Shadow Kissed 03 - Shadowman

dumbly, and stumbled through the bedroom doorway to pick up the receiver.
    An automated voice said, “A wraith incursion is in progress at the Segue perimeter. Please remain in your room until—” Which cleared her mind completely with a jet of adrenaline. Wraiths? “—you have further instructions. The Segue building is in lockdown for your safety.”
    The line went dead. Layla dragged a hand through her hair to steady herself. The dregs of sleep were now flotsam in her waking mind.
    And then she remembered everything.
    What had she done?
    Correction. What had she allowed to be done to her? Just thinking of it made her skin heat with embarrassment. She wrapped her arms around herself. Squeezed to extinguish the burn of humiliation. Khan was hiding something from her. Bastard. And he was going to tell her.
    â€œKhan?”
    No answer.
    She found her sweats, a pair of Segue loaners, and shoved her feet into her shoes. She peeked out her window. It was still dark. All was quiet on her side of the building except the beat of her heart.
    â€œKhan?” She was freaking talking to herself.
    Far away, she heard shots fired. Her adrenaline kicked up a notch. What she wouldn’t give to see Segue in action.
    She tried the front door. Locked. She turned the bolt. Still locked.
    Which was dumb. A door wouldn’t stop wraiths. Besides, the wraiths weren’t near the building, and with all of Segue’s firepower, they weren’t likely to get close. There was no reason she should be locked inside. This was her story, after all, the only thing keeping her sane. Especially after . . .
    Layla dropped onto the sofa, her head in her hands. This was not acceptable. Tomorrow she and Adam would have to come to an agreement. “I hate controlling men.”
    In the silence of the moment, the lock to her apartment door went snick .
    Khan. So he was still there.
    Layla rose, tried her hand on the lever, which now worked.
    Very handy trick. “Okay,” she said to the air, “but we’ve got to talk later.”
    Layla threw open the door and jogged toward the elevator. Damn it, she wanted her camera. Her camera, stolen with her car, and her gun, which was in Zoe’s possession. A sense of being followed had her glancing over her shoulder; so Khan had her back. No gun necessary. A sensuous whoosh of darkened air on her skin made her abdomen clench. Yeah, he was there all right. Damn him.
    She opened the door to the stairs, which must have signaled something to Segue security, because two steps inside the stairwell and a metal wall of bars came down in front of her, cutting off her progress down the stairs. She turned back just as another sudden wall trapped her in the space, like a cage. It had to be some kind of precaution against wraiths, built along with Segue’s renovation. And she guessed it made sense that they’d block entrances and passageways in the event of a wraith attack, but it was hugely inconvenient for her.
    Or was it? The teleport thing, what Khan called “passing.” She debated for half a sec, then decided. “Do you mind taking me to where I need to go? You know, close enough to see, but not so close I get my head bitten off?”
    The stairwell darkened. Layla clutched the railing. A slow stroke of air moved around her body. A rush of Shadow, an embrace of shuddering magic, and she was on uneven earth.
    Layla blinked hard against the dramatic shift from Segue light to predawn dark. The horizon was just barely beginning to whiten. The sharp winter air singed her lungs but she didn’t feel cold.
    Sparks flashed with a volley of automatic weapons fire, startling her heart. She could make out human shapes, but whether man or wraith, she couldn’t tell. She picked her way forward, squinting to see. There was movement to her left. The low buzz of a voice. Male. A bunch of men.
    Had to be Segue soldiers. One turned, as if sensing her presence.
    â€œMs. Mathews?”
    Adam.
    â€œFor chrissake, you should be inside.”
    â€œI’m not a stay-inside kind of girl.” Reckless was her middle name. Adam had no idea.
    Layla knelt down behind them. Adam didn’t object. He and his men went back to peering at some kind of army technology that displayed glowy human forms moving across a gridded terrain.
    Adam tapped on the screen, which shifted vantages. “Where’s Khan?”
    Of course, Adam would know how she got there,