Echo Into Darkness: Book 2 in The Echo Saga (Teen Paranormal Romance) (9 page)

"And fail," Becca laughed. "I don't think he's going to give you any trouble."

My muscles tightened as the smaller guy dropped into the bowl, expertly swooping across a pipe and straight toward me. One side of his face was disfigured with a burn mark.

"Becca, back up, head for the door." Even as I reeled to the far edge of the crowd, I picked up a dark, broken life force off the skinny kid. Mutila energy. It was light, but there was no arguing its poisonous residue. The girl came right behind him and together, they carved the lip and sailed back to the far side. My nervousness spiked into dread.

"Both those kids. I bet that's who Jaxon was talking about." I reached for her but found only air. She had gone to the concession counter with the guy we'd met at the door. Great, and Jaxon was still a no-show. I would have been better off spending my allowance on bodyguards than depending on those two.

I gave the space one final scan in case he'd somehow gotten by me.

I was wondering about the old mattresses strapped into the corners when a skater overshot a ramp and crashed headfirst into one of them. Not altogether a high tech way to prevent injuries, but the padding seemed to do the job. The guy bounced to his feet and I realized it was Jaxon.

He collected his skateboard, fastened his eyes on mine, and crossed the bowl. His downturned mouth was the closest thing to concern I'd seen from him. Behind him, the eerie trio watched me.

I grabbed his elbow, and discreetly nodded across the space. "Over there. Those are faction kids."

He wiped sweat off his face with his sleeve, sneaking a casual glimpse at the kids as he did. Then he put his hand on my shoulder and whispered, "Follow my lead."

Jaxon teased his fingers into my hair and put a hand under my chin. He cupped my chin in both hands and kissed me.

Chapter 10

Jaxon's kiss was deep and territorial, like he was claiming me. He released my lips and, as much as I hated his presumptuous kiss, my legs wobbled.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

"Getting you to relax. You look like a vice cop, giving everyone the evil eye."

"I do not. I was doing what you asked me to." I licked my bottom lip. It tasted salty. This, unfortunately, did not go unnoticed.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you enjoyed that," he said.

"Wow, you are arrogant."

He nodded at the far end of the bowl. "Whoever you saw is gone."

"There were three of them. They must have slipped out the back exit," I said. "The smaller guy and the girl are definitely in. I'm not sure about the bigger guy. Now what?"

"That's it for tonight. I can look into it more tomorrow." The corner of his mouth angled into a smile. "As long as you're here, how about a skateboarding lesson? I bet I could teach you to Ollie in ten minutes."

A crease formed between my brows. "I just had a close encounter with supernatural whack jobs and you're flirting with me?"

I tried hard to sound offended but my voice was croaky. I still felt the heat where his hand rested against my chin. This was all wrong. Jaxon was not my type. I was trying hard to understand why he affected me this way, and then a sinking feeling returned to my chest. For the few long seconds of that kiss, I'd stopped aching for Connor. Now the ache was back, stronger than ever.

"I gotta go. Homework. And stuff," I said.

"Good luck getting a ride. Looks like Becca's busy entertaining one of the locals."

Becca was still talking animatedly to the guy who'd tried to feed us alcohol on the way in.

"Thanks for checking out those kids," Jaxon said. "They're gone now, so why not stay and have a little fun?" His lids dropped half-mast. He twirled a section of my hair around his finger.

I frowned to hide my discomfort. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Me? You're the one who keeps licking your lips. Either you're hungry enough to eat the gloss right off them or you're waiting for me to kiss you again."

"I—I am not." Not much surprised me anymore, but that kiss had. It was sensuous and laced with a dark hunger I hadn't ever felt from a guy. It wasn't the kind of kiss I expected from someone as annoying as Jaxon.

His eyes surfed over me and I shifted my weight.

"You're supposed to have all this amazing power." His eyeballs found the ceiling. "What would you have done if one of those kids came up to you?"

I probably would have fainted. "Why do you keep asking about my ability?"

"Can't blame me for being curious. I'd like to see it for myself some time."

His expression was innocent but his aura had a sensual vibe. Given the chance, Jaxon could make my life complicated. Maybe in a good way. Probably not.

"I have to go home." I zipped my jacket.

He let out a sigh. "Do you want me to check outside and make sure they're gone?"

"That would be great, thanks."

He went outside, and I joined Becca at the concession stand, where she was snapping the lid onto her cup of soda. "No way. My boyfriend plays defensive back for our team," she said to her bulky new friend "The Cardinals can kick Panther butt any day of the week, right Echo?" Becca asked.

"Yes. Butt kicking galore." I turned to the guy. "Is your offer still open because I could use that flask about now."

Becca's brows shot up in surprise. I'd never cared for the taste of alcohol.

"The name's Tugg," he said as he tipped the flask upside down to show that it was empty. "And you're too late. You can have my soda, though. I work here, and I get free refills."

It wasn't what I had in mind but I accepted his paper cup and took a long drink. A mix of alcohol and soda burned the back of my throat. That was where the contents of the flask had gone, right into his cup. I drank all of it in a few gulps and winced. The bubbles made the alcohol hot and scratchy against my tongue. The cola left an acidic film on my teeth.

"Whoa," he said. "That was heavily spiked."

"Thanks." I handed back the empty cup. The drink swam straight to my legs, washing over my frayed nerves and coating them with a sugary elixir.

"Is everything all right?" Becca asked.

"On the way to getting excellent," I sang and snatched her cup from her hand. One sniff told me her drink was spiked, too. After a long, industrious slurp, I came up for air.

"You'd better slow down. You're going to get sick." She tried to snag her drink but I hid it behind my back.

"I'm not sure I care." The rubber bands in my neck released, and the iciness was gone from my legs.

Who cared about the stupid Mutila kids, anyway? They were nothing more than a bunch of skateboard punks. As for Jaxon and his stupid kiss, it still lingered on my tongue. I wanted to wash away the taste of it with the last of Becca's soda, but the walls began to sway. The fat graffiti letters ran together in a wreck of color. My eyes tried to track a skater as he flew up a ramp. His image split in two and my stomach went topsy-turvy.

Jaxon appeared at my side. "The parking lot is clear. It's safe for you to leave."

"Thank you kindly." I slurred ever so slightly. His expression was impossible to read, seeing as how his features were blurred together.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"Can't hold her alcohol. Come on, party animal, time to go home." Becca slipped a shoulder under my arm.

Tugg took my other shoulder and the two of them placed me in the backseat of Becca's car. Someone tucked a blanket around me. When I sat up, dizziness pressed me down again. I lay on my back, tracking our progress by sound and feel. The gearshift clicked into reverse and gravel crunched beneath our tires.

"Oh crap," Becca said from the front.

"What?"

"Something's wrong with my car. The gas gauge says my tank is empty. Now it says full. Empty. Full. What the heck?"

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "How is it now?"

"Hey, it's back to normal. Did you do that?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm kind of losing it. Don't take the corners so fast, okay? Everything's all swirly." I belched and wrinkled my nose at the smell.

"What happened back there? Did you find those Mutila people?" she asked.

"I think so. Jaxon's looking into it."

"And what about your one-woman drinking show?" she asked. "Did that have anything to do with that red hot kiss? Yeah, I saw it. Mmm-hmm." The car skidded. Her breath hitched. "Oh boy."

"Is everything okay?"

"The road is super slippery." The engine hummed into a lower gear. "Jaxon's got a thing for you. You should totally go for it."

"Jaxon's a jerk".

"Apparently that's working for you. That was one steamy kiss."

I willed my brain to come up with a good argument. I couldn't. "He knows how to suck face, I'll give him that. It's his single redeeming quality."

"That and a hot bod. He was nice when we talked at school. You could do worse," Becca added.

"I'm not ready. I can't get Connor out of my head."

"Is there any chance you'll get back together with him?"

My stomach pinched. It wasn't from the alcohol. "No."

"Then go for the new hottie. Live a little."

I let out another long burp. "Are we spinning? Is the car spinning?"

"Keep your eyes closed, it'll help. And don't you dare barf on my new leather seats."

Eyelids clamped tight, my world returned to semi-normal. "I've been thinking," I slurred.

"Oh goody."

"You know how Raquelle is a ginormous skank? I hate her guts but me thinks she's the smart one. I mean, she goes through guys like she goes through toilet paper. Rips one off the roll, poops on him, and tosses him in the garbage when she's done."

"That is the worst analogy ever."

"She dumps them before they dump on her. Ha! This is an excellent analology. Analanagy? Anyway, you get it." I hiccupped something sour. "That's what I need, someone to help me get over Connor. I need a disposable guy, as in
hi it's nice to meet you and thanks for the good time, now flushity-flush buh-bye
."

"Hey, fool, you ever heard of personal space?"

"Huh?" I rolled onto one elbow and saw Becca's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"The guy behind us is riding my bumper," she said. "So help me, you put one scratch on my baby and my dad will sue!" she yelled at them.

I could tell we'd turned onto the Hawthorne Bridge by the way the car shimmied side to side. The center of the bridge was metal grating, and when it was covered in ice, it offered little traction.

Becca's car lurched and steel crunched into her trunk.

"Oh my God! What is he doing? That SUV hit me from behind!"

I tried to see out the rear window, but it was iced over. "Becca, you have to pull over. We have to pull over in an accident."

"I'm trying. He's going to do it again!"

Our car groaned from the next impact.

"He's doing it on purpose!" she yelled. "What the hell? I'm going to kill you for trashing my car! I'm pulling over," she said to me.

A trickle of dread coiled down my spine. The fact that I'd been within a few yards of Mutila and now our car was being rammed was too much of a coincidence.

"No! Go faster," I commanded her.

"But…"

"Keep going!" I fumbled for my cell phone. "I'm dialing 911."

She punched the gas pedal and we fishtailed.

"Here he comes again! Oh, you are so dead, you…"

Her string of curse words was lost under the crunch of metal on metal. Our car jumped forward. My cell phone flew out of my hand and onto the floor in front. The engine whined and our car sped up.

"Is he pushing us?" I asked.

"Yes!"

Our car swung to the right, hard. Becca's head smacked against the window and dropped forward.

"Becca!"

We spun toward the street's railing, bounced off the cement barricade, and screeched to a stop. The SUV's headlights lit up the interior of our car.

Doors slammed and voices came toward us.

"Becca! Omigod."

I'm not proud of what I did next, but I was so afraid. As the footsteps came closer, I rolled onto the floor and pulled the blanket over me. I clamped down my aura. Through a space in the blanket, I watched the shadows loom outside our car.

A head peered into the driver's side window. Someone tugged at the door handle, but the lock held.

"It's not her," a male voice said.

I held my breath for a full minute while the footsteps receded and the SUV gunned its engine and drove off.

Moments later, there was another tap on the window. My heart pounded in my throat. I clutched the blanket over my head, but the next voice was urgent. "Hey, are you okay in there?" Then, "The girl is unconscious. Someone call 911."

I crawled off the floor and in between the two front seats. Becca moaned. Blood dripped from her ear. In the distance, a police siren wailed.