Free Woman Beware by Tianna Xander

chest.
    “No!” Artu felt his chest constrict as he saw her on the floor, still as death. He covered the rest of the distance in what felt like slow motion. Falling to his knees, he felt his heart break as he lifted her lifeless body in his arms.
    “Why?” he asked no one in particular. “Why did she have to die?” Standing, he gathered her firmly against him. Carrying her into his once-hidden chamber, he walked down the long hall and into the bedroom.
    He looked at the rumpled bed and his heart broke. Was it only a few short hours ago that he’d made love to her right there? Gently, he placed her still form on the bed and gazed down at her.
    For the first time in his life, Artu bowed his head and gave way to tears. How many lifetimes had he waited to meet Lena? So much time wasted. So many years lost. Staring at his feet, Artu stood silent for a moment, wishing that things could have been different.
    “We are so sorry, Defender,” one of the men said as he twisted his hat in his hand. “We had no idea that she was your soul mate.” He swallowed thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “You see, we didn’t know that she was your mate and under your protection.”
    “Benton did.” Another said, pointing at the man Artu had once considered his best friend. “It was Benton who shot her.”
    Rage, unlike anything Artu had ever felt before filled him at the declaration. Benton, the man he’d trusted, confided in for the last ten years, had shot the one woman capable of ending his torment. His temper flared to the point where he could become like all those monsters he’d helped put in jail. He wanted to reach out, grab Benton by the throat and throttle him. Instead, he sat beside Lena, took her hand in his and pressed it to his chest.
    That was when all hell broke loose.
    The moment Artu touched Lena’s hand to the center of his chest, sparks shot between them. The power arcing back and forth between them made her body jerk and flop on the bed. When he pulled her hand away, Lena opened her eyes and met his gaze.
    “Honey, I’m home,” she said in a singsong voice. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, she pulled herself up and planted a kiss firmly on his lips. She pulled away slowly, her breath coming in short pants, and slapped his arm. “That’s for leaving me here while I was sleeping.”
    Artu lifted one side of his mouth in a half grin. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
    “Kill the trespasser!” Benton screamed from somewhere in the crowd.
    “Huh!” Lena turned toward the sound and narrowed her eyes. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she stood, looked down at the center of her chest, then back up at Benton and scowled. “You shot me, you jerk!”
    “And I shall shoot you again.” Benton lifted his arm and squeezed off another shot before those next to him forced him down. “I thank the gods that my grandfather told me of this secret room he and his father built. Otherwise, you would have succeeded in your plan to steal our defender from us.”
    The shot hit Lena in the center of the chest, charring what was left of the center of her blouse a charcoal gray. Lena staggered back a bit. With a growl, she ripped her arms apart and broke the handcuffs that should have held her immobile.
    Artu gaped when she stood her ground and pointed at him. “We’re going to have to talk about your taste in friends, sweetheart.” She frowned up at him. “Because, so far from what I can see, they suck.”
    “Die, bitch!” Benton screamed again. “I will not let you steal our defender.”
    The entire crowd gaped at Lena as she slowly made her way toward Benton. Step after deliberate step, she grew closer to the man who would have gladly ended her life.
    “Stop staring at me,” she grumbled at no one in particular. “You’ll give me a complex or something.”
    “We cannot help the staring, miss,” one of the bystanders said. “We have never before seen a female