Chapter Three

Of all the places Maricela’s duties took her, Ivan found the temples the most stressful.

They shouldn’t have been. Each temple had its own trained guard, devoted men and a growing number of women, all superbly trained. Even more so now that the most promising members of each squad were attending weekly lessons with Ashwin, where the Makhai soldier pressed them to their limits and taught them to be flexible and creative with their thinking.

But in the end, training was just that. Practice. An exercise. Even when you were staring down Ashwin’s most intimidating glare across the practice ring, it wasn’t the same as a fight with real blood and real killing.

A temple guardsman could go days or weeks without being forced to use their skills in earnest. Some went months. Even then, the kind of trouble they saw was rarely lethal, usually petty thefts or fights breaking out between angry or grieving penitents.

Some guardsmen never had to take a life.

Ivan had stopped counting the ravens on his arm that marked the blood he’d spilled. As long as Del etched his sins onto his skin for a thorough accounting, Ivan didn’t want to think about it. He’d accepted his damnation a long time ago.

His only concern was staying alert to the potential dangers surrounding them, and that meant not letting the familiar scents of wax and spice and incense lull him into complacency. It meant not trusting the temple guardsmen to protect his charge.

“Don’t you think so, Ivan?”

And it meant not letting Maricela drag him into her conversation when he should be focused on the three doors that led into the vestibule, or the knot of acolytes that had gathered in front of the wall of candles to ruin his line of sight. “Uh-huh.”

She sighed. “He’s not listening, but it’s true. It’s a surprise to see you here, but such a good one.”

One of the acolytes shifted enough to give Ivan a clear look at the door. After ascertaining no one had snuck in behind them, he glanced back to the women in time to see Avery Parrino smile.

Ivan wasn’t surprised to see her. The Riders made a point of knowing Avery’s typical schedule. Gideon hadn’t insisted that she remain within the safe boundaries of the estate once the war ended, but Ivan suspected that he’d wanted to. Though Gideon would shroud it in political practicality all day long, the truth was that he worried about her.

And the Riders protected Gideon. Even when he hadn’t asked them to.

“It’s good to see you, too,” Avery murmured. “This isn’t your usual temple visitation time, is it?”

“No, it’s not, but Reyes told me I had to shake up my routine a little.”

Ivan caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head enough to watch a priestess step out of the back room, a basket full of offering cards swinging from her arm. The potential threat dismissed, he caught himself frowning.

Reyes hadn’t said anything to him.

Avery made a soft noise of amusement. “Reyes? Really?”

“Oh yes. He gave me this big lecture about how I couldn’t rely on others to protect me completely, not even the Riders. So I had to take some responsibility for my own safety.”

“How wise,” Avery observed. “Uncharacteristically so, some might say.”

Maricela snorted. “Some who aren’t paying attention. If Reyes is crazy, he’s crazy like a fox.”

Ivan resisted the urge to snort. That, at least, was true. But Reyes shouldn’t have been heaping more responsibility on Maricela’s delicate shoulders. Ivan hadn’t realized how much was already there until he started following her around.

Fighting rogue mercenaries again might seem like a vacation.

“How are things at the Houses?” Maricela asked, then immediately continued talking. “I have an ulterior motive for asking, bear that in mind. But I’m also honestly curious.”

Avery arched one eyebrow. “They’re fine. Good, actually. Many of the girls from Two don’t feel like refugees anymore. They’ve been pitching in to help out some of the newer arrivals from Eden and the other sectors.”

“Excellent.” Maricela smiled. “Think they could spare you for a few weeks? As long as we’re increasing security for the family, I think we should include you.”

The woman who had arrived in Sector One battered and broken would never have contradicted a Rios. But the months had begun to heal Avery, so that’s exactly what she did. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s unnecessary. I’m no one.”

“You lived with us,” Maricela argued. “You were practically part of the family.”

“I’m telling you, it’s not an issue.”

“And I’m telling you, maybe it is.”

Both women looked at Ivan for support. He cleared his throat. “I think the only reason Gideon hasn’t already requested that you come back is that he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I know I’d feel better if you were staying somewhere secure.”

Avery hesitated. “No one would target me. I have no value as leverage against Gideon.”

Ivan might argue that point, but he didn’t have to. He’d been there at the City Center during the final battle in the war, when Lex Parrino had threatened to shoot an innocent person in the face if that was what it took to protect her lover.

No one wanted to find out what Lex might do to protect her sister.

“Your sister leads Sector Four with Dallas O’Kane,” he told her gently. “If someone wanted to convince them to hurt Gideon or the Riders, you would be extremely valuable leverage. Even failing to protect you could cause friction between the Riders and the O’Kanes.”

“That’s true.” Avery rubbed her collarbone absently, then shrugged. “All right, I’ll come back for a while.”

“Thank you.” She was speaking to Avery, but Maricela shot him a grateful look as some of the tension melted out of her shoulders. “It’ll be fun. We’ll--”

A scream ripped through the temple.

Ivan moved.

In seconds, he’d shoved Avery at the nearest startled guardsman and locked one arm around Maricela’s waist. The alcove he’d mapped out in his earlier assessment was four feet behind them and two to the left, and her feet didn’t touch the ground the whole way.

Her gasp of shock was still ringing in his ears when he spun them into the alcove and pressed her into the most protected corner, plastering his body in front of hers so any projectiles would hit him instead.

Her fingers closed on his arms with enough force to bruise. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that emerged were those gasping, shocked breaths. He needed to turn around so he’d be facing any potential threat. But she was clutching him so tight, her entire body trembling against his, so he leaned into her just to keep her from shaking apart.

Mistake. Her halting gasps caught on a whimper of gratitude, her lips so close to his throat that her breath skated warm over his skin with every exhalation. She was soft, so soft. Even after he pushed away he knew he’d still feel her, the sensation burned into his skin--her breasts crushed to his chest, her hips against his, her long legs surprisingly strong.

A bodyguard shouldn’t know how it felt to press his charge against a hard surface and have her welcome him.

Her heart was racing, and when she nervously licked her lips, her tongue grazed his skin.

Fuck.

Shuddering, Ivan tried to push back from the wall. Her fingers only tightened more, her nails pricking his skin.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, tilting her head up with one hand so that her wide eyes met his. “I’ve got you.”

Her gaze locked on his mouth. “I know.”

“Open your hands, Maricela. I need to check what’s going on.”

She blinked and shook her head, but she let go of him. “Sorry.”

The ghost of her touch lingered as he turned around, keeping his body in front of hers. One of his throwing knives balanced lightly on the tips of his fingers, but no enemy rushed around the corner to confront him.

Instead, one of the guards called out. “Ivan?”

He recognized the man as Alrik, the guard he’d pushed Avery toward. A solid man with a long history of service, and smart enough not to step into the path of Ivan’s blade. “Yeah?”

“It’s all clear out here. One of the girls saw a spider.”

Ivan took one step forward, then turned and held out a finger to Maricela. “Wait here, okay?”

“It was a spider, Ivan.”

“Maricela.” He rarely let a commanding edge enter his voice--you didn’t order around a Rios--but thwarted adrenaline made his words sharper than he intended. “Wait.”

Her eyes sparked with something hotter than simple irritation, but she relented.

He stepped to the edge of the alcove and gave the room a single sweep. Alert guards hovered in front of each entry point, still waiting for the command to stand down. Alrik stood next to Avery, his hand on the wooden baton at his hip.

A few feet away from the candles, one acolyte stood with her arms around her waist, her cheeks bright red with embarrassment. The laughter of the other girls broke into a string of yelps as one of the younger guards herded the spider toward the door. They broke ranks and scampered in the opposite direction as the tarantula skittered across the marble. It was almost as big as Ivan’s palm, hairy and poisonous--and even though a grown person was unlikely to die from its bite before they could find help, it would not be a pleasant experience.

Killing it inside the temple would be considered terrible luck, but Ivan wouldn’t take chances when Maricela left. “When you get it outside, kill it,” he told the harried-looking guard, who nodded and leapt to block the spider’s abrupt change in direction.

Confident that the boy had it under control, Ivan raised his voice. “Okay. You can come out.”

When she did, her expression was pleading. “Ivan.”

He could order her around when her life was on the line, but when she begged him for something... Ivan bit back a sigh and called after the guard. “Wait. Don’t kill the spider. Just get it out of here.”

Maricela took a step closer, gratitude in her low whisper. “Isn’t there enough death?”

She brushed past him before he could answer, the gauzy fabric of her gown dragging over his skin in a shivery caress he felt long after she’d reached Avery. Their low conversation melted into the sound of the acolytes laughing over the adventure and the guards settling back into their routine, and Ivan spent a few precious moments locking down his physical responses.

Reaction to the proximity of a beautiful woman was to be expected. But he could still feel the eight little pricks of heat where her nails had dug into his arms and shoulders. He could still conjure up the sensation of her body pressed tight to his.

Distraction was unacceptable. Because Maricela thought there’d been enough death, enough killing. And Ivan might be able to indulge her with spiders and bugs, but the more serious threats...

There was a reason Gideon needed the Riders. Everyone in Sector One extended their hands in peace and welcome. Everyone got a chance. Sometimes a second chance, or even a third. But some threats couldn’t be tolerated. Some people were so dangerous, you couldn’t give them an opportunity to hurt you.

Where Maricela’s safety was concerned, Ivan would never hesitate to strike first.