Intoxicating Magic (22 page)

I pushed myself up, trying to get my bearings. I wasn’t going to be able to do anything curled into the fetal position.

“Sure, Vince,” Talia whispered.

He flexed his fingers, squeezing harder for a moment, then flung her backward, causing her head to bounce against the window with a loud thunk. “Think before you speak next time.”

She slumped in her seat, clutching her head. Then I saw her cast a look of pure hatred his way. It was there for just a moment, then disappeared when she sent him a twisted smile. “You know it turns me on when you manhandle me that way.”

My stomach turned. Watching the disturbed way they interacted made my skin crawl. The only upside was I knew if I could get her alone, it wouldn’t be too hard to get her to talk. It was obvious to me that she hated him and was playing along for some reason. Most likely she worked for him. They weren’t professional enough to work for an organization like Cryrique. More likely they were street vamps hired by someone who didn’t want to get their hands dirty. But who?

Asher? He made the most sense, especially since as far as anyone knew, he wasn’t in New Orleans. If he’d heard what happened in Eureka, he could’ve put a contract out on me. But why not sooner? What had changed? I needed to get a few minutes with Talia.

Vince sent her a wolfish smile. “Later, my pet. I’ll let you bite me just the way I like it.”

Oh, what an ass. My desire to knock the shit out of him almost got the better of me. Instead, I slid closer to the door, planning my escape. I was certain that wherever they were taking me would be infinitely harder to escape from than the back of the souped-up gangster car.

Talia rolled her eyes at Vince, who only laughed and grabbed her upper thigh.

I kept my eyes riveted to their exchange as I inched my hand over to the door handle. The hard metal cooled my hand as I curled my fingers around the latch and waited for my opportunity.

Three blocks later, the light flashed red. My muscles tensed with anticipation. This was my chance. I glanced around, noting the lack of street lamps. The night was dark, filled with shadows. The houses looked deserted and no one was around. We were definitely in gang territory. Double damn. That wasn’t going to stop me, though. I had to get out of there. I glanced around once more and spotted a familiar street sign. I’d been here once before. Phoebe had a safe house not too far away. If I could just get out and disappear into the darkness, I might make it.

The car jerked to a stop and I seized the door handle.

Nothing.

The male vampire whipped around, his arm lashing out, but I ducked and slammed my body against the door. It flung open, and I toppled out headfirst. The cool night air whipped around me in sweet relief just before I hit the asphalt. Hard.

I heard the tearing of fabric but had no idea if it was my clothing or someone else’s.

Vince swore loudly and I heard the smack of flesh on flesh. He’d hit Talia. Holy mother of fae. I’d barely gotten to my knees before he unfolded himself from the car and loomed over me.

Shit. He was too fast. I hadn’t had time to get my ass out of there.

The door was still half ajar, and I clutched it, intending to use it as a shield, but then Talia reared up behind Vince, her fangs extended, her dark eyes fixed on me. “Run!” she demanded, her voice hoarse from fury.

Vince reached back and grabbed her by her hair just as her fangs sank into his neck, ripping open his carotid artery. His face contorted to rage as they both fell forward against the open door.

I scrambled backward just out of their reach and thrust my wings, taking flight. My feet lifted off the ground, but then my wings stalled, too weak to carry my weight. The day’s events and being attacked by the vamp had finally taken their toll.

The vampires were grappling, each of them seemingly trying to kill the other. Who knew how long it would last or who their altercation would attract? I had to hide. Fast. I took off at a dead run, my legs weighing me down like lead. The air constricted in my chest as I rounded a corner and spotted a small park.

It wasn’t safe. Not in this neighborhood. But it did have trees. And that was what I needed more than anything at that moment. A chance to replenish some of my strength before I collapsed in the street.

I felt the tree’s life energy surrounding me when I was only a few feet away. It calmed me and ordered my thoughts. Talisen. Phoebe. I had to get in touch with them. There was no telling if they’d seen the vampires take me or what that bitch coed had told them. The vamps had probably hired her to bait me. I groped through my pockets for my phone but came up empty. I knew I’d had it on me when we’d gotten to the bar. I’d texted Phoebe. Had I lost it in the struggle? Or in the back seat of Vince’s car? It was even possible they’d stripped it from me when I was passed out.

Blowing out a frustrated breath, I pushed my hair back and started to climb. I needed the tree more than ever, and standing at the base of it in clear view of the entire neighborhood was asking to be shot. Or worse.

It was slow going. Trees weren’t usually much of an issue. When I didn’t fly, I was just as skilled as the next fae in climbing into the canopies. But this time I slipped twice before I got to a limb large enough to stand on. Thank the goddess for my wings. If I hadn’t been able to fly, I would’ve ended up splattered on the ground below me.

I was winded, breathing heavily, but safely tucked high in the tree against the trunk when I saw the three pimped-out cars circling the block. Oh no. Someone had seen me. The gang members were coming after me.

They slowed as they reached the park, the windows down and each car armed, at least one gun barrel poking out of the windows. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I couldn’t do anything about a gun. My only defense was my energy-stealing touch. I didn’t even have my stun gun with me.

I held my breath and let it out when they slowly eased by.

Then I heard the rapid fire of gunshots followed by a scream and wheels squealing as the cars sped off down the street.

I sat there staring at the corner where the cars had disappeared. My body started to tremble with the realization that I’d never felt so utterly alone in my life. Not even when I’d been locked in a cage in the Arcane. Link had been there then. He been locked in his own cage, but he’d been there.

I leaned back against the trunk of the tree and fingered a nearby leaf. The smooth foliage was cool and sent electric shocks of its energy straight to my magical core, giving me exactly what I needed to recharge. I pulled in as much of the tree’s replenishing energy as I could and then took a deep breath. It was time to see what I was really made of.

Listening carefully, I made my way down the tree, trying my best to stay camouflaged in the leaves. Just because the cars were gone didn’t mean there wasn’t someone out there watching. In fact, it was likely. In a neighborhood like this one, they couldn’t count on the local police to answer a call of distress. They were pretty much on their own.

After landing at the base of the tree, I glanced down at my bright blue shirt and grimaced. Not exactly undercover wear. Nor was my skirt. I should have been in jeans and a skintight T-shirt, sporting a leather jacket. Then I’d blend in. Of course, my wings were a dead giveaway. I tucked them close to my back and kept to the shadows of the small park.

If I remembered correctly, Phoebe’s safe house was three blocks away. I knew getting there unnoticed would be a small miracle in and of itself. And even if I did, there was also the problem of breaking in. Phoebe had all kinds of wards protecting that place. I could only hope she’d used the same ones she used on our house. Maybe then I’d have a chance of not tripping any of them. It was unlikely. Why would she worry if I could get in? I never went there. Except for that one time I’d been with her.

I pushed the thoughts from my head. There was nothing I could do but try. The safe house was a hell of a lot closer than any other place I might find help. And if I did manage to get in, I’d be safe.

The deserted streets seemed to close in on me as I skirted around haphazardly parked cars and fallen garbage cans, ducking when dogs barked, alerting their masters to intruders. My heart pounded, and I prayed if anyone did see me they wouldn’t shoot first and ask questions later. Maybe it was a good thing I was wearing a skirt. Better than an outfit that said I could kick ass.

I’d made it two blocks when a floodlight went off, lighting up what felt like half the block. Loud voices carried from inside the house, one of them demanding to know who dared to intrude on Xavier’s territory.

Without thinking, I flattened myself to the pavement and rolled underneath the nearest car. Who was Xavier?

My heart pounded and then nearly beat out of my chest when I heard the double pump of a shotgun. Holy shit. He wasn’t messing around.

“Get up, chica,” he said in a thick Spanish accent. “Or else you can wait for me to drag you out by your hair.”

My throat went dry and sweat beaded in my palms. Maybe it was better to let him drag me out. At least then I’d be close enough to touch him, inflict some damage of my own. Or would that only piss him off more? Could I reason with him? I didn’t want any trouble, and no doubt he had a bunch of brothers who’d back him up even if I did manage to take him down.

I sucked in a shaky breath and inched toward the street on the opposite side of where the man stood.

But just as I was about to give up my cover, a girl huffed out, “Jesus, Daddy. We were just watching the stars. Give Miguel a break, huh?”

“I told you,” he growled, “that I don’t want you seeing that
boy
.” The way he stressed the word boy indicated his true feelings for Miguel. As if he’d be happy to feed the kid to the gators before he’d let his daughter date him. “You know who his father is.”

There was the sound of feet hitting the pavement and a cry of disgust from the girl. “You can’t control who he’s related to. God! You’d think you of all people would understand that.” Her steps echoed into the night as she stomped off. Then I heard the slam of what must’ve been a screen door.

There was silence and then the boy said, “My apologies, sir. Vanessa and I, well, she’s my friend and I just needed someone to talk to tonight.”

There was a long pause followed by a snapping of someone’s fingers. Footsteps and then the sound of flesh hitting flesh and a grunt from… Miguel?

“I told you to stay away from her,” the dad said, his tone low and dangerous. “I meant it. Next time Kia will do more than blacken your eye.”

There were grumblings and a few chuckles of laughter as the footsteps faded up toward the house. I lay perfectly still, watching the white tennis shoes of Miguel fade away into the night.

When the floodlight went out and everything was silent again, I crawled out from under the car, still shaking from delayed adrenaline. The street was deserted. I placed my hand over my heart and closed my eyes for just a moment. That had been a close one.

“One more block,” I whispered to myself and turned to the left… right into the chest of the bulkiest man I’d ever laid eyes on.

“Miss Rhoswen,” he said.

Startled, I stepped back and stared up at a man who had a dragon tattoo covering the right side of his face from temple to jawline. Vibrant green tears dripped from the dragon’s anguished eye.

“You didn’t think you’d actually get out of our neighborhood unseen, did you?”

I shook my head. Of course I hadn’t. But I’d hoped.

His lips curled into a knowing smile. Then the smile vanished and he nodded at someone behind me. “Cuff her.”

Chapter 22

“No!” I held up my hands. “No need to cuff me. I’ll cooperate.” It was a bold-faced lie, but I had to try.

Dragon Face narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t think so.”

The person behind me grabbed my wrists and forced them down behind my back, making it impossible for me to unleash my magic on him. He moved quickly, expertly binding them together in what had to be zip ties.

Dammit. The only saving grace was that my captors weren’t vampires. Or was it? Maybe gangbanger humans were worse. At least I usually knew what vamps wanted from me. A myriad of unspeakable crimes flashed through my mind, followed by the horrible thought that they might actually work for Asher. My mouth went dry with fear. No matter what, I was in deep shit.

“Put her in the back,” Dragon Face ordered and waved, gesturing to a vehicle behind me.

I twisted and my eyes went wide when I saw the young man who’d tied my hands. He was medium built, white skin with multiple dragon tattoos, blond hair, and had piercings up and down both ears. I glanced down and noted the white shoes I’d seen walking away from the Russian’s house. The stargazer was kidnapping me. And I knew him. Jasper Miguel.

He’d applied for a job at The Fated Cupcake a couple of months ago. I’d even interviewed him… and liked him. The only reason he hadn’t been hired was because of a schedule conflict. I’d needed more afternoon hours and he wanted to work the early mornings.

“Jasper?” I said, incredulous. “What are you doing? I thought you were going to school?” Meaning why the hell was he gangbanging when we both knew he had ambitions of being a chef and owning his own restaurant someday. He’d been on his way.