Killian let out his breath in a long sigh. “That's what I was afraid of.”
“What?” Connie stared at him, surprised. “I thought you liked me!”
“I do like you,” Killian said. There was a strangely regretful expression on his handsome face. “I truly do. You're smart and responsible and much too good for my fool cousin. I wish you would reconsider staying with him. Are you sure I can't persuade you to just disappear? I can give you money, enough to go wherever you want. All you have to do is promise never to let Chase find you, ever again.”
“I don't understand,” Connie said blankly. “Why do you want me to leave Chase?”
“Because you're a good influence on him.” Killian put down the champagne bottle, straightening as if he'd come to a decision. “Too good. I love Chase, I truly do… but I need him to be his worst self. Wild and irresponsible and completely uninterested in the business.”
“This is about your job?” Connie still couldn't believe what was happening.
“I've worked too hard for too long to lose my place to Chase now.” Killian's gray eyes hardened like ice. “I am going to be the next CEO of Tiernach Enterprises. Not him.”
I'm in danger.
The thought finally percolated through her stunned mind. Heart hammering, Connie tried to make a dash for the door, but Killian was too fast for her. He caught her wrist with inhuman strength, easily restraining her.
“I truly am sorry about this,” Killian said, sounding genuinely regretful. “I wish I could have just put you off him again, like I did three years ago. I want you to know, Chase never did cheat on you. I drugged him unconscious, and hired strippers to pretend that he’d slept with him. I staged the whole scene to give you the worst possible impression when you walked in on him. I had to do whatever it took to make you go away. And now, I'm afraid, I have to make sure you go away again. For good, this time.”
Someone hammered on the door.
“Help!” Connie yelled, praying that it was Chase.
It wasn't.
“Well now,” drawled Sammy, ducking through the doorway. There was nothing either friendly or human about his wide, white smile. “Mighty nice to see you again, Ms. West.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Chase's wings were still sore from fighting the wyvern. It took him an embarrassingly long time to reach the site of the fire. He hardly needed to use his pegasus senses to guide him to his fire team; the orange glow of the fire lit up the horizon, clearly visible for miles.
A thick column of smoke billowed from a derelict apartment block, orange flames roaring out of its shattered windows. Hot air rising from the inferno ruffled his feathers as he spiraled down.
Griff was standing by the fire engine, well back from the blaze. The dispatcher's rugged face was lined with barely-controlled pain, but his fists still clenched as he stared at the fire with helpless frustration. He glanced up as Chase landed, clicking off his radio.
“Am I glad to see you,” he said. “Can you sense anyone?”
Quickly shifting back to human form, Chase concentrated. He immediately sensed Commander Ash and Dai, searching through the first floor of the building. He questing out further, searching for any other people inside.
Ignore that. There's no one in there. His pegasus tugged at his attention, trying to drag him toward a nearby alley. Quick! Kill, strike, hurry!
Confused by his stallion's agitation, Chase turned his attention in that direction… and stiffened.
There wasn't any in the building, but there was someone nearby, watching them all.
Someone he recognized.
“Chase?” Griff said in confusion, but he was already running, leaving the dispatcher behind. With no time to shift, he sprinted for the alleyway as fast as mere human legs could carry him.
*DAI! ASH!* Chase roared psychically at his colleagues. *Get out here! It's the wyvern!*
He caught sight of a dim silhouette lurking in the shadows the mouth of the alleyway. The small figure hesitated as he ran towards it, then broke and fled—but too late.
With a last burst of speed, Chase hurled himself at the retreating figure. His shoulder connected hard with a soft, yielding form, and the wyvern shifter let out a high-pitched yelp of pain. The impact knocked both of them off their feet. Before the other shifter could recover, Chase threw himself down on top of—her?
“Get off me!” The woman writhed underneath him, her short, plump body no match for his much heavier bulk. “Get off!”
He expected her to shift into her wyvern form, but instead she just grabbed at his wrists with her bare hands. Instantly, a burning pain shot through his skin. Chase swore, involuntarily jerking away from her acidic touch.