“Like what?”

Aric passed his hand through his muddy hair. “They can go dark for one. And the last thing I need on my watch is another psycho witch running around starting shit.”

I huffed. “No kidding.”

Aric pulled me closer and I let my head fall against his shoulder. For all he had to do, he didn’t seem anxious to leave. “I really am sorry about today, wolf. I don’t know why I lost it the way that I did.”

He kissed the tip of my nose, making me smile. “I can say the same about my behavior. Everything has been setting me off lately. The only time I can settle is when I’m with you, but with all this shit revolving around Shah and my duties here, it limits the time I can spend with you.”

He didn’t need to remind me. Aric had been coming home close to midnight every night and leaving as early as dawn. He was beyond exhausted. I’d never seen him so drained.

His fingers trailed along the ridge of my spine. “We’ve been through a lot to get where we are, sweetness. My best guess is that we’re both more affected than we realize.”

“I hope that’s all it is.”

He stroked my chin. “Even if it’s not, it will be. You are my world. Nothing means anything to me without you.”

His words made me teary. Aric kissed my eyelids before a single drop could fall. We held each other a little longer before I drove him back to the Den.

Heidi now stood on guard duty. Another were was filling in the hole where they must have dug out the idiot I’d buried. She waved to me and added a wink. Yeah, she knew what I’d done and didn’t seem to mind one bit.

I pulled up to the main building and idled at the curb. Aric paused before getting out, appearing lost in his thoughts.

“What is it?” I asked.

Aric drummed his fingers on the armrest. “We picked up a lead on Shah’s whereabouts today. We have wolves investigating now. If it proves valid, they’re heading in. But if they fail, I’ll have to leave for Malaysia tonight and take over the mission.”

Okay…so not expecting that bombshell. “You’ll leave for Malaysia, tonight?”

“If it’s a dead lead, or if I can send someone in my place, I won’t have to go. The problem is, the compound where we suspect Shah is hidden will require a more experienced team to infiltrate. I don’t know if the team that’s covering can handle it.”

Which meant it was dangerous and required the most capable weres serving the Alliance. That would be Aric and his Warriors. “If I go, I promise to be careful and not take any unnecessary chances,” he said, managing to smile. “After all, I have a fiancée to return to.”

I didn’t want him to go. Not only because of the danger factor, but because of everything that had been happening. Aric and I weren’t at the top of our game. Our erratic behavior proved as much.

I groaned. This was the part of fighting evil that sucked. Evil didn’t care if we were tired, fighting, or emotionally unavailable. In fact, it counted on it.

“All right. Just be safe and hurry back.” I tried not to tear up, but it was hard. “I need you with me.”

He waited a moment to see if I’d say anything more. When I didn’t, he kissed me goodbye. “Don’t worry, okay?”

But I would.

I considered what he said, then drove straight to Misha’s house.

Chapter 8

I tried calling Misha on his secret bat line, but no one answered. It seemed strange. He always took my calls whether he answered them directly or someone else did it for him. It wasn’t a good sign when I pulled up to the main gate of his estate and found one of his vampire snipers holding a giant assault rifle…and dressed like a giant Teletubbie.

“What?” he asked me defensively when I continued to gawk at him.

“I take it Misha is still in Europe?”

“How did you know?”

Instead of answering him, I drove onto the massive estate, over the small bridge and around the fountain. Specks of memories from the day continued to prod me during the drive, but I couldn’t seem to focus on any one event for too long. My interaction with Makawee seemed especially clouded.

I rubbed at my sternum, wondering why I was having such a hard time concentrating when I caught Tim waving at me from the front of the house. I slipped out of my SUV, debating if I was making a huge mistake in the Aric department by coming to Misha’s home without telling him. It wasn’t as if I wanted to keep it a secret. I’d just forgotten to mention…I rubbed my sternum again. Had I mentioned it?

“Celia, what the hell?” Tim hollered.

I tried not to roll my eyes when I saw what he was wearing. My first clue that things were batshit crazy at vamp camp should have been the sniper dressed like a giant stuffed toy. But I wasn’t as familiar with him and decided to give everyone else the benefit of the doubt.

Ha, ha. Silly me.

Tim shot me an impatient look before urging me forward again. I sighed and conceded, despite that he was dressed like a firefighter. A half-naked firefighter.

Sure, he had the hat, the boots, the pants, and the suspenders, but nothing else. I wasn’t up to speed on what firefighters wore beneath their firefighting gear, but I was pretty damn sure it included a shirt and some underwear. And I was absolutely positive it didn’t include a naked girl covered in soot strapped to their backs.

“The master has grown anxious about finding Shah. He apologizes about not being able to brief you directly, but he’s busy and— What the hell’s your problem?”

He was pissed that I was covering my eyes. What did he expect? The girl on his back was getting more adventurous with her feet. They fiddled beneath his loose-fitting pants in disturbing, jerking motions.

Did I mention he wasn’t wearing underwear? “Tim, I’m not really comfortable with your food fondling you while we’re trying to have a conversation.”

“For someone mounting a werewolf every night, you’re a real prude, you know that?” He motioned to his soot-covered good time. “Sunny, go to my room and wait there.” I didn’t look up until I heard Sunny skip up the steps. “Anyway,” he said. “The master and the grandmaster want Shah found, and we believe we finally have a good lead.”

“Okay, and where might he be?”

“The master?”

“No. Shah.”