Page 91 of Broken Obsession

Eden clicked his tongue. “The tour?”

“After. Nyoka needs this done tonight. He’s picking Fisher up from the hospital.”

“Your friend Fisher?” The one who called him A.

Ares grinned. “Don’t pout, babe. For the record, while he and I can be called friends, he was Nyoka’s first. He’s Nyoka’s in more sense of the word than he is mine, it’s just the idiot isn’t willing to admit it quite yet.” He stood. “We’re not all as straightforward as I am.”

“Hate to break it to you,babe,” he drawled as Ares gave him his back to exchange tools yet again, “but you’re not exactly straightforward.”

He hummed as if conceding. “I like to lead you to your own conclusions, that’s fair. Things are so much sweeter when you think they were your own idea though, don’t you agree?”

Eden’s eyes narrowed. “I—”

Someone burst through the glass door leading inside, skidding across the concrete floor. He looked like he might be a student, and he paled when he saw Ares and Eden standing there, glancing between them and the exit.

Inside, the elevator doors dinged and opened to reveal Zar. His hands were in his pockets, and he didn’t seem nearly as rushed as the other student. The second he took a step toward the glass doors, the first man bolted.

He raced past Eden and Ares, curving his path to give them a wide berth. Unfortunately for him, the garage was so huge, he’d only just made it ten feet from the open door when Zar stepped from the glass attachment.

“Shoot him,” Zar’s voice was low and deep. Unhurried, same as the rest of him. He presented a quiet stillness that somehow made him appear even scarier than if he’d given chase.

Eden didn’t have much time to ponder over this, however. No sooner had Zar spoken than Ares reacted.

Lucfier’s hidden blaster was in his hand in a flash of motion, aimed, trigger pulled, all before Eden could fully process what he intended.

The gunshot echoed loudly, rattling the metal tools hanging from the walls, cracking against the concrete. The hiss and curse were almost drowned out by it, only audible because Eden had been paying attention.

The student who’d made a run for it fell, blood oozing from where the bullet had lodged itself in the back of his rightthigh. Tears streamed from his face, but he appeared to be angrier than anything else. That fury only intensified with every measured step Zar took toward him.

“You can’t do this,” the injured man growled.

“I didn’t do anything,” Zar said.

“All you ever do is use Creation to alter your reality for you,” he spat. “Coward.”

Zar paused a few feet away and seemed to be considering his words. “Do you feel wronged? Why?”

“You shot me!”

“I—”

“Gods! You’re so fucking infuriating! You having him shoot me is the same as pulling the trigger yourself!”

“I could never,” Zar disagreed, but before Eden could misunderstand that statement for affection, he added, “Torture is a waste of time. I needed you stopped, so I asked Creation to stop you. That’s all. The fact that it resulted in injury was never my intent. You’re the one who ran, Jackal.”

“If you fucking touch me, I’ll gouge your one good eye out, I swear!”

“Which one is that? Be specific.” Zar started forward again despite the threat. He reached down and captured the man’s arm, pulling him onto his feet. When that elicited a cry of outrage, he swooped down and hoisted him over his shoulder, turning to carry him casually back the way they’d come. “You’ll bleed out if you aren’t careful. Calm yourself.”

Zar nodded at Eden in greeting and then brought the man back through the glass entrance and straight into the elevator.

“What the hell was that?” Eden demanded as soon as they were alone again. He stared as Ares picked up where he’d left off with the bike, as though nothing had happened and he hadn’t just shot a person. “Who was that?!”

“I don’t know.” Ares shrugged. “I can ask Zar later if you’re that interested.”

“You don’t know?” A strange emotion flared within him. “You shot a stranger without any hesitationjust because?” That wasn’t right, and he knew it.

Ares confirmed as much when he frowned. “Zar asked me to. It’s not like he wanted him dead.”