“My team of four plus me,” she admitted. “I had to fight to get Dad and Dage to treat me like an adult. I’m a little irritated with you right now as well.”
So this was a setup. Good to know. He figured she wouldn’t have been able to just sneak out of the Realm hospital and into demon territory, but his mind wasn’t working quite as fast as it should. “Did Emma determine what was in the darts?”
“Mainly a horse tranquilizer, but also something she couldn’t identify.”
Shock kept him quiet for a moment. “There’s something Emma can’t identify?” That was pretty much unheard of. The queen knew every compound there was.
“Yes.” Hope looked small and defenseless on his truck.
“Well, fantastic,” he muttered. “Whatever was in those darts is in my system too. Is that why you couldn’t heal your arm?” Yet he’d had no problem healing his wounds from the laser bullets.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know for sure. There’s really no way to tell, is there?” She tapped a finger on her lips. “Unless after I heal this…”
“No,” he said softly, his voice determined. “You will not break another bone and use yourself as a test subject.”
Her eyes flared. “Considering you’re a traitorous bastard, I don’t think you are in any position to give me advice, much less tell me what to do.”
The woman wasn’t wrong. He did notice that she was still wearing the silver ring he’d given her so long ago, and he’d bet everything he had that the pink quartz necklace was still hanging between her breasts. It gave him an odd satisfaction that he had no right to feel. He was balancing on a razor-thin line, and there was absolutely no doubt he was going to fall over into the abyss, but for now, he’d make sure she was safe.
“Do you want to come inside? It’s too cold out here for you.”
“Yeah, right,” she snorted. “The snipers wouldn’t like that.”
He shoved his hands farther down in his jeans pockets so he didn’t reach for her. “All right, so obviously you’re supposed to be getting information from me. How did you get them to agree to this?”
It was unthinkable that Zane would let his only daughter so close to Paxton after everything that had gone down.
“I didn’t give them much of a choice,” Hope admitted. “I needed to talk to you, and frankly, we all need answers. I’m an adult, and I’m good at what I do.” She was, and he was proud of her. She probably had the best strategic mind of anybody he’d ever met. “Why don’t you trust me, Paxton?” she asked softly.
He blinked and then shoved his mask back into place. “I do trust you.”
“No, you don’t, or you would’ve told me what you were up to.” She leaned toward him, reaching with her good arm for his. He could sense someone’s finger tighten on a trigger nearby, but he didn’t care. He didn’t make her remove her hand. “Come on, Paxton. It’s me. I don’t believe you would want to hurt my uncle or that you would be working with the Kurjans against us.”
“I’m not working with the Kurjans, and I’d never harm Dage,” he said. “You have to know that.”
She nodded, her eyes luminous now. Were there tears in them?
His heart took the pain as if somebody had stabbed him. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, Hope. I hope you believe me.” He didn’t elaborate, but things were about to get a lot worse, probably for all of them, because he was certainly failing at what he needed to do.
She tightened her grip, her nails digging through his thin shirt. “Paxton,” she whispered. “Please tell me what’s going on. Does this have to do with your uncle and the Defenders?”
He barely kept from reacting. Instead, he forced an indulgent smile to his lips, one that would irritate the hell out of her. “The Defenders? Who in the world are the Defenders?”
“Don’t play stupid with me, and don’t treat me like I’m dumb. Do you think our computer experts are not tearing apart your entire history right now? They know you’re part of the Defenders. They know your uncle is a member of the Defenders. Come clean now, Paxton, or I swear they’ll decide you’re a traitor and slice off your head.”
Spirit and heat filled her face, and for a moment all he could do was stare at her. She’d been adorable as a kid. As a woman, she was downright fucking gorgeous, even while she was pissed off and wounded and sitting on his favorite truck.
“Is this about the Seven?” she asked.
Heck, she was smart. She was so freaking smart, he didn’t know what to do with her sometimes.
“I know only what you do about the Seven,” he said. Which frankly wasn’t nearly enough. He did know that the Seven Warriors had broken the laws of physics to create three prison worlds to house a dangerous Cyst, one of the spiritual leaders of the Kurjan nation. When those prison realms had been destroyed, all the worlds had gone out of whack, including Earth, which was why demons were no longer able to teleport. The Seven had a final ritual in mind to kill Ulric, but unfortunately, it involved using Hope.
He’d vowed with his own blood to prevent that from happening. He’d been more foolish than courageous, and that was how he’d ended up in this clusterfuck.
“I think you do know more,” she said. “I think this is all about the Seven, but it doesn’t make any sense. Why did you hack into Dage’s schedule?”
Because he hadn’t had a choice, but he couldn’t tell her that. She wouldn’t understand, and he didn’t blame her. “You did a good job with the questioning, sweetheart,” he said, “but it’s time for you to go home.” He looked toward the tree line. “Where’s your escort?”
“Escort? I’m not going anywhere,” she said, smacking him on the arm.
The impact was ineffectual. Yet irritation still ticked within him, not so much at her but at the people who had sent her to talk to him. They knew he was dangerous, and they knew he’d been working against them, and yet they’d sent her in like a sacrificial lamb? Sure, the snipers were good, but he was quicker than anybody knew. He looked slowly around to identify each position and then tuned in his senses to the soldiers in the forest. There were even three behind the house and two inside the home. If he made a wrong move, there’d be a lot of shots fired, but he still had a chance to take her. They never should have allowed her anywhere near him.
“Don’t put yourself in danger like this again, even if the people around you are stupid enough to think you can handle it,” he said curtly. “Do you understand me?”
Her temper was rare, but when it flared, it was glorious. She kicked him hard, right where she’d shot him in the leg earlier.
Residual pain echoed through his muscles, and he growled. “All right, fine.” He yanked his hands free of his pockets and grabbed her good shoulder, pulling her in. She started to protest. “You think you know me. You don’t. Stop treating me like the scared kid who used to hide in your room.”
That sweet little chin firmed. “Or what?”