A vehicle slowed to a stop beside me, and I glanced out the driver’s window at a blue van with tinted windows. My stomach gave a sickening lurch, and I held my breath as flashbacks filled my mind of another van and the day Conlan and I were abducted.
Relax, I told myself even as my hand moved to make sure the door was locked. I was going to feel pretty foolish in a few seconds when someone got out of the van and went into the apartment building. It wasn’t as if they had me boxed in. The space behind me was empty, so I could back out that way if I wanted to.
Half a minute later, I frowned when no one exited the van. What were they waiting for?
Movement drew my eyes to the rearview mirror where I saw a second identical van approaching. My heart began to race when the van slowed as if to pull in behind me, and my mind screamed a single word.
Run!
Chapter 7
I had my seat belt off and was over the console into the passenger seat before I had made the conscious decision to move. Throwing the door open, I jumped from the Jeep and took off down the sidewalk without looking back. Male shouts and the sound of running feet behind me told me all I needed to know.
I reached the end of the block and tore around the corner of the last building. Another street stretched before me with more of the same brick buildings and not a person in sight. Where were the paparazzi who dogged me day and night? I spent my days trying to avoid them, and now when I could have used them, there wasn’t a single one around.
I sped around another corner and came up short at the sight of two men running toward me. They were too far away to make out their features, but their build and clothing screamed “hired guns,” and they were headed straight for me.
I looked around frantically, but there was no avenue of escape. If I crossed the street, the men coming at me from both directions would cut me off. I was trapped.
My desperate gaze fell on a metal fire escape across the street, and I looked up at the building beside me. There was a similar fire escape directly above me, but the bottom landing was a good twelve feet off the ground. The sliding ladder that hung down was still at least four feet out of reach unless you were a pro basketball star.
Or a faerie.
Feet pounded the pavement behind me too close for comfort. I shoved my phone into my pocket and bent my knees. Don’t fail me now, I begged my body. My Fae strength and speed kicked in at random times, and this was the first time I prayed for it.
I leaped straight up into the air and nearly sobbed when my fingers closed around cold metal. Instead of sliding down as I’d expected it to, the ladder stayed in place with me dangling from it. I looked toward the running men. The glint of metal in the hands of one had me grappling for the ladder rung with my other hand.
I didn’t know if it was adrenaline or a burst of Fae strength, but I pulled myself up to grab the second rung. I reached for the third one. Almost there.
I jerked at a sharp sting in my left thigh, but I didn’t stop to look down. I grasped the next ladder rung and dragged my upper body onto the metal grate of the fire escape.
“Are you sure she’s a faerie?” One of the men asked as I swung my legs up onto the landing.
My left leg dragged a little, and I found out why when I noticed the dart protruding from my thigh. I yanked it out and saw a bead of gray liquid at the tip. Iron, probably mixed with a sedative like the one used on Conlan. If not for my goddess stone, I’d be out cold.
“Lift me up,” a man barked.
I looked down and found four men below me. Two of them bent and grabbed a third by the legs, preparing to help him reach the ladder. Davian’s backup plan, no doubt. He didn’t like to take no for an answer.
Leaning out, I threw the dart at the men. It struck one of the lifters at the corner of his eye, making him yell in pain and let go of his friend. The two of them landed on the sidewalk, and the other two rushed to help them up.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” I yelled down at them, and I was met with angry glares.
I stood and tested my leg. It was a tiny bit numb where the dart had struck me, but I could climb with it, and that was all that mattered. Ignoring the men’s shouts, I ran up the stairs. The building was six stories high, and I didn’t stop until I reached the top. Metal clanged below, and my stomach plummeted to the ground when one of the men pulled himself onto the bottom landing.
I tilted my head back to look at the roof. The fire escape didn’t go that far, and there was nothing for me to grab onto if I managed to jump and reach it. The roof of the next building was lower, but I couldn’t jump to it from here. That left me with only one option.
“I should have stayed in bed,” I mumbled as I climbed over the rail and stepped onto the eight-inch ledge that lined up with the adjoining building. I immediately flattened my back against the bricks and kept one hand on the rail, refusing to look down.
Sucking in a breath, I let go of the rail and shuffled carefully along the ledge. Shouts came from the men on the ground, but I ignored them and the man racing up the fire escape. I was barely three feet from the landing when he reached it and lunged for me. His fingers brushed my coat, but I took another step before he could latch on.
I turned my head to meet his furious eyes. He didn’t speak, but the determination on his hard face told me he wouldn’t give up that easily. I wondered why he didn’t reach for the gun that was visible in a side holster beneath his coat until I remembered that Davian wanted me alive.
Noise below alerted me to the fact that a second man was being lifted onto the ladder. Time to get the hell out of here.
I inched toward the end of the ledge until I was able to reach out and grab the edge of the roof next door. I turned quickly and grasped it in both hands, throwing myself onto the roof. I didn’t take a moment to catch my breath before I was on my feet and running.
I jumped to the connecting building and had to climb onto a utility box to reach the slightly higher roof after that one. I pulled myself over the top and glanced back the way I’d come in time to see the man who’d grabbed for me pull himself onto the first roof.
I took off. Most of the remaining buildings on the block were the same height, which made running easier. It also meant my pursuers would have less trouble chasing me.
Some roofs had metal access doors, but every door I tried was locked. I tried kicking a few, but they wouldn’t budge. Thinking I could jump down to the fire escape, I went to the edge of one building, only to see two of the men on the street following my progress.
My phone rang. It was most likely Lukas returning my call, but there was no time to answer it. There wasn’t much he could do for me. Even if I knew what street I was on, he couldn’t portal to me in time. I was on my own for this one.
I was two buildings away from the end of the block when I skidded to a stop at the sight of two men climbing onto the last roof. I spun the other way and saw the first two men four buildings away and gaining on me.
I ran to the back of my roof and faced the rear of another row of buildings. Below was a green area with some trees and benches and not much else. I stared at the opposite buildings and judged the distance to be at least thirty feet – impossible to jump even with a running start.
Think, Jesse.
I looked around. The building I’d just crossed jutted out in a stunted T-shape, closing the gap by half. A Court faerie could make that jump so I should be able to…maybe.