Burning Alive

Page 5

“We’ve got to catch up with her,” Zach said, breathing hard.
“You leave that poor girl alone,” ordered Miss Mabel. “You boys have done enough damage for one night. Setting the diner on fire. What were you thinking?”
That fire hadn’t exactly been part of their plan—they’d planned on being out of the diner before the demons awoke—but no one bothered to explain that part to her. The sirens grew louder and Thomas was already behind the wheel, starting the engine. Zach slipped inside and slammed the door shut. Hard. “Did you see which way she went?” he asked.
“East. I’ll try to find her.” Thomas moved the vehicle into traffic and got caught at the first light.
“Shit!” bellowed Zach. “Blow through the intersection.”
“You mean drive right over this nice young couple in the itty-bitty convertible in front of us?” asked Thomas, peering at Zach in the rearview mirror.
“If that’s what it takes.”
“I think not. We’ll find her, Zach. Chill.”
Zach pounded the seat next to him in frustration. “I can’t believe she got away.”
Drake had a hard time believing it, too, but right now his top priority was Helen and finding out why she hadn’t said a word or offered any resistance since the moment she’d seen those flames. Not a good sign at all.
Lexi gripped the steering wheel so hard her hands cramped. She hated leaving Helen and Miss Mabel behind, but there was nothing she could do for them now. She should have known better than to let herself get close enough to care what happened to any of the regulars of Gertie’s Diner. She should have learned her lesson by now. Caring that much about anyone was foolish.
Helen and Miss Mabel were gone. The Sentinels had them, and once they had someone, they never let go. Her mother had drilled that lesson into her since before she was old enough to walk.
She’d come close to being taken right along with them. Too damn close. Zach had overwhelmed her with his size, which was something she could handle. But he’d also overwhelmed her with his personality. He was a disturbing mix of charming humor and deadly hunter and she hadn’t been prepared for the swift change in his demeanor. She also hadn’t been prepared for the way he looked at her. The way he smiled at her.
He had seemed like a harmless flirt all through dinner, which was why she hadn’t let the men’s tattoos and collars alarm her. As long as they thought she was human, she was safe, so she played the part. Even flirted back, taken his phone number when he’d offered it.
Staying had been a mistake.
When he attacked her, she knew he’d figured out her secret. She fought back as hard as she could, but he was too strong. She stabbed him and he grinned. Who the hell did something like that? Only a lunatic. That’s who.
A lunatic whose mark tingled on her arm. She had to do something about that as soon as possible.
Damn him. She loved that job. Loved the people she got to see every day. It was almost like having a family, and Zach had stolen that all away from her just by showing up and barging into her life.
Lexi let out an enraged scream, making the windows on her old Honda vibrate. She hated this—hated being afraid, hated being alone, hated having to rebuild her life every few months—but it was time to move on. Again. The damage was done and she was no longer safe here. Everything she owned was in this beat-up old car. She was leaving a week’s pay behind, but that was something she’d have to deal with. She had enough money squirreled away to keep moving for a couple of weeks, which was exactly what she was going to do.
Her mother had warned her that she could never let the Sentinels find her. They were dangerous men who enslaved women, forced them to do unspeakable evil. Her mom had never been completely sane, but on the days she was lucid, this was the one thing she drilled into Lexi’s head over and over, and Lexi took that warning to heart. She knew what would happen to her if they ever learned of her secret—if they ever learned she wasn’t entirely human.
She’d have to get a new name, alter her appearance, and find a new town. It was getting harder and harder to change her identity, and the papers cost more every time, but there was no help for it. She was free and she’d stay that way or die trying. She couldn’t let herself fall into the hands of the enemy. The lives of too many women—special women like her—were at stake.
Helen couldn’t even scream. She was too terrified to pull in enough air. Seeing that pillar of flame while Drake wore that half smile on his face . . . It was so much like her vision that she just shut down, waiting for the blistering end to come.
But it hadn’t come. And although there were similarities between reality and her vision, it wasn’t exactly the same. She could see too much of her surroundings, it was bright inside, not dark, and the fire was behind Drake, not engulfing her. That was the biggest difference—the one that really mattered. She wasn’t burning alive.
Breathe. Just breathe. That’s all she had to do.
She couldn’t open her eyes yet. She could feel the vibration of a car beneath her thighs and the slight swaying of her body as they turned corners. Someone was holding her. She could feel the heavy weight of a man’s warm arm around her shoulders. Strong fingers drew comforting circles over her bare arm. Her head was tucked against his shoulder and she could smell smoke clinging to his shirt, a subtle hint of soap clinging to his skin. Streamers of energy that felt like warm bubbling water trickled into her flesh where his other hand circled her wrist.
Drake. Drake was holding on to her, keeping her from flying apart. He’d carried her out of that burning building. He hadn’t watched her die.
Maybe her vision was wrong. Or maybe it just wasn’t time for her to die yet. Either way, she was grateful to still be alive.
“Turn here,” she heard a man say, and forced her eyes open enough to take in her surroundings. She was in the back of some big SUV, and even through the heavily tinted windows, she could see the western sky was a deep orangey pink. Miss Mabel was safe and sound in the front seat and Zach was all but crawling into the driver’s lap, helping him steer the car.
“Welcome back,” said Drake. Her head was down and there was no way he could have seen her open her eyes, but he knew she was coherent again.
Helen sat up straight, which he let her do, and then tried to scoot over and put a couple of inches between them, which he didn’t let her do. He kept his arm firmly about her shoulders, holding her right up against his body. His very warm, very firm, very manly body.
“Here, Thomas! Turn here!” shouted Zach. He was frantic about something, but Helen couldn’t bring herself to wonder what he was frantic about. She had worse problems, like how she was going to get Miss Mabel out of this mess and back home to the safety of her crocheted doilies and giant antique book collection.
“You okay?” he asked, leaning a little closer to her ear so she could hear him over Zach’s bellowed directions.
Helen swallowed, hoping her voice wouldn’t come out in a childish squeak. “I will be once you take me back to my car.”
“No can do. Firefighters and police are probably already crawling all over the diner. Who knows how long it will take them to put the fire out?”
Fire. Right. They could have her car. She wasn’t going anywhere near fire, not while he was around. “Home, then. You can take Miss Mabel and me home.”
“Damn it! I’ve lost her.” Zach ran a frustrated hand through his long, wavy hair, dragging half of it out of the ponytail band that held it in place.
“I thought you said you put a marker on her,” said the driver, Thomas.
Her? Lexi. Oh no.
“I did,” grated Zach. “I thought it was a strong one, too, but apparently not. How could she have slipped away so easily? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“Tell me Lexi made it out of the fire,” said Helen, looking up into Drake’s shadowed face.
“She did. And the cook was already gone for the day, which was lucky for him.”
“It wasn’t luck, just laziness,” griped Helen. Paulo always left early, making Lexi clean up the diner by herself most nights.
“She not only got out,” said Zach with the distinct sound of grating teeth. “She also got away. Do you know where she lives?” he asked Helen.
“I have no idea.” Which wasn’t exactly the truth. She knew Lexi lived in her car, just not where that car was. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” Which was the exact truth.
“I think I’ve had enough adventure for one day,” said Miss Mabel. “I’m ready to go home.”
Helen was in full agreement about the adventure part. “I’d really like to know what the hell is going on. Who are you guys and what do you want from us?”
“We’re the good guys,” said Drake. “We want to keep you safe. That’s all.”
“Then let us out here. We can take care of ourselves.”
“Not a chance,” said Drake. “Not until we figure out why you have this effect on me. Besides, it’s dark out. You’re not safe running around once the sun’s down.”
“Fine. At least let Miss Mabel go.”
“I’m not leaving you with these ruffians,” said Miss Mabel. “We’re sticking together. I’m keeping my eye on these boys.”
“We need to get back to work,” said Thomas. He was calm where Zach was frantic, moving the giant vehicle through traffic with expert ease. His wide shoulders stuck out on either side of the driver’s seat and his head was only inches from the SUV’s headliner. “Logan should be finished feeding by now and he’ll need to know where to meet up with us.”
“My house,” said Miss Mabel. “Have him meet you at my house.”
Oh no. Helen was not going to let these men know where Miss Mabel lived. She was a mostly defenseless old woman and these men pegged the weird-o-meter. Not a good combination. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Just take us to the mall. Someplace public. Miss Mabel and I can catch a bus or a taxi.”
“Don’t want the big, bad wolves knowing where you live?” asked Drake. She felt his words slide along her temple in a warm wave that contrasted with the chilly hint of mockery in his tone.
“I’m not an idiot,” she told him.
“No, but you are a mystery. One I’m going to need some time to solve.”
“We don’t have a lot of time, here, Drake,” said Thomas. “We have a job to do and only about eight and a half hours to do it in.”
She felt Drake’s body tense up all along her left side. His arm gripped her harder and his fingers tightened on her wrist like he didn’t want to let go. And that only made Helen more nervous. Even with those lovely streamers of energy that flowed into her everywhere his bare skin touched hers, she wasn’t sure she liked where his possessive body language was going.
“I realize that,” said Drake, “but I also realize that I’m not going to survive another attack like that last one, so we’d better find someplace to do a little testing. And for that, we need Logan. Miss Mabel’s house is as good a place for that as any.”