Invincible (A Centennial City Novel) (34 page)

“How badly do you want that date?” What a stupid idea. Still, if I could use it as a bargaining chip, perhaps it wasn’t such a dumb idea, after all.

“Um,” he said slowly. “Not enough to make Vincent pissed at me.”

“Van! What are your orders?”

“Escort you to safety. Keep you alive at any costs.”

I shifted in the seat and felt backwards for the door handle. “Well, you’ve brought me to safety, or so you succintly put it. Well, if you want to follow your orders, then I guess you’re just going to have to follow me.”

There was a car idling in the next parking spot, a truck with flames riding up the sides of it. As far as getaway vehicles went, it wasn’t the most sauve, but at this point, I would have jumped into a Smartcar if I thought it could get me to Jason.

I squeezed the lever and fell out onto the parking lot, my back hitting the pavement, breathing leaving my body in a whoosh.

Somehow managing to roll onto my feet, I leaped the half foot into the interior of the truck, almost bashing my forehead on the doorway.

The clutch provided to be a bit of a obstacle and I wasted precious seconds trying to work past it, but finally I had my foot on the dash and I peeled out of the parking lot like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were behind me.

I didn’t dare look back, too afraid of what I was going to see.

A sudden blow in the cab rocked the truck to and fro and I almost plowed straight through a set of mailboxes in the strip mall across from the club.

Jerking the steering wheel back before I could ram into the front window of a nail salon, I let my gaze flit to the rear-view mirror.

Ryder waved merrily, his light hair blowing in the fifty mile per hour wind.

I cursed and had to swerve into the next lane to avoid hitting a slow moving silver Volvo.

“We got you to the club!” I heard Ryder scream over the roar. “Now I just got to keep you safe! If Vincent gets angry, then he can go and sit on a spike!”

Crazy vampire.

Oh God.

Why was I smiling?

I chalked it up to the general insanity of the night and concentrated on driving without causing any accidents.

Too bad I wasn’t driving slower.

A blare of red and blue filled the peripheral of my eyes as I ran a red light and sirens rent the air.

Another look in the rear view mirror showed Ryder looking backwards at a Centennial City police car catching up.

“I think we just broke about three different laws!” screamed Ryder and I resisted the urge to bash my head against the steering wheel.

I couldn’t afford the delay. Even now, I could smell Jason’s sandlewood scent in the air, barely discernible but I could trace it.

Not if a police car was following me. He had probably called up half the squad and pretty soon the one police car would multiply into fifteen.

I had to ditch this car.

I rolled down the window and screamed over the roar of winter air. “Hang on!”

Banking a sharp right into a parking structure, for one sickening moment, I felt the wheels skid and then the truck listing to the left.

No, no, no, no!

The car was going to flip!

“I got it!”

With a bone-rattling thud, the car righted itself and I spared a glance behind to see Ryder hanging onto the right side of the cab. He had forced it down and in doing so, saved my life.

Probably Jason’s, too.

The red in my ledger was starting to get more than a little overwhelming now.

The truck roared up the parking structure, clipping a small sedan out of the way and when we roared up three levels to the top floor, I crawled out of the driver’s seat, legs feeling curiously like jelly.

But we had no time.

The screeching tires, the blasting sirens made it patently clear the one police car had friends.

Friends with guns.

I was good, but I wasn’t
that
good.

Ryder’s hand on my shoulder, we moved quickly to the elevator.

“They’ll be waiting for us. There’s no other way down,” I sputtered. “We’re trapped.”

Ryder let out a breath and laughed just the slightest bit. “You’re right. We should surprise them, shouldn’t we?”

That sounded ominous.

Too ominous.

“What do you me—”

“Hold on tight!”

The breath left me in a sudden rush as he hooked one arm tight around my waist and jumped three stories from the waist-high concrete barrier.

A scream lodged in my throat and for those three seconds, it felt like floating.

Or dying.

Fingers curled into his thin cotton t-shirt, muscles jerking under my fingertips, I heard Ryder let out a delighted howl.

“Yeah!”

So much for surprise, though.

We landed on the concrete and a fine tremor rode up his body.

He was still for a moment, drawing in quick breaths. “Okay, I would be kidding if I said I wanted to do that again tonight.”

Meanwhile, I was trying to relearn how to breathe. “Jesus.”

Ryder’s arm tightened around my waist, pulling us closer than ever. How could he run so warm?

He was just a dead body.

But this close, face to face, he truly was beautiful.

A car screeched to the curb, sleek and lean and black. It reminded me of a jaguar formed of metal parts.

The darkened windows rolled down to expose a woman I did not expect to see. “You fucking crazy stupid nut! Get the hell in the car!”

Ryder’s arms tightened around my waist, taking my breath away. “No way, Eve. I’m helping Ran. I’m going to keep her safe.”

Vincent’s emissary sighed and rolled her eyes. “Really? You’re going to keep her safe? Are you aware of the APB out on you two? Do you really want Vincent to deal with this?”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “He’s not going to deal with it. You will.”

Eyes thunderous, she slanted a gaze at me. “And you. I thought I warned you about what would happen if you and your fucking vampire stirred up any more trouble. Do you know how much paperwork I’m going to have to fill out because of tonight’s shenanigans?”

My throat went dry. I thought it funny I could be standing skin to skin with a vampire and not be afraid, but be frightened of the non-vampire sitting in a car six feet away. Clearly, I needed to rethink my priorities. “I…I’m sorry.”

“It’s not her fault,” said Ryder.

Her dark eyes narrowed. “Shut the hell up and get the fuck in the damn car.”

I stiffened and tried to wrestle out of Ryder’s grasp. I would’ve had a better chance of working my way out of barbed wire and gave up after three seconds. “I can’t go back.”

“She can’t go,” said Ryder. “Besides, Vincent told me to keep her safe under all circumstances. And Eve, damn it, it’s not her fault. Annabelle started this shit. Did you know the Sanguinate is gone?”

She was quiet for a moment and I fought the urge to squirm under her sharp gaze. “I know. There’s a war going on. And you’re going straight into the middle of it. Do you think that’s the safest thing to do?”

“He can either come with me and watch my back or let me go and watch me die.”

She sighed and rubbed the furrow between her eyes. “Jesus fucking Christ. What a fucking mess.”

“Jason is my Master. I am his Ailward,” I continued. “If I cannot save him, then our contract is in forfeit.”

“Is honor so important to you?” she asked.

I felt a lump in my throat. I tried to swallow it. It wouldn’t go away. “At this point, it’s all I have.”

Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly and she exchanged a few hushed words with the driver.

She turned back to us. “Get in. We’ll take you where you need to go.”

Relief made me sag in Ryder’s arms. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank us yet,” she said and then it seemed as though the corner of her mouth spasmed, as though she stopped a smile from appearing. “Thank us after we get you and your Master back. Now get the hell in before I lose my patience.”

“You mean nerve,” murmured Ryder who opened the door for me. He bowed. “After you, my lady.”

I stared at the dark depths. Third car in less than half an hour. “After today, maybe I’ll stick to public transportation.”

Ryder looked at me curiously as he slid in behind me and closed the door. “Why do you say that?”

“Things seem to be calmer when I’m in a bus or taxi,” I said and then locked gazes with the driver. “Van.”

He nodded.

Eve turned in her seat and looked at me. “Right. So. Where are we going?”

I rolled down the window just enough to smell the air.

And that sweet sandlewood scent.

“Straight ahead for about 3 miles. I’ll let you know when to turn when you get closer.”

Van nodded again and we pulled away from the curb.

Eve never turned back, instead looking at me with that same look Ryder gave me. “How do you know where to go?”

“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “We shared blood. Once his blood runs in my body, it’s like an invisible rope that binds us. I can always feel him.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Even after he turned vamp?”

I nodded.

“Hm,” she said slowly. “That’s…interesting. Ryder, you ever hear about anything like that?”

“Er, not recently.”

“What do you mean, not recently?”

He shrugged. “I dunno. About two hundred years ago, I knew this seer who could track people if she tasted their blood. But that’s kind of different, isn’t it?”

Eve raised a brow. “Wait. You knew the seer? Personally?”

“Yeah.”

“What happened to her?”

“Oh, she died.”

Eve winced. “Was it natural?”

Ryder laughed. “Oh, it definitely wasn’t natural.”

“Dare I ask what went bad?”

“Turned out a bunch of vampires objected to being found.”

Her gaze slid to me. “Can you do that?”

An interesting question. “I…I don’t know. Never tried.”

“Have you ever done it with more than one person?”

“No,” I said and then caught myself. “Actually, that’s not correct. I did it once before. Three years ago. But it was quite unpleasant. I felt like I was being stretched in two different directions. I’d prefer not to do it with more than one person.”

“And how does that bond break?”

I stared down at my hands clenched in my lap. “When the other person dies.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I kind of hesitate to ask you this, but…”

Ryder snorted. “Yeah right. You don’t hesitate to ask anything.”

“You shut your piehole,” she said and turned her attention back to me. “What happened to those two people you shared this…link with?”

“They died.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. “Hm.”

Ryder snickered quietly next to me and I took the chance to smell the air drifting in through the open window. “Van, take a left at the next light. Then you’ll want to go another two hundred yards before taking a right.”

“Whoa,” said Ryder. “This route look familiar to you, Eve, or is it just me?”

She turned back to the street and then sighed.

“It’s not just you,” she said tightly, riffling through her coat pocket. “I’ve got to call Vincent.”

“Where are we going?” I asked Ryder, who shook his head slowly.

“God, I hope I’m wrong, because if I’m not…” he started. “Do you know what’s worse than shit hitting the fan?”

My heart plunged down to my feet. “I don’t know.”

“Yeah,” he replied. “Yeah, I don’t know, either.”

Eve cursed. “He’s not picking up!”

“Shit.” Ryder ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip. “Oh…shit…”

“Where are we going?” I asked again.

Van turned the right. “Where do I turn next?”

“Go straight. It stops about half a mile down.”

The sandlewood scent had gotten so thick I thought I could choke on it. I supposed it was a good sign, even if the smell made me want to gag.

Then I realized why the smell was so strong and fingernails dug into my palms as panic began to ride the corners of my mind. “He’s dying.”

Eve turned in her seat, the phone clenched tight in her left hand. “Jason?”

I nodded, mouth dry. “I need a weapon.”

“Can you shoot?”

“Just point and pull the trigger, right?”

She sighed. “Never mind. Okay, nix on the gun then. Van, do you have something for her to use?”

I felt his eyes on me. “I don’t like other people to use my swords.”

Ryder huffed. “Oh, get a grip, man. You’ve only got about three thousand of them. You’re not going to miss one. Besides, swords are meant to be used. They’re not meant to be kept behind glass and ogled like they’re a pair of double Ds.”