Six minutes, and I gathered in the foyer with the other slayers and hugged Reeve and Kat goodbye.

“You come back to me, Ali-cat,” Kat whispered. “You’re nothing without me.”

“Um, I think the saying is actually ‘I’m nothing without you.’”

“Exactly what I said.”

I smiled despite the tense situation. “Love you.”

“Love you, too. And you had better be careful, Frosty,” she called. “Or else.”

“Always, baby.”

They’d made up. Good. Heart squeezing, I peered at Cole. To my utter shock, his gaze was already sealed on me. Narrowed. Intense. As always, shiver-inducing. There were a thousand things I wanted to say to him, a thousand more I wanted to do.

Look away.

Somehow I managed it.

Eight minutes, and the slayers were striding toward the two SUVs outside.

I headed for the car in front, reached for the handle of the back door. My wrist was grabbed and I was spun around, a hard weight pushing my back against the cold metal. I gasped.

Cole!

My heart squeezed harder.

He cupped my cheeks, his hands warm. His gaze was pure violet fire. “I’m sorry. I’m miserable without you. Haven’t been eating or sleeping. Just wanting. And there is no way I can let you head into a situation as dangerous as this one without telling you.”

I trembled, overcome. Finally, one of us had breached the wall between us. The stronger one, I realized. “We—”

“I’m not done. I love you,” he continued. “I’ve missed you. I don’t like that you’re talking to Helen. I’ll never like it. I don’t trust her, and I’m so afraid only terrible things will come of it. But I trust you and your instincts, so I’m taking it on faith—in you. I’m backing off.”

I clutched the collar of his jacket. “I’m sorry, too. I handled things poorly and—”

He shook his head. “Still not done, love. There’s one last thing, and it’s a bit of a topic switch, so try to stay with me. Ready? Camilla made a play for me. You’re just going to have to trust me when I say I turned her down and nothing happened.”

“What!” I exploded.

He pressed his mouth to mine. I melted against him. The kiss was a balm. The pain I’d felt these past few days melted away. The sense of rejection. The anger, the bitterness, too. I was swept up in our connection, the heat of him forging me into something greater.

Catcalls. Grunts of irritation. Prods to hurry. They penetrated my awareness as Cole lifted his head. I was too dazed to move, so he spun me around, gave my butt a smack and helped me into the car. He climbed in beside me. We held hands the entire drive.

Camilla was lucky she was riding in the other car. Later we would be having a chat. Maybe with knives. I wouldn’t allow her to walk away—she’d have to crawl.

Once we pulled into the club’s parking lot, my internal clock kicked back on. We had a little less than an hour and a half before the exchange was to take place.

I’m not sure how Mr. Ankh had managed it, but he’d already cleared the lot. We strode inside, our booted footsteps echoing off the walls. I’d been here a few times before, but it had always been overcrowded. Now we were the only occupants.

Frosty and River took positions at the front door, and the rest of us marched to the center of the dance floor. Chance and Mackenzie kept going, a team, taking posts at the back doors, making me wonder if something had happened between them. All the others formed a circle around me, each one facing a different direction. Mr. Ankh had cameras outside and in. Cole, Frosty and River each wore an earpiece, allowing the males to stay in constant contact.

Twenty minutes passed without incident. Thirty. Forty. This could go down so many ways, my head spun. Anima could bring Justin or leave him behind. Could come in the front door or try to ambush us through the back. Or both! They could be no-shows. They could send one man or a hundred.

If worse came to worst and they came in hot, without Justin, we would fight, as Cole had said. We could cripple their forces and even take hostages. Do a little interrogating of our own. I’d give River free rein. I was past the point of caring.

Suddenly, Cole stiffened. “Two girls heading toward the front entrance.”

Girls? Without Justin?

I waited, fighting for breath, every second agony. Then Frosty stomped around the corner dragging Wren and Poppy behind him.

You’ve got to be kidding me. I pushed my way through the circle. “What are you doing here?”

“Some guy called me,” Wren said, anchoring her hands on her hips. She was a smart, beautiful black girl, with a stubborn streak a mile wider than my own. “He said I had better get here quick or I’d miss Justin.”

“And you believed him?”

Poppy, a model-pretty redhead, looked around. “What’s going on?”

We had to get these girls out of here. But we couldn’t send them off on their own. Anima could be waiting to grab them. We couldn’t spare a solider to escort them. We needed all the manpower we could get. But then, Anima had known that and had hoped to thin the herd.

“Take them to the back office,” I said. “Lock them in.”

Both girls stared at me with wide eyes.

“It’s for your own protection.”

“Seriously. What’s going on?” Poppy demanded.

“You walked into the middle of a war.” I waved Jaclyn over. “Whatever you hear, you aren’t to leave that office. And if someone you don’t recognize busts in, shoot.” I placed a .38 revolver in Wren’s hand. It had a manageable recoil for a novice. “Have you ever fired one of these?”