“How do you know my name?” Harper said, voice hesitant. “I didn’t give you my license.”
The man’s lip twitched, making his toothy smile look like a snarl. Then he raised his hand and made a circling motion with his finger.
Nell gasped, and Patricia’s hand closed around Harper’s wrist. Frowning, she looked to the side, and then her stomach plummeted into the car seat.
The female cop was standing by the passenger-side window, gun pointed right at them.
For a moment, the only noise was the puttering of the car engine. Everyone had frozen, with Patricia leaning to the side, covering Nell and Harper as best she could, as they all stared at the raised firearm.
“This doesn’t have to get ugly.” The man reached in through the window and turned the ignition, killing the engine. “If you just do what you’re told and get out of the car, everything will be fine. No one needs to get hurt.”
Patricia gripped her wrist tighter. “Harper, don’t move.”
She had zero intention of doing so. What she wanted was to turn the car back on and drive off, but the proximity to the police cars meant any getaway wouldn’t be quick. At least not quick enough to outrun gunfire.
The cop let out a low groan. “He did mention you’d be a fucking problem.”
The man opened the car door and, using an almost practiced movement, he grabbed Harper by the hair and undid her seatbelt.
“Let go of me!” She kicked at his legs, but the hits didn’t even make him stop grinning.
“Kieran wasn’t lying,” he said, yanking her outside. “Youarefeisty.”
Realization stunned her for a moment. Shehadseen this guy before, though his face had been obscured by either distance or blood. He had a habit of leering, and the first time Harper met him, Kieran had broken his nose after he’d been looking at Harper a few seconds longer than he found acceptable.
Booker. Whether that was his first or last name didn’t matter. She wasn’t planning on calling him that.
“Let go, you piece of shit!” She kicked at his legs again. He just laughed.
“Kitten’s got claws. How cute.” He dragged her towards the police car. Behind her, Patricia yelled her name.
A cowardly part of her wished Patricia would come to her rescue. But that desire was immediately drowned out by a far greater hope that she and Nell would at least be left alone. If they just didn’t struggle, they might be allowed to leave.
Booker’s eerie smile made that hope hard to cling to.
“Kieran misses you, by the way. With the company you’ve been keeping, you have him worried.” Booker chuckled, changing his grip so he was pulling her along by the wrist. “You should feel flattered. This whole takeover is mainly for your benefit. When we’ve cleaned out the city, there would be no laws, ferals, or Chains around to keep us from finding you. But then you made a run for it, right into our arms? Such a time saver.”
He pulled her close enough that he could sniff her hair. “I guess I understand the fuss. You smell pretty good.”
What the fuck was he talking about? Ferals and Chains? Takeover? Hersmell?
“What about these two?” The female cop gestured inside the sedan. “We dealing with them now or later?”
“Bring them along,” Booker said. “And bloody them up a bit. We’ll need a hunt once this day is over, and those two won’t be missed.”
The other cop nodded and lowered her weapon. Shesmiledas she did it. Delighted by the thought of hurting people who couldn’t fight back. Who couldn’t do anything to stop this.
Other than something idiotically risky, of course.
Instead of thrashing against Booker’s grip, Harper grabbed his arm. Clinging to him with all her strength, she lunged forward and bit down on the back of his hand.
Booker let out a pained yell. He shoved her away and slammed her against the side of the cop car. Her head knocked against the metal, sight blurring as she slid to the ground.
“Fuckinghell!” He inspected the red crescent her teeth had left in his skin. “What the fuck is your problem?”
Her ears were ringing. Every noise sounded distant, as though shouted from the end of a long tunnel.
Muddled curses. Her name being called. Someone laughing.
