I was ready for a partner. I was ready for Nik.

Chapter Sixteen

I didn’t bother with zipping up my coat to hide Dom this time. I wanted him with me, ears and eyes; I needed every weapon I had for what was to come. The board of directors would give me the cure, end of discussion. I was done pussyfooting around.

Decision about working with Nik made—assuming he’d agree to it—I marched across the street and through the eastern gate into the Tent District, making a beeline for the former air control tower, where I hoped to find Dorman and Garth.

They were in Dorman’s office, just the two of them, as I’d hoped. They stood side by side with identical stances—feet shoulder-width apart and arms crossed over their chests, Garth nearly a foot taller than the compact Nejeret. Their backs were to me as they stared at the wall, or rather, at the gateway I’d drawn on the wall earlier that day. The one that was still active, giving a clear-as-day window into Garth’s condo.

I paused in the doorway, hand on the doorknob and eyes narrowed at Dorman’s back. “Funny . . . I could’ve sworn I told you to destroy that thing.”

Dorman turned his head enough that he could just see me out of the corner of his eye. Garth, on the other hand, spun around, hands extended, and stared at me for a few seconds. His eyes were rounded, his lips parted. As soon as the momentary shock wore off, he rushed me. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground, burying his face in my hair, his nose firmly lodged in the crook of my neck. I could feel his breaths, quick and hot against my shoulder.

His reaction took me by surprise, and for a moment, I was a stunned rag doll, arms and legs dangling. I knew he cared, but this was some serious giving-a-shit. Way more than I’d been prepared for. It only took a moment for my heart to warm, the sheer, overwhelming mass of his concern for me thawing my stupor and seeping into my soul. I wrapped my arms around his broad torso and squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the sudden sting of welling tears caused by the avalanche of emotions.

Garth was gripping my jacket so hard that his knuckles were digging into my back. It was far from comfortable, but I hardly minded. “Don’t ever do that to me again,” he said, his gravelly voice hoarse. After several more heartbeats, he set my feet back on the floor.

I glanced up at him, meeting his rich brown eyes for only a moment. His skin was red and irritated from the tear gas, worse than it had been before, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot. I wouldn’t apologize for shoving him through the gateway to safety and leaving myself at risk. It had been my choice, and I would make the same one again, a million times over.