Granite sneered. “This doesn’t concern you, stranger. Get out while you still got your kneecaps.”
“Is that so?” The temperature seemed to drop as Kronos moved forward. Something dark and ancient rolled off him in waves, making the shadow enforcer’s darkness look like child’s play. Could he be something else aside from a Primal? I wondered if they ever mixed with non-humans? “See, I just spent two months tracking down a mark who thought he could expose our kind to danger. Messy business. Then, I come home to find two thugs shooting at my partner.”
“I said back off, you freak!” Another gunshot cracked through the cemetery. Kronos moved like liquid shadow, the bullet missing him by inches. His smile was all teeth now, sharp and hungry in the growing dark.
“Oh good,” he purred, rolling his shoulders. “I was hoping you’d make this interesting.”
I could hear Granite’s fist connect with solid muscle as Kronos engaged them. The sound of the fight was brutal—sharp cracks ofimpact, grunts of exertion, the scrape of boots on frozen ground. I peered around the edge of the tomb, unable to stop myself.
Kronos moved like a force of nature. The shadow enforcer’s darkness tried to wrap around him, but slid off that supernatural energy rolling from his skin. He caught Granite’s next punch, using the enforcer’s own momentum to slam him into a headstone. The crack of stone splitting echoed through the cemetery.
“You know what I love about cemeteries?” Kronos’s voice carried that deadly amusement as he dodged another swing. “No witnesses.” His fist connected with Granite’s jaw, the impact sounding like boulders colliding. “No one to hear you scream.”
Smokey tried to flank him, tendrils of darkness reaching. Kronos spun impossibly fast, catching him by the throat. “Amateur, who taught you to fight?” he growled, before throwing him into Granite. They went down in a tangle of limbs and cursing.
Another gunshot. This time, I saw Kronos’s expression change—something ancient and wild crossing his features as he snarled. The sound made every hair on my body stand on end.
The next few moments were a blur of violence. Kronos moved with impossible speed, each strike precise and devastating. When Granite tried to rise, Kronos caught him with a kick that sent shards scattering across the frost-covered grass. The smokey darkness writhed, trying to engulf Kronos, but that primal energy rolling off him ate through the shadows like acid.
“Here’s what’sgoing to happen,” Kronos said, his voice carrying that deadly calm that was worse than anger. He had Granite pinned, one knee pressed into the enforcer’s chest hard enough to create hairline cracks. “You’re going to give the Madam a message. Tell her Alex is under my protection now.” His hand closed around Granite’s throat. “If she has a problem with that, she can take it up with me.”
Smokey raised the gun again. Without looking, Kronos caught his wrist and twisted. A howl of pain followed the crack of breaking bone. The gun clattered to the frozen ground.
“That’s for shooting at what’s mine.” Kronos’s voice had dropped to a growl that barely sounded human. The air thrummed with power as he leaned closer to Granite. “Run back to your Madam and pray she’s smarter than you.”
He released them with deliberate slowness, rising to his full height. The enforcers scrambled backwards, the shadow one cradling his broken wrist while darkness swirled around them both. They disappeared into the growing night, leaving only scattered shards and disturbed earth to show they’d been there at all.
Kronos stood motionless for a moment, that supernatural energy still rolling off him in waves. When he turned toward my hiding spot, his eyes glowed in the darkness. Every instinct screamed at me to run away from him.
“Come here,” he breathed.
My legs shook as I stood, using the tomb for support. The adrenaline was wearing off, letting me feel every place they’d struck. The taste of copper filled my mouth from my split lip.
He closed the distance between us in two long strides, tilting my face up to examine the damage. His touch was surprisingly gentle. “Are you alright, my darling?” he cooed, thumb brushing over my swelling cheek.
“I’m not yours,” I managed, though the words lacked conviction.
His laugh was dark honey and danger. “Keep telling yourself that, little bunny.” He scooped me up before I could protest, cradling me against his chest. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up. Then you can explain why you were antagonizing the Madam’s enforcers instead of waiting for midnight like a good boy.”
“Put me down,” I protested, but my body betrayed me, curling into his warmth against the bitter cold. “I can walk.”
“Clearly,” he said. “Since you did such a fine job of walking yourself into trouble.” His heart beat steady and strong under my ear as he carried me through the cemetery. “Though I suppose I should be grateful. I was going to have to wait another few hours to see you.”
The events of the last hour caught up with me all at once—the failed break-in, the enforcers, the gun—watching Kronos fight. My hands started shaking. “They were going to kill me,” I whispered. “If you hadn’t shown up—”
“But I did.” Hisarms tightened around me. “And now they know better than to touch what’s under my protection.”
We reached his motorcycle, parked just outside the cemetery gates. He set me down, keeping one hand on my waist when my knees threatened to buckle.
“What happened to your bounty?” I asked, trying to distract myself from how close I’d come to dying.
His smile was sharp in the streetlight. “Handled. Permanently.” He pulled his helmet off the bike. “Now hold on to me. I believe I promised you dinner before all this excitement.”
His arms tightened around me, and I realized how close we were standing in the shadows of the cemetery. The adrenaline from the fight was still coursing through my system. I couldn’t get my body to stop shaking.
“You’re shivering,” he murmured, one hand sliding up my back. “Are you scared or cold?”
“Both,” I admitted, letting my forehead rest against his chest. His supernatural warmth seeped through my clothes, chasing away the winter chill. When his fingers tangled in my hair, tugging my head back to look at him, I couldn’t help the small sound that escaped me.
