Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (77 page)

“You
told
her?”
Skylar’s
tone
was
incredulous
as
she
turned
to
stare
at
Jon.

He
felt
a
wild
resurgence
of
hope
inside
him.
When
he’d
given
the
disc
to
Alex,
he’d
thought
it
might
one
day
help
if
the
Church
came
after
her
again.
After
all,
information
was
power,
and
it
had
been
the
only
thing
he’d
had
to
offer
her
back
then.
Now,
he
crouched
down
beside
her,
and
his
hand
cupped
her
cheek.
“Did
you
know
I
love
you?”

She
turned
her
head
slightly
so
she
could
kiss
his
palm.
“Yes.”

Callum
studied
them
both.
“How
about
I
just
blow
your
ship
out
of
the
sky
and
the
information
with
it?”

Alex
gave
a
weak
smile.
“Janey’s
not
stupid.
She
said
to
tell
you
she’s
uploaded
the
file
to
an
external
link.
Without
a
code
sent
from
El
Cazador
every
hour,
the
information
will
be
released.”

Callum
shook
his
head.
“This
day
just
gets
better
and
better.”

As
he
turned
away
and
paced
the
room,
Jon’s
gaze
ran
down
over
his
tall
figure;
there
was
something
very
wrong
with
the
man;
beneath
the
cloak
he
appeared
misshapen,
almost
deformed.

Finally,
he
stopped
in
front
of
them.
“I’m
going
to
get
shit
from
my
council
for
this,
but
I’m
guessing
while
they
want
you
dead,
they
want
this
information
released
to
the
public
even
less.”
He
glared
at
Skylar.
“Did
I
mention
this
was
all
your
fault?”
He
threw
up
his
hands
in
disgust.
“Just
call
your
ship
and
get
your
misfit
friends
the
hell
out
of
my
face.”

Skylar
opened
her
mouth
to
argue,
obviously
thought
better
of
it,
and
opened
her
comm
link
instead.
“Janey,
come
and
get
us.”

Jon
wouldn’t
allow
himself
to
believe,
not
until
they
were
safe
on
El
Cazador
.
Impatience
gnawed
at
him.
He
needed
to
get
out
of
here.
Somewhere
he
could
shift.
Now
he’d
accepted
what
he
must
do,
he
wanted
it
over
with,
but
the
enormity
of
what
he
planned
struck
him,
and
terror
warred
with
hope.
His
palm
rested
over
Alex’s
heart.
She
was
clinging
tenaciously
to
life,
despite
the
horrific
wounds,
but
she
would
need
some
strength
if
she
were
to
survive.
“How
long?”
he
asked
Skylar.

“Five
minutes.”

Too
long.
He
bent
down
and
picked
Alex
up
in
his
arms,
holding
her
close
to
his
chest
while
he
stared
up
at
the
sky
out
of
the
broken
window,
willing
El
Cazador
to
appear.

As
he
tried
to
curb
his
impatience,
he
realized
there
was
still
something
he
needed
to
know
to
make
sense
of
all
this.
“Why
did
Ross
commit
suicide?”
he
asked.

At
his
question,
everyone
turned
to
look
at
Callum.
For
a
moment,
he
remained
silent,
as
if
considering
whether
to
answer.
Then
he
shrugged.
“Why
not
tell
you?
Soon
it
will
be
common
knowledge.
Ross
came
to
the
council
a
year
ago,
said
he’d
had
enough,
and
wanted
to
die.
We
told
him
to
get
a
grip
and
sent
him
away.
I
guess
he
decided
to
take
things
into
his
own
hands,
but
at
least
he
retained
enough
sense
to
make
it
look
like
an
assassination
rather
than
suicide.”

The
answer
told
Jon
nothing.
“But
why?
Why
had
he
had
enough?
What
had
changed?”

Callum
pursed
his
lips.
“Aiden
was
a
fool.
He
was
also
a
coward—he
couldn’t
come
to
terms
with
what
we
were
becoming,
so
he
chose
the
easy
way
out.”

Skylar
took
a
step
toward
him,
her
brows
drawn
together.
“And
just
what
are
we
becoming?”

A
small
smile
curved
the
corners
of
his
lips.
His
hand
went
to
the
fastening
of
the
cloak,
and
it
fell
the
floor.

“Holy
freaking
moly,”
Tannis
muttered.

“Madre
de
dios.”
Rico
sounded
equally
awestruck.

Half
of
Jon’s
attention
had
been
on
the
night
sky
beyond
the
window,
now
he
turned
back,
and
his
mouth
dropped
open.

A
huge
set
of
wings
sprouted
from
Callum
Meridian’s
back.
Black,
leathery,
the
tips
almost
touching
the
walls
on
either
side
of
him.
He
flexed
them,
and
a
sound
like
the
wind
filled
the
room.

“Jesus,”
Rico
said
and
let
out
a
short
laugh.
“Did
you
know
you’re
the
spitting
image
of
the
devil?
Was
Aiden
Ross
the
same?
I
bet
that
scared
the
shit
out
of
him.”