After Niamh programmed the GPS to find the nearest hotel, it took them just over an hour to reach it on the mainland of Sweden. Crossing the Ölandsbron Bridge from Öland to the mainland had been the only moment where the tension between Niamh and Kiyo was forgotten.
The sun had disappeared behind heavy, dark clouds, and the water on either side of them was like glass. Gray-blue sheets of stillness. There were hardly any other vehicles on the bridge, and for a moment it felt like they were on some lonely, safe corner of the planet. It was incredibly peaceful.
Kiyo enjoyed it for what it was. A moment of tranquility in amongst the chaos and danger.
He suspected Niamh appreciated it as well. Or maybe she just appreciated not having to interact with him for a while. Other than the bridge, the drive felt longer than an hour.
“… out of all of my incredible gifts, my soft emotions, as you call them, my kindness, my compassion, my love, are my greatest. Because without them, I am the darkest, most dangerous being you’ll ever meet. Be grateful I am who I am, Kiyo. For everyone’s sake.”
Her words echoed in his mind—more than that, his reaction to them.
He respected her, and it took a lot to gain his admiration.
More alarmingly, he wanted her.
Lust, Kiyo could deal with. He had a strong sexual appetite and no particular preference. His body reacted to all kinds of women, in all their varied glory. Sex was the one thing in this harsh existence that Kiyo could be thankful for. However, he never let his sexuality control him.
That was easy when you were just attracted to a body, a face.
The moment he’d seen Niamh, he reacted to her. She was beautiful. He was aware of her, as a male would be.
But it would never control him.
Being attracted to who she was as a person, to her mind, her heart … that was more concerning.
Kiyo had a job to do, and he couldn’t let softer emotions that hadn’t touched him in decades creep in. He had to keep her at bay, and if that meant pretending to have the moral high ground because of her talent for mind trickery, then so be it. She didn’t need to know he’d done the kind of wicked shit that made her look like Snow White in comparison.
This strange feeling toward her also meant he wasn’t going to push about her brother, even though her reaction was … damn, he didn’t even know what that was. He thought she was going to turn the entire SUV into an icicle. As much as he wanted to push, distance between them was best.
They’d crossed the bridge and were now on a highway flanked by trees when a lake appeared to their right. Kiyo glanced at the GPS. “We’re getting closer.”
Following the road around the lake, they turned right. They seemed to have hit the outskirts of town. It wasn’t much to look at it, especially on a gray day. Or at least that’s what he thought at first.
But then they turned left toward their hotel and the concrete road changed to wobbly cobbles and the buildings became older, quainter.
Each was painted in a different soft pastel. Cafés offered outside seating. An empty market square was probably filled with stalls and flowers during the summer. Bicycle racks upon bicycle racks suggested cycling was a popular form of transport here.
The road narrowed the farther they drove, the SUV handling the cobbles with ease.
“It’s pretty,” Niamh murmured.
Following the GPS, Kiyo took a left turn down another tight, cobbled road and followed it nearly to the end where the hotel was located.
The hotel wasn’t as pretty as its neighbors with its roughcast exterior but it had a Dutch roof that gave the building some interest. Noting the lack of available parking, Kiyo’s irritation spiked. He didn’t tire easily, but after what they’d been through and having not slept for days, he just wanted a moment to stop somewhere without aggravation. “Where the hell am I supposed to park?”
“Just park in front of the hotel. They might have valet.”
Niamh’s patient tone irritated him even more. She would be calm with her fae ability to recover from anything, including damn exhaustion. “At this shithole?”
“It’s a four-star hotel, Kiyo,” she scolded gently. “What did you expect? A towering modern structure in the heart of an historical town? Don’t be precious.” She hopped out of the car while he gaped after her.
Precious?
No one had ever dared to call him precious.
With a growl of annoyance, he followed her out of the car and into the hotel. Inside it was Scandinavian in style with simple, modern, comfortable midcentury furnishings. But in Kiyo’s mind, the European star system didn’t reflect what it did on other continents. In the States or Japan, this would be three-star, not four.
Not that he goddamn cared.
He was getting pissy about things that didn’t goddamn matter.
What he needed was a bed. Food first. Then bed.
Niamh was already using her mind-trick shit on the front-desk clerk by the time he appeared at her side. The woman handed over the keys to two rooms.
“One room,” Kiyo demanded.
Niamh turned and raised an eyebrow at him. He stared at her, noting that the golden freckles on her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose stood out in sharp relief against the paleness of her skin. Perhaps he’d been wrong. Perhaps fae did tire after all. “One room?”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“And I’m not sharing a bed with you.”
“Many women would be happy to.”
She grimaced. “Well, you cocky bastard, I’m not one of them.”
Something like a lie lingered in the air between them.
Kiyo felt an answering tug in his gut.
Shit.
“Fine. Two rooms.” His hand clamped around hers as she took the key cards.
Her golden-blue eyes widened.
“But if you run from me, it will piss me off.”
She sighed, pulling her hand away only to hold out one of the key cards. “Can I ask, is there anything that doesn’t piss you off?”
“Sex,” he answered instantly. He shouldn’t have said it, but she seemed so unflappable all the time while he most certainly felt … flapped.
To his pleasure, he watched a pretty pink blush stain her cheeks. “Oh.” Her gaze dropped as she turned away from him and the dazed receptionist. “Well, I can’t help you there.”
Kiyo’s eyes lowered to her perfect sweetheart ass showcased superbly in tight skinny jeans and the long legs attached. He allowed himself a torturous second of imagining those long legs wrapped around him. With Niamh’s power and grace, he bet she was epic in bed. “Lies,” he muttered.
“What?” She cast him a narrow-eyed look over her shoulder.
He cleared his face of all expression as he fell into stride beside her. “I didn’t say anything.”
They took the stairs instead of the elevator, and he remembered the SUV.
Niamh shrugged at his reminder. “Just leave it. Someone will come and ask us to move it if they need us to.”
“Right. Then first things first, we need to call Bran.”
“And how do you propose we do that?”
“With the phone in my room. I know his number.”
“You memorized it?”
“Of course.” He cut her a mocking look. “Never rely on technology to remember anything of the utmost importance.”
She threw him an amused smile. “Wise words.”
As it turned out, their rooms were opposite one another. “Come into mine,” he said as he swiped the key card, “while I talk to Bran.”
The room was much like the lobby. Sparse, simple, and clean. Kiyo’s gaze drifted longingly to the bed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this tired. Gesturing to the chair at the small desk by the window, he watched Niamh settle into it before he grabbed the phone on the bedside table. Hitting the country code for Ireland first, he tapped in Bran’s cell number.
It rang and rang before going to voicemail.
“It’s me,” he said, trying to hide the bite of impatience. “Call me back. We hit some trouble.” He replaced the receiver and said to Niamh, “He probably didn’t answer because he didn’t recognize the number.”
Less than a minute later, the phone rang. Kiyo snatched it up. “Yeah?”
“It’s Bran.”
Pressing the speaker button so Niamh could listen in, he explained to Bran what had happened on the plane and the events after.
“I told you the Blackwoods would be watching airports and train stations.”
“All of them? In the entire world?”
“Who knows at this point? Suffice it to say, we need to get you where you’re going under radar.”
“Do you always point out the obvious?”
“Someone’s in a bit of a mood.”
Niamh snorted.
“Bran, don’t make me come to Ireland.”
The vampire chuckled down the line. “Okay, okay. First off, this trip to Tokyo, if it involves the fae-borne, then maybe Fionn should know about it.”
Kiyo looked over at Niamh who was shaking her head frantically. He wished like hell she’d just tell him what this vision was about. “Niamh doesn’t seem to think that’s a good idea.”
“Fine. Then here’s what we’ll do. I’ll get you money, new passports, and I imagine you need clothes?”
“I can get us clothes.” Niamh shrugged.
“You mean, steal them?” Kiyo said flatly.
She flushed guiltily and looked away.
“Yeah, we need clothes, Bran.”
Bran tutted. “I detect a hint of judgment in your voice there, Kiyo. Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to throw stones at glass houses? Or something like that. Don’t listen to this Judgy Mcjudgerson here, Niamh. He’s committed more crimes than you’ll find soaked into the walls of Alcatraz.”
Niamh raised an eyebrow at Kiyo, and a snarl of annoyance escaped his throat.
Bran heard and chuckled harder. “Did you just lose your moral high ground, wolf?”
“When this is over, you’re my new personal punching bag,” Kiyo promised.
The vamp seemed completely unconcerned. “Before we both get to enjoy that delightful moment together, I’m going to get you the hell out of Sweden. A package will arrive at your hotel within the hour with everything you need, including a cell. I’ll call you on it with your travel schedule.” Bran hung up abruptly.
“He’s funny.” Niamh stood. “And efficient.”
“The only reason I put up with him. The latter, not the former.”
“What did he mean?” She crossed her arms over her chest, studying him. “About your crimes and the moral high ground?”
“Not anything you haven’t already guessed about me.”
She nodded. “You’re a mercenary so I knew you’d probably done a lot of questionable stuff over the years. It does make me wonder what right you have to judge me about my gift for tricking the human mind?”
Needing to keep the barrier between them, he shrugged. “In all the things I’ve done, I’ve never messed with someone like that.”
It was a lie.
But it worked.
Her expression closed down. Flicking him a wounded look, she headed toward the door. “I’ll be in my room.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Excuse me?”
“You haven’t eaten. Neither have I. We’ll go downstairs to the dining room. We’ll eat while we wait for the package to arrive.”
“I don’t feel like eating.”
“I’m not giving you a choice.”
Suddenly, she was a blur across the room and Kiyo was pinned to the wall by the force of her forearm against his throat. She pushed her stunning face close to his and bared her perfect, straight teeth, her eyes flashing gold.
Heat flushed through his body, surprising the shit out of him.
“I’m not yours to push around, Kiyo. And don’t you forget it.” She released him, stepping away.
Kiyo didn’t let his expression betray him, even though it took a lot of control not to react physically to her. He wanted to take her down on the bed and show her how much she’d enjoy submitting to him. And he wasn’t that kind of wolf. He thought himself above those baser instincts.
What the hell was happening to him?
He impressed himself by the steady blandness of his tone. “That was kind of an overreaction, wasn’t it?”
She gaped at him. “No, I don’t think it was. You’re being a bully.”
“I’m not the one who pinned you to the wall.”
“Are you always this irritating when you’re hungry and tired?”
He growled. “Are you always this irritating, period?”
“I imagine a male like you would find a woman who had her own mind irritating.”
“You don’t know anything about me.” Brushing past her, ignoring her scent because it was driving him mad, he yanked open the hotel room door and gestured for her to go ahead. “We eat first.”
Niamh narrowed her eyes as she walked to the door. “Is this bossiness or concern for my well-being? Because you should know that it takes more than a day before I start to feel the effects of hunger. Like, around a week, actually.”
Kiyo knew she hadn’t meant to, but she’d just given away something of her past to him.
Niamh had known hunger.
He closed the hotel room door and quickened his stride to catch up with her. “You and your brother went hungry at some point.”
It wasn’t a question.
She flicked him a surprised look, then her brows puckered as if she’d just realized what she’d conveyed. “Not me and my brother. Just me. Thank goodness.”
“What happened?”
She didn’t answer.
A sting grew hot in his chest. Kiyo ignored it and they strode in silence, following the signs for the dining room. It turned out to be buffet-style service, the food less than appealing. Yet it was food, so it would do. There were only a few other hotel guests in the room.
They separated while they filled their plates and then Kiyo spotted Niamh at a table for two in the corner, far away from anyone else.
He sat down, noting for someone who wasn’t hungry, she’d piled her plate almost as high as he had. Kiyo raised an eyebrow.
She flashed him a quick, sheepish grin. “I got hungry when I saw the food.”
Amusement eased his earlier irritation and his lips twitched around a forkful of deli meat.
“I went into hiding for a while,” Niamh said abruptly. At his obvious confusion, she continued, “You asked what happened. With the going-hungry thing.”
He was silent but nodded for her to go on.
Niamh shrugged. “I disappeared off the map a few months ago. I disappeared even from myself. Does that make sense?”
Yeah, that made total sense to him. Kiyo nodded again.
“I don’t even remember how I got to the room or when or …” Her lovely eyes were dark and hollow with an emotion he recognized.
Grief.
This was about her brother.
“I don’t know how long I was there exactly. I estimate about ten days or so.” Her rueful smile was limp, joyless. “I felt the hunger pains, but it was the cramps from dehydration that pulled me out of the black hole. I knew I wouldn’t die … but I also didn’t know it would hurt so much.” She gave him a considering look. “It didn’t last. By the time I pushed myself to my feet to get out of that room, the pain started to dissipate. And I felt strangely stronger but hard. Brittle. Like I was made of stone.” Her eyes rounded with shock, like she hadn’t meant to give that much away. She dropped her gaze to her plate. “Anyway, I stepped out of the room into an apartment I didn’t recognize, into a city I didn’t know. Turned out I was in Hamburg. I don’t even remember getting there from Munich …”
Kiyo studied her as she got lost in her memories. What she said, about the hunger and dehydration pains eventually disappearing, her body growing stronger for it, reminded him of what she’d said about her kindness being her greatest gift. Maybe it was generally her human emotions they had to be thankful for. It sounded like her human habits were what kept her from becoming fully fae.
Her gaze lifted to meet his again and the hair on the back of his neck rose with awareness.
“You’ve known hunger, too, haven’t you?”
How the hell did she know that?
He looked down at his plate and stabbed his fork through half a boiled egg. “I’ve known many things,” he answered evasively.
Kiyo felt Niamh’s annoyance, and perhaps hurt, without even looking at her.
She didn’t ask him any more questions.
In fact, she didn’t talk for the rest of the meal.
And considering Kiyo liked the quiet, it unnerved him that he missed the sound of her gentle voice with its lilting Irish accent.
The silence stretched between them as they finished their meal and then as they walked back to their rooms. As they strolled into the lobby, the girl behind the desk flagged them down.
“This arrived for you.” She gestured to a large duffle bag.
“Bran,” Kiyo muttered, taking up the bag.
Niamh thanked the girl and they strode upstairs. They seemed to have come to an unspoken agreement that using the elevator was a bad idea for two people who didn’t want to find themselves cornered.
Gesturing for Niamh to follow him into his room, he threw the bag on the bed and unzipped it. Inside were two new passports, more cash than Kiyo knew what to do with, a couple of pairs of jeans and shirts, clean underwear and bras for Niamh as well as jeans and tees and underwear for him.
“These will fit perfectly,” she said, holding the jeans against her body. Her eyes flickered to the bras and twinkled with amusement. “How did he know?”
Kiyo ripped his attention from the new bras to the dark jeans and black tees Bran had put in the bag for him. He grunted in acknowledgment, realizing they’d fit him perfectly too. There were even black hair ties, and he knew they were for him. He was no longer surprised by Bran’s unnerving accuracy and efficiency.
And, as if on cue, a cell rang inside the bag.
Kiyo dug through it and noted the flash of silver at the bottom.
A katana.
He almost smiled.
Instead he pulled out the old-fashioned cell phone. He answered it, hitting the speaker button. “Yeah?”
“Good, you got everything, then? I did good, didn’t I? I even remembered your hair ties so you’re not walking around with your hair hanging in that gorgeous face. I know how much you don’t like feeling too sexy,” Bran said.
A burst of laughter brought Kiyo’s gaze to Niamh who was grinning widely, her shoulders shaking with amusement. The compelling vision of her laughing amused him, stifling his irritation with Bran. He bared his teeth in a half grin, half snarl, and she blinked rapidly, as if surprised. Her gaze lowered to his mouth and stayed there long enough for him to feel as if she’d caressed his lips with her fingers.
“Hello, anyone there?” Bran’s voice yanked Kiyo back to himself.
“Yeah, we’re here. We got everything. What’s next?”
“There will be a private plane waiting for you at Kalmar Airport tomorrow morning at six a.m. sharp. The pilot is called Stephen and he will meet you at the entrance. It’s a small airport so he won’t miss you.”
“How far away is the airport from here?”
“Ten minutes. You left an SUV outside the hotel, right?”
Kiyo frowned. How did he know these things? “Yeah …”
“I’ve gotten rid of it. You’ll find a Honda Civic parked just down the street. Keys are in the duffle bag.” Bran rattled off the car’s registration number.
“Wow,” Niamh said. “You’re brilliant, Bran. You think of everything.”
“Why, thank you,” he answered with more than a hint of flirtation. “I just want to make sure you’re safe and comfortable. Are the clothes good? I stuck to jeans but I know you like your dresses, so …”
Kiyo raised an eyebrow. How did he know Niamh liked dresses?
“Oh, it’s fine. Jeans are easier to run in,” she observed ruefully.
“You two have never met, right?” Kiyo asked.
“No,” Bran answered. “But keeping an eye on Niamh for Fionn makes me feel like we have. Maybe one day I’ll get to meet your stunning loveliness in person, Niamh.” There was a definite purr of invitation in his voice.
And a red flush crested Niamh’s cheeks, meaning she’d caught it too.
He stemmed a growl. “You sound like a stalker, Bran.”
“I like to think of myself as more of an extremely hot guardian angel of the night.”
Seeing Niamh suppress a charmed smile, Kiyo felt his impatience grow. “What happens after Kalmar Airport?”
“Right, that. So, Stephen can take you to Düsseldorf where we’ll have Fionn’s private jet waiting for you. The jet will take you to Tokyo.”
“Fine. We’ll call if we need anything else.” Kiyo hung up.
Niamh gaped at him. “You hung up before we could thank him.”
“He’s paid very well by Fionn to do his job. That’s thanks enough.”
She shook her head. “Oh, you are such—” She faltered, letting out a small, anguished moan.
Her hand flew to her temple, the color draining from her face.
Kiyo was immediately at her side, gripping her biceps. “What’s wrong?”
“Vision,” she whimpered. “Another one—” Her head flew back too sharply on her neck, her eyes rolling as her lids fluttered at a rapid pace.
Feeling her body convulse, Kiyo pulled her into him and lowered them both to the carpet so he could hold her while she shuddered.
He watched her features strain with the pain of the visions. An ache flared across his chest, and his arms banded more tightly around her. The strength of her physical reaction to the visions was such that Kiyo wondered how Ronan ever comforted her through them. Surely a human couldn’t contain her while she was like this?
He cupped her nape to stop her head from jerking so much and caressed her neck with his thumb, hoping the comforting gesture might reach through the visions.
Part of him hoped the vision would transfer to him, too, so he’d finally know what was going on inside her head. But nothing happened.
Other than the strange realization that it disturbed him to see her like this.
His grip on her tightened and he bent his head to her ear. “It’s okay,” he murmured, “I’m here, I’ve got you.”
Finally, her convulsions eased and relief moved through him as he felt her hands rest on his chest as she came back to herself.
Her eyelashes fluttered and as her eyes opened, the gold bled back to aquamarine. Only golden flecks remained.
She felt warm and solid and real in his arms, and her sweet, spicy scent made him want to bury his face in her throat and breathe her in deep.
Hot awareness sprung between them.
This was becoming a problem.
In fact, at some point, Kiyo needed to leave her safe in her hotel room and go get laid to deal with the damn problem.
“Well?” he demanded gruffly.
At his sharp tone, Niamh’s hands dropped from his chest and she pushed away, forcing his hand from her neck.
He let her go and stood up.
He wanted to hold out a hand to help her to her feet, but he knew he shouldn’t.
Niamh slowly stood on shaky legs, looking exhausted.
“Well?” he repeated impatiently.
She looked at him steadily. “What are you, Kiyo?”
He blinked at the abrupt question. “What?”
“I know you’re not an ordinary werewolf. Tell me what you are and why Fionn sent you, of all people?”
Wondering if she’d seen something about him again, he took a step toward her. “What did you see in your vision?”
Niamh lifted her chin, a stubborn glint in her eyes. “First, tell me what you are.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” It was his rote answer. The one he gave anyone who got suspicious about him. “I’m a werewolf. An alpha. Stronger and faster than most … now tell me what you saw.”
Niamh stared blankly at him for longer than made him comfortable and then she sighed. “It was the same. Fate is impatient for us to get to Tokyo. I know the vision is about you … I just don’t know why. And it looks like I’m not going to get the answers from you.” She picked up the clothes from Bran. “Can I count on you to wake me in the morning?”
He swallowed hard against the frustration choking him. “Yeah. I’ll wake you at five.”
She gave him a nod without meeting his eyes and slipped out of the room.
Kiyo sank with exhaustion onto the bed, staring at the door.
It didn’t sit well with him, hurting Niamh’s feelings, but the sooner she realized he was just here to do a job, the better.
For them both.