He heard the crunch of footsteps behind him and Leo squared his shoulders. Time for another battle. Why were there always so many battles to face?
But when he spun around, he didn’t see a fragile vampire standing there. Rose wasn’t waiting to face him. Instead, the panther shifter was there…and Julian Craig appeared quite pissed. Not particularly surprising, considering the things that had transpired.
“Her own brother was the one gunning for the paranormals?”
Leo lifted his chin. “Michael Kinley didn’t take well to Rose’s transformation.”
Julian surged forward and his hands fisted on the shirt that Leo wore. “I was behind her transformation. I’m the one who begged Luke to bring her back—and making her into a vampire was the only way he could do it.”
A boat’s motor roared in the distance.
“It was my fault.” A muscle jerked along Julian’s jaw. “I did this. I hurt her. All I ever do is hurt her.”
Frowning, Leo looked to the right. He saw Luke’s boat racing through the water. Racing away from the island. “Tell me that Rose isn’t on that boat.”
“I can’t be near her without causing Rose more pain.”
Shit. The shifter was trying to be noble. Dark creatures weren’t supposed to play that card. “Very bad mistake, panther.” He rolled back his shoulders. He’d have to go and stop Rose. Or at least, try to stop her. He had a rule about not interfering with free will. He stepped away from Julian, intending to fly off—
But razor sharp claws sank into his shoulder. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re not hurting her, either. We’ve both done e-fucking-nough to Rose.”
“On the contrary…” His gaze was still on the boat. “We’d both better haul ass. The danger to Rose isn’t over.”
Those claws dug deeper. “What?”
“Michael wasn’t the only one after Rose. On the ship, he clearly said there were others at play. And…” This was going to be the tricky part. The part that just might cause the panther to slice him open. Leo braced for the pain. “I know of one very dangerous man in particular who would love nothing more than to add Rose to his collection.”
Julian growled. A deep, inhuman sound. Only fitting, since he wasn’t human.
Leo turned his head until he was staring into the shifter’s glowing eyes. “I think we need to talk a bit more…” he murmured.
And then…they did.
THE END