Out of the Shadows: Shadow Warriors, Book 1 by Gabriella Hewitt Page A

ranch or a different kind of mission? Did he know about Chica? Was the Aztec sun god searching for his wife?
    Chica had warned her to never again let a man distract her. Fear crept up, replacing the warmth of lying beside Tomás and turning it into a cold ball of dread in the pit of her stomach. What if Tomás was nothing more than another Billy? Her heart told her it couldn’t be true but her head wouldn’t let the notion go.
    She wanted to wake Tomás. Demand to know the truth and find out what had brought him to her ranch. But Carolina didn’t know if her heart could handle the truth.
    She owed her family, all those before her who had lived and died to protect her goddess. Chica believed that if she were found by her husband, the vision she had seen would come to pass. Chica wanted Tomás gone. Yet, looking down upon his face, Carolina recognized that her body and heart wanted him to stay. For a brief moment he chased away the loneliness and violence that filled her world. He created a taste of paradise filled with beauty and desire instead of monsters and death.
    Her heart battled with logic. And what if Tomás was here only for the demon? How would she handle it when he walked away, leaving her once again alone?
    Gazing upon the handsome, chiseled warrior lying peacefully in her bed, her heart squeezed and her tattoo throbbed in pain.
    Would it truly be so bad to confide in him?
    Like it or not, she needed Chica’s counsel. She quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a cotton top and stole quietly out of the room.
    She opened the back door and was hit by a blast of hot wind carrying evil’s scent. Her tattoo burned deep to the bone. In the distance, she saw fire. “Chica!”
    Before she could take a step, she was grabbed from behind.
    “Let me go!” Adrenaline pumped through her body as she fought Tomás’s hold. She had to save her goddess.
    He spun her around and tightened his grip, his face inches away from hers. “What is going on? The truth, this time. Now!”
     
     
    Tomás had snapped awake, his wolf alerting him to the taint of evil in the air. A swift glance revealed Carolina was gone from the bed.
    He caught her just before she could run off towards the burning sky and cursed himself for not sensing the danger earlier.
    She struggled in his arms, a complete change from last night when she had been all liquid heat and passion, her gaze filled with desire. Now he saw fear and rage and the need to protect secrets. “What is it you hide? I will destroy any threat to you.”
    She twisted out of his grip. “It is my job to protect Chica. I am her guardian.”
    “Who is Chica?”
    “Why did you really come, Tomás? Were you really chasing the tzitzimime or did you seduce me because you were after Chalchiuhtlicue all along?” Tears built up in her eyes and spilled down the sides of her cheeks. She swiped at them, the liquid getting absorbed into her fingertips.
    “The water goddess is here?” His head spun with her accusations. Anger replaced his confusion. He took a step towards her, backing her up against the open door.
    “I am no friend of the tzitzimime . I am a shadow warrior of Huitzilopochtli —my mission in the afterlife is to destroy demons and protect humanity. If you knew Chalchiuhtlicue was on your land, why did you not tell me?”
    The implications were astounding. The goddess of water and wife to the sun god had fled centuries ago, soon after their wedding, without explanation. Huitzilopochtli had been searching for her ever since. “If the demon gets Chalchiuhtlicue ,then all the water on the earth will dry up. Life will be doomed.”
    “I, too, have a duty. My family has guarded Chica for centuries, from father to son, mother to daughter. Above all else, I am sworn to protect her. You, as a shadow warrior, can understand.”
    He did understand, but that didn’t lessen his anger. Her soul called out to his. They had connected. Pieces clicked into place.
    Carolina’s power over the