“Are you south of Point Pleasant?” He sounded very much like a clan leader. Like Jack. And it broke her heart.
“Yes, but–”
“Listen carefully. That man's car probably has GPS, as does your phone. You need to make sure you can’t be tracked. When you hang up, turn off your phone and find another ride. Follow the signs for the town of Point Pleasant. Buy a ticket for the city. Leave the car in the station. Do not turn the phone back on and do not go home. Find a place to stay.”
“But I have to find Jack…”This can't be happening.Pain pierced through her chest in waves. The grief was beyond measure, the not knowing, even worse.
Josh kept talking but Zoe couldn't pay attention. Not now. Not when Jack needed her. “...in command now that Jack is…well, we just don’t know. You and your baby are our biggest hope. Don’t let Jack down. This is what he would have wanted. Hang up. Do as I say. Now. Pick up a disposable phone and call as soon as you're safe.”
The line went dead and she let out a little whimper.
Zoe stood and placed a trembling hand on her stomach. She wasn’t just fighting for her own life anymore. She would survive. She had to. For Jack and his unborn child, she would make certain of it.
Chapter 20
Jack’s foot itched to go faster. One of the first things he'd do is to buy Zoe a better car.
He hated the fact that she insisted on time away from him, but he’d do whatever it took to make sure she was happy, that she remained his. She was his mate, his love, but it was more than that. He’d never met anyone like her.
She was sexy, intelligent, and funny. Gutsy, too. He doubted any other woman would risk everything for a man she barely knew. It honestly made him nervous. She'd walk directly into any danger without a second thought.
Jack caught a flash of metal in his peripheral vision. A hand with a gun pointed.Shit.
He heard two shots and his car veered violently to the left. He tried to twist the steering wheel in the opposite direction, but the car spun out of control. There was a sickening crunch and his head snapped forward. The world rotated in a blur. The car went airborne and the meridian went by in a green flash. A bus horn blasted.
He knew he was going to die. His mind went to Zoe and the baby he would never know. He knew his family would take care of them. At least she’d have a chance at finding happiness with another man.
The vision of some other male raising his child and enjoying Zoe’s body yanked him from blissful surrender. That was not going to happen. He called upon the energy that created the universe, scrunched into a small ball, and surrounded himself with an electric shield. Zoe’s vortex gave him a level of talent he'd never conjured before.
His car compressed around. Something pierced into his side as his shield started to give. Pain exploded in his head and chest. The sound of metal against metal screamed through his brain. Then silence. Around him, the world faded to black, and he surrendered, his last thoughts of Zoe.
Chapter 21
Zoe sat in finger-gun-man's car and banged her palms on the steering wheel until they stung. How the hell was she supposed to turn off the car's GPS? With a frustrated scream, she let the tears she’d been holding in stream down her face.
She had to find Jack. He couldn’t be dead. She wouldn’t believe it. She’d go south, even if that meant walking twenty miles.
She grabbed her knapsack, hopped out of the Escalade, and headed back to the building. A tattooed-covered man with a beard reminiscent of an old ZZ Top video strode towards a Harley across her path. She had an epiphany and followed him.
He put on his helmet, and his boots stomped the starter, all the while ignoring her taps on his shoulder. Over the deafening roar of the engine, he leaned back and put the bike in gear. That wouldn't do. She straddled his front tire, reached over the bars, and shoved her hand into his face. The reflection of a sparkling tornado reflected in his visor.
He frowned and shouted over the din, “What the hell do you want?”
“I want a lift to the accident.” The exhaust fumes clogged her throat and her eyes stung. She coughed and pointed south.
“Sorry sister. No extra helmet.” The biker backed the bike out from between her legs.
Before he could move forward, she threw the vortex, thinking to make a small hole in the parking lot. The ground shook and rumbled like thunder and three cars disappeared into a sinkhole.
The biker’s mouth dropped open. “Get on. Shit, what was I drinking last night? What the fuck kind of demon are you?”
“One that wants a ride. Drop me off and I promise to disappear forever.” She ran around the back and threw her leg over the back seat.
“Not gonna be an easy ride, sweetheart.” The biker gunned the engine and popped a little wheelie. She screeched, almost toppled, but clung to his waist. She tried not to inhale the stench of cigarettes, beer, and sweat.
He raced down the exit ramp on the shoulder's edge. As he darted around traffic, he leaned, and the bike tilted. More than once, she could put her hand to the ground. When he reached the scene of the accident, she stumbled off the bike, and numbly mumbled “thanks.” The biker grunted, gunned the engine, and raced away.
A bus lay on its side across two lanes of traffic. A second bus blocked the remaining lane. At least ten ambulances lined up like taxis in front of a tent set up in the meridian. Medics rushed around the chaos. Tow truck operators worked on removing the buses. An elderly couple sat under the shade of meager bushes with empty stares and blank faces. She scanned the scene for Jack’s car.
