Page 134 of Red Fury

Fury nods. “Yep. Roman originally turned the meeting down. He wasn’t interested. In fact, he had made the decision to stop brokering arms deals altogether.”

“But Ivan wasn’t happy with that decision.”

“No.” Fury pushes out a breath. “He thought that Roman was leaving wads of money on the table. It seems to me like he’s looking for his brother’s approval. Like he wants to make Roman proud or something. That’s the impression I get. He also wanted to find Roman a mate.” His voice turns deep.

“Me.” I roll my eyes.

Fury nods, his eyes darkening and his jaw tightening. He looks murderous, which has something warming in my chest, something else tightening in my lower belly.

“You know the rest,” Fury says. “Ivan scented that I wasn’t human, just like the bouncer at Black Blood scented the same on you. That’s when Ivan thought up the auction. Anyway, I digress. Roman apologized on behalf of his brother and invited us here.”

“And you agreed?” I widen my eyes, disbelief laced in my voice.

“Of course not. Roman initially tried to make it sound like we had a choice in the matter, but we didn’t. You’ve been unconscious for a couple of hours. Soon after we got here, Roman’s people gave you something to counteract the suppressant drug that was in your system. They bandaged you up. You know the rest.”

“So, they didn’t give you the suppressant drug then?” I ask, studying his face.

He shakes his head. “No.”

“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?”

He shrugs his broad shoulders. “I’m not sure what to believe at this point. I don’t know what Roman wants with us or why we’re here. We’re not out of danger yet, Shadow. Not by along shot. I don’t trust him. Ivan is off the rails altogether. His brother had to shoot him with a sedative.”

I move to get more comfortable and immediately wince as pain shoots through my neck. My hand flies to the bandaged area, and I can feel the tender, swollen flesh beneath the gauze.

“How are you feeling?” Fury asks, his voice soft with concern.

“Still a bit weak and thirsty.” As soon as I say it, I realize that my mouth feels dry.

Fury reaches for a crystal glass on the bedside table and helps me drink. The water is cool, and I drain half the glass before pulling back.

“Thank you,” I whisper, meeting his eyes. “If you hadn’t arrived when you did, I’d be dead. Ivan would have drained me dry.”

Something dark crosses his expression, and his jaw tics.

It takes him a few moments to calm down. “You saved me, too,” he says gruffly. “When you knocked into Ivan as he was taking that shot. That dart would have hit my wing otherwise. It must have taken some effort.”

“We’re working together, aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are.” He smiles, and his dimples pop out and in all their glory. “We’re partners.”

My heart actually stutters, which worries me.

“What now?” I ask him.

“I’m not sure. I was too worried about you to give it too much thought. Besides, there’s a whole army of vampires outside that door.” Fury points at the door in question, then he stands and walks to the window, where he peeks around a drape. It’s still dark out. “More surrounding the estate. I don’t know exactly where we are, but it’s one of Roman Kozlov’s properties. That much I’m sure of.”

“How did you know to come after me?” The question has been eating at me since I saw him in that clearing. “I thought you were long gone. That I was on my own.”

He stops pacing and turns to face me. “My flight was delayed on the tarmac. I was sitting there, pissed off and ready to get home. Something felt off, so I went to check with the cockpit. They talked about the flight up ahead having a sudden change in flight plan. About there being an incident on board. When they told me the flight number, I knew. I removed myself from the flight. Like you said, we’re working together. I couldn’t leave you. I knew you were in danger.”

More warmth floods.

Fury came for me.

He came.

“How did you find me?”