Cold Blooded (5 page)

Another explosion rocked the grounds as we ran. The witches seemed eager for a fight. In the time between the two blasts, they had all donned heavy military gear: vests, boots, guns, knives, and bows. The house had become a militia in less than three minutes.

Note to self: Don’t fuck with the witches.

We followed our scent trail and Rourke skidded to a stop in front of the basement door. He yanked it open and we ran down the steps to the underground garage. We barreled into the room that held the hydraulic lift only to find it was completely empty.

Save one person.

Angie’s lips curled with distaste. The feeling was more than mutual.

I fisted my hands, forcing myself to ignore her with everything I had. I turned in a full circle, but the room was bare. No Humvee and no other vehicles in sight.

“Looking for something?” she sneered as she angled her body back against the concrete wall, clearly enjoying what she thought was her moment.

I turned to Rourke and he nodded once, needing no other prompts. He took a menacing step toward Angie, his shoulders back, his growl low. Her eyes widened, but she stayed put.

“Listen, you—” I said as Rourke continued to pace toward her.

Before I could get the words out, Nick’s hands went up, interrupting me. My eyebrows arched. Nick addressed the witch, “I know it doesn’t appear that way, but we’d much rather handle this without violence.” Angie was looking more alarmed by the second, which worked in our favor. “But only if you cooperate. Tallulah, your Coven mistress, ordered us to find a car. If we stay here, the sorcerers will keep attacking. We leave and they … eventually leave. She wants us out, and it seems you’re the only one who can help us.”

Nick was right to try and avoid catastrophe, but I was too mad to put things into perspective. It wasn’t going to be a fair fight, since Angie didn’t stand a chance against us, and if we did her harm, we could count Tally and Ceres as enemies. He had the right idea, and I was going to have to control my wolf, who was laser focused on inflicting some payback.

Rourke stopped moving, awaiting her decision to cooperate on her own.

A nasty smile lingered on her lips once she realized we weren’t going to tear her to pieces. “Yes, well, we’ve taken your vehicle as payment for your entrance, which is why you don’t see it here.”

“You … you can’t do that,” I snarled. “It was packed with all our supplies. You can’t just take what you want—” I stomped forward as Nick whipped his arm out to keep me back.

Angie moved forward as well, her irises sparking with a low scarlet light. “You just had your future foretold. Do you think that comes without a cost? Ignorance must be one of your best qualities. I’m sure your mother is very proud.” She knew shifters were raised by their fathers. My mother had died in childbirth.

I clamped my teeth together, and a fierce growl, fueled by my pissed-off wolf, echoed around the room. I wanted nothing more than to wring her beautiful neck. “I’m willing to pay the price for meeting with Maggie,” I managed with as much calm as I could muster. “But taking our vehicle and supplies without our consent is not in good faith.” Witches were notorious for charging exorbitant fees. “You are free to bill us for services rendered, but we want our vehicle back
now
.”

She cackled. “Well, it’s
gone
. Do you see it in here?” She mocked looking around the room.

Nick cleared his throat, but before he could speak, Rourke cut in, his voice laced with danger. “The truck doesn’t matter. We need a vehicle. Any will do. And I suggest you deliver one in the next three seconds or I will tear your throat out.”

Angie’s face changed for the merest second, but it was enough. “Well, I guess it’s your lucky day then, because I have
one
vehicle left.” She pushed off the wall and shouldered past me, her glossy hair swinging behind her.

By the smallest margin imaginable I resisted the urge to yank it completely out of her head, my hands curling inward.

She lifted her fingers at a far wall. A door, seamlessly hidden, lifted, making no sound. Behind it stood a lone vehicle.

An ancient-looking Vespa.

My voice sounded savage in my ears. “You expect us to escape on a
scooter
? You must be out of your mind. We need something with four doors and a roof. And there are three of us, not two, in case you haven’t noticed.”

Hands on her hips, she declared, “This is what I have available. Everyone left after the first explosion. It’s actually the best-concealed transportation we have. Spells go by weight—the bigger the object, the harder to spell. Your precious Humvee will only stay spelled for a few hours at most. This one”—she gestured at the aged moped—“will stay spelled for a week.” Her eyes glittered with laughter. She was playing us, but another explosion hit and there was no more time to argue. “Take it or leave it. That’s all I have.”

I took a step forward and Nick wrapped his hands around my shoulders, steering me away from her and toward the battered Vespa. “Jess, listen to me,” he whispered in my ear. “Just get on it and go. You’re running out of time, and arguing with her is not doing us any good. The sorcerers will arrive soon. Head out while you still have time, and once they stop the assault, I’ll head back to the Safe House. Everything will work out.”

Rourke walked over and grabbed the scooter by the handlebars and lifted it out of its parking space with the effort it took an accountant to lift his phone. He strode over to the platform and set it down with a clang, snarling, “If this thing breaks down once we’re outside, I’m coming back in here to kill you. Do you understand me?”

Angie had the nerve to grin. “It won’t. It’s spelled in more ways than one, big fella. It doesn’t need gas and it can carry two people no problem.”

“There are
three
of us here,” I muttered.

She shrugged. “Like I said, this is all I have. I couldn’t care less if you use it or not. Stay in here if you want.” She spun around and headed for the door right as another explosion rocked the foundation. Light fixtures swayed and concrete cracked, sprinkling dust from the walls. We were several floors underneath the mansion, so that one had been closer. Angie angled her head back before making her dramatic exit. “If you don’t leave now, however, you’re going to miss your golden opportunity. The sorcerers will be here in moments, and we wouldn’t want you to
die
out there or anything.” She turned, slamming the door with a clap.

Rourke’s movements were hostile. He was one step away from kicking the stupid moped across the room. “Jessica, if we didn’t need to move quickly, I’d bash down these walls and try to find something else. But that will take longer than we have right now. It’s either this or we stay.”

I eyed the hydraulic lift. “Fine. I say we go. Once we’re out of range of the sorcerers, we can figure out another ride. If this thing is spelled like she said, it should be undetectable. We ditch it the first chance we can and find something with doors.”

Resigned, Rourke slid onto the seat. The bottom bowed dangerously close to the ground, groaning against his weight. He swore as he turned the key. The thing puttered to life reluctantly like an old motorboat as he shifted it to neutral and directed it to the middle of the platform with his feet.

I spotted a green button on the wall across the room as I walked toward him. “Gods,” I said. “Nick, punch the green button on the wall and stay down here until it’s over. There’s no reason to stick your neck out and join the fight.” I swung my leg over and straddled what was left of the seat, which was about four inches. There was more creaking as the moped took my weight, but surprisingly it held.

“I’m not planning on getting in the middle of it,” Nick answered as he headed for the activation switch. “But once this is over, I want a drink and some more explanations.”

“I know.” I smiled. “I owe you a full recap.”

“Just stay alive.”

“That’s the plan.” He punched the button and the platform jumped once, rising quickly. When the bottom of the lift met the garage floor, it clicked seamlessly into place and Rourke revved the scooter. It coughed and sputtered, threatening to die.

“I am going to wring her scrawny neck,” Rourke growled. Without a trigger from us, the garage door began to move up on its own.

I slid my arms firmly around Rourke’s waist, intertwining my fingers, pulling him tight. He was warm and smelled delicious. “Okay, let’s do this,” I whispered in his ear.

Rourke gunned the Vespa to full throttle, which was roughly human jogging speed, and we began to buzz toward the gate.

Almost at once, I heard something in the sky and glanced over my shoulder. “Something’s coming right at us,” I yelled as the ball of light began to gain speed, like it suddenly recognized us. It had come out of nowhere, but there was no question it knew we were its target now.

At the last minute, Rourke angled the scooter, swerving hard to the right. The light exploded behind us, rocking us in our seats and bouncing the moped off the pavement.

“Hold on!” Rourke yelled. “I’m going to have to take this corner hard.”

I locked my arms against his chest, turning my head in time to see another light arcing toward us in the sky. I watched as it changed course to follow us as we bounded onto the street.

“She lied!” I screamed. “This thing isn’t spelled! It’s probably Maggie’s toy scooter.” Fury radiated through me and fur erupted along my arms. “The sorcerers have my signature, they know where I am!” We would’ve had a chance to outrun them if we’d been on Rourke’s motorcycle, but on this thing we were sitting ducks.

“Not for long,” Rourke roared. We took the curb, Rourke wrenching the wheel as we went.

One jump and we cleared the boulevard.

One more and we hit the lake.

4

Rourke and I both leapt off the Vespa right as another explosion rocked the embankment we’d just crossed. The impact flung us far into the lake.

“Stay under—” Rourke managed before we splashed down, both of us plunging feetfirst into the water.

The force of my landing shook my equilibrium and I whirled around in the cold, discombobulated for a few beats. I steadied myself, throwing my arms out to get my bearings, and opened my eyes. It was dark as night and the water was murky, full of algae and weeds. My wolf had fed me a constant stream of adrenaline since we’d left the garage, but another shot hit my system with warm, delicious heat. My muscles coalesced under my skin and my nails sharpened. I glanced around and spotted Rourke just ahead of me. I took off after him, kicking my feet powerfully as I swam. Taking a swim was becoming a new norm for me. I just hoped there were no Naiads in Lake of the Isles.

If there were, it was going to be a long-ass swim.

Two more strokes and the water behind me exploded, pushing both of us forward in a rush. But the Orb wasn’t on mark. The water had masked me, however slightly. Rourke had been right to dump us into the lake. It was the only chance we had.

But we couldn’t stay under indefinitely.

As I swam farther, the need to take air into my lungs pressed painfully against my diaphragm. Rourke motioned me with his hand. I came up beside him. He pointed to the surface and then to himself. We needed direction.

I nodded and he shot to the surface.

He was back under in a moment. Rather than try to explain, he grabbed my arm. We took no more than ten strokes and the water became shallower. He gestured to some concrete pilings and indicated up. We both bobbed to the surface under a small bridge. I gulped air into my lungs.

“I want you to swim to the far side of the lake.” He pointed toward the east. “See those islands? Swim between them. I’m going to find us a ride. The bombs aren’t looking for me. When you get across, I’ll be waiting.” He pulled me close and kissed me roughly. His mouth was hot on mine after the cold water had chilled my lips, but it ended too quickly as he pressed me back under just as the sky above us lighted with several more Orbs.

I kicked hard, using the bridge footings to jettison me into the lake. The bombs exploded behind me.
Okay, we need more speed.
On a thought, I switched control to my wolf. She was ready, and my full Lycan form was almost instantaneous. It took us only a few minutes to reach the islands with her in control. We veered close to the shore of the southernmost island and I had to risk taking a quick gasp of air. Light started streaking toward us immediately. Her reaction time was much quicker than mine and we dove fast, going as deep as we could, but it was still incredibly shallow between the islands.

Water exploded directly above us.

That was too close.
She swam hard, guiding us to the bottom. We touched both feet on the ground, half walking, half swimming. My lungs started to ache as more explosions peppered the lake.

Fairly quickly the depth leveled out, and as we neared the main shoreline, the bottom began to incline steeply. We were close.
No matter what, we run once we clear the water. If we don’t see Rourke, we follow the road.
The street ran one way around the lake. We would follow it until we saw him. He would be there.