Breaking Out

by Gayle Parness

  “Tell me about it.” I glanced at my palm. Already healed. “I tried to exchange blood—kind of a lets-agree-not-to-kill-each-other thing—but he wasn’t havin’ any of that.”

  “He’s a control freak.” Jay pointed to my cheek, screwing his face up in sympathy. “That must’ve hurt.”

  I didn’t want to go into too much detail. “He did something weird. He tasted my blood.” Jay made a face. “I thought it was creepy at first, but it put us somewhere…somewhere else. I’d have guessed we were inside a line, but I’ve traveled them so many times I’d have recognized the feel. No this was someplace where magic was quiet.”

  “Quiet?”

  “Quiet on the outside, but talking some kind of secret language that only I could understand. It was the coolest place ever.”

  “Sounds like some kind of acid trip.”

  I laughed. “Yeah. Maybe it was. You never know with Fin.”

  He looked me over. “C’mon. You need to eat.”

  “Now who’s bein’ a mom?”

  “You talked to her, right?”

  “How’d you know?”

  “You were worrying your ass off about it. Other than the hurting, you look a lot more relaxed. Did she disown you like you thought?”

  “I didn’t think that.” I gave him a shove with my hand on his shoulder, but he hardly budged. The guy was a cement wall. “She was cool.” We walked another block. Samson running a little bit ahead. “You eating again?”

  “I’d never say no to another meal.”

  “You’re going to explode, ya know. And when you do, undigested corn chips and fast food burgers are going to litter the street. The worst part is, the mayor will make me clean it up.”

  He patted his stomach and frowned. “We’ll go for a run tomorrow. Samson can use a workout.”

  “Umm hmm.”

  “Where are we headed next?”

  “Your dream destination.”

  PART TWO: LOS ANGELES

  IVY

  CHAPTER NINE

  It had to rain today of all days. It hardly ever rained in LA; at least in the few months I’d been living here, so why today? Couldn't it have held off for another six hours?

  I pulled a short leather jacket over my black V-neck, deciding at the last minute that a baseball cap would keep my dark hair dry and in place. I’d end up with hat hair, but that was better than a dripping mop. I'd spent longer than average on my makeup, using shadow and mascara to bring out my hazel eyes, not that it mattered much with all the rain, and had picked my favorite shade of pink lipstick.

  Today, even the rain couldn’t dull my spirits, ‘cause thirty minutes ago, I’d gotten the call that was going to change my life. I did a little spin in place, then, realized I was gonna be late if I kept dancing around the room like an idiot.

  “Ms. Lake, you’ve got the job. You’ll be picked up at the corner of Melbourne and Riley in exactly one hour. Look for a dark green van.”

  I ignored the fact it was kind of odd Mr. A was picking me up on a street corner, but I was so excited by the personal call from one of my heroes that I'd filed it away as the eccentric behavior of a top exec. After all, this guy worked in a profession that catered to the bizarre, so I dismissed my uneasy feelings, grabbed my bag and raced down the stairs at full throttle.

  Glancing at my cell, I frowned. If the bus schedule was off, I’d be late and that couldn’t happen. Not today. I picked up my pace, not taking any notice of the delivery truck plowing too quickly through the large puddle in the street.

  The screech of his brakes and the sound of the wheels tearing though the dirty pool froze me in place. Bad decision—should have run. Smelly, dirty water sprayed all over my baseball cap, my only leather jacket, and my new jeans. I was drenched and swearing at the top of my lungs. The truck driver took one look at my furious face and hit the gas pedal. He might be a careless driver, but he was also an intelligent man.

  I wasn’t hurt, just miserable. By the time my bus came, I was soaked to the bone and shivering. My sneakers were soggy and my nice black jeans were rubbing against my thighs like sandpaper. The other four occupants of the bus looked at me like I was crazy, then looked away the minute my gaze focused on theirs. Oh yeah. Crazy person here, so watch out.

  I grunted and took off my hat, wringing it out, then placing it back on my head. The brim had kept the water off my face at least. I probably looked like a refugee from some water park world, not exactly first-day-of-work-ready. But I'd spent the last year preparing for this moment and I wasn't about to let my future get screwed up by a little dirty water. Mr. A would understand. He’d probably laugh.

  The bus let me off on the corner of the next block, so I walked back trying to keep under awnings and building overhangs as much as I could. I stopped at the corner he’d told me to wait at and looked around. There was a coffee shop behind me and the smell of the coffee just about did me in. How long had it been since I had a real cup of coffee? I bought the cheapest instant stuff and used powdered creamer, which was okay, but…

  I took in a long, deep breath, rubbing my shoulders to warm myself up. I’d kill for a latte.

  Shifting from foot to foot to keep warm, I occupied myself by people watching. There was a werewolf at the gas station across the street filling up the tank of his SUV, and a couple of shapeshifter tourists, looking down at their map of Hollywood. I always shook my head when I saw how the tourists were extra careful to show their respect by not actually walking on the stupid stars in the sidewalk on Hollywood Blvd. Jeez Louise, what did they think? No one was buried under those stars. At least I was pretty sure.

  The rest of today’s crowd seemed to be human, just going about their business as usual.

  I looked at my phone. The van was late. Or maybe it’d been early and it hadn’t waited for me. That would be a disaster. I pulled on a stray lock of my hair, wrapping it around and around my fingers. C’mon, c’mon…

  A royal blue late model rental car pulled up alongside the curb in front of the boutique next door. A big, burly guy got out on the passenger side, definitely a bear shifter, followed by the driver, a slim guy with his blue hood pulled up, another shifter—probably…a leopard. I was good at telling the difference. Man, they were both so tall they could've played for the Lakers, although the bear was built more like a football player. They took a quick glance around, ignoring me completely, and headed toward the entrance of the coffeehouse behind me. I pulled my jacket closed and waited.

  A few seconds later, a black van came to a screeching halt directly in front of me. Two werewolves in human form jumped out. The one wearing a brown jacket held a gun flat against his thigh. I took a step back, not sure I was seeing clearly. Was this guy gonna rob the coffee shop?

  Only he was heading straight for me, his expression lethal. What the heck?

  As he reached for me with his chunky hand, I yelled for help, turning to run, but not quite fast enough. He easily caught hold of a clump of my hair that had escaped the hat, snapping my head back with a hard jerk. I cried out, my eyes already watering from the pain in my scalp. I tried to scream, but he covered my mouth with his hand.

  The taller thug in the black hooded jacket opened the back door and shoved me roughly inside. I hit the floor hard then screamed again when I saw a third wolf hiding inside the van and swinging the butt of his gun toward my head. Everything went black.

  CHARLIE

  CHAPTER TEN

  Holy shit. I watched through the window of the coffee shop as two wolves dragged a teen-aged boy into their van.

  "Jay!"

  "I'm with ya."

  We raced back through the door of the coffee shop, noticing a few shocked expressions as we barreled past an elderly couple. Jay lunged at the guy with the gun who was getting back into the van on the passenger side while I tried to open the door they'd taken the boy through. It was locked, which normally wouldn't have presented a problem, but a lot of people were watching and I didn't want to attract attention b
y using magic. That Ammon guy could still be keeping an eye on me. This was L.A. not a shifter town or a campground in the Sierras, although I noticed the human residents and tourists in this city could be pretty whacked out.

  The driver hit the gas, and Jay and I were thrown away from the vehicle while the triggerman yanked his arm away from Jay’s grasp and shut the passenger door. Jumping back onto my feet, I took off running after it, happy that I'd switched to sneakers before we'd decided to take a ride over to this part of town. There was a red light ahead and I was hoping the van would be forced to stop, or at least slow down, but no luck. He gunned through the intersection, just missing another car, and speeded away.

  Crap. Now I had no choice if I was going to help this kid. As a cheetah shapeshifter I could run the pants off all but the fastest vampires. Problem was, using ramped up speed would draw attention my way, especially from the supernatural community.

  Had to stay under the radar as much as I could. I had only one option.

  I gave Jay the 'keep your eyes on your phone' signal then ran behind a tree, dissolving into the ley lines and reappearing behind a tree further up the street. I followed the van this way until the kidnappers pulled into a driveway and the van came to a stop.

  I waited in the shade of an enormous avocado tree, standing frozen in the shadows, blending. Isaiah called it shadow stalking and he was the only one who knew I could do it. I took a few seconds to change my leopard scent to human and sent out feelers to see if there were other supernaturals, besides the wolves in the area. Nothing.

  When two of the kidnappers pulled the boy out of the car, his hat fell off. Dark hair tumbled behind his shoulders, hanging down, and I could see his face clearly now. The kid was a female. There was blood on her forehead but no other obvious injuries. However, she was definitely unconscious, which could mean concussion.

  The wolf with the short beard carried her into the house; her slim body limp in his arms. I hoped she’d just fainted and bumped her head, because if the kidnappers had hurt her seriously they’d be sorry.

  I sent Jay a quick text, giving him the address and trusting him to show up and be discreet about it. He might act like a goofball half the time, but he was my second in command, a guy who always had my back.

  I took the lines into the house, blending perfectly as I stood against the wall. It would take an ancient fae or demon to sense me there, and I figured my chances were good that neither of those species were hiding out in the attic.

  They'd thrown her on a small bed, gagged her with a washcloth and tied her hands behind her back, locking the door behind them. I heard voices and peeked out the window, watching two of the weres get back in the van, talking about whether to pick up Chinese food or pizza. When they drove off, I materialized at the head of the stairs at the end of the hall. The third wolf had made himself comfortable in front of the TV in the living room downstairs. A handgun rested in his lap.

  What did they want with this poor girl? Judging by the state of her wet, smelly clothes, she wasn’t rich, so holding her for ransom probably wasn’t the deal. A few sicker scenarios slipped through my head but I shook them off, deciding to see what I could do about getting her away from here and cleaning her head wound. It hadn't looked too deep, but head wounds were serious.

  I allowed myself to quietly materialize back in her room, hoping not to scare her, but she was still out. Bending over the bed, I placed my fingers against her neck to feel her pulse. The strong steady beat of her heart was reassuring, but the fact that she hadn't woken up tightened my gut. She had a good-sized lump near her hairline, but the shallow cut had stopped bleeding and wouldn’t need stitches.

  She sighed in her sleep, wrinkling her brow. If she woke up and saw me, she might panic and make noise, bringing the man with the gun upstairs. I couldn’t leave her here, but I didn’t want to get thrown in the middle of whatever was going on with these wolves. Carefully, I tucked my arms under her body and lifted, hoping she’d stay unconscious for little longer.

  I glanced down as I held her in my arms. She was so tiny, maybe only a couple inches over five feet, and she weighed way less than Samson, who had some elephant genes somewhere in his ancestry, I was sure. Her breathing seemed normal enough, regular and not too shallow, although I was no expert where humans were concerned. I shifted her body in my arms so that her head rested on my shoulder.

  She smiled and sighed.

  I blended into the lines as smoothly as I could, hoping they wouldn't make her sick the way they did Jay. There was no other way to escape without the guy downstairs finding out, but I didn’t think she’d complain as long as she was somewhere safe.

  I re-materialized in a wooded park a few yards off the main road, shifting her limp body so I could see my phone. Jay was on his way. Feeling grateful for Jay’s ability to switch gears without complaining, I shot him a new text, describing our location. So far we hadn't run into any problems that the two of us couldn't handle.

  Except for that note from the mysterious Ammon and the park ranger from Faerie. Maybe I should’ve mentioned the park ranger to Fin.

  I was distracted when the girl moved again, nestling her head against my chest, her skin glowing in the California sunset. She was pretty, with dark wavy hair that framed a sweet face. Her aura was human, but not, and her scent was really different. Nice. Strange. Maybe she was only part human.

  I moved back into the shadows when the same van drove past. I could have taken the next step and blended both of us, but the more I used my magic, the more likely it was that I'd be found by someone I’d prefer not to run into. Maybe I’d even be forced to go home. I winced thinking about what training sessions with Sasha and Liam would be like after I'd put my mom through the ringer. I'd be black and blue from head to foot, if I were lucky.

  The girl in my arms moaned, so I whispered, "Shh. It's okay now." Without thinking, I leaned closer to her hair and took in a deep breath of her scent. She smelled amazing. Maybe a little too amazing.

  I really needed to get a life.

  IVY

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Ow. Crap. Ow. My - head - hurt. I tried to move, but something was weird. I couldn't feel my right hand! Ohmygod—I couldn't feel my hand. Why couldn't I feel...?

  I moved in a panic and regretted it instantly, my head throbbing and pounding in double-time. Ow. Would someone please tell the hydraulic drill operator to find another site to excavate? Painful pins and needles step-danced inside my right arm and hand, relieving at least some of my anxiety. What a dope. I must have been lying on top of it, cutting off the circulation.

  So what had happened to me? I had vague memories of being dragged into a van and then hit on the head. Nothin' after that. Did those werewolves still have me somewhere? Trembling, I thought about opening my eyes. I should do it, I really should, but I was afraid of what or who I'd see.

  "You're safe. We brought you home."

  That was a man's voice, but it didn't sound like a thug. It was kind of deep and soothing. Of course I didn't generally have dealings with thugs. Maybe he was the good thug and the bad thug would be coming back to torture me in a few minutes.

  “You can open your eyes. I won’t come any closer, I promise.”

  Huh. Like I’m gonna believe this guy. I sniffed the air. He smelled familiar.

  “I know you want to look,” he chuckled. “Don’t be a wuss.” He had the freakin’ nerve to tease me when I was down and out. He might be the bad thug after all.

  Feeling like I’d taken enough abuse, I peeked, sighing with relief. I was in my own apartment in my own bed, only there was a tall guy sitting on a chair in the corner watching me and smiling. And he was really...really...

  Holy hells, it was him. I think I stopped breathing for a couple of heartbeats while I digested this info, but I couldn’t waste time. After all my months of training, I snapped into gear without thought. Time to get with the program. A part of me felt disappointed about losing the chance at working with Mr. A,
but the rest of me was in the zone.

  Step one: If you come into contact with the target, assure that your spelled shields are in place and still strong. Check. Everything was good in that area, even with the head bump.

  Step two: Scan the target for aggressive behavior. Hmm...checking him out was definitely not a hardship. Someone had changed his scent to leopard, darkened his hair and eyes and maybe tweaked his nose. They’d even messed with his aura.

  Lucky for me, with the spells my guardian had delivered I could see through his disguise. Like all fae he had a vibrant golden aura, but because his blood was mixed, the gold was ringed with the green of a healer and streaked with the orange of a demon.

  I shivered. This was huge.

  Thanks to my guardian, Tellek, a guy I hoped never to see again, my aura was glowing with humanity. It was really important that the target didn’t know what I was, at least not until D-Day.

  Meeting his curious gaze, I attempted to smile but he didn’t smile back. Nope he just kept staring at me like… My eyebrows popped to attention. I wasn't naked was I? I peeked down. Whew, I was still dressed in my soggy jeans and tee shirt, although my jacket, sneakers and socks were gone.

  "How do you feel, Ivy?" he asked.

  I squinted at him, trying very hard not to move the rest of my body. "My head hurts. How do you know my name?" Figures he’d go through my stuff, the sneak.

  "We had to look in your bag to get your address. I saw your driver's license."

  "Are you one of the guys who grabbed me?" If I let on that I recognized him, then I was done.

  "No, but we saw it happen. You're safe, now."

  He kept saying that, but it didn’t make it true. "Did you get me away from those men?"

  He hesitated for a moment. "No. You managed to crawl out the window and we found you wandering on the street. You have a bad bump above your forehead, but otherwise I think you're okay."