Meanwhile the other two men were back on their feet and now that the attackers no longer had the element of surprise Kat could see exactly why Jackson was the leader of his people. His power was phenomenal. He was throwing the men around like rag dolls, and at the same time pummeling them with objects from the ground. Ram waited until Jackson held them pinned in one place then aimed another bolt of lighting directly into their heads. After that it was apparently game over for those two attackers.

But she barely noticed. She was transfixed on watching Ahnvil fly and then the sheer power it must have taken for him to tear up airport asphalt down into the dirt. When he stood up again, he grabbed the female by the front of her shirt and hauled back his fist …

… and hesitated …

“Beat the bitch!” she screamed at him, knowing why he was hesitating. The last Templar female he’d been near had needed his help and he had failed to provide it. And while his need to protect Kat had driven him this far, it was almost impossible for him to beat his fist into the dazed woman’s face.

He seemed to hear her scream and turned to look over his shoulder at her, but he couldn’t see her through the reflective glass.

He shoved the woman back into the ground and got to his feet. Ram and Jackson joined him and they helped to pull him back.

“Do we take her and question her?” Ram asked Jackson.

“No. There’s no time and no room in the car. Just leave her here. We’ll have drawn human attention by now. We need to leave before anyone can investigate. Whoever did this was damn foolish and impulsive.”

“This doesn’t seem like something Apep would do,” Ram said grimly. “It’s all a little half-assed.”

“I think I know the why of it,” Ahnvil said, his breath heaving from him, his big stone body shuddering. “But the sun is coming. If it touches me while I’m like this, there will be no coming back.”

“Change back to flesh, Ahnvil,” Jackson commanded of him. “The threat is neutralized. You don’t need to stay like this.”

“Doona tell me what tae do! I willna let them come for her!”

“Her?” Ram echoed. “You mean the girl.”

“Aye, I mean the girl!” he growled savagely, his body everything that was threatening. “I willna …”

Then he staggered, nearly dropping to his knees. Both men reached out to help him but he threw them off savagely.

“Ahnvil.”

The sound of her voice made him still, but his breath nonetheless came hard. She moved in closer and both men held out hands as if to stop her. She ignored them, pushing past them both. She knelt down and then moved her entire body into Ahnvil’s arms. She pressed herself to his granite rough chest, wrapping her arms around his sides and pressing her hands to his back. After only a moment his hand came to her back and he held her to himself desperately, and yet it seemed as though he were afraid he was going to hurt her at the same time.

The men watched with no little awe as this tiny little mortal woman calmed her big beast of a Gargoyle. His breathing eased and very slowly the roughness beneath her began to smooth out and soon she had her face pressed against warm male flesh. His shirt had been ripped away in the battle. His pants remained in spite of how much larger he had grown, but it was obvious they had been stressed to a near breaking point. They now hung loosely on his hips.

And yet stone still rippled over him in waves, more and more frequently. She could see it in the light of dawn.

They realized at the same time the danger that meant.

“Get her in the car. Cover her with the blanket. Go! Now!”

“We’ll make it before the sun crests,” Max promised after ushering them all in the car. He hit the gas a moment later and with a spray of dirt and gravel tore off the tarmac.

They sped the entire way there. Ahnvil knew if the sun crested and pure daylight touched him he would turn to a statue instantly. The windows were polarized on either side of them to keep the sun out, but still he was anxious. Any number of things could happen before they got to the compound. Not the least of which was another attack by Apep’s forces. If indeed it was Apep responsible. Ahnvil had a suspicion that this was far more about Panahasi than it was about Apep. Still, it was nothing to take lightly for any reason.

Ahnvil didn’t even relax when they reached the compound borders. He would not until she was safely ensconced within and he was finally in touch with his stone. Pain had begun to claw through him, as though his body realized the sun was over the horizon and calling for him to rest … yet he must resist. If he turned without his stone he knew nothing would bring him back this time. Not even the woman who still held him tightly. Truthfully, he had no idea how she had managed to bring him back the first time. It had felt like magic, the soothing sensation she had sent into him. Just as everything she made him feel seemed like magic. Because God knew he had never felt anything like this overwhelming hunger he seemed to have for her. Maybe it was because of the threat of permanent being and the madness it brought. Maybe come the night, after his touchstone had recharged him, he wouldn’t feel the same for her.

But as he ran his hands gently down the length of her back he found that incredibly hard to believe. Damn it, he barely knew her! What else could it possibly be? Perhaps it was that he didn’t want it to change. Didn’t want to lose the hunger he felt every time he smelled the warm chocolate scent she seemed to carry around with her everywhere she went. How did she do that? How did a woman manage to smell like warmed chocolate? It was only one of the many mysteries of her. Mysteries he wanted to unlock one by one.

By the time they pulled into the garage he had broken into a cold sweat. He hurried her into the house, ignoring everyone and everything around him, including Marissa and Jackson’s sister, Docia, as both tried to greet him warmly and with relief to see that he was okay. The house also had polarized glass so not a stitch of daylight could get in, but still he worried. Glass was fragile. Even reinforced as this glass was, all it would take was one little chink.

He should have gone straight for his stone. It was kept in the center of the house. Jackson’s ambient energy recharged the stone every day, so it had to be kept centrally in order to draw the most energy from him. It only took a small amount, but still, as with all things, the more the better.

Ahnvil brought Kat and Karma directly into his rooms.