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Vaughn, Dagen’s on his phone.
I see him. I’ve already told Brannick what’s going on. He’s talking to Fergus now, getting a plan together to get us out of Savage. We won’t be able to fly out. Brannick and I both agree that Loghry and his men could still be up there waiting for us.
Couldn’t we fly using your disguising shield?
We don’t want to take the chance that Loghry has a vampire in his employ. A vampire would see through the shield.
Okay. Got it.
I’ll fill you in as soon as I hear back.
Fergus led the way out of the bar, his phone to his ear as well. He spoke quietly, his gaze moving back and forth, always checking the terrain. Brannick brought up the rear.
The shifters belonging to Fergus’s Gordion Pack had lined up protectively on either side of the path to the door. They were ready to do battle if needed.
She didn’t really take a decent breath until she was outside and Vaughn telepathically relayed Fergus’s plan to get them out of the territory by way of a van. They would need to move swiftly through the forest first to avoid being followed, which meant not taking the usual paths.
Vaughn offered up his booted foot and she climbed on board. She’d found it simple to levitate through an unobstructed airspace, but she wasn’t nearly so confident among all these trees.
Fergus shifted and flew like the wind on four paws, heading into the darkest part of the forest. Emma hugged Vaughn and kept her face buried against his shoulder. She wasn’t used to watching trees flying at her. But she trusted Vaughn, who’d been levitating for eleven years, ever since he first became a vampire.
With so many twists, turns and double-backs through the pines, Emma had no idea which part of Savage she was in once they stopped moving. By the time she dove into the van alongside Vaughn, and the doors slammed shut, she happily accepted his strong arms once more. Savage roads sucked.
Do you think we eluded Loghry?
I have no idea, but Fergus did an outstanding job getting us to this point.
I’d have to agree.
The ride was bumpy through the territory. She knew exactly when the van reached Defiance Bridge, which led to Elegance, because suddenly they were rolling on smooth pavement. Defiance was one of the five large tri-part bridges that had given Five Bridges its name. The Savage Border Patrol worked their territory’s end while the Elegance force checked vehicles and pedestrians at the entrance to spellcaster territory.
She was impressed that the van wasn’t stopped at either checkpoints. Had to be Fergus’s clout because they’d been waved through without incident at both ends of Defiance.
As another means of precaution, the driver of the van took a long, circuitous route getting to Emma’s house. Even then, the driver stopped two streets north of her home to let them out.
The van took off immediately just as Vaughn covered them both with his vampire disguising shield. If there were warlocks or witches in the air, none of them would be able to see Vaughn and herself.
He flew her toward her home, and a split-second later they were descending into her backyard.
It was only two in the morning, and Emma had made it home alive.
Of course, the night wasn’t over yet.
CHAPTER FIVE
“I’d heard of the shifter fighting pits, but I’d never seen one before. The area it covered was smaller than I would have thought.” Vaughn sat forward on a patio sofa, his gaze fixed to nothing in particular. He held the beer Emma had given him, dangling it between his knees with two fingers at the neck.
Her cat, Toby, would rub Vaughn’s exposed and now-healed shin, then move to his jean-clad leg, weaving in his preferred figure-eight pattern. Vaughn would reach down once in a while and pet him.
Still standing, Emma leaned against the nearby Indian rosewood tree, but the rough-looking bark didn’t seem to bother her back. She sipped a beer as well.
Divested of her Sig Sauer, her narrow waist was an invitation all over again. She’d released her long, auburn hair from the top knot, and it hung around her shoulders. She looked incredible.
“How’s your leg?”
He glanced down. The wound had closed up completely, and he had no pain at all. “There’s only some redness to show I’d gotten shot. Thanks for fixing me up.”
She pushed away from the tree. “And thanks for helping me get those girls out.”
