Lawked Flame (13 page)

“
It was. I think they were
interested in being friends, but Mr. Shy here wouldn’t talk to
them.” Lorenzo offered her his blank look that could mean anything
or nothing.

Khayden stiffened.

Surprised at his response, she glanced up, ready to
jump to Lorenzo’s defense and stopped. His eyes looked different.
Leaning forward, she twisted so she could get a better look. They
were greener than his normal blue-green mixture, more of a Kelly
green.

“
What’s wrong?” Something had
arrested his attention and it wasn’t good.

Inhaling deeply, the ripe sense of wrongness swamped
her. A foul smell permeated the air, choking her. She squeezed his
arm, unable to speak around the acrid taste on the back of her
tongue. Head down, she felt him turn and touch her cheek with his
forefinger.

“
Stinks,” she whispered, unable to
speak more than that word. Her throat squeezed tighter with each
breath.

One moment she sat perched on a hard backed chair,
the next she was in Khayden’s arms. He moved forward with swift
precision, seconds later she coughed and inhaled the clean air
outside. Lorenzo followed behind with her coat and purse.

He was so gay
. She hadn’t been wrong. Straight men would rather bleed to
death than walk outside carrying a hot pink purse. The thought had
blossomed from nowhere. She supposed her consciousness found it
easier to focus on the innocuous than what had just happened.
Khayden didn’t stop until they reached his Hummer.

Coughing, she tried to dispel the direction of her
inappropriate thoughts. This sure wasn’t the situation for them.
“Thanks, for a moment I couldn’t breathe.” She tapped his shoulder
and then looked up. The brilliance of the green in his eyes stunned
her. Reflected in them, she saw herself and shivered under the
power of his stare.

“
I cannot allow anything to happen
to you.” The words rumbled in his chest, strong and certain. She
nodded, unsure how to respond and not sound ungracious. She hoped
he would take that as a positive response.

A quick glance around showed people had begun to
stare. Maybe words needed to be spoken after all. “I appreciate
that. You can put me down now.”

“
You can breathe freely?” His lips
barely moved, but she heard him.

“
Yeah.” She
watched as blue merged with the green in his eyes, creating the
blue-green combination she’d seen earlier.
Fascinating
. He bent so she could
stand, while continuing to hold her in front of
him.

Alayna stepped back, breaking the intimate embrace.
She had to remind her racing heart and heated body he was a
stranger. He managed an old western town of sorts in the
forest.

“
Sir, are you returning to your
table?” The hostess who seated them earlier asked, her eyes sliding
to Lorenzo, and then Khayden.

He reached into his pocket and handed her a large
bill. “No, my woman does not feel well. I must take her home.” He
paused and smiled, almost as an afterthought. “Thank you.”

Mentally, Alayna rolled her eyes at the woman’s
catatonic response. She stood there, mouth agape, money forgotten
as she drooled over Khayden. After a second or two of silent
worship, Alayna had enough.

“
You need to go back inside,” she
snapped as she stood in front of Khayden, protecting his…what?
Visual goodies? Pissed at her overreaction, she strode in the
direction of her car as the hostess spun on her heels to return
inside.

Khayden was at her side before she made three
strides. “Where are you going? We are on a date, are you leaving me
behind?”

She stopped, even more pissed at herself for
forgetting that tidbit as well. Arms crossed, she glanced behind
him. Lorenzo leaned against the truck, watching the front of the
restaurant. “I’m sorry. Normally I don’t... overreact like that.”
She coughed again, ignoring his cocky grin. “I’m still hungry,
there’s a diner nearby we can hit.”

She swallowed as he took her hand in his and pulled
her close. Her nose smacked the middle of his neck and she breathed
him in, loving his earthy scent. It warmed and seduced her at the
same time, without him saying a word.

“
I will follow you to your home so
you can leave your car. We will drive to this place together.” His
large palm rubbed small circles on her back, infusing her with
warmth.

“
Okay,” she whispered, reluctant
to move from her cocooned position.

Behind them, the door of the
restaurant opened and two tall, thin men walked out. Their
ill-fitting suits were out of place in the casual sports
restaurant. Their necks craned around as though searching for
something. A greasy feeling touched her skin and she shrank against
Khayden. The next moment the contact was severed.

One of the men stared in her direction and took a
few steps toward them. The blackness of his eyes sent fast moving
chills down her spine. There was something sinister in their
demeanor.

She opened her mouth to ask a question. A hand
squeezed her shoulder. Snapping her mouth shut, she glanced at
Khayden and was surprised to see Lorenzo standing next to him. Eyes
wide, she wondered when he had joined them. A minute ago he'd stood
next to the Hummer.

“
They were out here. I smelled
them,” one of the tall men said. Alayna watched in surprise as they
looked all around her and the two men.

“
Did you get a good look at the
Kee?”the other asked. Alayna frowned, these men weren’t speaking
English, yet she understood them perfectly.

“
Not really. The Lawke Master
moved too fast, but I have her scent.” They walked in a circle
around the parking lot. “They had a new one. Possible
recruit?”

The other male pulled off his sunglasses and rubbed
his eyes. “Too close. Might be dangerous. If we get him alone,
perhaps.”

Alayna leaned forward, trying to understand more of
their words, but it became garbled. The moment she realized they
were talking about Lorenzo, her anger rose, hot and empowering. She
reached out, grabbing Khayden’s arm. Warm air swirled around her,
as she stared at the men who posed a threat to her friend.

“
No,” she hissed. The two men
became clearer. She had thought their eyes dark, now she could see
they were an odd yellow-green color. Beneath the suits were green
scales instead of flesh, which stopped at the pointed tails that
ran down their pant legs.

Shock rippled through her.

Khayden wrapped his arm around her chest, holding
her tight against him, halting her reaction. In slow motion,
Khayden raised his right arm, her right hand rested upon it. In the
distance, she heard Lorenzo’s gasp. Hand outstretched, he pointed
toward the two men as they walked away. For a second, she remained
locked with him in that position.

In the blink of an eye, Khayden
tightly balled up his fist. Gasping and clutching their throats,
the two men fell to the ground. Alayna watched them writhing like
the snakes they were. Khayden twisted his fist and turned it right,
then left.

Out the corner of her eye she
watched him blow on his balled fist, a blue mist left his mouth and
went into his hand. She shook her head, unsure of what she saw. A
low rattle drew her attention back to the two men. A blue flame
engulfed them from head to toe. She leaned forward to see better
and then reeled backward. They had disappeared.

Alayna snapped back to what she hoped was reality.
Men didn’t have green scales or tails. Neither could they blow blue
smoke or become invisible. “What? Did you see that?”she asked,
praying the men would validate her sanity.

Khaden released her as he spoke.
“What I find interesting is that
you
were able to see
that.”

Staring up at him, she wondered why she wouldn’t
have seen those men. “They were standing right in front of me, how
could I have missed them?”

“
Did you notice no one else paid
them any attention?”

Now that he mentioned it, people had walked in and
out of the restaurant without saying excuse me when they'd stepped
close to or even touched the men. She looked at Lorenzo, he stared
back at her, his eyes bright, and somehow he appeared pleased. That
made as much sense as her seeing lizard men.

“
What’s going on?” What just
happened was more bizarre than finding the Woolworth’s, stranger
than a cobblestone road in the middle of a forest, or a midnight
dream so hot it scorched her mind.

Lorenzo shrugged, his grin easing his normally
somber expression. Now was not the time for evasiveness, grown men
didn’t vanish.

“
Somebody needs to start
explaining why those men were invisible, why we were invisible, and
why did they want Lorenzo?”

Khayden took hold of her shoulders, ensuring she
faced him. “Lorenzo? What makes you think they wanted him?” Both
men stared at her.

“
That’s what they said or
something like that. I heard them mention his name.” Worried, she
looked at her friend and then back at Khayden.

“
Let me make sure I understand.
You understood what they were saying? They were not speaking
English, are you aware of that?” Khayden asked, his eyes searched
her face.

She nodded and spoke slowly, remembering at the time
she had thought it strange. “They were talking fast.”

His hands tightened on her shoulder, regaining her
attention. “It is very important. Tell me every word you
heard.”

His eyes had dulled to a mint green beneath his
furrowed brows. If he clenched his jaw any tighter, she was certain
it would lock. Without thought, she cupped his cheek in her palm,
offering comfort. His eyes widened and then drifted closed.
Connected to him once more, she was surprised by how much she could
remember, and told him verbatim the conversation she had
overheard.

“
He said Kee, are you
certain?”There was something in his voice she could not identify,
but she knew he wasn’t pleased with this information.

Dropping her hand, she glanced at Lorenzo, who had
remained silent through everything. “Yeah, that’s what it sounded
like anyway.”

This time Lorenzo’s eyes snapped shut. A grimace of
pain flashed across his face. She moved in his direction. Khayden’s
hand flew out, holding her in place.

“
Tell me what’s going on.” She
stared at him, seeing the perfect symmetry of his features, the
thick mane, and square jaw. “If you won’t tell me, I’m leaving.”
She took a step and realized he hadn’t released her. “Let go.” Her
eyes narrowed at him and for the space of a heartbeat they stared
at each other.

“
I cannot.” The two words sounded
as though they were ripped from his chest and doused with utter
conviction. They pierced her heart. He moved forward, closing the
gap between them. “I see you, the dimness fades... I—”

He stopped and looked out at the
parking lot. “The weather is changing, we must leave. I will follow
you home.” Without releasing her arm, he slid his hand downward and
took her hand. Moments later, he pulled out behind her, headed for
her home.

“
Damn, he did it again.” She
pouted, slapping the steering wheel. “Every time I demand an answer
or ask a question, he says something that rattles me and I forget
what we were talking about.”

Lorenzo chuckled.

She pointed at him. “Don’t you laugh. You could
answer my questions, but won’t. I thought we were friends.”

Staring ahead, he frowned. “Friends? As in people
who like one another?”

She nodded. “I help you. You help me. That kind of
thing. Don’t tell me you don’t have any friends. I won’t believe
that. You’re too nice not to have any friends.”

He smiled. A silly grin actually, as he looked at
her. “You think I am nice? Nice enough to be your friend?”

Maybe he’d spill the beans on some of this stuff now
that he understood what friends meant. “Yeah.”

She beamed at him. “Friends confide in one another.”
She knew she was pushing it, but there was something going on with
him. Those men were talking about him. And the blue light, the
vanishing thing, she knew she wasn’t losing her mind. He had seen
them as well.

He looked out the window, silent. “Okay.”

Alayna waited for him to share
something. He didn’t and that pissed her off. She decided not to
talk to him and stared ahead the rest of the drive to her house.
When she pulled into the driveway, she realized she wasn’t just
angry, but hurt as well. Perhaps it was because he’d escorted her
around yesterday. Or because they had talked for hours today. At
any rate, she felt a connection with Lorenzo. Obviously it was
one-sided.

Her appetite had waned as well as her desire to go
out. When Khayden opened her car door, she glanced at Lorenzo and
shook it off. “Look, I’m not in the mood to go out, it’s been a
long night. Can I get a raincheck?” she asked Khayden, avoiding his
gaze.

“
Are you all right?” he
asked.

Twisting her neck from side to side, she winced at
the pop from the kinks and rubbed it with her hand. “Yeah. Just a
lot to process, yesterday getting lost, finding the small town.”
Her eyes widened and she gasped. “I forgot to ask about my
brother’s truck. You got the part right?”

Khayden nodded. “It is in the garage, repaired.
Would you like retrieve it?”

Alayna bit her lip thinking, something she had a
difficult time doing when he was so close. “It’s late. I’ll get it
in the morning.” She stalled, the narrowing of his eyes told her he
recognized her ploy.