Page 5
“Don’t move or your boyfriend dies,” she snapped.
I stilled my hand, stealing a glance at Neil, who sat unfocused and still across from me. She’d glamoured him. The charm on my necklace sat heavy against my sternum.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said.
She gave an approving grin. “Either way. I’m here to take you in.”
“I’m not helping murder more people with GoDKiller,” I hissed, surprising myself with my vehemence.
She startled, glancing behind her for a moment. “Good. I’m not exactly fond of that stuff. Look, I’m supposed to bring you in, conscious or not. It’s your choice.”
“Bring me where? White Hair?” My bag was so close yet so far when she was right beside me with vampire speed.
“White Hair? Look, lady, all I know is you’re a TK, and you are needed.”
TK? She knew I was telekinetic? What did that have to do with…
“You have to the count of three. It’s all the same to me if I have to kill him and carry you.”
I swallowed back the lump in my throat. I didn’t want Neil or anyone else to die because of me. So, I nodded my assent and slipped from the booth. But as I reached for my bag, she leaned over and snatched it with a smile before gesturing for me to lead the way out.
“Forget you were here with anyone. Just enjoying a dinner out,” she told Neil, grabbing my salad plate and depositing it on an empty table nearby.
“Can’t you tell me where we’re going?” I asked, making fists to try and stop the trembling in my hands.
“Around back,” she instructed as she held the door open.
The rush of cold autumn air pricked at my bare arms as I turned the corner into the alley beside the building. The buzz of conversation muted as I walked down the cracked pavement toward the rear, heart racing harder the further we drew from others.
When I rounded the back, I found a large black car with tinted windows idling. The back door opened on its own, and I hesitated. The vampire shoved me, and I moved closer to the car, straining to see anything behind the windshield.
I didn’t need to be psychic to know getting in that vehicle was a bad idea. But it wasn’t like an alternative was just going to jump in—
With a squeal of tires, a small matte black sports car sped around the corner, screeching to a stop between me and the open door, sending the smell of burned rubber over me in a tidal wave.
The vampire behind me grabbed my shoulder and yanked so hard it almost dislocated as I flew off my feet and through the air away from the new car. Before I hit pavement, strong arms scooped beneath me and cradled me to a hard-as-steel chest. I squeezed my eyes closed as the air whipped around me like a cyclone, clinging to my savior. Or was it an even worse enemy?
A small voice in the back of my head I’d nicknamed Pythia whispered, safe. Pythia didn’t speak up all that often, but she’d never steered me wrong, so I leaned into the strong, distinctly male chest and went with it.
The comforting scent of bergamot and cloves enveloped me even as my stomach turned at the jerking motion that felt something like being on a rollercoaster in the dark. The big difference being that I didn’t choose to get on this ride.
A loud boom exploded around us as I came to a sudden stop and found myself deposited in a seat. I leaned my head between my knees and tried to breathe as crashes and grinding of metal continued to startle me. When silence finally fell, my breathing evened out and I sat back up as the driver’s side door clicked shut.
I was in the passenger seat of the sports car, and outside the windows, the burning remains of the other vehicle littered the alley. But none of it shocked me as much as the man who’d saved me—the one that Pythia had told me to trust. He was a vampire. A sexy one, sure, with classically chiseled features and the darkest blue eyes I’d ever seen. He could have been cast in a movie as Dracula or Superman with his perfectly sculpted frame and short dark curls that fell over his forehead. But the dead giveaway was the lack of aura.
We stared at each other for a full minute, me asking myself all the while whether Pythia’s insistence I was safe with him meant at that one particular moment or in general. As per her usual, Pythia stayed silent. Still, I got no inklings of danger, despite the clear and present one sitting inches from me.
“Does this belong to you?” he asked in a velvety voice as he thrust my purse at me.
I nodded and pulled it to my lap, thrilled to have my safety net back in my grasp. Could I pull the stake and charm without him noticing? Not yet. I’d have to bide my time.
“Um, thank you,” I finally managed.
“You are welcome, Charlotte.”
“You know my name?” I asked. I supposed it wasn’t that crazy considering the other vampire had found me. But was this one working for White Hair? Damn, my life was confusing.
“I know more than a bit about you, as did the people that attempted to kidnap you. You sent out quite the flare of magic when you used your telekinesis a few weeks ago. Every interested supe on the planet noticed. Though you’ve done an admirable job staying under the radar since.”
