“I’m not hiding behind you.”
“Ewen…”
“No.” Yep, Ewen and his fox were understandably furious. “I stand with you, or you can hide behind me. And no,” he added, when Lamont’s lip twitched. “It’s not funny at all. You can crouch behind me, seeing as you’re so damn tall. Do you understand me? Together, or you can get behind me.”
“Yes, my mate.” Lamont checked the time on his phone again. The team was four minutes out. All Lamont wanted to do was translocate his sweet Ewen back to the hotel. He quite liked the idea of kneeling behind his mate, especially if they were both naked. Perhaps not exactly the best time or place to be thinking that, but Lamont had to be thinking about something positive while they waited for reinforcements. Otherwise, he might upset his sexy mate by kicking the shit out of unconscious people. Lord Hades had taught him to be better than that.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ewen was still fuming when the gargoyles Redford sent arrived. There were three of them - two women and a man - who materialized in the locked bathroom, their expressions grim. They grabbed the still-unconscious attackers quickly and made sure they were secure.
The taller woman glanced at Ewen, then Lamont. “Are either of you hurt?”
“No,” Lamont said, “although it was a close thing.”
“As long as you’re all right, that’s all that counts. Don’t worry about the blood and stuff, we’ll handle cleanup.” The man hoisted the operative with the broken nose over his shoulder like a sack of flour. “Stone says to make sure you keep your heads down until Monday.”
Then they vanished, taking the would-be kidnappers with them.
Ewen stared at the empty bathroom, his heart still hammering against his ribs. The sink where Lamont had shattered someone’s face was spotless. No sign of any blood splatter, and when Ewen looked around he could see no sign of the chloroform-soaked cloth either. There was nothing, absolutely nothing to indicate three armed men had tried to grab him minutes ago.
“We should go, too,” Lamont said quietly.
“The door.” Ewen gestured at the still-locked bathroom entrance. “We can’t just translocate and leave it locked from the inside.”
Lamont’s lips twitched despite everything. “Good point.”
He unlocked the door, checked that the hallway was clear, then pulled Ewen close. The restaurant blurred around them.
They materialized in their Berlin hotel room. Ewen stumbled slightly, still not entirely used to the sensation of being unmade and remade somewhere else. Lamont steadied him, made sure he was steady on his feet, and then kissed his brow. Before Ewen could respond, Lamont was prowling the perimeter, sniffing everything he came close to.
“What are you doing?” Ewen asked, though he was sure he already knew the answer.
“Checking.” Lamont sniffed along the window frame, then moved to the closet. “Making sure no one’s been in here while we were gone.”
Ewen watched him work through the space. Lamont was thorough, testing door handles, running his fingers along curtain rails, and even examining the smoke alarm and air vents for hidden cameras.
For all that Ewen admired Lamont’s focus, his brain wouldn’t shut up.
He yanked at his collar, undoing the top two buttons because suddenly the fabric felt too tight. Then he started pacing, trying to piece together how Arcturus had found them so fast.
“How did they know?” Ewen muttered, more to himself than Lamont. “We were soooo careful. No social media. My credit cards were stolen the last time I was taken, so it’s not like I could use them. No one knew where we were except for Redford and Klaus.”
“It could’ve been a random sighting,” Lamont offered, checking behind a painting on the wall. “Someone recognizing one of us, maybe.”
“You’re pretty recognizable.” Ewen gestured vaguely at Lamont’s hair. “All that curly brown glory. And you’ve had bylines with Der Spiegel before, right? People might know your face.”
“Possibly.” Lamont moved to the bathroom, his expression tight. “But you’re not exactly famous in Germany, and you were the one they wanted to take. In a huge city like this, there’s no reason anyone would automatically assume that any person dining with me is Ewen Cross - missing captive from Cairo. There’s no reason someone would spot you and call Arcturus.”
“Unless they were already looking because of the article.” Ewen’s stomach twisted. “Someone could’ve tipped them off that we’re here.”
Lamont emerged from the bathroom, his jaw set. “Could be one of the researchers.”
That stopped Ewen dead. “What?”
“The fact-checkers working on your story for Der Spiegel.” Lamont crossed his arms. “Maybe one of them let it slip. Or got paid to leak information.”
“No.” Ewen’s chest tightened. “No, Klaus wouldn’t hire anyone who’d do that. He’s too careful.”