Rhys leaned his head back against the wall. Lily’s family was ensconced in a hunting lodge in Northern England protected by Henry, Banan, and Guy. Darius and Kellan were eliminating the men guarding Kyle.
That only left Lily. Since Dennis was more concerned with getting onto Dreagan, Rhys was counting on Dennis forgetting about her quickly enough.
Tristan and Kiril would be tracking Dennis from the sky while Hal and Laith would follow at a discreet distance. The mates were safely hidden deep within the mountain behind the manor. The rest of the Dragon Kings were patrolling the perimeter of their land in case Dennis was a diversion of some sort.
Every aspect had been covered.
Why then did Rhys have the unwavering feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong?
Rhys left the store, setting up watch at the manor. It went against everything for him to leave Lily alone. He wanted to be there with her, to protect her. But if anyone knew Dennis, it was Lily.
She’d survived so much already. He smiled as he thought about her trying to find the person she once was. Lily had no idea she had more valor and pluck than most people. Dennis affected her on a deep level with fear and pain, and yet she faced Dennis valiantly.
Lily needed no one. She could take on a thousand Dennises and come out the victor. Her inner strength had gotten her through years of physical abuse. Dennis’s verbal abuse was what made Lily question herself and her own ability to make decisions.
Already Rhys saw a difference in her. The change was slow enough that Rhys didn’t really notice it until he was gone from Dreagan those few weeks. But her biggest transformation was in Edinburgh. Rhys worried if Dennis would see beyond the new clothes to the new Lily.
If Dennis did, there could be real problems. For one, Lily was still mortal. She was Rhys’s mate, but they hadn’t completed the ceremony. Which meant that Lily could be killed.
Rhys stopped himself from going down that road. Dennis wouldn’t want to bring Lily with him in his search. He would move quickly and quietly. Lily would cause distractions.
With his mind at ease, Rhys made himself comfortable. There was no telling how long he would have to wait.
*
Darius stood behind Lily’s flat, staring at one of the men left behind to watch Kyle. He didn’t hesitate when he walked up behind the man and grabbed his head. With a quick twist, Darius broke the man’s neck. Darius quietly lowered the man to the ground and moved to the next.
There were five mortals guarding Kyle outside. Darius and Kellan each took two. The third was closer to Darius, so he started toward him. The human turned and pointed a rifle at Darius who just smiled. The mortal never knew what hit him when Kellan came up from behind and snapped his neck.
“How many inside?” Kellan asked as he came to stand beside Darius.
“At least one. I didna wait around to see how many men Dennis brought in.”
Kellan’s lips thinned. “You mean Ulrik.”
“Same difference,” Darius said, looking around. “Any ideas?”
“Aye.”
Darius turned to see Kellan smiling.
“Stay behind me,” Kellan said as he moved to the back door of the flat.
Darius followed Kellan and flattened himself against the opposite side of the door. Kellan knocked, and a moment later a tall, muscular man with a shaved head opened the door.
“What?” the man demanded.
Kellan smiled and yanked the man outside, swinging him around so he smashed face-first into the brick building. “Just wanted to say hello.”
Darius slipped inside the flat. He spotted Kyle coming from the living room, but then movement out of the corner of his eye made Darius pivot to the right.
A second mortal came out of Lily’s bedroom firing a handgun twice, the silencer muffling the sound of the retort. The bullets slammed into Darius’s chest. He looked down at the blood coating his white shirt, then looked up at the man.
The mortal’s face was shell-shocked by Darius still standing. In two strides, Darius was standing before the man, all the while the human kept firing the weapon. Darius bared his teeth at the pain of each bullet slicing through his body. He grasped the mortal’s hand holding the weapon, and turned the gun so that it was now aimed at the man’s chest.
The human was so stunned at what was happening that he didn’t realize he was shooting himself until it was too late. He slumped, and Darius let him fall to the floor, dead.
Darius turned around and found Kellan standing in the doorway staring at him. “What?”
“I didna think you’d wake so …
“Unpleasant,” Darius offered.
“Ready to fight,” Kellan said.
Darius raised a brow. “Really? I heard how you woke.”
“Perhaps we should finish this conversation another time,” Kellan said and motioned with his head to Kyle.
Darius looked to the lad and let out a breath when he found Kyle pointing a gun at them. “We came to help you. No’ to have a gun pointed at us.”
“Dennis said someone might come for me,” Kyle said.