Page 55 of Burn of Obsidian

Thea waited for the three dots, Grey taking his sweet time to respond.

Grey:

Down the side. It’s quieter.

Frowning, she stepped outside the terrace to peer down the passage between the warehouses. It was dark, the lights from the terrace unable to penetrate that far down.

A silhouette appeared in the distance, waving.

“Hey!” Thea shouted, walking closer. “I thought you were getting us a booth?”

Grey continued to wave, his features obscured by the shadows.

“What are you…” Thea stopped, ice skimming down her spine. “Grey?”

Laughter from the terrace echoed behind her, but Grey remained silent. Slivers of moonlight highlighted the overstuffed bins, black bags falling out the side. A side door to one of the warehouses was to her right, the emergency exit sign glaring as it cast a sickly green colour in the space in-between, emphasising the darkness just out of reach.

The ice turned into daggers, her inner voice telling her to run as fast as she could in heels.

“Grey?” she called out once more, taking a step back. “This isn’t funny.” Pulling up her phone, she called him.

A dull thrumming echoed, followed by a glow just further down. Without a word, the person moved, and Thea let out a gasp. Grey lay on his back, head turned to the side, with his eyes open, but empty. His phone had been propped on his stomach, his screen facing the sky.

Thea scrambled back, her heels getting caught on a black bag. Catching herself before she twisted her ankle, she stopped, stilling as a cold breath, almost numbing, brushed against her back.

She heard a scratch, like nails on the concrete.

Pressure suffocated her lungs, but before she could succumb to the fear, she slowly reached into her bag, searching for her pocketknife. The feel of the weapon calmed her, even if her pulse beat violently against her skin.

The silhouette stood and watched, remaining in the shadows, only stepping into the light when the first claw sunk deep into her shoulder.

Chapter 21

Jax

The rage Jax felt was dangerous. If it wasn’t for the audience, he would take great pleasure in removing the hand Leighton had used to touch Thea.

Jax wasn’t impulsive. Every decision he made was thought through, and yet he was having an emotional response rather than a rational one. Logically, he knew he needed to walk away and not cause a scene. He should have followed Thea immediately, yet he found himself contemplating ways in which he could make a grown man scream like a child.

Leighton had laid his fingers on his mate hard enough she may even bruise.

Beast snarled a storm inside his mind, almost forcing him to shift so he could take care of the situation himself.

Tempting. Except a strange ache had developed behind his ribs at her absence. While Jax was quick and efficient, he felt Beast may take his time. Time he’d rather spend at Thea’s side.

“She’ll get bored of you, and she’ll come crawling back to me.” Leighton coughed, his earlier bravado diminished as he sprawled on the floor. His shirt had ripped in Jax’s grip, saving him from suffocation – shame, really.

Jax knelt, knowing he didn’t need to speak a single word. His expression said it all, his sheer size and scar enough for Leighton to shrink back like the pathetic piece of shit he was.

People scared much easier when Jax remained quiet. There was power in silence, in the unknown. Keeping his face as neutral as possible, he shoved some fabric of Leighton’s shirt into his mouth, cracking a few teeth in the process. Leighton’s eyes bugged out from his head, his nostrils flaring as he brought up his hands to intervene. But Jax was already there, and with little effort, broke every single finger on his right hand. The same hand he’d touched Thea with.

It wasn’t removing the limb like he’d wanted, but it was enough.

WE EAT? Beast chuffed, sending an image of his tongue lapping at his muzzle.

“Leigh?” a high-pitched squeal called out. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Standing to his full height, Jax left Leighton screaming into the fabric just as the woman Leighton had been dancing with appeared in a cloud of floral perfume. Leaving her to pamper his bruised pride – and broken fingers – Jax made his way outside.