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Roane moved away from the window. “They’ve got us surrounded.”
Wren growled. “How many?”
“Lucan’s army. They split up.”
“Our Family?”
“We should be okay.” Roane hauled me behind him as he strode through the door. I heard Shelly cry out and knew Wren did the same with her. He led the way down a narrow hallway and out onto a slight perch. We were on a third floor that I hadn’t known existed in the restaurant. I glanced down and saw the fountain in the middle of the room. Our table must’ve been right underneath where we stood now, but I hadn’t had time to study the restaurant’s interior before.
I studied it now and saw that the fountain was larger than I thought. Giant goldfish circled in the clear blue water. Then I looked at the bottom and blinked twice before I realized that there was no bottom. The fountain fell to a depth that I couldn’t see. I glanced at Roane and briefly thought about slipping inside. His eyes could see it.
“Don’t even think it.”
“How do you do that?” It was becoming annoying. I had my shield up, with the little bit of effort that I needed now, but it was up. He could still read my mind.
“I don’t have to be a genius to know what you were thinking,” Roane muttered before he turned and swept us down a narrow stairway to our left. I said swept, but we really flew downwards. It only took a second before our feet landed with a swoosh on the main floor.
I heard another swoosh behind us.
“Oh—!”
“We’re going underground?” Wren’s voice was tightly restrained.
I looked over my shoulder and gulped when her eyes landed on me. She hated me. I saw it. But she was like Gregory. She followed Roane. She believed in him. And for the second time, I wondered what vampire could inspire loyalty like that.
She growled a warning and Roane jerked me in front of him. His hand fell from my arm and planted itself on my waist. He steered me in front of him and answered Wren at the same time, “Yes, we’ll go underground. A tunnel connects to the mansion. We can regroup and head out of town.”
“We’re running.” I heard the distaste in her voice.
“No.” Roane stopped and looked back. He stared her down. “We are being smart. There are two armies to our one. Right now, we have an entire army behind us.”
“It’s a Family,” Wren retorted.
“Yes, a Family of vampires. It’s an army to our two, Wren. I won’t chance it.”
“Vampires!” Shelly squeaked. I heard another cry of pain a moment later and knew Wren must’ve tightened her hold.
Wren bit out, “You wanted to send the replacement away. I understood that, but I knew you were going to come and fight. Now we’re running. You would’ve chanced it if she hadn’t shown up.”
Oh—we all knew who she meant.
Roane had already been stiff before, but now he was like cement. My finger twitched. I fought against the urge to trail it down his arm, just to feel him. It wasn’t the time or place.
I closed my eyes and mentally repeated that to myself. I’d said it a third time when I felt Wren back down from Roane. I didn’t know what he’d said, but it must’ve worked. I felt the surrender in the air and then Roane turned to steer me forward again.
He wasn’t as rigid as before. I wondered if he knew what had passed through my mind when I felt one of his fingers dip underneath my waistband and started to rub back and forth.
My legs started to turn into jelly and I leaned back against him once before he realized what was happening. He chuckled underneath his breath, for my ears only, and removed his hand.
I bit my lip to keep from crying out in protest, but it was the right thing to do. An army was coming and we were on the run. It was definitely not the time for my legs to melt into the ground.
Roane directed me around the main floor, through a myriad of tables. As we passed the fountain, I glanced down again and caught a swish of a tail from the deeper depths.
“Focus, Davy,” Roane murmured into my ear. “We’ll be fine.”
“She will be. She can’t die, but the rest of us can,” Wren snarled. I heard the swift swish of her leather as she strode behind us.
Roane steered us to a back door and as his hand reached out, glass shattered behind us. He stopped, but I watched in fascination as his hand flexed momentarily. He fought against an urge and then decided something as he turned slowly…. My heart was effectively in my throat. I tried to peak around him, but Roane kept me in place behind him.
