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Feehan glanced over at the bed, where one of the medics shook his head. “Dammit. She’s dead?”

“Yeah, and on our watch. We were literally right here.” She stood up and shook her head, trying to ease the dizziness. “We tried everything to keep them out. Even Vadim’s power wasn’t strong enough.”

“Them?”

“I meant Adam. Dude, that’s one powerful male. It was like watching a horror flick. The guy literally took the shield Vadim had placed around Ms. Phelps and used it to suffocate the life out of her. She breathed it in and inhaled her own death…”

“We’ve got security cameras set up in here. We can review the footage back at the office.” Feehan patted her shoulder. “Why don’t you see if you can find Vadim and make sure you both come in to work tomorrow by nine.”

She met his gaze. “I’m sorry, boss. We really fucked up.”

“We’ll go over it tomorrow with the rest of the team and work out what we can do next.” He turned her toward the door. “I’ll take care of things here. You get some sleep.”

He seemed remarkably calm, but then he hadn’t been the one directly responsible for the security of the patient. What a mess they’d made of everything. She found her backpack under one of the chairs, then picked it up. Her shoulder and knee hurt from hitting the floor too hard, but that was the least of her problems.

She checked her cell. There were no messages, only the realization that it was four o’clock in the morning and she had to find Vadim. Her skull felt as if someone had tried to take it apart with a pair of rib spreaders and no anesthetic. It was hard to sense anything through her pain.

Vadim.

He was hurting too. But where was he? Back in his hotel? She focused in harder. No. Then where?

She felt him staring at the sea. He was definitely on the other side of the bay. But how was she supposed to get there at this time in the morning?

Duh.

She found a quiet spot near the elevators and made sure her backpack was secure. Closing her eyes, she focused on her mate and willed herself to get to him. The slither of sand and pebbles against her knees and the smell of the sea crashed over her. She tried to right herself and ended up on all fours, with both hands buried in the scummy wet beach.

When she looked up, Vadim was sitting to her right on a large rock. There was no way he could’ve missed her ungainly arrival, but he betrayed no interest in her presence. That was good, right? She brushed the sand off her jeans and stumbled and slithered across to him. Luckily, the rock was large enough to accommodate them both, so she sat down.

It was a beautiful spot. Above them rose the steep cliffs of Belvedere. To the right was the picturesque nighttime sparkle of Sausalito and to the left the orange pillars of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city beyond. She drew in a slow breath. She usually forgot to appreciate what an amazing place she lived in. She risked a glance at Vadim’s profile. He looked remote and almost too pretty to be real.

“I’m not surprised you’re mad at me.” He didn’t react, so she carried on. “I should’ve been quicker to respond.”

“I’m the one who failed, and you damn well know it.”

“Morosov, I was there. I felt the power being used against you, againstus.There was no way in hell that anyone could’ve withstood that.”

“You don’t understand. I’m not supposed to be vulnerable, I’m?—”

“You did your best, right?”

He said nothing, his mouth a hard line as he returned his attention to the spectacular view.

“You told me that sometimes Otherworld power is diminished in this world.”

“That’s correct.”

“Then isn’t that what happened to you? You’re still incredibly powerful. That’s why they still had to send everything they had against you?”

“I should’ve known what they planned to do. I should’ve realized that Adam was testing the extent of my abilities when he first turned up.”

“Hindsight’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it?” She poked him in the arm. “Let it go, Morosov.”

“They killed her with my magic. That makes me responsible for her death.” He shuddered and Ella poked him again.

“Don’t be such a wuss. So they turned your own weapon on you. It happens. You still aren’t to blame. What I don’t understand is why they thought it necessary to demonstrate such power to achieve one death.”

He sighed. “Because they’re fucking crazy?” He stared out over the sea. “If I was in Otherworld, I could destroy them all.”