“And even luckier that we found her before she became a threat to herself.” Jordan smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Rage gets it.”
I had to bite my tongue. “He keeps me grounded.” That was a true statement, but I didn’t like the googly eyes she was giving my man.
“Come on.” Jordan strode in the direction of Angel.
Angel was putting her last shoe on when we reached her. “I’m ready.”
“Great, I’m so excited that we can help you.” Jordan’s smile was basically threatening.
“Uh … yeah.” The girl took a step back.
The four of us made our way out of the building when the same dark vehicle the night of Dave and Busters pulled up in front with Nate’s smirking face looking right at us.
“Here’s our ride.” Jordan opened the backseat driver’s side door just like last time and waved her hand to the vehicle. “After you Angel.”
The urge to reach out and grab the girl overcame me. It took every ounce of my willpower to not jump in the car.
Angel climbed into the car and looked back at me. “Are you coming?”
“Not right now.” I didn’t want to lie to her. “But I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”
“Scooch, please.” Jordan’s tone had an edge. “I’m sitting back here with you.”
“Oh, okay.” The girl moved to the other side, and Jordan jumped in, slamming the door behind her.
Without another word, the car drove off.
“Where are they?” If Cole didn’t hurry, we were going to lose sight of them.
“He’s on his way.” Rage pointed at headlights. “I texted him when I saw her approach you while I was getting the card.”
A loud screech filled the air as the red Audi squealed into the parking lot. It raced toward us and then slammed to a stop.
Dear Lord. We were going to get killed before we even tried to follow them.
Cole stuck his head out the window. “Get your asses in the car.” A huge grin filled his face.
He was enjoying this way too much. I rushed to the driver’s side passenger door and opened the car, jumping into the center seat right next to Jess.
“Go.” Rage jumped in beside me and slammed the door. “We’re going to lose them.”
“Like hell we will.” Cole slammed the car into drive and peeled out of the parking lot. Car lights shone in our eyes as brakes squealing filled the air. A car horn blared as we skidded to the left and pulled out in front of a large eighteen-wheeler.
“We’re going to die,” Jess screamed beside me, covering her eyes with her hands.
“If I waited for an invitation, we’d still be sitting in the parking lot,” Cole screamed as he accelerated the car.
“I hate to agree with him, but he’s right.” Damien groaned in the front seat as he placed his hand on the glove box. “There they are. Stop driving like a maniac.”
“Uh, yeah.” Cole turned his head focusing on Damien, and not the road. “It’s like you think I don’t know how to not stand out.”
Red brake lights were right in front of us and we were maintaining the same speed. “Brake.”
The car jerked us forward as Cole slammed on the brakes. He turned the car so we poked a little outside of the road, stopping us from ramming into the vehicle in front of us.
“Dammit, Cole.” Rage roared in the backseat. “Get your head on straight.”
Soon, we were moving again, and Cole placed his hands on the steering wheel. “Alright, let’s do this.”
Surprisingly, Cole began driving like a normal person. The car was at least ten cars ahead of us, and Cole did well keeping up without doing any more outlandish stunts. It helped when Nate turned onto a road that led us north of New Orleans. We were able to get out of the city traffic.
As traffic began to reduce, Cole made sure to stay at least four cars behind. Soon Nate turned into a gas station and slowed at the front.
“Shit, this isn’t good.” Damien groaned. “They’re going to see us.”
“Not if I can help it.” Jess closed her eyes and murmured words under her breath. Shimmers appeared around the outside of the car. “There, we should be hidden to them. I just hope they don’t take long.”
Damn, Jess hardly ever used her magic, but when she did, it was freaking amazing. It made me wonder why she didn’t use it more often.
“Just pull in a parking space, and we’ll roll down our windows.” Jess motioned to the one in the corner of the lot where the least amount of light hit.
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her in the rearview mirror and followed her instructions.
Rage rolled down his window as the car became quiet.
Nate climbed out of the other car and began pumping gas.
“Why the hell didn’t you get gas before picking us up?” Jordan smiled at Angel and then shut the door. “I mean you know there aren’t supposed to be any extra stops.”
“Give it a rest.” Nate rolled his eyes at her and pointed inside. “Go get yourself a sugar-free coke or something, and stop bitchin’.”
“This is a huge deal.” Jordan checked her surroundings before she lowered her voice so that any humans couldn’t hear. “We have to get her to the drop off point before she becomes suspicious. They can contain her there.”
Contain her? What the hell were they talking about?
Somehow, Angel’s eyes found mine. She startled and glanced at the two bickering idiots.
“Jess?” My voice was quiet, not wanting to alert Nate and Jordan to our presence. “The girl is looking straight at me.”
“That’s not possible.” Jess huffed and scratched the back of her neck. “Only a mermaid could see through my spell.”
“She’s half mermaid.” Of course, this girl would be the one exception this time around.
“What?” Jess dropped her hands in her lap. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Uh … Because I didn’t realize it was a factor in your magic.” I looked back at Angel and placed my finger to my lips.
“Do you think I want to risk me and my brother’s cushy job?” Nate shook his head and laughed. “If you stop shouting and acting like a bitch, we’ll be fine.”
“Just fill it up, fast. I’m going to go find a snack. I deserve it after having to deal with Raven.” Jordan headed into the store, leaving Angel alone with Nate.
As Nate pressed the lever, the pump refused to start. He smacked the machine once like that was going to help.
The attendant inside must have pressed the intercom button. “This is a prepay pump.”
“Of course it is.” He growled deeply. “Damnit. I can’t use my card.” He marched into the building, leaving Angel alone.
“Get her to come over here.” Damien glanced around. “If they get to wherever they’re heading, there isn’t a way we can help her.”
He was right. We had to help her and now. I raised my finger, beckoning for her to come to us.
It shocked me when there was no hesitation from her. She glanced at the storefront and opened the car door slowly. She then shut it gently and ran to the car we were in.