I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that woman.
She could have waited until Kyrin left this area and tried to kill him in private, where there was less chance of capture. But no, she did it here, an action that screamed “Look at me, look what I can do.” That type of behavior fit the profile of Steele’s killer. Perfectly.
I was going to have to trust Kyrin right now if I hoped to get close to Atlanna, and while that knowledge didn’t settle well inside me, I knew I had no other choice. “She was behind the green Lexis, six cars away, straight down the middle, but she’s probably running now. You go left. I’ll go right. Let’s find the bitch.”
I didn’t wait for his reply, didn’t wait to see if he followed orders. I jolted into motion. Gravel cut past my pants and into my knees, and I wished to God I could rise up and walk, but I had to stay low. Atlanna might have come to kill Kyrin, but I’m sure she wouldn’t have minded getting rid of me, too.
“Damn it!” I heard Kyrin curse. “I found her.”
I jumped up and rounded a van as quickly as my feet would carry me, gun aimed straight in front of me. The female was running, and Kyrin was reaching out. He latched onto the long strands of her hair, but they pulled free without slowing her.
Then she disappeared completely.
I stopped and blinked, staring at the empty air where she’d been. She’d gotten away. She’d f**king gotten away. “How the hell did she disappear like that?”
He released the strands of white hair, and they floated away on the breeze. His hands dropped to his sides. “She’s been practicing her molecular transportation, is my guess.”
“That’s not poss—” I cut my words off. More and more I was learning that I didn’t really know shit about these aliens. I searched the parking lot for any sign of her and scowled. She really had transported herself away. I cursed under my breath.
“It’s painful,” Kyrin said, “and Atlanna hates pain, so I’m surprised she did it.”
“Do you know where she went?”
“Do you think I would be here if I did?”
Damn it! “Well, I’m not going home a failure.” I returned my gaze to Kyrin. I’d missed a perfect opportunity to catch Atlanna, but I wouldn’t miss this opportunity to catch him. “Just stay where you are, and I won’t have to hurt you.” I aimed my gun at his heart, very aware the weapon did not possess stun capacity. Easy on the trigger, I mentally chanted.
A part of me hated to do this. We’d just worked as a team. He’d just helped me.
But it had to be done.
“I’ll give you two choices, Kyrin. You can willingly go to the hospital to help Dallas, then the station house, where you’ll answer my questions. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do. Or I can shoot you here and now.”
“You’re not going to shoot me. You need me alive.”
I lowered the barrel to his leg. “Then I’ll simply incapacitate you.”
He gave me a languid grin. “As if a puny wound to the leg would even slow me. You’ve seen how quickly I heal. And do you really want to waste my blood?”
He stepped toward me.
“Stay where you are,” I shouted. I didn’t fire. Damn him, he was right. I wouldn’t shoot him. Why had I even threatened?
Slowly and leisurely, he closed the rest of the distance between us, and I let him come. Yes, I lowered my weapon and let him come. He stood in front of me for several seconds—an eternity, perhaps—without touching me. My breath became ragged as his energy surrounded me; my skin heated. I licked my lips. I knew what he planned to do. “What are you waiting for?” I growled. “Do it. I can’t stop you.”
“You don’t want to stop me.” His arms wound around me, and his mouth remained a whisper away. “Thank you for your help,” he said.
“You’re welcome,” I replied grudgingly.
His lips crushed mine, and his tongue swept inside my mouth. Our teeth scraped together with the force of his invasion. I welcomed him completely. I hated myself, but welcome him I did. As he’d walked toward me, need had grown inside me. Strong and hot—undeniable. He tasted of heat and passion. I pressed more deeply into him.
But I forced my hands to stay at my sides. I might enjoy his kiss, might crave it, but I wouldn’t allow myself to participate any more than I already was. Remaining still was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I hated him. I liked him. Hated. Liked.
He tore his mouth away and we stared at each other. “You risked your life, staying with me.”
“Yes, I did. For my reward I want you to tell me everything you know about Atlanna.” The words emerged breathlessly, I was ashamed to realize.
“You taste better than I dreamed, Tai la Mar.” Kyrin trailed feather-light kisses around my jaw. “Until next time.”
He, too, vanished.
I stood in shocked silence, trying to catch my breath and staring at the empty space where he’d been. I traced a finger over my lips and frowned. Obviously, he could transfer molecularly like Atlanna. The bastard. So why had he stayed at all? He could have left this scene anytime. Had he been trying to protect me?
I holstered my gun and shook my head. Would I ever understand these aliens?
The blare of sirens registered in my ears, and I sighed. I’d be here a while, explaining to New Chicago PD what had happened. Shit.
I didn’t allow myself to think about losing Atlanna or kissing and losing Kyrin as I drove home hours later. I didn’t allow myself to think about the strange…thing that had come over me and slowed down the world around me for those brief seconds. Thinking about it brought fear, waves and waves of fear because that kind of ability was unnatural.
Fear made a person weak. Made her lose focus.
I trudged inside my apartment and checked my messages. There were six from my dad.
“Where are you?” he asked in the first message. His voice was pleasant, almost like I remember it being when I’d been a little girl.
“Why aren’t you here?” he said in the second.
“Is this how you treat family?” he said in the third.
Pushing a series of buttons on the wall, I skipped the other messages, yet I couldn’t halt the deep pangs of regret already working their way through me. I shouldn’t care what he thought about me. He was an old, pathetic man, and I was a grown woman. I’d been on my own since the age of sixteen.
A small part of me, however, a part I despised, desperately craved his approval. Always had. I wanted the kind of approval he’d given Kane. The kind of approval he might have given Dare, if my brother had survived. The kind of approval I’d once had from him, but lost for some reason I’d never understood.