Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (17 page)

He smiled. “Cool.”

“What did these 'dudes' look

like?”

“One was bald and the other had

red hair and a beard.” He thought a little

more, but then nodded.

“How are you supposed to

contact them to tell them what you

found?”

“They said they'd come back to

our campsite in the morning.” He eyed

her up and down and frowned. “You're

not going to let us go, are you?”

“Wow, Jeff. You're not as stupid

as you look.” She glanced around for

anything she could use to tie him up and

spotted a roll of Captain Burgandy’s

duct tape that washed ashore.

After making sure Jeff was

securely restrained, she ran over to the

see how Garren and Thane were

handling the girls. They managed to tie

them up, back to back. One of the girls

glanced up to her and gasped. “I bet

that's her.”

Garren's brow furrowed as he

looked from Ivy back to the girl. “What

are you talking about?”

“Nothing. They got me confused

with someone else, but we need to go.

Now.” She gathered up her stuff. Thane

did the same without question.

Garren stood there, watching

them in disbelief. “Ivy, what the hell is

going on? Who are these people?”

“I don't have time to explain right

now. If you're coming with us, get

packing. Otherwise, sit down and keep

your girlfriends company while Thane

and I leave to finish our mission.” Her

voice was steady, unlike her nerves. Her

hand was shaking as she ran it over her

hair.

She’d

only

been

out

of

Salmagundi’s wards for less than a day

and already they found her. But why

would they send Banes to look for her?

Realization donned on her and

she could’ve kicked herself. It was a

trap. Her mark would’ve alerted her if

an Eradicator was near. Banes had no

effect on her. They could successfully

sneak up on her. Well, better trained

ones than the idiots currently tied up by

the fire.

The mark on her wrist wasn’t

burning, so the hunters weren’t near, yet.

She palmed the sapphire still hanging

around her neck and whispered the

incantation to activate it. Now they had a

chance to sneak out without being

tracked.

She nearly fell on her face when

she tripped on her way to talk to Thane.

The baby dragon had wandered over and

sat in the shadows. It stuck its head out

of some bushes, watching the excitement.

“Hey, Sparky, you better take off,

too,” she whispered. She shooed it away

with one hand, trying not to bring extra

attention to herself. It snapped its head

back into the bush, growling. She didn’t

have time to concern herself with orphan

dragons.

Garren apparently decided to

leave because he was gathering up his

stuff while muttering something about

bossy witches. If she wasn't in a hurry to

get out of there, she might have let

herself be offended. As it was, there

wasn't time.

Thane ran up to her, over-stuffed

pack on his back, and pointed to the

others. “What are we going to do with

them? We're not just going to leave them

tied up like that, are we?”

The girls struggled to get untied,

but the magic duct tape wasn't budging.

“Actually, that’s exactly what

we’re doing. Someone will find them,

eventually.” She continued to walk away

from the beach, trying to get the show on

the road.

“Ivy—”

“Look,” she whipped around to

face Thane and Garren, who looked

uneasy about either leaving or leaving

the others behind. “I'm not staying here

another minute. You can either come

with me, or not.” She wasn’t about to get

captured by Eradicators because they

had second thoughts.

Garren stood straighter and

crossed his arms over his chest. “Not

until you tell us what's going on.”

She couldn't help but laugh at the

way he was putting his foot down.

“Okay, have it your way.” She turned

and walked away. Staying here wasn't an

option but she didn't think they were

stupid enough to stick around. Maybe

she was wrong. A few seconds later, the

sounds of footsteps followed behind her

as she stalked away from the beach.

The night trekking through the

forest was the longest of her life. With

absolutely no light to guide them, they

had to feel their way around the trees.

Every snap of a twig brought them to a

halt. They froze, waiting to see if an

Eradicator pounced on them from behind

a tree. The pattern of advancing and

stopping made for an agonizingly slow

pace. Between the sapphire draining her

magic and the stress of possibly being

discovered, her nerves were shot.

Chapter 9

“Are you ready to explain?”

Garren asked as they finally found a

paved road after many hours of trekking

through dense forest.

“Explain what?” Ivy opened her

last bottle of water and took a sip. The

sun was still below the horizon, but it

brightened the sky enough for her to keep

an eye on her surroundings. The threat of

discovery from Eradicators didn’t go

away with start of a new day.

Garren rubbed his hands over his

face and sighed. “Why were Becky and

Sarah looking for you?”

“Becky and Sarah? On a first

name basis already? Exactly how long

were you flirting with them while Thane

and I were left vulnerable?”

“Hey, how was I supposed to

know that other guy was with them? And

stop trying to turn this around on me.”

He was yelling now.

“Keep it down,” she whispered.

Adrenaline rushed through her veins,

jolting her nerves like a spike of

caffeine. Her gaze darted all around,

scouting for enemies in the trees.

Thane

maneuvered

himself

between her and Garren as they walked

along the shoulder of the road.

“She has a point,” he said,

lowering his voice at her raised

eyebrow. “That guy could've slit her

throat before you realized someone was

there.”

“Hey, that'd never happen. No

thanks to you,” she told Garren. “What

was it, anyway? The estrogen induced

giggling or the C cups that drew you into

their trap? I know it's been a few hours

since you hit on anyone, but seriously,

put a lid on your libido before you get us

all killed.”

“Jealous I never hit on you?”

“If I recall, you did hit on me

when I first came to town and I told you

to get lost.”

Thane snorted. “So that's why

you don't like her? Because she turned

you down? Classic.”

“I believe his exact words were

'Hey baby, don't be shy. You can ask me

out.' So I said, 'Great, get out.'”

A snort escaped Thane’s attempt

to stifle his bubbling amusement. Garren

shot her a glare that was probably

supposed to scare her. She’d seen

worse. At least the topic of why Jeff and

his bimbos were looking for her was

forgotten.

“You couldn't keep your eyes off

me,” Garren said. “So I thought I'd help

you out.” He kicked a rock down the

road, the sound of it hitting the pavement

echoing off the trees.

She tamped down the urge to

smack him upside the head for

broadcasting their location again. With

the mood he was in, he might hit back

and then she’d punch him and then he’d

do the same and then pretty soon a huge

brawl would break out for anyone within

a half-mile radius to hear. So she kept

her hands to herself.

“Don't get too excited,” she said

instead. “I was also staring at that kid

with the huge boil on his neck.”

“Whatever.
I
know you think I'm

hot and
you
know you think I'm hot.”

Garren shrugged his shoulders and

smiled as she stared at him with her

mouth wide open.

“Does your arrogance know no

bounds?”

“I'm not arrogant, sweetheart.

Just honest.”

A retort died on her lips as

Thane interrupted. “Will you two give it

a rest already? We have a long journey

ahead of us and your bickering is going

to drive me crazy.”

They trekked the next mile in

silence. Her feet dragged along the

pavement, energy draining away with

every step. The soft dirt on the side of

the road beckoned her to lie down and

rest her head.

Five minutes. I only need to

close my eyes for five minutes and then

I’ll be as good as new.

A scraping along the asphalt

behind them cleared the fog from her

brain. When she glanced over her

shoulder, nothing was there. At first, she

blew it off as her overactive imagination

and exhaustion. But after about the tenth

time, she stopped and turned around to

find out once and for all what was

following them.

“Ivy, why did you—?”

“Shhhh!” She frantically waved

her hand behind her to shut up her

cousin. She needed silence. The wind

rustled the trees and a few birds sang

out. She stood perfectly still for many

minutes, waiting for the scraping to start

again. It didn’t. Whatever it was, she

must’ve scared it away.

She turned back around and

strolled down the road along with the

guys. When another scrape sounded right

behind her, she whipped around, ready

to catch the culprit in the act.

“A-ha!”

Still, there was nothing there.

She took a couple steps forward and

heard a new sound— a low growl, like a

gargle.

“That sounds like the baby

dragon.” Her eyes searched all along the

road and the nearby trees, but she

couldn’t find it.

“Good going, Ivy. It probably

followed us,” Garren said.

“But I don’t see it.” She could

hear it right in front of her but no matter

how hard she squinted in the dim light,

she couldn’t find it.

“And you won’t. That breed is

exceptional at camouflage. They have

the ability to become completely

invisible,” Thane explained.

She squatted down and reached

out her hand. She moved it back and

forth, hoping to touch the dragon. After

a few moments of doing nothing more

than fanning the air, she stood and

shrugged. If it wanted to follow them,

there was nothing she could do about it.

The morning sun was climbing

higher, but in the shadows of the trees

lining the road, the air was still cold. In

the distance, the sound of a large engine

grew louder. They needed to put as much

distance between them and the campsite

as quickly as possible. Hitching a ride

was their best option at the moment.

Walking backwards, she stuck

her thumb out like she'd seen people do

on TV and waited.

“What are you doing? Taking

rides from strangers is dangerous. Don't

you watch movies?” Thane asked.

“I'm tired of walking and I'm

hungry. Unless you're hiding a car in

your pocket, stop that truck.”

“Who made her boss?” Garren

asked Thane.

As the truck slowed down to a

stop, she huddled them all together.

“Remember that the driver’s a Bane. No

magic.” She made sure to meet them both

in the eye. She wasn’t sure how much

exposure they had of the world outside

Salmagundi, the world where magic only

existed in books and movies.

Garren rolled his eyes and

stepped back. “We’re not idiots.” That

wasn’t reassuring.

Thane opened the door and a

billow of cigarette smoke hit them in the

face. She stepped up to talk to the driver

and was surprised by what she saw.

A middle-aged, bottle-blonde

woman smiled from the driver's seat.

“Hey, missy. Where you kids headed?”