I kept my mouth shut. I doubted the details would incline either one of them to view me in a positive light.
“You’re going to have difficulties getting her out of a bargain she struck of her own free will,” Brax said, sounding sympathetic.
“Her sire is going to have a lot to answer for when I find him.” Liam shifted his attention back to the matter at hand. “This doesn’t change things. I am still taking possession of the girl and you and your wolves are going to stand back and let us work.”
Brax’s lip curled. “My stance hasn’t changed. You’ll get the girl when I get my murderer, and it’s you arrogant bastards who will stand back.”
They traded insults as if they’d forgotten I was standing right here. Unbelievable. You would have thought we were in the dark ages or something, and I was just chattel.
Brax sprang forward, covering nearly the entire distance in a single leap. The vampire shifted, blurring in the air, his hand flashing out and tagging Brax in the arm. Blood flew, the droplets spattering the fall leaves.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered.
How did they go from talking this matter through to beating on each other in the space of a few sentences?
The fight continued, the two exchanging blows I could barely follow. I watched for a minute. This was ridiculous, and it was getting us no closer to finding our murderer. I dug the sorcerer’s charm out of my pocket. Perhaps it was time to go back to the guy who’d started all this.
The two seemed evenly matched, and I didn’t see the fight stopping anytime soon. I also didn’t want to wait around for them to remember my existence and decide between themselves how I should be handled. It was time to go solo. I’d work out how to get myself out from under the vampire’s threat as I went along.
I walked back to the car, dodging the two as they came barreling past me. The snarling from both men was enough to raise the hair on the back of my neck. I was glad not to be the target.
I slipped into the car and grabbed the keys from the cup holder. I told Brax not to leave them in here. His mistake was my gain.
I started the car and pulled away, flooring it as soon as I backed up. I had no idea how fast a werewolf or vampire could run and wanted to be as far away as quickly as possible. The wheels screeched as I shot forward and the distinct smell of burning rubber rose from the tires.
There was a brief thud against the back passenger door, and then the car shot forward. I glanced in the rearview mirror and grinned at the pair of irate males glaring after me. Guess not paying attention to the weak, baby vamp had its drawbacks.
The highway wasn’t far from here. I hopped on the outer belt and headed toward the Easton area. I would have to ditch the SUV eventually. Brax struck me as the type to fit his vehicle with an anti-theft GPS, but I could use it to get closer to my destination.
I thought briefly of heading back to Elements and picking up Jerry’s car but dismissed the idea. Brax had already tracked me there once. It would probably be one of the first places he’d check. I also didn’t want to chance something happening to Jerry’s car given how dangerous things had gotten. It’d be just my luck to extricate myself from this situation only to have Jerry knock my head off because I’d damaged his precious baby. No, thank you. I’d find another way.
A phone rang from the compartment next to me. I jumped and opened the console, fishing out the phone. It was mine. Finally, something that was going my way. I was a little surprised Brax hadn’t taken the time to move it since last night.
The screen said, “Jerry.”
Hm. Should I answer? I probably should. He no doubt had questions. Questions that would be difficult to answer and would potentially place my job with Hermes in jeopardy. He would want to know why I hadn’t returned from the run for the sorcerer. The news that the vampires had finally caught up to me and that the werewolves had a marked interest in me would probably signal the end of my career as a courier.
I clicked the ignore button and tucked the phone into my pocket. He could wait a little longer. I was thinking until after I’d solved all of my current problems.
Yeah, that sounded like a better plan.
I dumped the car in a parking garage attached to Easton Town Center, a mall built to resemble a small self-contained town, featuring both an indoor and outdoor shopping center. During Christmas the outdoor portion was lined with lights and a miniature train was set up near the fountain. I headed indoors, hoping to use the crowd and closed in area to hide my scent.
I had no idea if Brax and his people intended to track me down, but I wanted to take no chances. They’d know I ditched the car, but they would have to guess the mode of transportation I took from there.
I walked, stopping at the Graeter’s to pick up a scoop of their black raspberry ice cream and then dived back into the mob of shoppers. It wasn’t too bad this late at night with the shops closing in the next hour. I hoped there were enough scents to mask my own.
I stabbed my spoon down into the ice cream, trying to break a piece of the giant chocolate chip off as I followed a pair of women into one of the many women’s clothing stores. It was a chaotic mess inside the place, clothes everywhere, some on the ground and everything cheap. I knew from previous experience that washing some of these clothes once was enough to disintegrate them.
I admired the top the mannequin was wearing as I thought of my next step. Walking anywhere was out. The wolves would just track me. The bus might work if they were running this late at night. My best bet was one of the smart cars you could rent by the hour. I assumed you needed a credit card to use one, and I didn’t want to chance Brax’s hacker buddy being able to trace the purchase. I could try to steal a car, but I didn’t know the first thing about hot wiring anything.
One of the women I was following dug into her purse, knocking her wallet out at the same time. She kept moving forward, not noticing. I bent and picked it up, pausing as I started to call out to her. The wallet had several credit cards in it.
I had the answer to my conundrum. I turned on my heel, tossing my empty ice cream container in the first trashcan I came across on my way to the smart car lot.
The lot was on the other side of the shopping center. The street lights were out, shrouding the area in shadows. I slowed. Even if the mall had closed, the street lights would still be on. They stayed on all night regardless of whether the mall was open or not.
I peered into a darkness that was much denser than it should have been. I could barely make out the cars at the end of the lot.
