Crash kept his eyes fixed on my face. “Care to join us for a drink, Death Scythe?”
A whoosh of air blew past my face. I blinked, and the chair where Crash had been sitting was now empty, but not for long. Two seconds later it was occupied by an extremely menace looking Zane.
His dark eyes were flaming hot. “What are you doing here?”
“Uh, drinking coffee,” I replied, taking a sip from my cold mug. Smooth Piper. I wanted to kick myself. This was Zane. Pissed off or not, he was the one person I trusted most in the world. I should have told him that Crash contacted me. Knowing that he was going to be angry was a whole lot different than seeing it—feeling it.
There was a phantom quality about him tonight. “What happened to not ditching your guards? Twice in one day, Piper?”
I flinched. “It was critical.”
“So is keeping you alive. I thought we’d been over this and you agreed,” he reminded me, although it was unnecessary.
I sighed, hating the disappointment in his voice. “I did. I don’t do well with boundaries.”
“She’s fine,” Crash intervened, appearing at the side of the table. “No need to slap her wrists. Not a hair out of place.”
“Shut up,” Zane and I said in unison.
Crash dusted off his jeans, scowling. “You guys really are in sync. Cute,” he said dryly.
“Leave,” Zane advised in a low threat. “Before I make a new exit with your body.”
Green eyes narrowed. “So much hostility. Forever is a long time, Piper.”
Zane growled, and the chairs surrounding us began to shake.
Luckily for everyone here, Crash didn’t push his luck. He grabbed his keys and the last half of his drink from the table. “I’ll be in touch,” he said to me and left.
The thick cords of muscles in Zane’s back bunched with tension, waiting to be unleashed. He was throwing off waves of power that distorted the air between us. I wrapped my fingers with Zane’s, bringing his piercing eyes to me. “Let him go,” I murmured, watching Crash saunter out the front door.
It wasn’t until the door swung close, Zane’s body loosened. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Me too. I cleared my throat. “We might have our first lead.”
Zane went ridged. “Why in the world would you trust anything he has to say?”
I swallowed, knowing Zane’s reaction was going to be epic. As quick as I could, I relayed everything Crash had told me.
“It sounds like a trap,” was the first thing out of Zane’s mouth when I finished.
“I know, but it’s worth checking out. Have you ever heard of such a relic?”
His lips slipped into a frown. “No.” Curiosity replaced his expression. “He’s probably sending us on a wild goose chase to keep us from finding a real solution.”
“Could be, but what other choice do we have. I can’t disregard it.” And here comes the kicker. “He wants to help us search.”
Zane’s head whipped up so fast, I thought he was going to fall out of the chair. “Say what?”
I leaned back. “I get it’s not an idea situation.”
“You mean, he wants us to do the dirty work so he can take all the glory when he double- crosses us and hands it over to Heath.”
“I’ve got two days, Zane. I don’t care if the devil himself wants to help. Unless you want to see me married to Crash.”
Zane’s eyes turned feverish. “Don’t go there. You know how I feel.”
I did. And that’s what made this so hard. The last thing I wanted to do was fight. I needed him. More than ever. “I’m scared,” I admitted, wrapping my hands around my coffee mug. I needed something to do with my hands, because despite my awesomeness and Zane’s killer instincts, there was one thing we hadn’t been able to do, and the failure was tearing me up inside. Neither of us wanted to trust Crash, but what else did we have to go on?
Since the dream with Celeste, I couldn’t shake the feeling the worst had yet to come. It wasn’t going to be pretty. Each second that went by was wasted time I couldn’t afford.
Zane’s chest rose and fell. “If you weren’t afraid I would question your sanity. There’s only one thing to do.”
I turned my head to the side. “And what’s that?”
He thrust his fingers though his hair, but his expression was a blank mask. “I’m getting to it. My father told me about the emergency meeting.”
“Oh.” Death was one of the council members. He would have been summoned. “And?” I was dying to know the outcome, but at the same time scared out of my mind. I tried to convince myself it didn’t matter what they decided. Nothing anyone could say would make me go down the path of arranged marriages again. Been there. Done that.
The depths of his sapphire eyes darkened. “Majority ruled you would marry the Hawk’s heir in two nights.”
The air in the bar was already thick with smoke, but it became unbearable, pressure clamping down my chest and my lungs overtaxed with the simple effort of taking in air.
“I. Can’t. Breath,” I gasped.
Zane was at my side in a blink, murmuring my name. “Hey, I’m not going to let that happen.” His fingers ran down my hair, pulling my face against his chest.
There was an instant stream of tranquility flowing through my veins, receding the mounting panic attack. I wanted to lose myself in the comfort he offered, and the outdoorsy scent of his shirt. Steady as a rock, he wasn’t going to let me fall apart. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to me. I tipped my head back, staring at him. “You’re not, huh?”
He reached over, threading his fingers with mine. “Never. I’m going to spend every second of every day of every year with you. The only person you’re marrying is me. You got that?”
I rolled my eyes, not taking him serious, but it didn’t stop my heart from cartwheeling. “Whatever you say.”
He tugged at the end of my hair. “You’re adorable.”
I bumped our noses. “You’re weird.”
A lopsided grin appeared on his face. “True, but I was being serious.” A glint of purpose lit his eyes. He was up to something, and it was a welcomed distraction, figuring out how Zane’s mind worked.
“Are you-u…? Did you-u…?” the words wobbled off my mouth. There was a different kind of heaviness elevating in my chest.
He tipped his head to the side, silky strands of dark hair falling across his forehead. “Piper?”
Time stopped. Even my heart seemed to have halted. Was he asking what I thought? I wasn’t sure. All I could do was stare at him with my mouth dropped open. No way did Zane Hunter just ask me to marry him? Did he? The idea had come out of nowhere, not that I hadn’t thought about him asking me to marry him a hundred different ways. “What did you say?” It hadn’t been a question, but more of a thought, or a statement. I needed him to clarify what he meant, before my heart leapt out of my chest.
His lips curved, and he dropped down to one knee, right there on the bar floor, along with the discarded peanut shells and dried spilled beer. “I never imagined I would be proposing in a place like Keef’s Reef.”
I blinked. “Proposing?” I echoed, my heart doing a series of flips.
He stood, tossed some money on the tabletop and tugged me to me feet. “Come on. We can do better than this.”
“Where are we going?” I asked as he dragged me out of the bar and ushered me outside. A million stars dotted the sky like sparkling diamonds. I lifted my face, letting the brisk breeze cool my flushed cheeks.
I got the silent treatment.
Two could play that game. He couldn’t dangle something like marriage in my face and then go all-mysterious. I planted my feet, digging them into the ground. Zane threw a glance over his shoulder, and I angled my head. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where you are taking me. What was that back there?”
He shook his head. “You would make this difficult.” Dipping his shoulder, he planted his hands on my waist and hoisted me over his shoulder.
Oomph. The air rushed to my head, my hair fell out of its bun, dangling near the floor. I struggled, making it harder for him to keep his hold on me as his long strides ate up the ground. “Have you gone mental?” I couldn’t understand his actions.
He gave my bottom a swat. “If you’ll just settled down…”
Oh, I was past reasonable and had leapt to full fledge crazy. “I might if you put me on my feet.”
“No can do, princess.”
We’ll see about that. A chill circulated through my blood and shadows shrouded us from any prying eyes. He couldn’t possibly get around the island like a normal person. Why would you when you had shadows to do your bidding, shadows that could shield you and transport you from place to place?
After everything I’d learned tonight, my emotions were running high. It was the only reasonable explanation for my actions. Energy accumulated at my fingertips, and I sent a jolt of power through his clothes, like an electric shot. Mild, of course. Not enough to hurt, only get his attention.
He chuckled, and set me down on my feet, but kept my hand in his. “Did you just zap me?”
“You weren’t listening,” I replied, and then took a moment to look around. We were in a small chapel, beautiful stained glass windows casting rainbows of light over the hardwood floors. White pillar candles scented the air in vanilla and lit the dark corners. “What’s this?”
Our fingers were still intertwined, and he turned my hand over. “There’s one way to prevent you from marrying Crash. We’re getting married,” he stated like it was any other day of the week.