Page 59 of Bite of Vengeance
“There are humans outside the safe cities,” Pax stated. “But yes, we’ll have to hunt. The Shadows can go in small groups.”
“Pax and I will go with Warner to talk to the Clovers.” Viggo scowled. “I still think it will be a shit show. But I’m guessing you don’t want to leave Kali after just getting back.”
“I can go if needed,” I forced out. There was no part of me that wanted to leave her side again. But it was out of the question to let her go talk to the Clovers. She had to stay here.
“We can handle it.” Pax chuckled. “You were unbearable when we were gone. I’m not dealing with that again. Viggo will come with me.”
“Bring some Shadows for backup,” I ordered.
“Right,” Viggo muttered. “Like they’d listen to us.”
“They’ll listen to Kali. She can talk to them before you leave.”
Pax stared at the door, looking troubled. “It’ll be…interesting to see how they take to Keeva.”
“Why so worried?” Viggo tilted his head, staring at his twin. “It sounds like you have an issue with her.”
“Not an issue,” Pax ground out. “But I don’t think we can trust her. She’s been with PARA her whole life. What if they got in her head?”
“They did,” Viggo drawled. “Shehatesthem. I don’t even want to think of the hell they put her through.”
“I don’t know.” Pax’s words were hesitant. “I just think we need to be careful until we know more about her.”
“She won’t be going anywhere alone,” I said, trying to pacify him. “It’s clear she’s not comfortable, but it’s because she doesn’t trust us. I’m sure that’ll change with time.”
“Maybe,” he muttered.
I tapped my foot, impatience flaring through me. I’d only gotten a few minutes alone with Kali since coming back. While I knew it was important for her and Keeva to talk, I was being selfish. I fucking wanted to be alone with her.
“We need to talk about Dad,” Viggo said, his eyes bouncing between me and Pax.
My stomach flipped. “What about him?”
“We all have to be in agreement about him.” His jaw clenched. “Because if we fight alongside the Shadows, then we have to be ready to try to kill him if we get the chance.”
A sliver of guilt climbed through me. It would probably never go away, but it wasn’t enough. I would doanythingto protect Kali. That meant going up against my father and making sure he could never touch her. His entrancement only further proved that this war was more important to him than I was.
“I’ll do what needs to be done for Kali,” I stated gruffly. “Pax?”
Regret swarmed his eyes. “If he’s alive, then the humans will fall. And Kali will never be free from him. Neither will we.”
“So it’s decided?” Viggo asked quietly. “If we have a chance to kill him, we do it.”
I nodded. “It’s decided.”
“I don’t know how the hell that will happen,” Viggo grumbled. “We might be Shadows, but he’s stronger than us. We know that.”
“Kali and Keeva have strength we can’t touch.” Pax sounded sure of his words. “We might not know what those strengths are yet, but there’s a reason he wants both of them under his control. It won’t be us killing him. It’ll be them.”
“No,” I snarled, my chest tightening. “Kali will not be going anywhere near him.”
“We started a war, Zan.” A tinge of annoyance filtered through Viggo’s voice. “You can’t expect her to hide the entire time.”
“We’re not talking about this. She doesn’t go anywhere without me, and that’s it.”
“Fine, fine.” Viggo raised his arms in surrender. “But please have some realistic expectations. Kali isn’t going to let you hide her away while we fight.”
I ground my teeth, knowing he was right. But I didn’t want to think about that. More than anything, I just wanted to spend time with her before shit began going down.
