Her eyes widened as the other man ran at him and slammed him against the wall. That had to hurt, but since he was doing her a favor, she was actually rooting for the mountain to win.
I have to get out of here. Especially before they turn that hatred on me. One hit like that, and she'd never recover. Kateri ran toward the front again. Please have heard me, Sunny. Please call help. She loved her cousin dearly, but the woman could be extremely absentminded and oblivious at times.
She glanced at Enrique, who was still frozen mid-gesture. He needed help, too.
What do I do?
Kateri was almost to the closet door when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to a rude stop.
Furious, she turned on the newcomer, intending to attack. But as she raised her arm for the blow and focused on her latest annoyance, she sucked her breath in sharply. Recognition hit her like a sucker punch.
"Talon?" It was Sunny's husband. All six foot four, rippling muscles tattooed with Celtic tribal marks, of him. "What are you doing here?"
Had he been in town? Was that why Sunny had called?
He didn't answer her question as he pulled her back and put himself in the line of fire to protect her. His blond wavy hair was cut short except for two long, thin braids that fell from his temple. Just as Cabeza would have hit him, a fourth man caught Cabeza and lifted him off his feet. He slammed Cabeza to the ground before he kicked the mountain away from them.
"Get her out of here, Celt," he growled at Talon over his shoulder.
Without hesitation, Talon tossed her over his muscular shoulder as if she weighed nothing at all and ran with her out of the room. Not the most comfortable of sensations. But she was too grateful to be out of that room to protest.
Talon didn't set her down until he reached her office at the end of the next hallway.
"Enrique's still in the lab," she told him.
"Cabeza will get him."
She sputtered at his lackadaisical tone. "That's the problem. I don't want him to."
"Why not?"
Why not? Really? "I like him. He's a good assistant, and those are really hard to find."
Talon scowled at her. "Then why don't you want him saved?"
"I do want him saved. Not fed to Cabeza."
Talon's frown deepened. "We are both speaking English, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then why do I feel like we're not?"
Before she could answer, the tall, scary man who'd slammed Cabeza to the floor appeared by his side. Literally-by his side.
How had he run in so fast that she hadn't seen it?
Not that it mattered right this instant, because ... Holy firecracker ... How had she failed to notice him?
Yet during the fight, she'd barely registered the man. Now the sheer ferocity of his presence jarred her. Just over six feet, he was built like a tank, and those black clothes added an even more sinister look to him. Not that he needed it. His black hair was slightly longer than Talon's and he wore it with his bangs covering a pair of obsidian eyes that froze her the instant they met her gaze and held it in a tight fist.
Her knees went weak from terror. How had he appeared in here without using the door? It was still closed from Talon and while the man might be fast, she would have surely seen it open and close. Not to mention, hear the bell on it.
Unlike her, Talon didn't seem to think it unusual that he had materialized in her office. "Did you get the kid?" he asked the man.
"Barely. I stashed him in the public toilet. He should be safe there until he regains use of his body." The man jerked his chin toward the windows. "Help a brother out, Celt. I could have gone up in flames just now, you bastard. Think ahead. Ask for my help. Blow me up. Shit. What kind of friend are you?"
"Screw you," Talon snarled before he moved to the blinds and closed them. "Mess with me, boy, and I'll bring the daylight inside where you stand."
The man gestured at Talon with something she assumed must be obscene.
Talon flashed a taunting grin. "Not on your best day, Cabeza. But feel free to keep fantasizing about me. Most women do."
The man scoffed and grabbed his "package" and shook it. "Yeah, I got your woman for you, Celt. Right here."
Kateri held her hands up before they started a fight to equal the one she'd just left. "Wait, wait, wait..." She pointed to the man. "He's named Cabeza, too?"
The man quirked a brow at her. "Too? I'm pretty sure I'm it. Haven't ever come across another."
Her own head was starting to throb. "The other man in the lab. The one you attacked. He said his name was Cabeza."
"His mama named him Head?" Talon snorted derisively. "Damn, that's cold. And here I thought this Cabeza had it bad."
"It was a nickname. His real name was Kukulcan Verastegui."
The Cabeza in front of her broke off into a fierce round of what sounded like Mayan cursing. She had no idea what he was saying, but it was raw and explosive as he gestured furiously to punctuate his tirade.
She turned her frown to Talon. "What's he saying?"
Talon shrugged. "I'm from Britain, not Mexico. No idea."
"That pendejo is not me." Cabeza broke off into a mixture of Mayan and Spanish and then returned to English, but this time his accent was much thicker and he rolled his Rs viciously. "His name, for the record, is Chacu. Ese cabron hijo de la gran puta, pretending to be me. I should have cut his throat for my Act of Vengeance!"
"The real question is, did you cut his throat today?"
Hands on hips, Cabeza glared at Talon for asking such a thing. "No. He got away, along with the ... what's the word? Uh ... Pigeon crap?"
"Chicken shit?" Talon offered.
"Si!... that was with him. They vanished before I could kill them."
"Why were they fighting?" Kateri asked. "And why were they after me?"
Cabeza arched a brow at her. "Don't you know?"
"Why would I ask if I knew?" She turned her attention to Talon. "And how did you get here so fast? Where were you?" Talon and Sunshine lived in New Orleans ... not here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Last time she'd made that drive, it'd taken her four hours, and she didn't drive slowly.
"You'll want to sit down for this." Talon turned the chair in front of her desk around for her.
A sick feeling settled deep in her stomach. "Think I'll stand. Now, what's up?"
The men exchanged a solemn look as if they were silently willing the other to speak first.
"Did Chacu say anything to you, other than pretending to be me?"
"He said he wanted my stone."
A tic started in Cabeza's jaw. "And the other ... creature with him? What did he say?"
"Nothing. He showed up and Cab-" She broke the word off as his eyes snapped ebony fire at her. "Chacu attacked him."
"Any idea why he's handing out your name?" Talon asked.
"No idea. His hatred of me is legendary. But he's not exactly engraved in my heart either. My want-them-dead list, however, is another matter."
Kateri cleared her throat to get their attention. "And you're both avoiding my questions."
Talon let out a sarcastic laugh. "That's because you're going to freak and neither one of us wants to deal with it."
Well, at least Talon was honest.
"I'm not going to freak," she assured him.
It was now Cabeza's turn to mock her. "That's what they all say, chica. And then they all freak."
Talon laughed again-for real this time-as he met Cabeza's gaze. "You remember that time when..." He glanced at her. "Never mind."
She ignored that segue entirely. "Look, whatever it is, I can handle it. I'm not a child, and Talon, you know I don't ever overreact to anything."
Cabeza crossed his arms over his chest. "Is this true?"
"So far. But I've never dumped anything like this on her before. There's always that first time for everything."
That offended her. "So far? Thanks for the vote of confidence, Talon."
He held his hands up in surrender. "At least it's something."
"You better tell her, Celt ... before another comes. We need to get her to shelter while we can."
Kateri definitely didn't like the sound of that. "Shelter from what?"
Talon let out a long sigh. "All right. Fine. You asked for it. Let's see you not freak when we tell you that you're the mother of Armageddon."