Page 21 of The Devil’s Bargain (A Devil to Die for #3)

Titus had checked the cafeteria with no luck, and even though he hadn’t heard anything from Nero, he decided to head to the basement, where the mortuary was. Since his tracking device was showing he was still in the building, the only other place he could think of for him to have gone was there.

He heard the first gunshot just as he’d entered the main portion of the morgue. The second came while he was running toward the small room in the back.

Two bodies crashed out a second before he could reach for the door handle, and he moved without thinking, reaching out to catch the one that mattered most.

Calix fell into his arms, both of them going to the floor from the impact.

His eyes were closed.

There was blood coming from the back of his shoulder.

“He was shot!” Nero not so helpfully yelled. He was bleeding as well, pressing a hand against his side as he moved away from the door. “Mitri has a gun!”

His Third was bleeding out and his heartbeat was weak.

His Third was dying.

Less than a week after they’d almost lost their Second.

Titus’s fury was like a live thing, whipping about the room in a burst of energy that sent items flying. Glass crashed into the walls and shattered, metallic tools clattered and clanged.

Nero had to duck to avoid being hit by more than one object, eventually crawling under one of the tables for shelter.

Titus planted a palm over Cal’s heart and healing him the same way he’d done with Aodhan, stabilizing his body and their connection at once. As soon as he was sure he had a secure hold on that source of energy, he directed his attention to another.

He called on his ability, altering the pheromones in the air just as Mitri decided to take his chances and step around the corner of the room.

Mitri lifted the blaster and fired, but Titus curled himself around Cal, the bullet grazing his right arm instead of making any serious contact. He tried to fire again, but his eyes practically crossed as Titus’s influence finally took hold.

The forensic scientist dropped the gun mindlessly and then turned at a sharp angle, staring blankly at the doorway for a long moment.

Then he started smashing his head against the metal. Repeatedly. Hard enough the sound echoed.

“What is he doing?” Nero asked incredulously, mouth hanging open as he watched.

“Get help,” Titus sneered. This soon after healing Aodhan, he could feel his control slipping.

Nero stood, but Aodan and Zane entered before he could so much as cross the room.

As soon as Titus saw them, he dropped his defenses against Mitri. “Hurry and secure him.”

Zane followed the order while Aodhan dropped to down to his side.

“Is he…?” Aodhan couldn’t even finish the sentence.

“He’ll be fine,” Titus promised. “Don’t let them separate us. My hand has to stay over his heart. Do you understand?”

“What?’

“Tell me you understand, Second?”

“Yes,” Aodhan nodded. “Okay. Okay, I got it.”

“Good.” Titus waited long enough to see Zane had Mitri on his stomach with his arms pulled behind his back before he gave into the wild energy threatening to pull him under.

The last thing he heard was Aodhan scream his name, but he tucked himself more securely around Calix and allowed the darkness to take them both.