Page 115 of Devil In Boots

I thought of all the times I had made fun of Ryker after he met Zoey. Now he was going to rub my face in it… and I was just fine with that.

Suddenly, I felt homesick. The reason I’d left, ran away, had completely vanished, and now I felt the hole in my chest they had filled. I missed them. So much of Wyatt’s life I had lost because I couldn’t face the void Lexie had left.

Lexie no longer felt like something I needed to run from. Let’s be honest, she had followed me anyway. If anything, she was pulling me back, telling me it was time to go home.

Katrina stirred, putting my attention back on her. Brushing the hair off her face, I stared down in wonder. In such a short time, she had changed everything. I wasn’t someone who believed in fate. I thought we made our own destiny, but I couldn’t deny the choices and incidents that led to us sailing in at that exact moment and her climbing up onto my ship.

My hand slid over her hip, and she let out a small moan as my fingers parted her, my mouth craving the taste of her. I started to slide down her frame, wanting to wake her up with my tongue.

The front door swung open, hitting the wall.

Pirates lived and slept on guard, ready to pop up and handle attacks from all types of enemies (most of mine were scorned lovers or husbandsof scored lovers), and we were tuned into the slightest shift in the air. Danger held a lot of weight in the atmosphere, a tangible energy.

Tension blasted through the apartment, boots hitting the tile.

Katrina jerked up as the door to our room swung open, my hand already gripping the gun I put under the pillow, ready to shoot.

Cane and Ty burst in, their expressions hard, their muscles constricted.

“What?” Katrina breathed out in fear, grabbing the sheet to cover herself, reading their demeanor.

“Batara’s men are coming,” Ty barked as Cane tossed the clothes we left in the hallway and bathroom at us. “We have to go now!”

Leaping up, Katrina snatched up her clothes, both of us getting dressed in a hurry.

“Are you sure they are cominghere? Or just out looking for us?” Katrina followed them to the main room, shoving her shoes on.

“We overheard them.” Ty reloaded his weapon as Cane packed the supplies they bought into a bag. “They know where we are.”

“How?” I pulled on my boots. “This place is magic guarded. No one saw us come in here.”

Ty loaded his gun with more bullets. “I don’t know.”

“We didn’t stop and ask.” Cane finished his brother’s thought.

“Can I ask if any of you brought food?” Sprig climbed to the edge of a table. “Like a little snack before. Or maybe a full meal? I mean, I need nutrients first. It has to be lunch or dinner time, right? Supper? I’ll take dessert first too.”

“Spri—”

A crash banged downstairs in the hallway leading up, scrambling us into action.

“Go! Go!” I pushed Katrina toward the back window. “Sprig!” I screamed, seeing the monkey leap from the table to the stove. “We’re not cooking you dinner.”

“I got this pirate,” he chattered. “They will be dazzled by the great, the super-duper, high Monkey-Sprite God King! They will fall to their knees!”

Boots clomped up the stairs, and a bang hit the door, making it wobble on its hinges.

“Sprig, come on!” I raced to the window, the twins already pulling Katrina through.

“Ty!” Kat’s tone jerked my head toward her, seeing the figures climbing the ladder behind Ty. He whirled around, shooting down at them.

They were circling around us, cutting off our escape. And my mind kept rolling around with how the fuck did they know about this place?

Wood cracked as men broke through the front door, my mind racing in a panic.

“Roof!” I belted, lifting Katrina to jump up on the roof while Ty and Cane shot at the soldiers coming at us both from below and through the apartment. “Shift!” I yelled at her, sensing how badly Katrina wanted to become a cat. How easy it would be for her to escape.

“No!” She got up on the roof, shooting past the twins at the endless stream of men coming for us. Her desire to fight by my side overruled her instinct.