3 Hit the Road Jack (15 page)

“Yea?!” He bit out. I guess he was still pissed about earlier.

“Trouble. We’re leaving.”

“Be there in a sec.” I hung up, clinging to Kellan as we headed back down towards the SUV. Up ahead I saw Kalel and Al leaning over the SUV, staring down at
the slashed tires.

“Shit!” Kellan cursed, kicking up a chunk of the cobblestone street beneath him.

“Kellan!” He let go of my hand, pinching the bridge of his nose. Forgetting all human facades, he raced to the vehicle.

“Figgling monkey fingers!” Craig exclaimed, coming up behind Kellan, both vamps taking in the tires at the same time.

“What’s going on Al?” I asked, dread pulling me down.

“
Vamps
. Three. They moved so fast I barely saw them. Even
worse,
a couple ninjas
left a note for you.” He paused, glancing at Kellan momentarily, debating whether or not to divulge where.

“Where was it left?” Kai demanded. His arms were crossed defensively in front of his chest. He didn’t look at me. I tried not to get hung up on it, tried not to let my feelings get hurt, but I was somewhat vulnerable right now. So much was going on and the last thing I needed was someone shutting me out over something childish.

Al took a deep breath; his eyes honing in on me and me alone. There was a gentle concern in their gaze, but everything else about him sung anger. “It was taped to her hotel room door.”

“God dam
m
it!” Kellan burst out.

“Calm your nibbles mate. We got your back. No ninjas are gonna touch our girl, right mates?” Craig placed a heavy hand on Kellan’s shoulder and squeezed. I offered him an appreciative smile.

“What’d we miss?” Gabi asked as her and Rafi caught up with the group. He skirt was a bit lopsided at the hem and her hair was no longer perfectly sleek tresses, but rather a borderline bird’s nest.

“Apparently we missed more than you did,” I chuckled nervously. She didn’t even bat an eye. She tossed her hand dismissively.

“Oh posh. Now tell me what the he
ck’s going on
.”

“Jack’s caught up with Lex
i
. He seems to be playing a game of cat and mouse based on this note though,” Al explained. I was surprised he hadn’t
ripped the paper in half given the way his fingers were compressing the thin sheet.

“What does it say?” Gabi pressed.

I closed the gap between me and Al in a split second and snatched the paper from him, quickly stuffing it into the side of my bra. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll… It’s my problem. If the ninjas have caught up with us, then it’s time for you all to go.”

“Like hell,” Gabi blurted, hands on her hips.

I looked around at my wonderful friends, landing lastly on Kellan. His fists were clenched at his side; murder was his focus it seemed. They’d already been through enough. I appreciated all they’d sacrificed to come here with me, but I didn’t know what was ahead, especially now that Jack had the upper hand. I couldn’t lead them into a trap with me. I had to ditch them.

“Don’t even think about it.” Kai got up in my face, his voice a low growl. A chill ran down my spine. “You even think of leaving us behind or sending us away Leka and I’ll hunt you down and torture you myself.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. His eyes pierced my own; he was baring his soul to me and demanding the same in return. He shot my nerves to hell and all the passion within me to my surface. What was up with me and the alpha male attraction tonight?

I struggled to find my voice to respond. I felt like a Chihuahua staring down a Rottweiler; I was bound to lose, and did.

“So it’s settled. We’ll play his little game,
for now
.” Kai looked pointedly at me. “
In the meantime, let’s head
back to the hotel. Pack your stuff and let’s head out. Stick to the back roads cause we’re going to have to abandon this thing.” He glanced at the car before checking his plans silently with everyone else.

“I’ll catch up; let me just get my books,” Will said.

“I’ll stay behind with you. I don’t want to chance any kidnappings.”

“No offense, but you’re not the strongest vamp
s
in the bunch. We’ll wait,” Gabi smirked; her attempt at lightening the mood had no impact.

The guys walked across the street, chatting, whispering plotting together. I tried to ignore them. Gabi followed me towards Will.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I quietly groaned.

“It could be worse,”
she shrugged
.

“I don’t even want to think about it.” I nearly bumped into Will, standing on the sidewalk staring at the back door. “You ok?”

“My gut is telling me something is wrong,” he frowned, anxiously playing with a button on his shirt. His blonde hair hung towards his eyes as he studied his hands.

I didn’t know much about Will, but I knew that he knew a lot more than he shared. For him to be open about it; it must be serious.

“Gabi, go stand with the guys. Will, step aside.” Gabi narrowed her eyes at me, before obliging. Will didn’t bother questioning me, quickly moving several feet away from the SUV.

I leaned into the glass, peering through the window into the space.
I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary inside.
A few of
Will’s books sat stacked in a neat pile on the center row of seats. I grabbed the door handle. A quick peek at Will showed him focusing on my actions; a look of distress on his face. He was making my anxiety sky rocket. I’d never seen him so uncertain and afraid. He had his nervous Nelly moments, but nothing to this degree.

I was ready to get this over with. The serum was rising in my throat, my pulse speeding up to a normal human rate. I returned my attention to the window. I blew out a breath and pulled the handle. The second I did, that’s when I saw the red light blink and heard three subsequent beeps.
Shit!

I heard the commotion of shouts across the street; heard Craig and Al fighting to pull Kellan away from the scene. I was glad they were smart enough to run away. I would feel a million times worse if they were hurt.

Thinking as quickly as I could, I
released the handle,
turned
face
,
getting a
few steps
away before the final
d
ing raced through the wiring. I leapt, diving as far away as my feet would propel me right as the bomb exploded. I landed in a harsh splat as my skin scraped along the pavement. The single explosion set off a row of ignited fires to the surrounding vehicles. I felt the heat surround me as glass shattered all around me. I felt the pricks along my skin; heard metal and plastic of the vehicle bodies fly into the air, ricocheting off the brick buildings and
soaring
into the street.

This mission just tripled on
the
danger scale.

Chapter 15

I felt the heat surrounding me; heard the explosions that followed from nearby cars, felt the rumble of the earth below me. Glass splintered my skin as it darted about. Fumes filled the air as screams began to carry from down near the club.

I rolled over, glass and metal puncturing my skin, diggi
ng deeper as my weight shifted. Through the corner of my eye, I saw the smoke wafting into the night sky. I stared upwards into the night, until he came into view.

“I knew you were trouble the moment I met you,” John
chuckled
,
British accent in tow,
leaping out of a third floor window of the apartment building beside me.
He hovered over me, arms crossed, a smile playing on his lips as he stared down at me.

I gazed up at him, unable to speak. I couldn’t think. I could only hear; even the stinging pain shooting thr
ough my body wasn’t registering; it was a dull void in the background.
Abruptly he frowned, his brows furrowing as he studied me.

I
felt
the
rumbling along the street
in the distance. I couldn’t hear them, but I knew they were on their way. Any minute the guys would get here. But I couldn’t process it.

John squatted down beside me, concern edged in his regard. “Are you ok?” he asked
in what was probably his regular tone
, gently sweeping stray hairs away from my face.

“Get away from her!” Kellan barked, subsequently shoving John away.

“You ok Leka?” Kai checked, helping me into a sitting position. I shook my head, trying to clear
the fog of what just happened. I knew what had happened, but I almost didn’t want to believe it.

I looked at the apartment building, surprised to find only a few broken windows on the first floor and no flames engulfing it like the line of cars along the street.

“We need to get out of here
now
,” Al warned. We all heard
the sirens off in the distance
and
saw the citizens slowly starting to flood the street from their homes nearby.

“I got her,” Kellan said, stepping in and lifting me in one swift move. I winced, feeling as though my skin had been scraped along a bed of nails.

“This must be
him
,” John stated in broken Asian-American
. I caught him rolling his eyes at Kellan behind his back.

“I’m fine,” I croaked, surprised by how hoarse my throat was. I fro
wned up at Kellan.
Vamps were never croaky.

“Let’s go,” Kalel ordered a bit louder, finality ringing in his tone.

Everything was a blur of motion until we got back to the hotel. Everyone was in a scramble to pack up and get out.

“Why can’t I think straight?” I muttered, unaware that it was aloud.

Kalel used a pair of tweezers to remove a few pieces of glass from me. He dropped them into a bowl and squeezed a few drops of a blue liquid before pouring half a bottle of water in with it. Kai stood beside him, his eyes traveling back and forth between me and the bowl.

“Just what I thought. They
laced the windows of the SUV with
curarine,” Kalel announced.

“
And that means what in English
?” Kellan
lashed
out, clearly on edge. He paced in front of the bed where he’d sat me against the pillows.

“It’s a natural anesthetic. It reacts differently in vamps versus humans. With us, it slows down the way we process information. It makes us vulnerable because while your body can still move quickly, your brain won’t tell it to react in enough time to defend yourself. Basically they wanted us rendered helpless in a fight,” he explained.

“That dirty bastard!” Gabi huffed, coming to sit next to me on the bed.

“How long will the effects last?” Al asked.

“Barring we remove and dispose of all the contaminated glass in her, she should be fine in about half an hour.”

Everyone kept looking at me. Their expressions were a melting pot of emotions and concerns, but mostly I saw anger. I wanted to say so much, but it was too much work. I was frustrated and upset. I was going after a major villain and clearly wasn’t prepared. I knew I’d gotten myself in too deep at this point. I couldn’t back down, couldn’t run away, but for the first time, I doubted my ability to face him. He’d shaken my determination
and caused my wobbling confidence to crumble.

“I take it Jacky boy got to her, ay?” John stated more than questioned
, this time with a Canadian accent thrown in.
I knew he was trying to break the tension, but it wasn’t working.

They all turned to him, as if they’d forgotten he was there.

“That’s none of your damn business. You may work for the head vampeens but you don’t work with us,” Rafi growled. His delivery caught me
off guard. I knew he was a toug
h vamp, but he usually kept quiet, leaving the others to do the talking.

“I don’t want to work for you. I’ve got a cushy gig where I’m at. I do want to help Lexi though, and I have access to information she needs to catch this
Jack character
.”

They all exchanged glances with each other, deciding whether or not to trust John.

“Hello! Me. Glass.” I yelled.

“Damn dalley doopers. Who gives a waddle about this schnucker? Let’s focus on helpin Lex,” Craig interjected.

Kellan and Craig helped me stand while Gabi, Kai and Kalel all quickly worked around each other removing bits of glass and metal from my skin and tattered clothes. Given their vamp speed, they were done in just over a minute. I instantly breathed a sigh of relief. I already was beginning to feel normal again.

“Ugh that sucked,” I groaned, stretching my limbs.

“Yea well, it sucked for us too,” Gabi sighed, biting her lower lip.

“What’s wrong?”

“He almost got you Lex. We’ve been taking this way to lightly. We’ve known the risks, but we haven’t really been facing them. Now we have to.” She was right, as much as I hated to admit it.
She looked at the group of testosterone driven vamps all in varying moods around the room.
“What’s our next move guys?”