Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (20 page)

attack.”

“An ambush,” Thane said.

Garren scoffed. “We can’t hide

from them. They’ll feel our magic.”

She touched the stone hiding

under her shirt. Had it been long enough

since she used it the night before? The

gem was already a light blue. Hopefully

it would last long enough to catch the

Eradicators by surprise.

She pulled the sapphire out to

show the others. “I can hide our magic

for maybe ten minutes, but we have to

stay close together.”

Thane’s eyes widened as he

gazed at the stone. “Did you get that at

Irene’s?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

On one side of the road was the

bus depot. A two story wooden building

with a wrap-around porch, it was

probably built during the days of the

Wild West. She wouldn’t be surprised if

it was converted from an old saloon.

Across from the depot was a sparse

forest of tall pine trees. She had quickly

contemplated hiding around the bus

station, but there were too many Banes.

Instead, they took off running to the

seclusion of the woods.

“You two stay behind me,”

Garren whispered as they ducked behind

a thick tree. Thane didn’t argue with his

stepbrother, but instead climbed up the

tree like it was a well-rehearsed routine.

He crouched on a lower branch and

surveyed the surrounding area. Garren

pushed her to hide by a prickly bush next

to the tree.

“Please,
please
will you do me a

favor and stay here? Thane and I will

take care of these guys. We know what

we’re doing.”

Yeah, right.
She pressed her lips

into a thin line to keep from calling him

out on his chauvinistic attitude. She

huffed like a fighting bull as she sat and

grinded her teeth in agitation. She was

an excellent fighter, better than those

two. Oh, well. Saving their butts when

they found themselves over their heads

would be her contribution. She pulled

out her dagger and waited. Through the

branches, she watched the caboose cross

the road. The two Eradicators darted

across the tracks as soon as it was clear.

Quickly, she activated the stone,

rendering the immediate area around her

magically invisible.

This better work
.

The Eradicators slowed down

their run to a walk as they approached

their hiding spot. She held her breath as

she strained to hear their whispered

conversation over the blood pounding in

her ears.

They couldn’t have been more

than a few years older than she was,

somewhere in their early twenties. Both

Red and Baldy had the typical weapons

attached to their belts holding up their

worn-out jeans: a dagger, wood and iron

stakes. Various tattoos spilled down the

Baldy’s arms and covered his neck.

Red stepped away and strolled

to the old building. She smiled. They

were making this easier for them. She

poked Garren in the leg and pointed to

the vulnerable Eradicator in the middle

of the street, about thirty feet away. He

waved her away like an annoying insect.

Relinquishing control of such a

stressful situation was difficult enough

for her, but to be dismissed like that…

her nails dug into her palm as she

clenched her fists. She poked Garren

again, harder.

“Do something,” she whispered.

“Shhh!” Garren glared over his

shoulder before bending over to pick up

a stone about the size of a marble. He

peered around the tree, and before she

realized his plan, he flung the rock right

at the Eradicator.

“Son of a bitch!” the hunter

cursed under his breath, almost too low

for her to hear.

She peeked through the leaves to

see where he was hit. Panic slammed

into her chest. Where did he go? Garren

stood stiff as a board against the tree, his

head tilted up. Above on a branch,

Thane touched random places on his

arms and face like a third base coach.

Apparently the two stepbrothers had

their own method of communication. She

was impressed, and annoyed. She hated

being out of the loop.

Garren brushed his hair from his

eyes, pointed to her and then to an

unspecific spot deep in the forest. She

wasn’t sure if he wanted her to bunt or

steal home. When she didn’t move, he

repeated the pointing, only with bigger,

sharper motions.

“Run,” he mouthed silently.

Is he serious?
Her eyes widened

as she realized she was either being

used as bait or they truly thought she’d

be in the way. Either way, it stung.

As she scanned the area for a

new hiding spot, he touched her

shoulder. When she met his eyes, she

was taken aback by the almost pleading

quality she found in them.

“Trust me,” he mouthed.

Could she?

Yes.

Three trees standing in a row off

in the distance became her focus. Garren

may have had the personality of a

strutting peacock, but when it really

mattered she could trust him with her

life.

She bolted. Ducking and dodging

low-hanging limbs, she ran through the

forest.

“There you are,” a voice

shouted.

Her heart lurched in her chest
.

Don’t look back.

Heavy boots crunching dead

leaves and sticks grew louder and faster.

Then, a loud thud was followed by a

muffled, angry cry. Only when she

reached the trees did she glance back.

Blood flowed from Baldy’s nose as he

pounded against an invisible wall.

The corner of her mouth quirked

up into a crooked smile. Garren released

his shield and then slammed the

Eradicator with it over and over.

“Is that all you got?” he taunted

as he cornered the man against a tree

with his magical barrier. He was having

way too much fun. She chuckled when

Garren used his shield to lift the man in

the air as if riding an elevator, and then

dropped him.

Wow, that’s hot!

She was so lost in her gawking

that she barely registered the tingling in

her wrist. The sapphire was clear.

Uh oh
. She spun around just in

time to block the fist speeding at her

head. The red-head didn’t hesitate in his

attack.

Her

body

responded

automatically; as if it hadn’t been over a

year since she’d fought in hand to hand

combat. Of course, she wasn’t as strong

or precise as she once was, but she

managed. His long limbs beat her in

reach, but her smaller size helped with

speed. She needed to wear him out

before she had a chance of beating him.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Ivy.

Rousseau just wants to talk to you,” he

said as he threw a left hook she easily

dodged.

If he thought mentioning
that

person would garner her cooperation, he

was an idiot. The leader of the

Eradicators was no friend of hers.

“Do I look stupid to you?” she

asked as she ducked under his swing and

popped him in the nose as quickly as a

viper strikes its prey.

“Bitch.” He said, using his

forearm to wipe the blood from his face.

“You say that like it's a bad

thing.”

He pulled his dagger from his

belt, obviously done playing around. She

gripped hers tighter.

After endless minutes of evading

his knife and trying to get close enough

to cut him, she felt like she was fighting

with logs instead of arms. Her breathing

doubled. Could lungs shrink? She

struggled to take in air as she bobbed

and weaved. Her plan was backfiring.

Each swing of his blade was

faster, harder, sharper. Determination

blazed in his eyes. Doubt whispered

about in her head. When he sliced her

arm, the whispers became shouts.

Thankfully her sweatshirt took most of

the damage, but not all.

She gritted her teeth and ignored

the sting.

Stay focused.

How long could she keep up this

pace? Neglected muscles burned. Joints

screamed in agony.

Man, I need to work out.
She

could barely lift her lead foot above her

waist in what was supposed to be an

awesome front kick. Instead, she’d have

to be satisfied with leaving a dirty

footprint on his pant leg.

He stopped and peered down to

his pants. “And I thought fighting a Weed

would be challenging.”

A Weed. She cringed inward at

the derogatory term. Using her magic to

fight didn’t even occur to her. But it was

too late now. She was exhausted from

using the stone and from the humiliating

beating she was taking.

Before she could react, Red

slammed into her and knocked her to the

dirt. A scream echoed off the trees— her

scream. Pain radiated through her back

when

she

back-flopped

on

the

unforgiving ground. She did the same

move in a neighbor’s pool once and it

felt just as excruciating.

She raised her arms to block his

attack. But when he lunged at her, his

body stopped in mid-air and then flew

backwards.

Garren
. Relief flooded her

system. But he wasn’t there. Instead,

Sparky flapped his wings and spat fire at

the Eradicator now on the ground.

Holy moly
. She rolled off the

ground— ignoring her body’s protests—

to help subdue Red. He was shuffling on

his back in an attempt to avoid the

sparks. A couple times the dragon spit

blue flames at the man, almost catching

his pants on fire. But because she didn’t

want to deal with roasted Eradicator,

she grabbed a roll of tape from her pack

and then tied his hands and feet together

while Sparky kept guard.

The red-head struggled to get

free. “Don’t be a fool, Ivy. Rousseau

will get you, one way or another. Come

peacefully and your friends won’t be

hurt.”

“Oh, sure. Just wait while I

gather my stuff.” She rolled her eyes as

she checked out her little body guard.

She squatted and reached her hand out,

hoping that his heroics meant they were

friends now.

The dragon stretched out his neck

and sniffed her fingers. She kept

perfectly still as hope swelled in her

chest. Just as she thought she might be

able to actually touch him, the little

dragon snapped back with a sneeze. She

jumped back, flames torching the ground

in front of her. He shook his head and

sniffled.

Great, he’s allergic to me.
She

regarded the creature with her hands on

her hips. At least he was on her side.

“I don’t know if you understand

me or not, but watch him,” she said as

she pointed to the tied-up Eradicator.

Sparky shifted his gaze to the prisoner

and growled like a proud junk yard dog.

She crouched next to Red, her

dagger pointed to his throat. “I don’t

think you need these.” She removed the

stakes and other weapons he had hidden

on his body and then tossed them into her

pack.

A loud screamed bounced off the

trees and pierced her heart. She froze.

“That didn’t sound like Phil,” the

Eradicator said, a smile pulling at his

mouth. “Must be one of your Weeds.”

She didn’t stick around to argue.

She ran as fast as she could to where she

last left the guys, dread fueling her feet

faster as she leaped over logs and

bushes.

Please, don’t be dead. Please,

don’t be dead.
Both Garren and Thane’s

faces popped up in her mind, although

Garren’s lingered.

Baldy loomed over someone on

the ground with his knife raised in his

hand. She couldn’t tell whom he was

hovering over.

His arm swung down.