or if they’d run into trouble of their own.
I tried another approach. “He’s Tihalt’s son. Doesn’t that mean anything?”
Edgel was back at my side in an instant, his movement a blur. He brought his face close to mine. “He’s mortal and a traitor. The only reason I don’t bring his head to Tihalt myself to collect the reward is because he never once lied to me. He can keep his head. For now.”
“And if he dies?”
“If he dies, it will go a tiny bit toward avenging my daughter’s death.”
“I told you that wasn’t our fault!”
Edgel’s big hand wrapped around my left arm just below the knife wound, uncaring of the blood running down my arm, and squeezed hard. “Shut up and move!”
I could hardly breathe through the agony. “Over. My. Dead. Body.” It wasn’t so much that I was brave, but I felt him coming: Ritter. I’d always been able to feel glimpses of his emotions, but since Mexico I had become more aware of him than ever. He was close. Very close. Anger preceded him, a burning for revenge.
I needed a distraction so the others would be caught completely off balance at his arrival. Arching my body forward, I slammed my head into Edgel’s with a satisfying crack. The Asian pulled back his fist, readying for a blow that would probably knock me unconscious, but abruptly his face went slack and he pitched forward to the carpet, his raised fist thudding against the wall. A kitchen knife sprouted from his back.
Edgel whirled to face Ritter who had appeared behind him, breathing hard, his black hair falling forward on his face. He looked big and strong and sexy and completely in control—or would have if he hadn’t been wearing a silly burgundy hotel uniform that was obviously two sizes too small. I reached for his mind and found it without barriers, a dangerous thing with Emporium agents nearby, but I knew he’d left it that way for me.
Channeling Ritter’s speed, I ran toward him. Edgel anticipated the move and lunged, probably hoping to use me as a shield, but I evaded him. Then Ritter was between us and they began exchanging blows, both of them beauty in motion. Strange how such a deadly ability could also be so magnificent.
Keene groaned from his place on the ground, and I knelt next to him. I had nothing to stem the blood, so I picked up one of the fallen knives and began cutting off his jacket, balling the material and placing it under his hands. His eyes flickered as I pushed down, adding pressure. His life force still seemed strong, but I wasn’t sure how long that would last.
A loud crash scattered my thoughts. I glanced up to see a hotel worker near the bend in the hallway, standing next to an overturned room service cart. A scream wrenched from her throat as she turned and fled.
Ritter and Edgel fell motionless, staring for several long seconds at each other. Then Edgel leaned over, pulled the Asian over his shoulder, and sprinted down the hall.
Ritter came toward me, his anger dying away as he knelt on the carpet. “You okay?” His eyes went to the blood on my arm.
I nodded. “Yeah.” My wound looked worse than it was and would stop bleeding in a few moments. By morning it would be only a memory—one to add with all the others I tried not to recall. “Thanks for coming.” My eyes fell down his outfit. “But I really hope this isn’t when you confess you have some kinky fantasy about hotels.”
A laugh rumbled in his throat. “Not hardly. Long story, but it got me to you.” He put his cheek next to mine, breathing deeply. I knew how he felt. We were alive and okay. If we’d been anywhere else, we wouldn’t be doing any talking at all.
“We have to get Keene out of here,” I said after what seemed like less than a heartbeat.
Nodding, Ritter felt for his pulse. “It’s holding steady, but there’s too much blood.” Red still oozed from under the scrap of black jacket, staining Keene’s white shirt with gore. If he’d been conscious a minute earlier,