The HQ bikes veered into the street and scattered in different directions. Alex was giving directions to Eli and me. Just in front of me, Eli turned hard right and down an alley. Took a left. Eli veered into a tiny alcove, braked, and spun out in a squeal that hurt my damaged ears. I laid my bike down to avoid hitting him. The wheels rammed into the wall at the end of the nook. My body followed. I slid against the pavement and was thrown high. Into the wall. I shoved off the wall with my half-form strength and landed on top of Eli. Covering him with my body. We both opened our mouths and covered our ears, preparing for the detonation.
There was a massive explosion. Even so far away, protected by several buildings, the concussive wave hit us. It was like being hit by a truck.
Eli pushed me to his left. Before I could pick myself up, he aimed over my shoulder, his arm against my ear as partial protection. Fired. A remote aircraft crashed onto the roof of the building at our side. No explosion. Eli said, “Their bikes are tracked. Useful to us until they realized our people had them. Ditch ’em.”
Through the battle-bond, I felt his pain, his exhaustion. He was nearly spent. I adjusted my headset and pulled Eli to his feet. Placed the Benelli in his left arm and pulled his right over my shoulders. The angle was odd, but with my left arm around him, he had support,and I could fire with my right. He met my eyes, his expression telling me he could shoot just fine, offhand.
I pulled my new H&K and put a finger in place along the frame, above the trigger. “Alex. Which way?” I asked.
“Back the way you came,” he said. “The sat maps didn’t show the alley you’re in as being closed off. That wall is new since the last upload of the sat maps. So you have to backtrack to the road and then right. I have people en route to you. Local law has been notified to stay clear, that this is a paranormal attack being handled by the Dark Queen’s special forces. They’ve cleared the streets and have barricades going up. If you see a cop, stop and take shelter before they see you until I can contact them and assure your safety.”
“Roger that,” I said. Because some cops would shoot my monster self on sight. Taking most of Eli’s weight in my arm around his waist, we moved back toward the street. Without signals or words at all, Eli was watching above us and covering our left. I was covering in front, our right, and as much of our six as I could. There was some overlap, so if one of us missed something, the other one might spot it. We reached the road and spent plenty of time making sure no one was watching and no civilians were around. We headed right.
I could smell the sour sweetness of Eli’s wound, the pain and the battle stink of his sweat, a combo of adrenaline and determination and the drugs that were still trying to clear his body from the surgery. But mostly, with my cat nose, his blood. Glancing down, I saw thick, almost gelatinous fresh blood on Eli’s bandages.Idiot man.“You die on me and I’ll have a vamp turn you and then I’ll kill you again,” I threatened.
His laughter was mostly breath. “Love you too, babe.”
After his last injury, Eli had signed the turning papers, so I could do it too.
In the far distance my cat ears picked up the whine of motorcycles. “I hear bikes,” I said to Alex. “Friendlies?”
“If it’s from Front Street, affirmative. Six of our finest heading to you. Four up front and two more a block back.”
“Roger that,” Eli murmured.
The bikes grew closer. Eli and I stopped in an entrance doorway that was set back in the wall, giving us cover from behind and above, but making us visible to our rescue. Eli said, “Sorry,” and slumped in my arm. I grabbed the Benelli and let Eli down to lie across my feet. His bleeding was much worse, the bandage soaked and mushy. “I need a medic,” I said to Alex, holstering the handgun, the shotgun sweeping everywhere.
“Can he ride a bike?” Alex asked. “I can set up a rendezvous site with an ambulance.”
“Negative, unless I strap him to the rider.” That told Alex more than I wanted to on the open line. The connection went silent except for static that shouldn’t be there. Equipment damage from concussive waves or magic.
A moment later, he said, “I just checked about Florence’s coffin. They’re still en route. I’m going to Kojo and Thema’s rooms. They’re the oldest on site. If they’re up, I’ll ask for help. If they’re asleep, I’m staking them both and having their undead bodies brought to security.” Entering a vamp’s lair was an unforgeable insult, whether they were awake or asleep. If Alex had to break in and stake them, they would kill him later. No question. So the insult had to come from me.
“By the order of the Dark Queen, make it so, number two. They should be awake-ish, so knock first. Loud,” I said. “They might be able to stay awake long enough to help.”
“You know how much I hate being called number two, right?”
“I do. Suck it up, buttercup.”
Any reply he might have made was drowned out by the six white motorcycles that turned the corner and sped to us. Four bikes moved out and Chi-Chi, wearing goggles, pointed where he wanted the other bikes. They took cover positions, weapons raised and tracking up and down the street. The other two stopped, turned off the bikes, and shoved back faceplates. “Hey, Legs,” Blue Voodoo said.
Legs. NotMy Queen. All of Derek’s guys had stayed on after he was killed, and they were part of HQ’s and the DQ’s security. But they were here for me, as a person, notbecause of my title and position. I smiled, and some of the tension lifted from me.
Angel Tit and Chi-Chi glanced our way and both gave that military nod that said they acknowledged me but were busy covering the surroundings.
Voodoo said, “Let’s get you two out of here.”
“Pressure on that leg,” Angel Tit said.
Voodoo asked, “Evac?”
I slid the Benelli into its sheath, repositioned Eli’s body. “You’ll get on your bike,” I said to Voodoo. “I’ll strap him to your body. Alex is setting up a rendezvous with medic. If that isn’t possible, you’ll get him to HQ. Alex is waking a donor to have on site.”
“No shit?” Angel Tit said. He glanced at me. “No offense, Janie, but the Kid’s got balls. Hope they let him keep them.”
“Funny,” Alex said, breaking into the channel. “Hang loose on the bike evac. One of our SUVs is a mile away, driving like a bat outta hell. Cia tells me Liz is missing so I’m guessing it’s her. ETA in seconds.”
An armored SUV made the turn a block up and roared to us, Liz at the wheel. She was furious, her magic barely in check, her amulet necklace glowing bright even through the tinted windows.
