Amaretto Flame (26 page)

I smiled at him and turned to go before
anyone else tried to say goodbye to me. As I walked past Jackson,
he caught my hand and said, “Forty minutes.” Nodding, I continued,
putting one step in front of the other with a conscious effort that
would keep me from running back toward Jackson and the rest of my
family.

The rain had passed, I noticed with sadness,
leaving small puddles and flowing water here and there. It was
about six in the evening, and the night was already threatening to
take over. I made my legs keep moving until I was beside Jackson's
jeep. Getting in, I sat for a moment, allowing myself to pull up
the image of his face. Then, I drove down the tree-shaded streets
until I was in town, my heart beating faster and faster the closer
I got to my destination.

When I pulled into the parking lot at
Stallott's, I could see that there weren't many cars. The place
wouldn't be too crowded tonight, which was good. I glanced at my
cell phone, seeing that it had taken just under ten minutes to get
here. Tucking the phone back in the pocket of the jeans I was
wearing - also stolen from Sylvia - I got out and walked toward the
door.

Disguise, disguise, disguise...
Before
I'd reached the door of Stallott's, I'd painted a huge grin on my
face and was swaying my hips in a carefree, flirtatious way.
Without hesitation, I opened the door and sauntered in, casting a
quick glance about. Paula was tending bar and Renee was on the
floor with Erika and Jenny, waiting tables. This was most likely
Bob's solution to having lost a waitress and a singer. Jenny
spotted me first, and rushed over so fast I thought she might trip
and fall.

“Where in the hell have you been?” She asked.
“I've been worried sick about you. I tried calling your phone. I
figured you and Jackson eloped or something.”

I smiled at her, giving her a quick hug.
“I'll explain everything soon, I swear. Right now, I can't. I'm
here for a reason.”

“Well it better be a good fucking
explanation,” she said, and then smiled and winked at me. “Call me
later. I mean it.” Then she rushed off to take the empty tray in
her hands to the bar. Erika gave me a sweet smile and a wave, not
being bold enough to ask me outright the way Jenny had been. I
glanced at Bob's office door and hoped he stayed in there. There
was a guy at one of the booths giving me a flirty smile, and I
remembered that I was supposed to have a disguise. I was supposed
to look like I was here having fun. I walked over to him and raised
an eyebrow.

“Is this seat taken?” I asked, hoping my
smile was coy enough. He had dark hair that was too neat and dull
brown eyes, but I guessed that to most people, he looked nice
enough.

“Only if you're sitting there, Beautiful,” he
replied. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I gave him a
good look up and down and grinned at him. Some newer, bumping music
was playing and I guessed someone had at least figured out how to
turn Jackson's machines on. With a glance at the stage, I felt my
chest tighten.

“How about you and I have a dance?” I asked,
trying to inconspicuously check out the other customers.

“I have to warn you,” he answered, “I like to
dance close.”

“The closer the better,” I said, and hooked a
finger in his collar, pulling him out toward the small, polished
wood square in front of the stage. I sent up a silent thank you
that Sylvia and I had often turned her stereo up to near-insane
levels and danced for hours, using it as an excuse to skip a day of
normal exercise. While I was certainly aware of the fact that
people were watching me move my hips and sway my body, I felt
pretty confident that I didn't look entirely stupid doing it.

The guy kept a dumb grin on his face the
whole time we were dancing, but I was preoccupied. I spotted them
sitting at a booth in the corner; two men dressed in black who were
watching me harder than any of the other customers. I gave no
indication that I'd seen them, though, and made myself keep dancing
until the song was over. I was about to walk away, but then I
looked at the guy one more time. Without warning, I stood on
tippy-toe to kiss him directly on the mouth.

His lips were warm and...well, they were
lips. There was nothing special, no tingling, no spark. I pulled
away from him and smiled. “Thanks for the dance.”

As I walked toward the bar, Jenny gave me a
look, and I thought her eyes might pop right out of her head. I
just grinned at her and sat on a stool. Paula turned to me with a
smirk.

“Wow. Jackson dropped you faster than I
thought,” she said, gesturing toward the man I'd been dancing with.
“You should have tried the ice.”

“No,” I said, waving her off like I was
distracted. “Jackson's waiting on me at home.” I slapped a five
dollar bill on the bar and said, “I'll take a shot of whiskey.
Actually, make that two.” I gave her the sweetest grin I could
manage and she shot me a look of pure hatred before turning to pour
the whiskey. She plopped the shot glasses down on the bar so hard
that half the liquid should have splashed out, but it stayed
put.

“So, Olivia, I was really hoping I could see
those scars today,” she said, a devious light entering her eyes.
“I've never seen a freak up close.”

I picked up the first shot of whiskey and put
it to my lips, tossing it back and enjoying the warmth that slid
down my throat. Then I looked into her mean, nasty face, feeling
that familiar tug within me. “Paula, have you ever had someone love
you so much that he would risk his entire life and everything he
had just to be with you for one more day?” I grinned and watched
her own syrupy-sweet smile fade. “Of course you haven't.
I
have
. It's fantastic.”

I watched her face transform as the anger
filled her. She wasn't nearly as pretty as I had originally
imagined. I took the other shot, set the glass down on the bar,
winked at Paula, and stood. I walked out of the bar, enjoying the
only moment of my gloating revenge that I would get…it lasted about
five steps and then my mind was on my new task.

When I had almost reached the car, I heard
the door of Stallott’s open again. The music momentarily got louder
and then faded again as the door closed. I did not look back. I got
into the car and glanced at my phone. I had been in the bar only
ten minutes. The last thing I wanted was for Jackson to get heroic
and come looking for me. I had the men right where I wanted them.
As I started the car, I saw one of them talking on a cell phone.
They were heading toward a silver SUV parked around the side of the
building. I counted to ten, and slowly pulled out of the bar’s
parking lot.

I was sure they had seen the car, and as I
pulled out onto the highway, I saw the glint of the SUV pulling out
of the parking lot as well. I only hoped the SUV contained the rest
of the men who were after Jackson. I drove as if I didn’t know
someone was behind me. All I had to do was continue driving and we
might actually be able to pull this off. I had to get all of them
to the house. My heart pounded furiously inside my chest.

I willed our plan to work. It absolutely had
to. We didn’t have another chance. It suddenly came to me; the
finality of it.

This was it. There was no turning back now,
no time for hesitation. There was no time to kiss Jackson on the
lips again before…I banished the thought from my head and tried to
focus. We were just a few minutes from the turnoff to Claire’s
driveway when I noticed another vehicle behind the silver SUV;
identical to it. The rest of them. It had to be. I glanced down at
my phone. It had been about thirty-three minutes. It was going to
be all right. We were going to make it. I was convincing myself,
giving myself a pep talk, when I heard a shot ring out. The jeep
lurched to the left and I fought to keep it under control.

My mind raced, trying to connect the noise
with the swerve of the jeep. The flop-flopping of a flat tire told
me instantly. They were shooting at me! This was an unexpected turn
of events. I could almost feel the blood draining from my face as I
tried to convince myself they wouldn't shoot me until I led them to
Jackson. A few more shots rang out and the jeep lurched again.
They'd gotten the other tire. So far the gun's purpose was to
render my vehicle useless. Well, it was working.

The trees had been almost a blur a few
minutes ago, but now the jeep was slowing, the blown tires making
horrible noises as rubber clunked against the metal.
Shit!
I'd wanted to make it part of the way down Claire's driveway, but I
wasn't going to be able to. I didn't think they could get to the
front tires from where they were at. I had at least a few moments
before they forced me off the side of the road or used some other
method to capture me, but they were dangerously close behind me. I
glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw that the first SUV was
swerving to the other lane. They were going to pull up beside
me.

I bit my lip, keeping a whimper inside, and I
knew I was out of time. The jeep was slowing down even more now. I
watched for the driveway and when I saw it, I counted slowly to
three. Then I let go of the steering wheel and leaped across to the
passenger's side. There was a second before the jeep started to
veer off the highway, and I opened the passenger door and jumped. I
landed on my feet at first, but my knees buckled and I slid, my
left forearm, side, and thigh taking most of the damage.

Looking at the road, I watched the SUVs and
saw that I'd fooled them for a second. The first one had passed up
the driveway, but the second was already turning in, the headlights
flashing over the gravel and rocks. There was too much adrenaline
running through my body for me to feel much pain, so I desperately
hoped that nothing was broken as I stood to run. The hours running
through the woods in Eagleton served me well, now. I flew as fast
as I could down the driveway, the toes of my shoes digging into the
gravel.

I'd nearly made it to the steps when I
couldn't resist the urge to look behind me; to see how close they
were. One of the Venator had already exited the first SUV, which
was still moving, and he was gaining on me quickly. The distraction
caused me to miss the first step, my shin banging painfully into
the edge. I sucked in a breath and screamed, “Jackson!” That's what
Perry had said to do, right? My brain was muddled as I tried to
remember.

I made it up the stairs, the Venator right
behind me, and I flung the front door open. I held onto the knob,
though, and shut and locked it quickly behind me. It would only buy
a few seconds until the hunters broke the glass and unlocked the
door, but a few seconds right now might mean life or death. I
hadn't even made it to the back door when I heard the glass
shatter. “Jackson!” I screamed again. My voice was more than
terrified, and I prayed everyone would hold their positions. I took
huge gulps of air and my muscles burned with the effort I was
putting forth.

A warm oozing brought my eye down to my leg
for just a moment. The jeans there were dark red, and I realized
I'd broken the skin. Flecks of blood covered my shirt and the tops
of the jeans as well. It must have been damage from the gravel when
I'd landed, but I didn't have time to consider where it was coming
from just then. I could hear the boots of a hunter on the floor in
the house and knew he was terribly close to me. I flew through the
kitchen and out the back door, into the yard where my family could
see me.

Jackson sat on the edge of the old well, his
eyes meeting mine wildly. Shadows from the huge trees behind the
house stretched out toward him, as if they were just waiting to
gobble him up. I could see that he was fighting to stay on the well
rather than run toward me. His eyes were taking in the dark stains
of blood, the funny way I was now running. It didn't matter. I was
almost there. We were almost done. Just as I opened my mouth to
yell his name again, the hunter caught me from behind.

He grabbed my hair, stopping me in my tracks,
and immediately his arm came from behind and snaked around my
throat. I could see the branches of the trees, and some part of me
wondered where they were hiding; Ivanna, Perry, Charlotte and the
rest. I wondered if...if Jackson and I died, if my family would
make it out alive.

“That's it,” he panted. “Don't you fucking
move, bitch.” I could feel the muscles bulging in his arm as he
began to squeeze my throat, cutting off my air supply. I thrashed
about, but in physical strength, I was no match for this guy.
Jackson had already started toward us, a wild and dangerous look on
his face.
No,
I thought.
Stay beside the well.

I truly wasn't able to breathe now, spots
swimming before my eyes. After the run, my body was demanding
oxygen and I needed it fast. Suddenly, the man's arm loosened and I
gulped in air, stumbling forward a step. I spun around to face him,
to find that he was staring at me with a horrified expression on
his face. His hands were slowly moving up to his head, and his eyes
were glazed over...like Sylvia's had been when she'd been
concentrating on her vision.

Jackson reached me, noticing the man's face
as well. “What in the hell?” he muttered as he grabbed my arm and
started dragging me toward the well.

“Everett!” I said, remembering the feeling of
being paralyzed earlier. The rest of the Venator were coming
through the back door of Claire's house, now. This fueled me and
made my legs move again. Jackson and I reached the well just as the
last of the men were out of the house. They were coming at us now,
some of them staring at the hunter who'd grabbed me and who was now
motionless. Jackson stood with his back to them, his face looking
down into mine. What great control it must have taken him to ignore
the hunters...but there was nothing we could do until they all got
close enough.