Deceived By the Others
Page 25
Thanks to Chaz’s pack, I was on the run from a bunch of murderous werewolves, the police, and half the media in the state. The last straw had been my father telling me point-blank that I wasn’t his little girl anymore. Being disowned from my family for my involvement with the Others had been a gut blow I wasn’t prepared for. Recalling the raspy, accusing tones of my dad as he forbade me from ever coming home to him and Mom again made my eyes burn, but I’d cried my last tear over his pronouncement hours ago. I had work to do to make sure that the people involved with bringing this load of misery down on me and my family paid for everything they’d done. My resolve only firmed as I paused at the edge of the roof above the rusting metal framework of the fire escape that would lead me back down to the filthy alleyways and web-work of New York City streets below.
Considering it was Chaz and the rest of his pack’s fault that everything—my life, my livelihood, my family, and possibly my humanity—had been taken from me, I was not in a forgiving mood.
‘That’s an understatement.’
The droll “tone” of the belt had me grinning, though it was more a feral baring of my teeth than an expression of agreement. Stone chipped under my fingers as they tightened on the cornice molding on the edge of the roof. I absently flicked blood from my fingertips before dropping lightly down to the fire escape. It clanged dully at the impact, the sound rattling through the framework. I barely gave it time to finish shuddering before I leapt over the side, my already-healed fingers catching on the rail as I propelled myself down to the level below. Ladders and startled faces in windows passed in a blur, my body moving with the grace and surety of an Olympic gymnast and my stomach edging up into my lungs as I gained speed. Soon, much too soon, I was airborne.
Before I knew it, I was in a feral crouch on the alley floor, hair in my eyes and trench coat billowing around me like one of those clichéd action movie heroes and the last echoes of my landing ricocheting off the alley walls. An inhuman feat I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish a few weeks ago without breaking my legs, even with the belt’s help. Something about giving in and letting the belt take over had done something to change how we worked together; it augmented my strength, speed, agility, and stamina to a far greater degree than the first time I had worn it. Not to mention made me heal minor injuries nearly as quickly as a vampire. I wondered if that’s what it felt like to be an Other.
Adrenaline burned in my veins, but I didn’t give in to the belt’s siren song or half-hearted pleads for violence. Instead, I shoved my hands in my pockets and edged out of the shadows, past the dumpsters, and into the trickle of pedestrian traffic in the city street.
Clenching my fingers around the vial of Amber Kiss perfume and the box of ammo I’d shoved in my pockets didn’t hurt, though flakes of dried blood and shed scar tissue from cuts received and healed on my way down from the rooftop rubbed off in the process. I didn’t want to think about what I had become, or what I would be once I saw my quest for revenge to its end.
‘If not for the vampire, you wouldn’t be in this mess,’ the belt whispered. ‘You should plan to remove him, too.’
“Aside from the fact that he’d kill me if I tried it, Royce didn’t do this to me,” I muttered under my breath. “Don’t push me.”
A woman walking next to me glanced over, arching a silver-studded brow before ignoring me. That was the most attention I’d received from any of the sea of pedestrians all night. Not that I was complaining.
‘He may not have infected you, but he’s the one who brought you back into Chaz’s sights, and he’s also the one who keeps involving you in supernatural business. You wouldn’t have been bitten by vampires—’
“Enough!”
I nearly shouted the word, and this time I did merit a few stares from early morning strollers, late night revelers sloshing their way home, and a handful of people in power suits on their way to the office. Ducking my head and popping up the collar of my trench coat, I sped up the pace, growling under my breath. I would’ve snarled something nasty back at the belt, especially since it was laughing at me again, but I was attracting too much attention as it was.
In fact, only yards away from me, a black-and-white was cruising past. I couldn’t help but watch over my shoulder as it went by before realizing how conspicuous that must look. I drew out of the press of the foot traffic to pretend to consider buying a magazine at a nearby news stand. My stomach did a turn at the headline on one of the local rags: “New York’s Hottest Vampire Sponsoring Charity Concert!” There was a picture of him on the cover of the latest issue of some financial news magazine, too. I twisted away, scowling. No matter how far I ran, it seemed Alec Royce would follow me everywhere.
Oh, great. When I looked back, the cops had pulled into the alley I had just come from, flicking on their search light as they parked.
That was my cue to hightail it. I needed to be less conspicuous with my actions if I was going to carry out my plans without landing up dead or in jail before the month was out. Abandoning my feeble ruse, I turned and took to a brisk walk in the opposite direction from Dillon’s apartment building.
I needed to figure out where to go once the sun came up. After the stunt I’d pulled, there was no way I was putting myself back under Royce’s watchful eye. Knowing the vampire, he’d chain me up in the basement or something to keep me from escaping again. Going home was out of the question, as was Sara’s house and my parents’. Arnold might let me crash, but he’d tell Sara, which meant the vampire would know where to find me. I didn’t want that.
Not to mention that I didn’t have any money to get myself to my theoretical daytime hiding spot. In my headlong rush to escape Royce’s building, I hadn’t taken any necessities with me but my hunting equipment. My duffel with my clothes and my purse had been left behind.
Assuming I survived long enough, I needed to work on my ability to plan ahead.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2011 by Jess Haines
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
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ISBN: 978-1-4201-2433-0
Table of Contents
WHEN THE MOON IS FULL
Books by Jess Haines
Title Page
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Teaser chapter
Copyright Page
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