“Desmon sent me to help you bring the egg to him.”
I kept my face neutral the best I could. I didn’t trust him. He could be guessing I’d called Desmon. Or maybe they found my phone and saw the last message I sent.
Damn it! I should have deleted that and the video so they wouldn’t know where I was going. Ugh! Thinking under pressure was not my forte. I was clearly not the best woman for this job. Maybe Karim was right, and I’d never amount to anything without him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A lie. A terrible one.
And he knew it too.
“I don’t have time for this, woman.” He lunged.
My brain took that moment to check out, and instincts took the wheel. I hurled the lock in my pocket straight at his head. It wasn’t my finest decision, but hey, desperate times.
He was much taller than the average dude, and I missed horribly. It bounced off his shoulder with a ping like a spoon against a brick wall.
He didn’t even flinch. He just looked at me with this slow, amused look, like I’d just invited him to play. The corner of his lip lifted into a dangerous grin. “That’s all you got?”
Crap! I was so dead.
I was saved by the SUV that skidded to a halt behind him, its headlights highlighting his massive frame into stark relief. He whipped around at the noise, and I took my chance, breaking into a run toward the gate.
Chapter 4
Graham
Ihadexpectedherto run, but I hadn’t expected the driver behind the vehicle to ram me and the gate. If this were a smaller car, I could possibly try to stop it. I was a gargoyle after all, a creature of rock and stone. But everyone and their grandmothers drove oversized SUVs nowadays, and they weren’t nearly as easy to stop as a sedan.
I dodged the oncoming vehicle instead.
If I were in Darlington, I’d spread my wings and take to the air; it would’ve made following the female much easier. But I’d been instructed to keep a low profile, which was why I was also wearing my glamour. Busting my wings out to fly would break the illusion.
Unlike dragons, I couldn’t actually hide my form when I was in the air unless I had a look-away spell. I only had one of those in my possession, and now was not the time to use it.
By the time I caught up with them, the SUV had boxed her in, and two men were already rounding on the female. A woman still sat in the driver’s seat.
The female stood her ground, despite shaking from fear. She told them the same thing she’d told me, that she didn’t have the egg. Which was technically true; it wasn’t with her. Had someone already taken it off her hands? Or had she hidden it somewhere?
“I don’t even know what egg you’re talking about!”
Now that I knew was a lie.
“Oh yeah, then why are you running?” asked the thug advancing on her.
“Because you’re chasing me with an SUV! What the hell would you do if someone crashed through a fucking gate and tried to run you over?”
“Fuck this shit,” said the second dude. “I want to get paid, and she saw that fucking egg last.”
The man grabbed her arm. She swung at him, but the man moved fast, knocking her arm away. He pulled her toward the SUV.
She twisted, trying to yank free, and managed to smack the heel of her hand against the front of the man’s face.
“You bitch!” he roared.
Blood spurted from his nose, but he held on, dragging her toward the open back door of the SUV. His partner moved in fast, reaching for her other wrist. She struck out with her elbow, catching him in the ribs, but he only grunted.
The woman let out a scream, and something in it woke my protective instincts. I was moving before I could think. I let out a growl and strode toward them, the gravel shifting under my boots as I closed the distance. My hand closed around the nearest man’s shoulder. I yanked him back and he stumbled, losing his grip on her.
She tore free of him, but the second man still had her. He tried to shove her toward the SUV again even as he noticed me, his eyes growing round in recognition.
