Page 27 of Broken

He shrugged and stood up, moving aside. “Seems to be.”

“Good.”

Boomer hauled off and punched Cole in the face.

Cole staggered back, almost knocking down Ireland, who very sensibly had been keeping him in between her and the armed soldiers. Rubbing his jaw, he said, “What the fuck was that for?”

“For going off on this damned mission by yourself. For making us come almost too late to save your sorry ass. For not keeping us in the loop. For not keeping me in the loop. You’re always telling you you’ll back my plays. ‘With great balls, comes great responsibility’ and all that shit. What about me having your back?”

“Your balls aren’t as big as mine.”

Boomer growled. “Don’t make me punch you again.”

He was really angry, Cole realized. And hurt. This wasn’t going to be passed off easily with brotherly insults. He blew out a breath. “This one was something left over from back in the day. I’m sorry.” He paused. “Does that help?”

“No.” Boomer stalked back outside.

Gunn said, “He’s been worried about you. We all have.”

“I’m fine,” Cole said, for what felt like the millionth time. “I can take care of myself.”

“Sure,” Dobe said. “You only got your leg shot off.”

Ireland stayed behind Cole, wishing there weren’t quite so many people between her and the door. Except, she couldn’t leave—not now that she’d bonded Cole to her with the Protector bracelet.

As long as he was wearing it, they couldn’t be apart—not until they’d found a way to break the bond for good, and give Ireland her all her magic back, instead of a few tiny trickles.

She didn’t regret what she’d done; it had been the only way to save him. But there had been no time to think about what it would mean—that if she were to continue her quest for freedom, he’d have no choice but to come too. And if he wouldn’t, then she’d have no choice but to give it up.

The thought made her cold inside.

Gunn—the leader—was saying, “There’s no way your shifter healing could fix that much damage, let alone before the blood was even dry.” He looked beyond Cole to Ireland. “Did she do something? Does she have some kind of healing powers?”

“Not exactly,” Cole said. He held up his wrist. “It was this.”

Gunn said in an ominous voice, “And what does that do, exactly?”

“Good question. Ask Tinkerbell.”

Oh, hell. Were they really going to do this now? Before she had the chance to ask him if he’d help her?

Apparently they were, because he moved aside so that she was facing them all.

And then it got worse. There was a shadow at the doorway, and a strange figure moved into view. A voice like gravel said, “I would like to know the same thing.”

She knew without even asking that it was Thanatos.