Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
After he got off the phone, Rowan scrambled out of his coat, sweater, and shirt and ripped off the arm ring to drop it onto the passenger seat. He was never putting that thing on again. He shrugged back into his clothes, realizing he actually felt a little bit of relief. He was so tired, he could barely see. It took everything he had to focus as he headed home.
The whole time, he held onto the hope that maybe these bodyguards could help him.
Chapter Seven
Ivor
The relief Ivor felt when Rowan Forrest drove into the hotel’s parking lot threatened to overwhelm him. He couldn’t believe this human had managed to get away from the draugr, especially more than once as Xavier had told them. When he got out of the car and walked toward Ivor, where he stood outside next to Emory and Lake, all Ivor could do was run his gaze over every inch of the tall, slim man, looking for anyplace he might be hurt.
But he looked fine despite being pale outside of his cheeks. Dark circles rested under eyes that looked shocky. The cold winter wind blew his dark red hair off his forehead, and he had his hands burrowed in the pockets of his coat.
He stopped in front of them, his pretty mouth quirking in a rueful smile. “Seems I need your help,” he said.
Ivor’s relief was still so intense, he couldn’t speak.
Luckily, Emory had no such difficulty. “I’m so glad you finally called the office. We’ve been looking for you everywhere. I’m Emory, and this is Ivor and Lake, who will warp us back to the offices in Seattle where you’ll be truly safe.”
“My name’s Rowan. I called your office and spoke to someone named Xavier, but you probably know that.” He briefly shut his eyes and shivered. “Sorry, I’m really tired. It just keeps finding me. I had no idea it was because of a piece of jewelry I wear.”
Ivor finally found his voice. “Are you wearing it now?”
Rowan shook his head, cheeks ruddy with cold. “No, it’s in the car.”
“We’ll need you to bring it with you,” Emory said. “Apparently, there’s more to the story than just a draugr after a treasure, but I’ll let Xavier fill you in when we get there.” Emory turned and lifted a brow at Ivor before he jogged to Rowan’s car to get the arm ring.
Ivor cleared his throat and held out his hand. “Ivor Bellerose. Like Emory, I’m so glad you finally called. I—we—were scared when we couldn’t find you.”
Rowan pulled his hand out of his pocket to shake Ivor’s, and Ivor had trouble letting go. As it was, he held on a bit longer than was polite. Rowan’s skin just felt too good against his own.
“It’s nice to meet you. Thank you so much for being there when it first came after me. I don’t think I would have known to run if you hadn’t told me to. I was just too shocked. I didn’t even know what it was until your boss told me. I thought it was a zombie.”
“It is a type of zombie, more dead than alive.” Ivor finally let go of Rowan’s hand. A burst of cold wind swept through the parking lot. “We’ll take you to your apartment for clothes before we go to Seattle. I’ll warn you, the draugr destroyed a lot of your things.”
“I caught a glimpse of my apartment before I took off, but some changes of clothes would be seriously nice right now. I was too scared to shop for any. Too scared to do anything other than keep running, really.”
“You’re obviously very smart to have eluded it for so long.”
“I don’t know about that. Fear is a powerful motivator.”
They were close to the same height, with Ivor just slightly taller. Even in his bulky coat, Rowan looked slim, his thin body shivering, probably from both cold and complete exhaustion. Ivor wanted to see him rested and especially unafraid. He wanted to see healthy color on his face and he really, really wanted that haunted look in his eyes to disappear.
“How did you know that thing was going to come after me?” Rowan asked.
“Your arm ring is a part of a treasure it guards. It had been trapped for many years, and as soon as it was released, it went after the family with the treasure.”
“But how did you know that was my family?”
“There is a journal that was found with the jade that held the draugr. My employer has been working to translate it because it’s written in code, but your family name is in there. We took a chance that’s where the draugr was headed.”
“And it attacked my family first?”
Ivor nodded. “They are fine outside of your sister’s broken arm. We got there just in time. Your mother is the one who told us where to find you.”