Hold On Tight

by Cynthia Eden

  “If we’re with you, they can track all of us.” Sawyer’s gaze swept her.

  He meant they were all in danger. Because of her. “You should leave.” She waved them away. “All of you. Just go. We can all separate and come up with some sort of plan later. Go get that Jay guy you mentioned. Go get—”

  “She has two tattoos on her back,” Jett said suddenly. “Fuck me. And the rose is slightly raised.”

  Savannah became very, very conscious of her lower back. “The rose covers a scar that I got from the wreck. When I was pulled out of the car, some of the glass bit into my skin. I didn’t even realize I’d been cut, not until I woke up in the hospital, and the doctor told me that it was a small wound, that I’d been lucky—”

  No, I wasn’t lucky. I lost my mother and my brother. Not lucky at all.

  She’d covered the scar years later with her mother’s favorite flower. And the dragon tattoo? She’d been lying when she told Jett about the tats. Just bluffing her way through the conversation because she hadn’t wanted to bare her soul to him then. The tats hadn’t been for her. The dragon had been for her brother. He’d always loved dragons. He’d been the one to excitedly tell her—when they were just ten years old—that they’d been born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. He’d been so excited.

  It means we’re special, Vannie. Only Steven and Sam ever used that nickname for her.

  “It could be under the rose.” Elizabeth nodded. “May I see the tattoo?”

  Savannah just stared at her. Then… “Whatever. Look at it, then let’s get out of here.” She turned her back and pulled up her shirt just enough to expose the tats on her lower back. Then she felt Elizabeth’s fingers slide across the skin.

  “It could be a tracker.”

  “And we could be screwed.” Sawyer had started to pace. He rather looked like a caged tiger. “I’m getting Jay on the line. We’ll need his jammer, if that shit is really working now.”

  Savannah yanked down her shirt. “Look, I get that I fell down some rabbit hole, but just because I have a scar on my back, it doesn’t mean I’ve been microchipped like a lost pet!”

  But everyone gazed at her with solemn expressions.

  “Is a team coming here? Are the special agents coming and we are really just sitting here, doing nothing?” Savannah demanded. She had her priorities—and priority one was getting out so that nothing would happen to her baby. If they weren’t leaving, she was. She was running—

  “It’s okay,” Sawyer said with a nod. He’d stopped his pacing. “The chopper should be here soon.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

  Jett glanced at his watch. “We should start making our way to the roof.”

  “But—what—chopper?” Okay, she wasn’t even speaking in full sentences now. That was how crazy they were all making her. “I thought the folks following us would be able to find me because of the tracker.” Great. Now she was on the tracker party bus. “We need to separate.” She squeezed Jett’s hand. “You need to go. Get away from me. We can meet up later.”

  A muscle jerked along his clenched jaw. “Baby,” he gritted out, “I won’t ever be leaving you again.”

  “But if you’re in danger…” Didn’t he get it? “I was the bait, Jett. McNeely had eyes at my place because he thought you’d come back for me. I didn’t believe it. I knew you weren’t coming for me.” In the end, she’d been right. He hadn’t returned for her. He’d come for the baby. “But I can’t be bait again. I can’t be the reason you get caught.” Her stare darted to Sawyer and Elizabeth. Sawyer was texting someone. Not even glancing at her and Jett. “I can’t put you all in danger.”

  Jett’s gaze didn’t waver. “And I won’t leave you unprotected.”

  “But the tracker—”

  “Good news. Jay has the jammer on his chopper. Says it should work to destroy any signal from a tracker.” Sawyer glanced up from his phone. “His ETA is less than three minutes. We need to be on that roof.”

  “See?” Jett smiled at her. “We can take care of the tracker if one’s inside you. There’s no need to separate.” He pulled closer and whispered in her ear, “Though I wouldn’t have left you even if it meant I had to fight a dozen fucking agents. I will never leave you again, no matter what.”

  Then everything happened really fast. They all rushed to the elevator. A few moments later, they were on the roof. Savannah could see the lights from the chopper in the distance. Jett’s arms were around her shoulders.

  “Who is this guy?” Savannah asked. “And can we trust him?”

  “Jay is a man I’ve known for years. We can trust him,” Elizabeth quickly responded. “Like the rest of us, he has a personal stake in this.”

  “Personal?” The wind whipped at Savannah. Jett pulled her closer.

  “His wife is Lazarus,” Elizabeth explained. “And he will do anything for Willow.”

  Savannah shivered. She’d fallen so far down the rabbit hole. So very far…

  “They’re here,” Sawyer announced.

  No, the chopper wasn’t there yet.

  But she saw Jett turn his wrist. A light was flashing on the watch he wore.

  Sawyer had on a similar watch. And she realized he was staring at the screen of his watch, too.

  “Tripped the alarm downstairs,” Jett muttered. “Must be coming in with a full force.”

  They. The agents. They were the ones who’d arrived.

  The chopper needed to hurry.

  “I disabled the elevators. They’ll have to break the stairwell doors down, then climb all the way up here to get us.” Jett brushed a quick kiss along Savannah’s temple. “Don’t worry. We’ll be out of here by then. Normal humans just aren’t that fast.”

  “And protocol will demand they check the floors as they rise.” Sawyer rolled back his shoulders. “We should have plenty of time.”

  But Jett shook his head. “Not if someone is feeding them tech from her chip. In that case, they’ll come straight to the roof.”

  The chopper’s lights were getting closer.

  The wind kicked up around them.

  “The agents could be coming in with air support, too,” Sawyer noted grimly. “We need to be ready for anything.”

  Her body trembled.

  I’ve got you, Savannah. Jett’s voice stroked through her mind. Tender. Warm. No one will hurt you.

  She turned toward him. Pressed closer. What about you? They want to hurt you. Didn’t he get that? McNeely had shot him on sight at her home. She feared that, at any moment, armed agents would burst onto the rooftop. A hail of bullets would rock the night, and Jett…

  I don’t want to watch you die. Seeing him on the bedroom floor, seeing the life leave his eyes—it had torn her apart. That terrible moment had let her know that, despite everything—the rage, the fear, the hate—she’d still cared.

  Maybe she always would.

  The chopper was above them. Jett curled his body around hers, protecting her from the wind as the swirling blades sent the air pounding at them. And then Jett scooped her into his arms. He ran fast and hard for the chopper. He put her inside first, then Elizabeth jumped in.

  “Buckle up!” The woman in the front yelled. “Get secured because we have to vanish. We’re going to building hop and get the hell out of here as fast as we can.”

  Building hop? Was that a real thing?

  But then Jett and Sawyer were inside. Relief had her breathing harder. Or maybe that was fear. Whatever. Savannah looked back at the building. Saw that the roof door was still shut. They’d made it. They’d—

  The roof door burst open. Armed agents stormed out.

  They lifted their weapons at the chopper.

  But they didn’t fire.

  ***

  “Hold your fire!” Bennett shouted. His clothes blew back against him even though the chopper was already in the air. He didn’t want anyone firing. If a stray bullet caused that chopper to go down, he was sure any Lazarus subjects on the helicopter
would be fine.

  But what about Savannah and her baby? They were too important to lose.

  A chopper at the ready. Smart. Fucking smart. He’d known Jett had connections and resources. He should have expected this. Bennett yanked out his phone and called his prick of a boss. “They’re in the air!” He rushed back into the building and ran down the stairs. “Had a fucking chopper that took them from the roof. Going to need to get local air support—”

  “Don’t worry, I can still track her. I see her on my screen right now. She won’t get away.”

  “Send me the coordinates. When that chopper touches down, I want to be there.”

  The mission was becoming too personal. He’d put in too many months of his life. No, he’d given up his life. He’d see this thing through to the end.

  No other option.

  ***

  The chopper was lowering. Heading toward the top of another condo building—they’d barely seemed to be in the air long at all.

  Savannah’s hands were clenched in her lap. She hadn’t said a word since the bird had taken to the sky. Jett knew she was terrified. Fear wasn’t good for the baby—and it wasn’t good for Savannah. He never wanted Savannah to be afraid. He wanted to take her away from all of this.

  From any fear or pain or danger.

  When we touch down…Sawyer’s words reached him although the other Lazarus subject never spoke out loud. We see if Jay’s latest tech works. If he can jam her signal, then you can make her vanish.

  Literally, he could. But…

  What if it doesn’t work? No one was going to cut her. He wasn’t about to let someone take out a knife and dig into the skin near her spine.

  We come up with a Plan B.

  Savannah grabbed Jett’s hand as the chopper touched down. The blades slowed, slowed…

  He hurried to jump out, turning to lift her into his arms and hold her securely. Elizabeth and Sawyer followed. So did the blond-haired Jay, pulling a small, black bag with him.

  The pilot stayed put. Jett understood why. She needed to be ready for lift-off if things went south. Which they probably would.

  “Okay, let’s see if this works.” Jay pulled out a small, about five-inch-long black wand. Like the kind used by cops to check for weapons at security entrances. Then Jay jerked a laptop out of his bag. He opened it up and when a security screen flashed on, he typed in a quick code. Then one more code on the next screen, and… “She’s definitely transmitting.”

  Jett saw a line of text flashing on the screen. He swore.

  “Yeah, it’s a bitch. But at least I’ve found a way for us to destroy the transmission without anyone having to get bloody.” Jay glanced up at Savannah. “Jay Maverick, by the way. Pleasure to meet you.”

  “Jay Maverick?” Savannah repeated. There was recognition on her face. “The tech giant?”

  “Well, I’m not really a giant.” He lifted the wand. “But I do have my uses.”

  The pilot called, “Hurry the hell up, Jay!”

  “That’s the love of my life, Willow. And she’s right. We do need to hurry the hell up.” He lifted his brows as he studied Savannah. “I need to run this device along your body, has to be within five inches of your skin. When it comes near the tracking device, it will send out a…” But he broke off, frowning. “How to explain this?”

  “Jamming signal?” Sawyer supplied. “Shit, you’re calling the thing a jammer so it’s a jamming signal. But, hell, don’t explain, just do it, man.”

  “It’s more of a hack, than a jam. I get the code, and I take over.” Jett lifted the wand toward Savannah.

  She caught his hand, stopping him. “I’m pregnant. Will this put my child at risk in any way?”

  “No. Absolutely not.”

  She let him go. “Then you should probably begin with my back. That’s where the others think the tracker may be.” She turned, offering him her back. She lifted up her shirt. “Start with the tats.”

  “Nice ink,” Jay said as he lowered the wand.

  A rumbling growl came from Jett. Jealousy rose within him. Fucking crazy because this was not any sort of romantic or sexual situation, but it was there. He didn’t like the guy being so close to Savannah, didn’t like him being near her bare skin. Didn’t like—

  “Aggressive emotions,” Jay muttered. “They are really bitches for you guys, huh?”

  “Jay…” Willow’s voice held a warning edge. “Don’t poke the bear.”

  Jay glanced at his laptop. “She’s definitely tagged. Or rather…” A smug smile. “She was. I hacked the transmission. The code is scrambled, and no one will be following her any longer.”

  Savannah’s hand flew out. Locked with Jett’s. He held her tight.

  “There could be others,” Elizabeth spoke, voice urgent. “You need to scan her whole body, and then we have to get the hell out of here.”

  ***

  Bennett slammed his hands against the steering wheel. “Her signal stopped transmitting? What does that mean?”

  “It means her lover probably figured out how we were tracking her, and he cut the device out of Savannah.”

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. “You told me those guys are unstable. How the hell can you possibly expect her to stay safe with him?”

  “I’ve got the last coordinates from her transmitter. You’re less than ten minutes away from the location. Air support is coming in. They aren’t getting away.”

  “Easy for you to fucking say. You weren’t there at Savannah’s place when she and Jett just vanished in freaking plain sight. There one moment, gone the next.” This was a nightmare containment situation. “By the time I arrive, they’ll be nothing but wind.” He’d gotten local back-up on this thing because he needed more cars. Though he had made sure Detective Jennifer Adams wasn’t part of that back-up.

  “Savannah won’t leave. Not yet.” The boss was so arrogantly confidant.

  “You don’t know that shit! You don’t know—”

  “I know exactly how to control her. You do, too. You just have to be ready to use the pawns. If you won’t make the call, don’t worry. I’ll do it.” A cold laugh. “I’m used to getting my hands dirty.”

  No, the bastard wasn’t. He was used to getting Bennett to do the dirty work. Bennett had the blood on his hands. And before this case was over, hell, he’d be freaking swimming in blood.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The chopper rose into the sky, the pounding of its blades beating against the night.

  “Are they going to be okay?” Savannah asked, her voice quiet. Breathless.

  He let his shadows deepen around her. The chopper was flying away as a trick, to lure the bastards hunting Savannah into giving pursuit. “You heard them. Willow and Jay already had this plan in motion. They’re going to building hop again to throw off those looking for you. They’ve got their escape from the next building planned.”

  She turned toward him. “They’ll all be okay? Elizabeth and Sawyer, too?”

  Because they’d all been in the chopper. Jett’s shadows could only stretch far enough for him to cover one person. Savannah. And just in case Jay had miscalculated and the enemies on their trail caught up to them, Sawyer had wanted to be at the guy’s side. Jay wasn’t enhanced, but Sawyer could pack quite a paranormal punch. “They’ll be okay.” They’d better be. If Sawyer needed him, Jett knew the guy would send him a psychic SOS.

  Jett curled his fingers with hers. “We need to get off this roof.” Damn fast. They raced into the building. A building that Jay and his tech-crazy-self had cleared for them. As soon as they entered the elevator, Jett pushed the button for the parking garage. Jay had said a ride would be waiting below for them. Jett kept the shadows around them. Video surveillance would pick up nothing but darkness.

  When he’d first woken, he hadn’t been able to use the shadows. Amplification had been his strength. But the shadows came easier to him now, as if the darkness somehow spread from within him.

  “I can’t believe that Jay Maverick
is working with us. I think he was on the cover of Time a few months back. The guy is the tech world right now. Stories say there isn’t anything he can’t do.”

  He’d heard those same stories. “Then I’m extra glad he’s on our team.”

  She rubbed her back. “It’s really shut off? The tracking device?”

  It had better be.

  “Someone put this thing inside of me without my permission. My dad’s death…you…us meeting…it’s all tied together, isn’t it? All of it linked to this stupid chip inside of me?”

  It looked that way.

  “Jett, if we get the device out of my body, can you learn who put it inside of me? Like, does it have a serial number or something you could trace?”

  Not a serial number, no. “Cutting you open isn’t high on my list of priorities. And even if we did that, there’s no guarantee we can get any sort of intel from the device.” In other words, hell, no, I’m not cutting you open to get that.

  The elevator doors opened. The cavernous parking garage waited. Only one vehicle was there. A silver SUV. He started advancing toward it.

  Just as he caught the wail of sirens.

  Not coming in quietly, are you?

  He and Savannah were almost at the vehicle. Almost there.

  But we won’t get out of here before the cops arrive.

  Jett grabbed Savannah. Pulled her close. Pressed her between him and a stone column. “Baby, it’s going to be just like before.” The fog around them deepened. “You’ll see me, you’ll see some fog, and you might see the people hunting us. But they won’t see you.”

  Her hands curled around his shoulders.

  “Don’t scream. Don’t give in to any panic. I have you, and I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  The sirens grew louder. Sure, he and Savannah could jump into the SUV. Rush away. But they’d be spotted and tailed. The cop cars were too close. They’d gotten to the scene far faster than Jay and Sawyer had anticipated.

  Then the agents and cops were there. Patrol cars. Black SUVs. They surged into the parking garage. A glance to the left showed Jett that other cars were stopping in front of the building. There was no security guard at the building right then—mostly because Jett’s team had planned things that way. And when the cops and the agents jumped out of their vehicles in order to rush toward the elevator bank—