I stared at him as he opened his driver’s side door and slid into the seat. The muscle car’s engine roared to life, and Javi peeled out as he left the clinic, leaving a cloud of smoke and rubber in his wake. I stared at his car until it disappeared around a curve in the road.
Inside, I found Doc sitting at the front desk. “Is everyone in the back?” I asked.
Doc nodded. “Last I saw, they were at the end of the hall outside Maddy’s room.”
I hurried down the hall and found them all exactly where Doc had said. Before any of them could say anything, I relayed the exchange I’d had with Javi outside.Luis looked pissed and glared past my shoulder toward the parking lot where Javi no longer was. Felipe and Sebastian both looked worried. Things were getting heavy, and it was happening fast.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Nico,” Luis said.
“Yeah, man, what the hell is happening?” Felipe asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “But we’re involved now. It’s too late to back out. We have to be prepared for whatever is ahead of us.”
7
MADDY
“Hey, you ready?” Nico said as he walked into my room.
The minute I saw him and heard his voice, I knew something was wrong. The easy-going, charismatic Nico was gone. This version of Nico was tense and had a worried look on his face.
I didn’t say anything about it. Instead, I simply nodded and started gathering my few belongings. Nico stood by the door with his friends.
He leaned toward his buddy who’d caught the nurse that morning. Luis? “Head out ahead of us. I’ll call you with the address.”
“Got it.” He was gone an instant later.
Nico stepped over to me, his face a little less pensive than a moment before. “Can I take your arm? Lead you out?”
I was a little surprised that he’d asked permission. I’d actually been preparing myself for the full macho-man act—a hand around my waist, dragging me out the door “for my own protection” and not a hint of apology. This was a nice change of pace. It told me Nico really might be a good guy. I could tell hewas, anyway, otherwise I’d never have taken him up on his offer. This helped me feel better about the situation, though.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” I said. “I’m still a little wobbly from being in bed so long and all the pain meds.”
That was the truth. I’d actually gotten dizzy getting dressed five minutes before he’d arrived. That was probably from my head wound, but I was sure all the other things that had happened in the last two days hadn’t been great for my equilibrium either.
Nico put a hand around my arm and guided me down the hallway. He had two more friends standing at the front, both standing outside the door and scanning the area. If things weren’t so dire, I’d have thought it was kind of cool. All these bodyguards should have made me feel like I was some movie star or something. But in reality, it scared me. Terrified me, really. People were trying to kill me. Literally. My life was at risk and people wanted me dead. I had no idea why, and these shifters were the only thing standing between me and a plastic body bag.
Nico walked me over to his SUV and settled me in the passenger seat. He went around the driver’s side door and got inside. Once the doors were locked, he waited for his two friends to get into a car and pull up behind us in the parking lot. It looked like they were going to tail us to my place.
“Okay, what’s the address? I’ll have Luis get there ahead of us.”
I told him the address. Nico pulled out his cell and relayed the info to his friend, then started the massive SUV and pulled out of the parking lot. I glanced back at the little clinic and wondered how such a nondescript building could have been the place where my entire life changed. Three days ago, my biggest worry was whether my shipment of red wine would come in on time, or if I’d have enough limes for the evening rush. I’d had asimple, pleasant, happy life. Now, I’d somehow found myself in a life-or-death struggle, and it had all started in a building that looked like it was home to an accountant’s office. It really felt like it should look more sinister or dark. Instead, it looked like the least ominous place I’d ever seen.
After turning out of the parking lot, the building disappeared, and I found myself fully alone with Nico for the first time. Even the first time he’d questioned me, Dr. Carter had been right down the hallway. So this was different, and it felt a bit awkward.
“So…um.” I had no idea what to start a conversation about. “I hope it wasn’t too much trouble getting my room ready.” Oh my God, what a moron. I did my best not to roll my eyes at myself.
Nico glanced over, then back to the road. “Nah. All good. I needed to clean out that room anyway. Only took me like half an hour.”
“That’s good. I’m a little worried about being bothered. I know you probably had your own life to deal with, and this is not really what you had planned. Unless you’re constantly harboring women from danger, that is.”
“First time, actually. I did save a vampire from some hunters once. That guy owes me one, big time.”
I froze and blinked. “Wait…vampires are real?” The implication sent a new shiver of fear up my spine.
Nico barked a laugh. “Sorry, sorry, I thought you could tell I was being sarcastic. No, they aren’t real…well, I assume they aren’t.” He chuckled to himself the rest of the drive, and my cheeks went red in embarrassment.
We pulled up to my house five minutes later, where Luis stood outside. He waved as we pulled in. His two other friends pulled their car in behind us. Luis was scanning the surrounding area as I got out of the car.
