Replica (The Blood Borne Series Book 2)

by Shannon Mayer

  “Well, you need one. No one will think you’re flying to London for fun if you don’t even have a carry-on.”

  I stood and shoved my bag under the bench bed. “Who attacked you?”

  Rachel opened the door and stepped in, a snarl on her lips. “You idiot, you were tailed.”

  Ivan sat up with a grimace. “No, I wasn’t.”

  “Then who the fuck is asking for us by name while they search the train?” she whispered. “They have pictures too. These aren’t tourists looking for an autograph.”

  “Could they have traced your phone while you made the reservations?” I asked her.

  “You’re going to side with him?”

  I shook my head. “No. I’m not siding with him.” Madre de Dios, it was like dealing with two squabbling children, both wanting my approval. “If Ivan led them to us, that’s a problem. If the phone led them to us, that’s a bigger problem. We need to know which it is, so I’m going to find out.”

  I pushed past her and out into hall. I pulled my hair into a twist and tucked it down the back of my shirt, hiding the length. My one nod to vanity, I didn’t have the heart to cut it off even after all these years.

  My steps took me into the main car of the train. Two men dressed in jeans and polo shirts were walking in my direction, talking to the passengers. Government, or someone else? One had a light windbreaker on that rustled as he walked. Here and there, I could see the outline of a gun through the thin material.

  I was betting someone else based on the shape of the gun alone. It was far from government issue.

  I leaned against the back wall and listened to their spiel.

  “Sorry to bother you, we’re looking for our two sisters. Our mother is dying and they left for a trip today. We just want to find them so they can say goodbye.”

  I couldn’t help the arch of my eyebrow as it rose to my hairline. The passengers seemed largely sympathetic. Many just shook their heads, but a few whispered words that were far too kind.

  Mr. Windbreaker reached me first. “Miss, can you take a look at this picture? It’s my sister Rachel.”

  I had to fight a sharp intake of breath as I took the picture from him. It had been taken outside Victor’s safe house a few hours ago.

  “You know, I think I did see her. She was sitting this way.” I didn’t make eye contact with him, only turned with the picture in my hand. Mr. Windbreaker let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s great. We’ve been looking for her everywhere.”

  “I’ll bet,” I said softly, glancing back at him. His buddy followed along, and I inadvertently caught his eye. He glanced at the picture in his hand and then back at me as he moved through the passage between the cars.

  “Fuck. It’s the vamp.”

  I kicked backward, driving my foot into Mr. Windbreaker’s solar plexus, which sent him flying into his little friend. Hard enough to hurt, but not enough to kill. We needed answers and they were going to give them up.

  As they tumbled to the floor in a heap, I headed back to the room where I’d left Rachel and Ivan. I opened the door and poked my head in. “Company. Be ready.”

  Rachel nodded and Ivan sat up. I looked back the way I’d come and then ducked into the room just as the two men came into view. All they would see of me was a glimmer of movement disappearing through the doorway.

  I stood behind the door, Rachel to my right, Ivan still on the bed. He touched my leg. “They’re at the door.”

  Fuck, his hearing was even better than mine. I jerked the door open and the two men tumbled in. I grabbed Mr. Windbreaker and lifted him over my head by his throat, flashing my fangs for good measure. Rachel grabbed his buddy and yanked him around so his neck was in a perfect lock of her arms. In seconds, he was out cold from the chokehold and she dropped him to the floor.

  Mr. Windbreaker whimpered, “Don’t kill me.”

  I slowly lowered him to the floor, but didn’t let go. Neither had gone for their guns. They hadn’t even made an attempt.

  “Who are you?”

  “Evan Smith. That’s Marvin Eckles.”

  Ivan laughed. “Awe-inspiring names if I ever heard them. And I have heard them before.”

  Evan looked past me to Ivan and his face paled to a faint green. “Oh God. Please don’t let him near me.”

  “Shut your mouth before I shut it for you, Evan.” Ivan’s voice had none of the humor I’d come to expect from him.

  Rachel’s brow furrowed as she watched Ivan. I wanted to look back at him too, but we all had our secrets, and I didn’t have time to dig into Ivan’s.

  “The wolf listens to me,” I said. “So you’d better start talking unless you want me to give him a new chew toy.”

  Teeth chattering, Evan nodded. “The guns are empty. We...we aren’t here to try and hurt you.”

  “Try is the word,” Rachel muttered. I had to agree.

  “Then why are you following us?”

  “We broke clean from the facility. They don’t know we’re still alive. We know what they’re planning, and we want to help you.”

  A chill climbed my spine, like a tiny row of spiders skittering along my skin. “Talk.”

  He quivered from head to toe. “You don’t have much time. They’re going to start testing on large numbers of people. Villages. Then cities. Turning innocent people into weapons.” His eyes flicked from me to Ivan, then to Rachel. “I don’t know if you three can stop them. But you should know they’re on to you. They know you’re coming.”

  Rachel stepped closer to him, her blue eyes flashing. “How?”

  He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as if he couldn’t get enough saliva down. “One of you has a tracer on them. I don’t know which one, I only know it’s one of you three. If you don’t find it, you’re royally fucked.”

  Rachel’s eyes shot to Ivan. “You fucking idiot. You’ve got a tracer on you!”

  “I don’t. I’d feel it,” he said, calm as a summer’s day. “The low current of electricity would be enough to drive me insane in a matter of days. Which means it’s one of you two ladies. If Evan is telling the truth, that is...he could be messing with us. Shits and giggles and all that.”

  “Well, how the fuck are we going to find the tracer then?”

  The train slowed, the brakes letting out a heavy screech.

  Evan whimpered, “They’re here, we have to go. If Hades shows up, don’t trust him. He’ll lead you on a merry chase and then slit your throat once he’s finished with his fun.” He stepped out of the room, dragging his buddy with him.

  “How much time do you think we have?” Rachel asked. “Maybe we can get on the roof of the train, make a jump when it slows down more.”

  “If one of you is being traced, they’ll still find us,” Ivan said.

  “Then we’ll split up,” she said. “See which one of us gets followed.”

  I lifted a hand, stopping them. “I think it’s me. The demon dog slashed me up badly. We weren’t being followed until then. Not like this. It could have been fitted into its teeth or claws as an injectable.”

  Rachel’s eyes widened. “Fuck.”

  “My thoughts exactly.” I yanked off my shirt and slid down my jeans. “Ivan, could you pick up the vibration in your hands? You said you’d be able to tell if the tracer was in you.”

  He grinned. “You want me to feel you up?”

  “Do it, wolf, and do it now. We’re running out of time,” I snapped. I didn’t do vulnerable well and this was as about as exposed as it got. Nothing but underwear, no weapons, asking a man I was intrigued by to run his hands over my body while the bad guys were hot on our tails.

  I pointed to where the demon dog had hit me. “Side, thigh, lower back.”

  Ivan started on my back, his big hands super-heated on my cooler than normal skin. I let out a low hiss.

  “Don’t you two get kinky on me,” Rachel said. I glanced at her, horrified at the thought. And realized she’d said it to break the growing tension.


  “Nothing,” Ivan said as he moved to my side, cupping my waist. “Not here either.” Down to my thigh he went, all but caressing my skin. I closed my eyes, knowing already—

  “Got it. Rachel, hand me a knife.”

  I kept my eyes closed as he pressed the blade to the meat of my thigh. “Do it. I won’t flinch.”

  “Of that, I have no doubt,” he murmured. The knife cut in with a quick flick. His fingers slipped in and I grimaced as they pulled on me, tearing at the edges of the cut.

  “Rachel, my hands are too big.” Ivan held my thigh open. I looked back at her. Blue eyes narrowed.

  “I did not sign up for this shit,” she said, but she was already at my side, her hand sliding into my open wound. The train continued to slow as the seconds ticked past. Time was almost up.

  “Got it!” she yelled as she yanked the red blinking, small button-sized device from my flesh. Ivan grabbed his shirt and ripped off a piece to wrap around my leg. I pushed him away. “Leave it. I’ll heal.”

  “You know that reopening the demon-dog wound will probably slow the healing—make it human-slow.”

  He was right, of course. The bioengineering makes their saliva and claws the perfect weapon against supernaturals.

  Already the burn of the injury was spreading up my leg to my hip. Why hadn’t I already thought of that? Fuck, I was slipping up. I jerked my leather pants out of my bag and pulled them on. They would hold the wound tightly. Hoodie shirt back on, I strapped on my weapons in seconds.

  Scooping up the tracer device, I nodded at the window. “Rachel, I like your idea. High ground has always worked for us before. You ready?”

  She grinned. “You bet your red panties, I am.”

  I rolled my eyes but still laughed. “They were on sale.”

  “Sure, sure.”

  Ivan opened the window and glanced back. “Since when do panties go on sale?”

  We pushed him out first, and he hung off the roof, holding a hand out to us. Rachel’s eyes met mine, serious once more. “Do you trust him?” she whispered.

  “Not like I trust you.”

  She jerked in surprise. “You trust me?”

  “With my life.”

  Why was she surprised? And then it hit me. Whoever had given her the silver stake had warned her against me.

  Fucking hell, I did not have time for her to get nervous. She went out the window first, and Ivan hauled her to the roof. Before I could clamber out after her, the door behind me burst open and several guns were pointed at me.

  “Put your hands up!”

  I lifted my hands, a grin sliding over my face. “If you say so.”

  CHAPTER 14

  RACHEL

  My mind was already spinning as Ivan hauled me to the top of the train. If we jumped off, we’d be seriously behind schedule to catch our flight in Philadelphia. But at the moment, I was more concerned with surviving.

  I glanced behind me. “Where’s Lea?”

  “She’s still in the room.” His brow lowered as he leaned further over the edge.

  “Be careful,” I said. “You’re going to fall off.”

  He shot me a grin, but I could see the worry in his eyes. “Aww…you care about me.”

  “No, but Lea seems to. I’d hate to have to explain why I let you fall off the damn train.” He looked back over the edge again, and I said, “You really care about her, don’t you.”

  His head jerked up. “She’s important.”

  “That’s such a bullshit answer.”

  Rather than respond, he leaned over and hauled Lea up with him this time. She had several fresh blood splatters on her hoodie.

  “Run!” she shouted, already racing toward the roof of the next train car.

  Ivan took off after her and I followed. The crack of a gunshot behind me gave me a new burst of energy. The source seemed to come from several cars down, thankfully, which meant they had a better chance of missing us, or more specifically me. I was the most fragile of all of us.

  That thought must have occurred to Lea too, because she slowed and reached for me when she got to the end of a car. “Get down and head to the dining car. I’ll meet you there.”

  “I think that’s a bad idea. For so many reasons.”

  “If we get separated, meet me at the airport in Philadelphia.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “No. Go.” She turned to Ivan. “Wolf, stay with me.”

  A grin spread across his face.

  I rolled my eyes and squatted next to the metal ladder leading down to a door. How the hell was I going to get down there while the train was still moving?

  I wasn’t. Fuck with doing what I was told. I’d gotten where I was today by disobeying orders. Why mess with what worked? But I started down the ladder anyway. This wasn’t the time for an argument.

  Lea had already lost interest in what I was doing and headed back to the middle of the roof, where she stopped, probably waiting for the gunman. Seconds later, I heard grunts and the sound of gunfire.

  The train’s brakes squealed, drowning out the sounds above me. If we were slowing down even more, then it would probably be a good time to jump. But I had no idea what was going on overhead and I wasn’t about to leave Lea behind.

  Looping my arm through the ladder, I pulled the gun I’d taken from Vincent’s bunker out of the back of my jeans and scrambled back up. Lea and Ivan were surrounded by six men. They seemed to be holding their own, even though Ivan wasn’t in great shape. Not that it stopped him from beating the crap out of the guy in front of him.

  The train vibrated as it continued to slow, but I braced my arm and aimed at one of the men on the periphery. I squeezed the trigger and he fell in a heap, but I’d already pointed the gun at the man next to him, aiming at his head. He fell too.

  Four left.

  One was so tangled up with Ivan, I couldn’t get a clear shot. The other three were blocked by the werewolf. Dammit. I was going to have to climb higher. Just as I started to pull myself up, Ivan tossed the man he was fighting over the side and moved on to one of the others, clearing my view.

  I squeezed the trigger and brought down another of our attackers. Lea suddenly grabbed the man she was hitting, and lowered her face to his neck. The man fell to his knees, but she went with him. She had to be draining him, probably to get answers. The vamps had a nifty little trick—they could absorb a person’s—or creature’s—memories if they were drained enough. But she’d drawn Ivan’s attention away from his opponent. The man pulled out a knife, the blade gleaming in the moonlight. Silver. He jabbed forward, but not fast enough. I shot him twice in the chest, throwing him backward.

  Ivan shoved the man over the side with his heel. Seconds later, Lea lifted her head and pushed the man over the side. She turned to me, anger in her eyes.

  “I told you to wait in the dining car.”

  I climbed to a squat, then stood. “You’re welcome. Now, what did you see?”

  “He didn’t know shit. All he knew was that he was supposed to kill Ivan and me, then take you to someone. He didn’t know who.”

  “Government? Vampire council? Hades?”

  “Vamps would have sent their own to deal with me,” she snarled. “And who the fuck is Hades anyway?”

  “The contact I met earlier. But I doubt it’s him. He went out of his way to give me information about the lab in Iraq. He wants me to go there.”

  “Evan said we can’t trust him.”

  “No shit, but we still need to get to that facility. Trap or not.”

  “So that leaves the government. Which means they’ll be watching for you at the airport.”

  I ran my hand over my head, smoothing back the stray hairs that had escaped my ponytail. “Fuck. Let me think.” I looked up at her. “How much of Victor’s money do you have access to? Enough to hire a private jet?”

  “How much are you talking?”

  I sucked in a breath. “For all three of us? I don’t know, maybe fifty thousand. That�
��s just to London. And more if we want to keep it quiet.”

  She gave a quick nod. “I have a way. First we have to get off this train.”

  “You better check on your wolf. He’s not looking so good.” Ivan had dropped to one knee and his shirt was covered with blood.

  “I’m fine,” he grunted.

  “You’re a fucking bullet pin cushion,” Lea grunted. “We have to get them out.”

  “First we have to get off.” I scanned the track ahead, spotting a curve. “We can jump off there,” I said, pointing. “We find a car, then hide in a motel while we nurse Ivan’s wounds and figure out the new flight arrangements to London.”

  Nodding, Lea pulled Ivan’s arm around her shoulder and tucked her bag under her arm.

  “We’re not holing up anywhere,” Ivan forced out, his voice shaky with pain. “I’m fine. I’m a damned werewolf.”

  “Who just got shot with silver bullets,” Lea said, climbing to her feet and pulling him with her. “I just told you they intended to kill us.”

  “Play Hercules after we get off this train,” I said, moving over to the edge. Damn, this was going to hurt like a motherfucker. “There’s a field up here. It’s our place.” I was relieved to see several houses a few hundred feet away. We wouldn’t be in the middle of nowhere.

  Lea and Ivan got into position beside me as the train turned the corner.

  Tuck and roll.

  I moved my bag around to my abdomen, then leapt, landing on my upper back with a jarring pain and continuing to roll. When I finally stopped, I lay on my back, staring at the stars in the clear sky. Pain shot through my shoulder and I sighed, my breath escaping in a white, wispy cloud.

  “Rachel? You all right?” Lea asked to my left.

  I pushed up to a sitting position, clutching my arm to my chest. Pain radiated through my upper body with enough intensity that tiny bright stars flashed across in my vision. “I think I dislocated my shoulder and maybe broke my collar bone.”

  “Fuck.”

  “I’m fine. Let’s go.” I got to my feet and opened my bag, feeling inside my padded computer case to make sure it had survived the fall. I couldn’t be positive it still worked, but at least it wasn’t in pieces.