“So at last we get to discover who the better Sentinel is.”
“Being the superior fighter doesn’t make you the better Sentinel,” he reminded her, his attention torn between the threat standing in front of him and the nagging fear that Angela would return to the kitchen before he could disable Dylan. The last thing he needed was her leaping into the fray. And she would leap. He didn’t have one damned doubt about that. “Or didn’t you learn anything in our training?”
“You mean all that shit about loyalty and honor and protecting the weak?” she mocked. “Blah, blah, blah.”
“You’re lucky Wolfe never heard you call his teaching shit.”
“I’m a warrior not a f**king Girl Scout.”
Yeah. No argument there.
The mere thought of Dylan as a Girl Scout made him shudder in horror.
“With power comes responsibility.” He repeated the words that had been drilled into his head from the minute he’d walked into Valhalla.
Dylan gave a sharp laugh, pulling her hand from behind her back to reveal the small device that was strapped around her forearm.
“And your insistence on clinging to honor will make sure I win.”
“Dammit, Dylan,” Niko breathed, recognizing the weapon that had been developed as an advanced stun gun only to be banned when it was discovered the electrical charge was enough to stop all but the strongest heart. “Where the hell did you get that?”
“I made it.” She lifted her arm toward Niko. “We all have our little talents.”
Niko darted to the side, acutely aware that it was a fifty-fifty shot of whether he could survive. If he died, or was even incapacitated, Angela would be at the mercy of the crazed Dylan.
As fast as he was, however, he wasn’t fast enough.
Even as he moved he felt the barbs pierce the skin on his back, a massive jolt of electricity blasting through his body.
Shit.
With his last coherent thought, he tried to send a mental message to Arel and warn him of the danger. Then, as his heart threatened to explode, he dropped to the floor, his head banging against the ceramic tiles with enough force to knock him unconscious.
Angela stayed in the shower until the water turned cold and her skin was pruny. She wanted to give Niko and Arel plenty of privacy to talk.
Or argue.
Or have a beer and play lawn darts.
You could never be certain with men.
She blow-dried her hair and then slipped on the one pair of clean jeans she’d managed to stuff into her bag along with a stretchy top.
She was searching for her shoes that had become lost during the heat of Niko’s lovemaking when she heard a low grunt of pain.
Had that come from the kitchen?
Had the two men come to blows?
Well, she’d be damned if she would stand aside and allow them to beat each other bloody. Especially if they were fighting about her.
Taking the steps two at a time, Angela jogged into the kitchen, not sure what to expect.
She didn’t have enough experience with men to know if they could punch one another and then make up and play nice. Or if she’d have to get between the two and try to make them stop.
Yeah, like she could actually separate two Sentinels.
Her ridiculous imaginings were destroyed by the sight of Niko lying motionless on the floor with Dylan standing next to him.
“Oh my God.” Skidding to a halt, she sucked in a horrified breath, her heart forgetting to beat. “What have you done?”
Dylan lifted her head, her crimson eyes shimmering in the overhead light.
“He’s alive, at least for now,” she purred, her fingers lightly stroking over a strange device strapped to her forearm. “Come with me without a fight and he’ll stay that way. Otherwise poor Niko will join his beloved Fiona in the grave.”
Angela nearly went to her knees at the tidal wave of relief that flowed through her.
Niko was alive.
That’s all that mattered.
“I’ll come,” she croaked. “Just leave him alone.”
Stepping over the unconscious man, Dylan moved toward Angela with a smirk.
“I knew you’d be reasonable once you understood the situation.”
A blast of anger shook through Angela. This female had murdered over a dozen innocents, not to mention members of her own family, for her own selfish desires. Now she threatened to kill the man Angela loved—yes, loved—to force Angela to perform a miracle.
If she truly could alter cells, she’d turn the bitch into a newt.
“I understand that you’re a psycho,” she muttered.
“Careful, scientist,” Dylan hissed. “My temper isn’t always stable and I might break your neck before I remember that I need you.”
It wasn’t an empty threat. Angela could see the barely leashed desire for violence shimmering in the crimson eyes.
With a shudder, she struggled to form a coherent thought through the fog of anger and sheer terror.
Niko was unconscious, but where was Arel? Had he already left? Or was he lurking close enough he could come to the rescue?
Licking her dry lips, Angela glanced down at her bare feet. “I need to get my shoes before we leave. Oh, and my purse. They’re upstairs—”
“Don’t bother trying to stall,” Dylan interrupted with sharp impatience. “Arel is still searching the woods for me. We’ll be long gone before he realizes he’s been outmaneuvered.” Her lips twisted with smug amusement. “Poor schmuck.” She gave a jerk of her head toward the door. “Let’s go.”
Her heart sank. It seemed she was on her own.
“What about Niko?” Angela glanced toward Niko’s face, which was unnaturally pale. What the hell had this woman done to him? “We can’t just leave him here. He needs a doctor.”
Dylan shrugged. “He should wake in an hour or two.”
“Should?”
Dylan ran a loving finger over the strange contraption on her forearm.
It was obviously a weapon, although Angela had never seen anything like it.
“This is more or less a prototype. I can’t be sure of the lingering effects,” Dylan revealed, her glance deliberately shifting toward Niko. “Now walk or I’ll shoot him again.”
“Bitch,” Angela breathed too low to be heard, grudgingly turning to walk out the back door.
At least Arel was near, she tried to reassure herself. He would make sure that Niko was given the medical attention he needed.
And as for her . . . well, what was destined to happen would happen.