out of your jurisdiction, don’t you think, Sheriff?” Eric replied with a snide smirk.
Another puzzle piece clicked into place. “You had a tail on me. That’s how you got here so fast.”
“It’s part of my job to know when we get company from Greyelf in Copper City,” Eric said without any sort of apologetic tone.
“Maybe if you spent more time focusing on your own city instead of the people visiting it, you’d be able to avoid shit like this,” Billy said. He turned away from Eric then. He addressed Thea again but made his tone much gentler. “Are you okay to walk? We’re going to get you out of this alley.”
She nodded slowly. He saw fat tears well up in her eyes and begin their slow trails down her cheeks. That was a good sign. She was starting to come around.
“You got a back door to your place?” He looked over his shoulder at Eric. He would have preferred to take Thea somewhere besides a noisy dance club, anywhere else, but he was afraid that she was going to faint on him.
Eric’s jaw worked as if he was chewing rocks, but he nodded briskly. He cocked his head back toward the sidewalk. “There’s a door just around the corner that leads to the offices above the club. We can go in there.”
“Good,” Billy nodded. He gently put his arm around Thea’s shoulders. As she took her first wobbly step, he realized the meaning of the strange words she had muttered earlier. He looked down at her feet for confirmation. “Your shoes. Did you break one of the heels of your shoes?”
She looked up at him and nodded gratefully. It was if the effort of forming a full sentence was difficult. Her eyes were luminescent in the dim shadows of the alley, and Billy found that he wanted to strangle the men who had tried to hurt her. He handed the knife he’d picked up to one of the bouncers. Then he bent his legs slightly and swept her up into his arms.
She weighed next to nothing, and he felt a slight contraction in his lungs when she slung an arm around his neck and buried her face in his chest. He saw the frustrated look on Eric’s face, but he didn’t give a shit.
“Lead the way,” he said.
He followed Eric out of the alley. He ignored the sound of half-voiced yelps of pain that they left behind them. He knew that the men should have gone to the police, but at the same time he heard Lukas’s voice in his head.
“ This is clan business .”
There were unspoken rules whether anyone was willing to admit it or not. There were certain things that humans wouldn’t understand that made perfect sense in the animal kingdom. One of those things was taking care of your own and adhering to a strict code of ‘eye for an eye’. Billy was fairly certain that the men who had attacked Thea wouldn’t suffer a simple death for their offense. That would be far too easy. No, instead they would be made to suffer.
Despite his usual hard bent toward upholding the letter of the law, Billy was glad about that. He would talk to Eric privately just to make sure that the punishment fit the crime. Men who raised a hand against women or children deserved the worst of the worst.
Thea hadn’t moved or made a sound since he picked her up. He was worried that the attack had affected her far more deeply than he realized. He couldn’t let her retreat into herself for fear that they wouldn’t be able to draw her out again, not that he could blame her for her coping reaction.
“Bet you didn’t expect to see me again so soon,” he whispered close to her ear. He didn’t want Eric to overhear him.
Her eyes slid back up to his, and that was when he saw her eyes widen in surprise. “It’s you,” she said in a practically non-existent whisper.
“William,” he said. He hoped to distract her from whatever dark place her thoughts had taken her. “My name is William, but you can call me Billy, and you’re Thea.”
“Philips,” she said. “Thea Philips.” It was as if adding the distinction of her surname was
Another puzzle piece clicked into place. “You had a tail on me. That’s how you got here so fast.”
“It’s part of my job to know when we get company from Greyelf in Copper City,” Eric said without any sort of apologetic tone.
“Maybe if you spent more time focusing on your own city instead of the people visiting it, you’d be able to avoid shit like this,” Billy said. He turned away from Eric then. He addressed Thea again but made his tone much gentler. “Are you okay to walk? We’re going to get you out of this alley.”
She nodded slowly. He saw fat tears well up in her eyes and begin their slow trails down her cheeks. That was a good sign. She was starting to come around.
“You got a back door to your place?” He looked over his shoulder at Eric. He would have preferred to take Thea somewhere besides a noisy dance club, anywhere else, but he was afraid that she was going to faint on him.
Eric’s jaw worked as if he was chewing rocks, but he nodded briskly. He cocked his head back toward the sidewalk. “There’s a door just around the corner that leads to the offices above the club. We can go in there.”
“Good,” Billy nodded. He gently put his arm around Thea’s shoulders. As she took her first wobbly step, he realized the meaning of the strange words she had muttered earlier. He looked down at her feet for confirmation. “Your shoes. Did you break one of the heels of your shoes?”
She looked up at him and nodded gratefully. It was if the effort of forming a full sentence was difficult. Her eyes were luminescent in the dim shadows of the alley, and Billy found that he wanted to strangle the men who had tried to hurt her. He handed the knife he’d picked up to one of the bouncers. Then he bent his legs slightly and swept her up into his arms.
She weighed next to nothing, and he felt a slight contraction in his lungs when she slung an arm around his neck and buried her face in his chest. He saw the frustrated look on Eric’s face, but he didn’t give a shit.
“Lead the way,” he said.
He followed Eric out of the alley. He ignored the sound of half-voiced yelps of pain that they left behind them. He knew that the men should have gone to the police, but at the same time he heard Lukas’s voice in his head.
“ This is clan business .”
There were unspoken rules whether anyone was willing to admit it or not. There were certain things that humans wouldn’t understand that made perfect sense in the animal kingdom. One of those things was taking care of your own and adhering to a strict code of ‘eye for an eye’. Billy was fairly certain that the men who had attacked Thea wouldn’t suffer a simple death for their offense. That would be far too easy. No, instead they would be made to suffer.
Despite his usual hard bent toward upholding the letter of the law, Billy was glad about that. He would talk to Eric privately just to make sure that the punishment fit the crime. Men who raised a hand against women or children deserved the worst of the worst.
Thea hadn’t moved or made a sound since he picked her up. He was worried that the attack had affected her far more deeply than he realized. He couldn’t let her retreat into herself for fear that they wouldn’t be able to draw her out again, not that he could blame her for her coping reaction.
“Bet you didn’t expect to see me again so soon,” he whispered close to her ear. He didn’t want Eric to overhear him.
Her eyes slid back up to his, and that was when he saw her eyes widen in surprise. “It’s you,” she said in a practically non-existent whisper.
“William,” he said. He hoped to distract her from whatever dark place her thoughts had taken her. “My name is William, but you can call me Billy, and you’re Thea.”
“Philips,” she said. “Thea Philips.” It was as if adding the distinction of her surname was
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