“In other words,” J.L. shouted over the whistling cold wind, “we’ve got everything under control. You don’t need to endanger Jia any more. Angus wants you to return her.”
Russell snorted. “I don’t work for Angus. And neither does Jia.”
“You have no right to put her in danger!” Rajiv yelled over the phone.
“I won’t let anything harm her!” Russell shouted back. The frigid temperature was stiffening his fingers to the point of pain. “You have my word as a Marine. I will keep her safe.”
“If you don’t, you’ll have an army of were-tigers hunting you down!” Rajiv hung up.
Russell sighed, his breath frosting the air.
J.L. grimaced. “Why are you helping that poor girl with her obsession with revenge? Just because you’re obsessed too doesn’t give you the right to endanger her. You’re bloody crazy.”
“Is it crazy to think she should be allowed to accomplish something she feels passionate about? Am I crazy that I don’t believe in locking her up in a princess prison for the rest of her life? She has the right to be herself and find her own destiny!”
J.L.’s eyes widened. “You see yourself as her champion?”
Russell winced. “She doesn’t need a champion. She’s stronger, smarter, and braver than any of you realize. We’re in a business partnership. I need her help as much as she needs mine.”
J.L. inhaled a hissing breath as another shudder racked his body. “We all need the were-tigers. They’re our best ally. If we don’t stop Han and Darafer, they’ll keep taking over more and more territory and killing more humans. The alliance with Rajiv will be totally fucked up if anything happens to Jia—”
“Nothing will happen! I’ll keep her safe. Now get out of here so I can return to her and keep my promise.”
J.L. muttered a curse, then vanished.
Immediately Russell teleported back to Jia.
Five soldiers had gathered around her in a semicircle, while she faced them, her back to a tree. Two had pistols pointed at her; the other three, swords. Russell’s initial shock quickly morphed into rage, first at the soldiers, then at himself. He was the one who had left her alone.
Jia threw a knife at the nearest soldier holding a pistol, then dove to the ground to roll as bullets meant for her tore up the tree. Her knife thudded into the shooter’s chest, and he collapsed. Meanwhile, with vampire speed, Russell wrenched the pistol from the other soldier’s hand and punched him. He dodged a sword, clobbered the first swordsman, then spun around to land a kick on the second swordsman’s head. One soldier lay dead on the ground; three others were unconscious.
The last soldier had his sword lifted overhead, ready to swipe it down onto Jia. She rolled toward him, whipped out another knife, and plunged it into his leg. He cried out, dropping his sword. Russell leaped on him and snapped his neck.
The soldier fell half on top of Jia, splattering her with blood. Russell pulled him off and she jumped to her feet, breathing heavily as she pulled out another knife.
“Are you all right?” Russell asked.
She looked frantically about. “It’s over?”
“Yes. Are you injured?” He inspected her quickly, but she appeared unharmed. The blood on her clothes wasn’t hers.
She glanced at the knife in her hand, then grimaced as she rammed it back into its sheath. “I had to kill again. I hate that.”
“That’s a good thing.”
She frowned as her gaze lingered over the two dead bodies. “How can you say that?”
“If you actually enjoyed killing, you’d be a sick bastard.” He plucked her knife from the soldier she’d killed. “You want this back?”
She wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head.
Russell wiped the knife clean and pocketed it. Then he retrieved the one embedded in the last soldier’s leg. The design of these knives might be traced back to Tiger Town, so they couldn’t be left behind. He quickly scanned the area to see if they’d left anything that might identify them. Three of the soldiers were still alive, so he dove into their heads and erased their memories of the last hour.
“We should go before they wake up.” He turned toward Jia and noticed she was visibly shaking. What an idiot he was that he’d bragged just moments ago that he could keep her safe.
He pulled her into his arms, and her trembling body nearly killed him. This was all his fault. He’d known the soldiers were on alert.
She grasped his coat in her fists. “Take me home.”
His heart sank. “To Tiger Town?”
“No.” She blinked with surprise. “I meant . . . our home. The cave.”
He stared at her a moment, his chest squeezing so hard he couldn’t breathe. Then he gathered her close and teleported.
They landed in the kitchen area in the dark. He stepped back, planning to light some lamps, but she held on tight to his coat. A shudder racked her body.
“Don’t . . .” She leaned against him, her brow resting on his chest. “Just a little bit longer.”
He wrapped his arms around her. How many times over the last few days had he held her and thought to himself, Just a little bit longer?
She nestled her cheek against his chest. “I can’t seem to stop shaking.”
“That happens sometimes afterward, but you were strong and brave when you needed to be.” He rubbed her back, recalling how panicked he had felt after his first skirmish in Vietnam. How heavily the knowledge that he’d killed other human beings had weighed on him. But tonight he had killed with no remorse, feeling nothing but rage that they had dared attack Jia.