Of Shadow Born by S. L. Gray Page B

pain of losing his father and brother in one colossal catastrophe still felt raw. He shied away from examining his memories of that night. Replaying them for someone else might cost too much.
    Still, Sylvie had been a friend for a long time now and she deserved at least a little courtesy. He summoned up a smile and did all he could to keep the edge of bitter anger out of his voice. "Had to," he told her. "Better than spinning my wheels, playing what-if for the next fifty years. Besides, he made sure I owed him.” He still hadn’t figured out exactly how they’d tracked him. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. He’d been enjoying the illusion of privacy.
    She shook her head. "He wanted to protect you. Just like all of us."
    Kade held up a hand to forestall more banner waving. "I get it, Sylvie. I do. We're okay."
    She studied him a moment, then broke into a bright smile that reminded him just how gorgeous she could be when she relaxed and was herself. It made him realize too polished and pretty wasn't his thing. He liked his beauty less planned out, more surprising and unexpected. Like Melanie's smile when she'd been caught off guard, sudden but sincere.
    He shook himself, dragging his thoughts back to the here and now. Sylvie shook her head at him and backed away.
    "Just wanted to say my piece. I'm done and I won't do it again. I can't handle that much fussing over anything. Oh!" She paused before she turned away. "Nice job with the phantoms. I especially liked the exploding."
    He laughed, the sound half a groan. “Why am I not surprised you were watching?"
    Sylvie spread her arms. "That's what I do, big guy. I see everything."
    "I thought you were crunching numbers and making maps and colored charts."
    "That too," she allowed . "But I can't record it if I don't know about it, and I don't trust anyone's eyes better than my own. Nice job," she said again. "It didn't reconjure in case you were worried. I think you caught our bad guy unprepared." Those words delivered, she waved and turned away, disappearing down a side hallway without the slightest echo of a footfall.
    A feat made all the more impressive by the high ceilings and polished marbled floors. The headquarters weren’t quite an ancient temple, but the halls were certainly very old. The heads of the organization liked preserving tradition as much as training new recruits. Little changed as a result, including the surroundings.
    Which meant Kade knew exactly which twists and turns to take as he made his way toward Garamendi's corner office. He took note of those who shadowed in and out of sight around him, nodding to the few who looked his way long enough to acknowledge him. Being tucked deep in the heart of shadow meant there were no lobby doors to tug open, no street-side delivery entrances. The only way in was to pass through the veil and the only way out was kept secret.
    It made the place more than a little surreal, though, Kade had to admit, trying to see the hallway as Melanie might. Indistinct figures appeared and winked away. Some seemed to pour out of the shadows between flickering wall sconces. Others simply slowly disappeared. Oh yes, this would rattle her scientific mind. She'd gape and stare and he'd try not to laugh.
    The same way he tried to ignore the fact that he'd claimed her. Maybe not in body, but she was his. His to protect. His to convince she could trust him. Kissing her, letting her kiss him, wasn’t the best way to go about that, but it had happened. They would talk about it and they’d move on.
    Later. This wasn't the time. Especially not with a door swinging open beside him, untouched and untested.
    "Just the man I wanted to see."
    Kade squared his shoulders and cleared his throat. He pushed a hand through his hair out of habit. Straightening his shirt wouldn't make a difference with the cloth not really there, but it was the principle of the thing. "Have I mentioned that's creepy?"
    "Probably," came the answer. "Want to ask