I snorted. Then gulped. Then gave the ugliest sounding guffaw of a laugh in the history of the universe, making myself turn bright red. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Careful there, those snorts might set off my lap rocket. They’re pretty hot.”
I raised my putter like I was gonna hit him with it. “You—”
He cut me off, grabbing at his crotch and using a robotic voice. “Warning. Warning. Heat-seeking sex missile activated. Deploying in three, two, one …”
He started to make a rocket sound when my bedroom door swung open.
Grayson stood in the doorway, his face dark and his slight afro mussed. “The scanners just got something.”
Immediately, Z and I froze.
The lighthearted, sweet moment was poisoned by the dread that swept through me. “What?” I asked.
Gray swallowed hard and then said. “Looks like Agent Muller’s found us.”
26
We burst out of the townhouse armed to the teeth in under five minutes. Half of the serum we’d stolen was in a tiny vial slung around my neck. The other half was on a tiny vial with Gray. I wore my riding gear, all leather. And I had a Confusion Amulet in a case strapped to my belt on my left side, a holstered gun on my right, and a long silver knife for vampires strapped to my back. I looked like a fucking movie superhero.
I did not feel like one.
My eyes scanned the streets as nerves bounced around like lotto balls inside my chest.
The neighborhood was silent. The dark night was only interrupted by the soft glow of television-set ambiance and one backyard basketball game with wild preteen boys yelling at each other with voices that cracked every third word.
Our departure was going to be noticed. Not good.
Evan crouched on the stoop and wrote a spell to eliminate any evidence of our presence from the building. It was a level nine spell and it took longer than I would have liked. My foot tapped impatiently on the concrete as he wrote and wrote.
But finally, silver sparkles flew through the front door and he pulled it shut, turning and nodding to Gray, who took the lead.
“Mount up. Hayley, you ride with Andros.” Gray and Andros had pulled out the motorcycles and lined them up in the driveway while the rest of us kept watch, Malcolm operating Gray’s drone. “Plan C. Text when you get there. Then destroy the phone. I’ll have new ones delivered to you tomorrow.”
Malcolm landed the drone as the rest of us mounted up.
The rev of the engines cut through the peace of the neighborhood.
I saw a curtain twitch—some nosy Karen wondering what hoodlums were in her neighborhood. I held up my hand and surrounded us in shadows so that she wouldn’t be able to make out any details.
I clutched Andros’ thick torso and tried to find a comfortable way to rest my helmet against his back as I stared off to the side. His body heated me against the chill of the spring night as we rode through the darkness, shadows jumping out at me as we sped past trees and houses faster than I’d ever ridden before.
I turned on the mic inside my helmet. “Are you time jumping? Don’t waste your energy.”
In front of me, Andros shook his head. “Muller’s linked you and Z. He’s realized Z isn’t back at school and you aren’t back at your house. He’s got people looking for you. Right now. That’s why we’re splitting up,” Andros’ voice came out as a growl through the speakers in my helmet.
“But—” Any retort I might have made was cut off when Andros zoomed off the road and into the trees. We zig-zagged around tree trunks, branches whipping our helmets without mercy. We skidded through a mud puddle and dark droplets splattered across my visor. I tried to wipe them clean but only left a streaky mess behind because I couldn’t spare my hand long enough to wipe well. There were too many twists and turns. My hands got very familiar with Andros’ abs.
When we got into a clearing and drove onto what looked like a dirt hiking path interrupted by the occasional picnic table, I realized we must be in some kind of state or national park. I asked, “Where are we going?”
“Off the grid for the night. Gray gave each of us separate locations … in case something like this happened.”
I swallowed hard. Gray had said Plan C, but I had been more focused on watching the neighborhood than listening since I wasn’t driving. “Why didn’t he tell me about this plan?”
“Well, pretty sure he was gonna … before you shrunk his dick.” His chuckle echoed in my ear. “Remind me never to piss you off.”
“Don’t ever piss me off,” I reminded him. “Shit. That was snarky. I blame Z.”
“I blame him for a lot of things.”
“Like what?” I asked as we rounded a bend and came to a parking lot that looked like it was set up for campers.
“I blame him for the time I got grounded for sneaking out of grandma’s to go find a fish shifter he’d discovered.”
“Wait. Unnaturals can turn into fish?” I’d never heard of that.
“You’re just as gullible as I was when I was ten,” he teased.
I pinched his belly in retaliation, though given his leather riding jacket, it wasn’t much of a pinch. “Hey now,” I warned.
“Z pushed me into the pond. If I didn’t have control over time I might have drowned.”
“What?” Shock rolled through me.
“Don’t swim,” he replied.
I blew out a breath, realizing how unsettled the thought of Andros nearly drowning made me feel. We rode on in silence. I wasn’t certain how long we rode; the night blurred and all the trees looked the same. Eventually, we came to a road and Andros drove on it, toward a dilapidated little hotel.
The place was one of those hideous tourist traps for families—it looked like sometime in the sixties it had been given a faux lighthouse facade on the main entrance. Over time, the facade had faded, and bird shit covered the pitched tower roof. It was not enticing, and the number of cars in the parking lot proved it. There were only two.
Andros stopped the bike at the edge of the lot. We both climbed off.
I was relieved to take off my helmet and get fresh air.
But his words cut my moment of enjoyment short. “Stay here. Actually, go wait in the trees. And take the orange back out of your hair. You don’t need to be memorable.” His eyes dipped toward my cleavage when I tucked my helmet under my arm and my riding jacket gaped open. “Maybe an uglier shirt too. I’m gonna check in.”
He waited until I was hidden in the trees before he stomped off.
I spent the whole time he was gone writing spells and trying not to spin around at the sound of every cracking twig. Vampires were out there somewhere. I didn’t know if they were close or not, but the last night we’d been near them … a shiver ran up my spine as I recalled the vamp who’d attacked the van.
A hand clamped down on my shoulder and I spun, light shooting from my palm as my heart leapt into my throat.
“It’s me,” Andros said, clasping my wrist and twisting it just slightly, so that I didn’t continue to blind him.
I turned off my light and took a deep breath to calm my racing pulse. “Sorry. You startled me.”
He jerked his head toward the building. “Come on. Let’s get inside before someone thinks you’re out here shooting S.O.S. signals.”