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Julian didn’t know how Bryan could traverse this dimension all the time without incident. The shadows stayed away from his friend as if they were afraid of the dark fae.

When they emerged on the other side, they were back in the room where Julian had left Leah. She had been pacing back and forth. Her eyes widened when she saw them, her delectable mouth forming into a surprised O.

“What the—”

Leah wasn’t sure what surprised her more. That Blackmore appeared out of thin air leaning against another man too beautiful for words, or that his shirt was soaked in blood.

Her heart lurched. What was that? Was she worried about a vampire?

“What happened?” All thoughts of seducing Blackmore flew out of the window.

Blackmore crossed to the bed with the help of the newcomer and sank down. There were no visible wounds despite the blood. Probably not his, then. With a grimace, he stripped out of his shirt to reveal corded muscles and taut skin.

Leah swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. Okay, maybe seducing him was still foremost on her mind.

The other man straightened. Any other time, Leah would have paid more attention to his god-like looks. Loose blond waves that reached his strong jaw. A chiseled face that could’ve been carved by Michelangelo himself. Green eyes the color of the purest emerald.

Yet, she couldn’t take her eyes off Blackmore. She’d seen muscles like those in magazines but hadn’t known they existed in reality.

The stranger exchanged a quick look with Blackmore before turning to her. She blinked twice at his smile, a ray of sunshine in the darkened room. How could anyone be so beautiful? More importantly, why did she not feel the same level of attraction to him? What was wrong with her that Blackmore, with his ragged edges and conqueror looks, was the object of her obsession?

“Hello. You must be Leah. I’m Bryan.” His voice was smooth as silk. “I apologize that we have to meet under such circumstances.”

Leah cleared her throat. “What happened?”

“It’s none of your business,” Julian snapped.

She scowled. Unpleasant bastard. “Considering you showed up in my room looking like that, I’d say you made it my business.”

“This isn’t your room,” Julian retorted.

“Right now it is. You locked me here. Don’t even get me started on that. Then you go off to do God knows what, and now this. If it’s not my business, then get out.”

At Bryan’s amused smile, she glared daggers at him. “What?”

He threw his hands up in a placating gesture. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other business to attend to. I leave him in your capable hands.”

Before Leah could ask his meaning, Bryan vanished. Leah’s mouth dropped. He just disappeared.

“Can vampires teleport?” It wasn’t something she was aware of. Seemed too important a detail for the Organization to miss.

“Bryan’s not a vampire.”

“What is he then? Shifter? Witch?” As far as she was aware, none of the other supernatural creatures that had revealed themselves to humans after the vampires could teleport.

“That’s his business. Now, if you’re done with your questions, there is a first aid box under the sink. Bring it here. And some towels.”

“I’m not done.” Leah trudged to the bathroom, found the first aid box, and swiped the two towels stacked on the shelf. Maybe Bryan was a witch, and it was a spell? If so, that’d be handy to have.

Blackmore’s steely gaze tracked her across the room. Her temperature rose a few degrees. When she stopped in front of him, it took effort to take her eyes off the ridged muscles that defined his stomach and chest.

She cleared her throat again. “Tell me what happened. I’ll take it as an apology for locking me here.”

Blackmore ripped one towel out of her hands and held it in the area under his left kidney. “Wait.”

Leah bit her lips as the nail of his left index finger extended into a claw and slashed open the skin above the towel. Blackmore’s muscles tightened, his expression intent with concentration. Thick, dark blood gushed out and stained the towel. Maybe it was the dimly lit room, but the blood looked almost black.

What was he doing? She had her answer two heartbeats later. A bullet popped out of the wound before it closed, and Blackmore relaxed. She understood. Because vampires healed so fast, the bullet holes had closed. He was reopening them to extract the bullets.