.
Gedeon nodded. There was only one shifter doctor Gedeon allowed any of his men to use, and it wasn’t one from the present lair. They didn’t trust anyone from there yet. The doctor would have to be flown in from New Orleans. It was a relatively short flight, but still, it would take time. Gorya wanted a doctor in residence, at least until he cleaned up his territory.
“We’re going inside, Maya. I’ll see to your wound, and you’re going to rest until the doc gets here. The others will do cleanup and burn the bodies.”
“You know I can’t stay, Gorya.” Sorrow dripped in her mind.
“We’ll discuss that inside.” He was very firm with her. “I want to see that laceration.”
Timur paced alongside them. “Maya, I owe you an apology.”
“Not now, Timur. We’ll sort things out later,” Gorya said. “I appreciate that you want to make things right, but I just want to make certain this wound isn’t too deep and I can clean it out immediately. I think Ashe is eager to say a few things to you.”
Reaching around Maya, Gorya opened the door for her, giving her no other choice but to enter, using his larger, heavier body to physically push her inside. He closed the door firmly behind them and walked her briskly down the hall to the primary suite.
“They saw me. I didn’t hide who I was from them. Ashe and her bodyguard. Kyanite. All three of them saw me. There is no way I can explain what happened.” She spoke in a low voice.
When he touched her mind, Gorya read guilt. Shame.
“For fuck’s sake, woman, you saved my life. You can’t be upset at how you had to do it. You’re the superstar here. The rock star. My rock star. I wish I’d been there to see it and to see their faces.”