Free Runaway Renegade (Ultimate Passage Book 4) by Elle Thorne

retribution. You’ll go in peace or regret it.”
    The being drew a blade from the folds of its overcoat. It struck at Thane, the deadly blade a wicked glint in the lamplight.
    “I will—”
    Thane struck quickly with lethal force. A sideways slap at the blade, calculated to avoid touching the razor-sharp edge, and the blade was airborne.
    Thane snatched it midair, flipped it in his hand and, with one swipe, slit the creature’s throat.
    The being collapsed, its overcoat empty, now a vacant shell.
    Thane held the empty coat up.

16
    W eeks later
    It was afternoon when Ali woke up. She was on her couch and Thane was long gone. She didn’t know what time he’d left.
    They’d been doing this for three weeks. Every night, he met her after work, on her landing. He’d bring a latte, and they’d walk to the park nearby and sit all night, talking, and on occasion kissing.
    He hadn’t tried to get into her panties again, and as much as she wanted him, she didn’t push the issue. There was too much at stake.
    She showered and changed for work, wondering if he’d be at the club, and though she wouldn’t admit it, she was eager to see him and hoped he’d be there.
----
    T hane was a no show .
    Ali tried to contain her disappointment, but she’d had taken extra care with her wardrobe. She wanted to be the sexiest-looking fairy at The Other Side. She’d gone out and bought a new miniskirt and a new backless top with straps that crisscrossed her back, between her wings. When she’d looked in the mirror that night, she thought she looked particularly fetching.
    Too bad though, because the entire night had passed without incident. And without Thane. Not a single sighting. Nothing.
    Irritated, at the end of the evening she’d driven off in a huff, pulled into her apartment complex and stomped her way up the stairs to her place, refraining from slamming the door because she didn’t want to disturb the neighbors.
    She sat on the couch, too dejected to bother peeling her new clothing off and change into something more comfortable. She wanted to not care that he hadn’t come, but she did care, and she was pissed.
    A soft knock on the door made her jump, and then a surge of joy erupted in her. Who else, of course.
    She opened the door without bothering with the peephole.
    There he stood, calm, collected, self-assured and unreadable, in another expensive suit. Yet, so different from the man who’d held her as she’d fallen asleep last night. Remote. Almost sinister. Not her Thane. He seemed… off.
    Except he was here. That’s what counted.
    “You’re late.” She wished she could bite back that response.
    “I came as quick as I could.” He stepped into her place, closing the door behind him, for all intents seeming to completely belong there. “I had business to take care of.”
    “More important than me?” She allowed a mock pout to form on her lips.
    “Nothing is more important than you.” He reached for her top, took the hem of it between two fingers and pulled gently, tugging her closer. “This was about you. Everything is about you.”
    She wanted to ask him what that meant and how that could possibly be, but it was difficult to talk when his lips were locked on hers, taking control of her tongue, stroking it with his, doing that eternal dance of tongues, sealing her words behind a vault of emotions and desire.
    “I missed you.” He breathed the words into her mouth, his hands wrapped in her hair, pulling her head back. “I thought of you all day.”
    “I like the sound of that.” She tugged on his lapels, wrapping her fists around the expensive fabric and holding him close, her hands trapped between them. “I thought…” She gulped her insecurity away.
    “Don’t think. There’s no room for thoughts between us, only whatever it is that’s driving this forward.”
    “It’s scary.” Her voice was tiny, breathless.
    “It’s magnificent,” he murmured against her jawline, his lips traveling down,