by Dannika Dark
Diesel raised his glass, and it clinked against mine. “Respect.”
I gulped down the red liquid and slammed the empty glass on the table.
“How’s that taste?” he asked, laughter on the heels of his question.
“Like regret.”
“It’s got a little cinnamon and Tabasco.”
“You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet and right to the toilet.”
All three men howled with laughter. When one of them received an incoming call on his phone, he stood up and headed toward the front.
I stared at the empty glasses on our table. Alcohol made all the painful memories of Fletcher disappear, but every so often, they came back and stung me like an angry hornet.
“So where’s your daddy?” he asked.
“I don’t have one.”
His gaze tightened for a moment. “Did he leave you? That’s what’s wrong with the world. When a girl doesn’t have a good man to raise her, there’s no hope.” After a serious moment, Diesel leaned back and patted his knee. “Come sit on my lap. I’ll be your daddy.”
“I just bet you will. How lucky do you get with a line like that around here?”
Diesel glanced around. “Depends on the night.”
His buddy sipped his third cup of coffee, bobbing his head to the beat of the music.
I looked between them. “You ever get any Vampire chicks in here? My driver seems to think there’s hope for him getting laid tonight. But he only likes other Vamps, and it doesn’t look promising. I told him he’s going to have to settle for his hand, and he better take that shit deep in the woods and not in my car.”
Diesel smirked and turned his glass upside down. “Sounds like you need a new driver.”
“He’s not so bad. I feel sorry for him. Lonely guy syndrome. You guys come here a lot, don’t you? What are his chances?”
Diesel tugged on his thick beard. “Given you and your pretty friend are the only two gals in here tonight, his odds are slim to none. Unless you want to convert.”
“Perish the thought.”
“Yeah, but you’re a Relic, right? You can be turned.”
“Just because my DNA allows it doesn’t mean I want to be one of those fangholes. Maybe I want kids someday. Can’t do that if I’m a bloodsucking Vamp.” I sat back in my chair and folded my arms.
Diesel tucked his chin in his palm. “My poor little Relic. Don’t you care about dying?”
“We’re all gonna die.”
“Yeah, but you only get a hundred years, and that’s if you’re lucky. I’ll be around a lot longer.”
I snorted. “Not if you keep drinking those nasty shots.”
Diesel belted out a laugh, tugging on his beard with one hand. He did that a lot whenever he went into a fit of laughter.
His friend returned and lifted his coat off the chair. “Party’s over. We have to take off.”
Diesel looked as annoyed as I felt that our party was coming to an end. Hanging out with them had been a fun diversion, and now I was looking at a possible all-nighter in this place.
His friend threw a few large bills on the table. “Gotta go before the weather changes.” Then he shoved Diesel’s shoulder while the other man stood up. “Get your ass moving. Temple’s waiting, and you know what happens when we’re late.”
Diesel’s friends left the table in a hurry and headed toward the door.
“Well, honey, maybe our paths will cross again.” Diesel rose to his feet and put on his big brown coat.
My heart raced as I tried to scheme a plan. Temple was the name of our buyer. These must have been his middlemen—the transporters collecting the goods and flying them out. And to my surprise, they weren’t Vampires.
Where the hell is Christian?
“Mind if I walk you out?” I asked, jumping to my feet.
He zipped up his coat and looked down at my attire. “It’s cold out there.”
“Then keep me warm.”
A hungry look crossed his face.
I dashed back to the café to grab my coat. “Blue, I’ve got our man. It’s the lumberjack,” I said quietly. “Don’t look obvious. Are you awake?”
When she didn’t respond, I shuffled into my trench coat and hurried back to Diesel. He put his arm around me as we strolled toward the door, and when Viktor turned, he had the most bewildered expression on his face. I used my free hand to discreetly point at Diesel and widened my eyes—the universal sign for “this is the bad guy”—and hoping he didn’t mistake it for “be right back after I bang this guy.”
We exited the building and steered right. The temperature must have dropped ten degrees since our arrival, and the cold wind burned against my cheeks. When we rounded the corner, Diesel ambled toward a plane on the tarmac. Through the open door, I could see the coffee drinker sitting in the pilot’s seat. The plane had several windows along the side and a propeller. The shades were pulled down, hiding anything else.
I glanced at the two-step ladder that hung from the door and nuzzled against Diesel, who had his arm around me.
“So can’t you call your friends and tell them you’ll be an hour late?” I asked hopefully.
He stopped and turned to face me. “Not tonight, honey. Duty calls. You can kiss me goodbye.”
As much as I wanted to take Diesel down, we weren’t close enough to the plane. The men could still get away, and I wasn’t entirely certain the girl was in there.
“Got room for one more?”
He gave me a quizzical stare. “Don’t you have someplace to be?”
“I’m also drunk and love an adventure. So what? My friends can wait.”
“Who says we’re coming back?”
I could see the suspicion in his eyes, so I flashed toward the plane and peered inside.
“Mage!” Diesel boomed.
I pulled energy into my hands and hopped up the ladder to blast the pilot, but he reached over and shoved me out, taking a small shock to his arm in the process. I fell onto the concrete and rolled, and Diesel came at me. Behind him near the hangars, Christian was running toward us at full speed. If it weren’t for all the fucking lights, he might have been able to reach us faster.
I sprang to my feet and collided with Diesel, pulling him into the most electrifying bear hug he’d ever known. Sharp pain pierced my back, and he threw me aside and fled for the plane. I stumbled a few feet before regaining my balance and going after him. The plane was on the move, and in desperation, I grabbed on to the tail.
“Let go!” Christian shouted, veering toward a parked plane. “Our plane’s over here. Get Viktor and Blue!”
I punched at the windows and then ran alongside the plane as it turned onto the main runway and picked up speed. I’d ridden on top of a car before. How bad could a plane be?
Then I thought about them doing aerial stunts, and I ditched the plan.
Every time I moved my arm or shoulder, the pain in my back intensified. I reached over my shoulder, felt the handle of a small dagger, and pulled it out. Tears involuntarily fell from my eyes. Another blade was lodged out of reach, but I had no time to worry about myself when we had only minutes to spare. I’d run a good distance from the building, going after Diesel’s plane, and halfway back, I staggered to a stop. Viktor and Blue emerged from the side of the building, and when they saw me halfway down the runway and Christian steering our plane onto the tarmac, they broke into a run. Viktor reached the plane first and got in, forcing Christian to switch seats. Blue kept running and torpedoed right past me, her clothes falling away as she shifted into a falcon.
While struggling to catch my breath, I quickly gathered up her clothes.
The plane rolled right past me, Christian yelling, “Get in!”
I ran alongside, shoving the clothes in first before Christian yanked me through the open door. I squeezed into the back, behind Viktor’s seat, and stared at the imposing instrument panel. As we picked up speed, Christian struggled into the back seat and then pulled out th
e second dagger.
“Permission to heal her?” he asked loudly. “Two stab wounds—one in her lungs.”
“How do you know that?” I rasped.
Christian didn’t answer, but he must have been able to hear that my breathing didn’t sound right.
Viktor waved his hand.
Nausea crept over me the moment the wheels came off the ground. The cabin was loud and confined—nothing like flying Delta.
“Did anyone do a preflight check?” I joked.
Christian bit his wrist and offered it to me. I stared at the wound, my mouth watering. I could either balk at it or just get it over with and heal. Viktor needed me at full capacity, so I pulled Christian’s wrist to my mouth and drank. The flesh closed back together on my wounds until all that remained was a tingling sensation.
He quickly wrenched his arm away and licked the bite, sealing it. The sweet taste of dark blood still coated my mouth, and I swept my tongue around in search of every drop.
Viktor tapped his headset. Christian reached around and put one on my head.
“Did you finish?” Viktor asked through the headset.
“Finish what?”
“I’m talking to Christian.”
Christian put on his headset not because he couldn’t hear but so Viktor could hear his response. “They’re all done. I’ll send a message to Wyatt before we lose a signal.”
I coughed blood onto my coat sleeve to clear my lungs. “What are you two talking about?”
Christian’s phone lit up as he typed a message. “While you were entertaining our friends at the bar, I put tracking devices on all the planes. I was finishing up with the ones in the hangars when you came outside.”
“I didn’t see the girl, so I don’t know if they have her. The shades on the windows were pulled down.”
My thoughts drifted back to that moment when Christian had appeared from the shadows. The fire burning in his eyes, the sheer determination to reach me as he ran toward the plane, his feet barely touching the ground.
He came for me.
It removed any lingering doubts I might have had about what had gone down that night with Houdini.
Christian put his phone away. “There was no need to dangle from the tail, though I admire your tenacity. I saw them loading luggage into the craft. If she was in one of those large cases, they must have her impaled to keep her still.”
“You didn’t think to check it out?”
“They had their car parked in a locked garage all night. To be fair, we’ve been looking for Vampires. I didn’t think the numpties would have stuffed their valuable merchandise in a trunk for the past six hours while ordering shots. And don’t pretend you knew all along. I saw you getting cozy over there.”
“I was gathering information. Then I got bored. Either way, I won the bet.”
“Aye, lass. That you did.”
Two hours had passed since we ascended to the heavens and were floating above the clouds. There were more clouds miles above us, but the half-moon was in plain sight, creating the most spectacular view. Viktor changed course accordingly as Wyatt relayed messages on route changes. The cell phones quit working after a certain point, but Viktor had a satellite phone.
I glanced out the window, wondering if Blue was okay. How high was the other plane, and could her falcon cross these distances in such cold weather?
The engine sputtered, and the turbulence made my stomach drop.
Viktor’s voice came on. “Is there an airport nearby?”
Christian, still sitting next to me, had his gaze fixed on the clouds. “Wyatt said anyone can have a personal landing strip on private property, but it would have to be lit up and in a clearing.”
Viktor’s tone was concerning. “Something’s wrong. We’ve been steadily losing fuel. The reason I’m asking about an airport is because if we can’t find a place to land, we’re going to have to jump in the water.”
I swallowed hard. “Water?”
“We’re reaching Newfoundland. I need to take her down. Christian, tell me what you see.”
I gripped my seat as the plane made a quick descent. What the hell had I gotten myself into? Navigating city streets, I could do. Leaping across rooftops wasn’t a problem. But diving into the ocean and getting eaten by sharks?
This wasn’t in the brochure.
“There’s land straight ahead,” Christian said, peering between the front seats. “An inlet on the right at four o’clock. Trees as far as the eye can see.”
The plane tilted to the right, and I heard that unnerving sound again. I couldn’t be certain if it was the engine or the propeller slowing down, but it wasn’t a sound anyone wanted to hear at this altitude.
I turned to Christian. “What’s the plan?”
“We’ve been down this road before. I thought you liked heights?”
I gave him a lethal glare. “Again with the water. I remember how you yanked me off that underground bridge. I suppose this time you’ll kick me out of the plane.” When I thought back on those memories and what came after we hit the water, a sharp pain struck me in the temple. I covered my microphone. “Stay with Viktor. The jump might knock him out.”
Christian took off his headset. “I will, but you can’t swim to save your life.”
Viktor didn’t seem to hear our back-seat conversation.
“Yeah, Christian, but he’s our leader. You protect the leader first. I won’t die. I might drown and float off into the Atlantic Ocean, but I won’t die. Not unless I’m burned or beheaded.”
Christian leaned forward and raised his voice. “How close to the water can you get?”
Viktor gave a mirthless laugh. “All the way. I need to slow her down.”
When the engine shut off, a sense of calm and dread came over me.
Viktor unlatched his seat belt. “End of the line.”
I crawled over the seat into the front. “Christian will stay with you until you get to a safe distance.”
“My wolf—”
“Will die from a fall this high. If it knocks him out, you’ll drown. Let Christian take the brunt of the fall. He can use his blood to heal you if necessary.” I opened my door, the wind resistance strong.
Christian grabbed my sleeve. “Wait until we’re closer.”
“I can’t see a thing. Are we close to shore?”
“Aye, so long as you swim in the right direction. Remember the last time we jumped? Think about how you moved your body and kicked your feet. You can do this, Raven.”
Terrified, I angled my body out the door and waited for Christian to give the signal. Too high up, and I might shatter every bone in my body. People survived skydiving attempts where their parachutes didn’t open; surely I could do this.
Light glinted off the waves as the moon watched to see what would happen. The bleak weather and gathering darkness swallowed me into a nightmare.
“Not yet, Raven,” Christian said. “Viktor, I’ll come round when she goes. Hold on to me, you hear?”
“I should have been born a seal,” Viktor joked, still trying to control the plane.
We glided, the wind whistling against the plane.
“Now!” Christian shouted.
As the water came rushing into view, I held my breath and jumped into thin air. Deciding a foot landing would be best, I tucked my arms around my middle as my coat flew straight up. Seconds later, I plunged into the icy waters. The force of impact slammed into me with such brute strength that I wondered if I might die. When air bubbles tickled the inside of my nostrils, I frantically swam in search of the surface.
Darkness enveloped me like a promise of death. Was I swimming in the right direction?
Don’t panic.
I stopped for a moment and slowly released a pocket of air through my mouth to feel the direction of the bubbles. When one tickled my cheek to the back of my ear, I changed direction and swam. Christian had given me my only swimming lesson, and I imitated those movements, my body remembering what to do.<
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My lungs constricted, as carbon dioxide had nowhere to go. I released a few breaths to relieve the pressure, the need to inhale overpowering all rational thought. When my head suddenly breached the surface, I inhaled air and water all at once. It was impossible to get a satisfactory breath and tread water at the same time—especially when I didn’t have much experience swimming, outside of plummeting from bridges and airplanes. Going under, I reached out with one arm and then the other, my feet kicking behind me. The strange part was the sense of calm that swept over me. Jumping was the scary part, but after that, all I could do was sink or swim. Maybe Fletcher had something to do with that survival switch in my head. Self-preservation only meant something if I tracked down these bastards and killed them. My life had a purpose, and it wasn’t just to breathe and see another day. Every stroke of my arm was a promise to make men suffer.
“Raven, I’m coming!” Christian shouted.
He swam like a tidal wave heading my way. When he reached me, he hooked his arm around my middle. “You’re not getting anywhere against the current. Hold on to my neck.”
Ignoring him, I kept swimming.
He floated in front of me and forced me to stop. “Would you like to catch them tonight, or do you like swimming in place? Take a breath, Raven. Let me do all the work.”
Exhausted and coughing uncontrollably, I wrapped my arm around his neck. Another few minutes of that, and I would have been whale food. Christian veered right, and I lay on his back while he swam to shore.
My muscles tightened as the frigid waters rapidly lowered my body temperature. Up ahead, I could see Viktor on the shore, wringing out his shirt. An intense glow raged behind him from a fire where our plane had crashed. Smoke billowed, and the smell of burning rubber violated the pristine air. Christian dragged me onto the rocky shore, and I just lay there, utterly frozen. He removed my coat and stripped off my sweater.
“That doesn’t feel any better,” I said, my teeth chattering.
He wrung out my clothes, using his strength to shake the water from them.
I licked the brackish water off my lips and forced myself to sit up. “Maybe we should sit by the fire,” I suggested, staring at the inferno behind him.
