by Melody Raven
Patrick narrowed his eyes at her before unclipping the radio attached to his belt and bringing it up to his mouth. “We’re going to need a team to start checking the perimeter. Over.”
“Roger,” said a voice on the other end. “We’ll send a team out now. Over.”
A team? How many men had they sent?
If Roberts and Patrick weren’t joining the search team, that meant....
“We’re going to have to look around the house,” said Roberts, as if he wasn’t looking forward to it any more than she was.
“Do you have the right clearance for that?”
Roberts gave her an annoyed look. “As soon as that wall came down, the military owned this property. We don’t need a warrant.”
“I wasn’t asking for a warrant. I was asking if you had clearance. I’m doing very confidential work for the government here. I don’t know if your eyes are allowed to see it.”
“General Wesley sent us. If you have any complaints about clearance, take it up with him.” He and Patrick started in the direction of the garage.
“Fine. Disrupt my whole night. I’m going upstairs to the computer room to get some work done. Follow me if you need to.”
She walked to the living room and picked up her laptop, her mind racing the whole time. Where was Cora? What if she tried to escape and the other team was right outside? She didn’t know the house well enough to think of any hiding places those two goons couldn’t find. At least from the second story, she would have a good vantage point. Maybe if the coast was clear, she could sneak Cora out a window before anyone noticed?
She took the stairs slowly, trying to sound as if she were calm and not totally freaking out inside. But, of course, before she could help Cora, she’d have to find her. When she got to her computer lab, she set her laptop softly down. “Cora?” She whispered it so silently that it was barely more than a breath. “We’ve got a problem, babe.”
She stood there, waiting in anticipation. She could hear Roberts and Patrick tearing apart the downstairs. It was only a matter of time before they moved up here. Alyssa couldn’t take the waiting any longer. She started to look around, glancing through the rooms. There weren’t any windows hanging open or broken signifying that Cora had already made a run for it. Maybe she was hidden so well that Roberts and Patrick wouldn’t find her.
And then she heard it. A soft “here” floating out from her left.
Alyssa froze at the soft sound. It was so close to her, and definitely not in a good hiding spot.
She pulled open the bedroom closet door to find Cora crouched down and huddled into a little ball on the floor. Any doubt she had about helping the kid flew away. She couldn’t turn her over to them. Even if Roberts or Patrick were forgiving and understanding, the military as a whole wasn’t empathetic. They weren’t merciful. Which was usually fine, because that’s what Alyssa wanted for a large entity protecting her from enemies. But not if this defenseless little child was the enemy.
Alyssa knew there might not be a right answer right now, but she was absolutely certain that if Cora stayed in this closet, she was going to be found.
She reached out a hand to the girl. “We need to get out of here,” she breathed. The girl tentatively reached out, but Alyssa didn’t have time for that. She bent forward, crushing the girl’s small fingers in hers, and dragged her over to the window. Alyssa kept Cora close to the wall as she glanced out, and sure enough, she saw a group of men walking in the backyard with flashlights in hand. Okay, the backyard was out.
Still dragging Cora along, she went to the hallway, poking her head out and looking both ways before she pulled Cora along until she reached the bathroom at the end of the hall. This was the side of the house, so there might be less chance of being seen. However, the window was much smaller. She could get Cora out, but she wouldn’t be able to go with her. Was that better? Cora was faster than any of these guys. She might even be faster than the bullets. But was Alyssa just throwing Cora to the wolves if she let her go through that window?
But Cora answered for her. “I don’t want to go,” she said in that soft, innocent voice.
Alyssa clenched her teeth. Okay. Escape wasn’t an option. She would just have to hide. She thought about what little she knew about the house. Under the bed, closets, and cupboards were all out. These army men would find those hiding spaces out way too quickly. But there was an attic. It might not be perfect, but it should be dark and maybe there were boxes or something she could hide Cora in.
The clock felt like a loaded gun against her head. Roberts and Patrick would be up any minute. Alyssa poked her head in the hallway once more, making sure the coast was clear before she pulled Cora out. The attic entrance was in her computer room, which was one door down. She pushed the door softly shut behind her and looked to Cora, giving her a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll get out of this.” She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach the little cord to pull down the attic stairs and then, oh so gently, gave it a tug.
But all of her hopes suddenly flew out the window as the ladder fell down with a big thud. Alyssa jumped back and stared at it in shock. There was no way the guys downstairs hadn’t heard that.
All of her worst fears were confirmed as she heard footsteps pounding up the stairs.
“Shit,” she muttered. At this point, there was only one thing she could do. She grabbed the first computer desk to her left and started pulling it, tugging. As all the wires strained, a monitor tumbled off as she shoved it up against the door. Cora saw what she was doing and immediately started to help, her vampire strength making the task a whole lot easier.
Once that table was jammed against the door, they grabbed the second desk and started shoving right as the pounding came.
“Sullivan, open the door right now!”
Alyssa pointed toward the window. “You need to go.”
Cora looked at her with wide eyes, tears starting to come out of the corners. She shook her head frantically.
“If you don’t go now, I can’t help you.”
“This is your last chance. Open the door right now!” screamed Patrick.
“Go!” Alyssa shouted, but it was too late. The loud cracking fire of automatic gunshots cut through the room. Alyssa immediately dropped to the floor as shards of wood and drywall rained down around her. Cora let out a scream and she fell too, shoving herself in the corner. She started to crawl toward Cora, but then the gunshots stopped. There was a mumble of voices on the other side of the door before she heard footsteps running away. She didn’t know what happened, but she didn’t want to stick around to find out.
“All right. I guess we’re both going out the window now.” She pushed herself up, pushed open the window and looked outside. This time there were no men in the backyard. Not Patrick. Not Roberts. No one.
Nothing made sense, but her mind was just telling her to get the hell out of there as fast as possible.
“Come on.” She motioned to Cora. “Let’s go.”
Cora shook her head. “I’m not going alone.”
Alyssa let out a sigh of frustration. She leaned over to grab her laptop, which had thankfully survived the gunfire without any bullet holes. “You know, you just met me,” she said under her breath as she slid the window open farther with her free hand. She glanced outside and took a nervous gulp. It was a long way down, but she wasn’t about to stay and get a bullet in her.
“All right. Are you ready?”
Cora stuck her chin up stubbornly. “Are you coming?”
“Of course I’m coming. I’ll be right after you. I promise.”
Cora shook her head. “I’m not going without you.”
Oh, for the love of— This girl was going to get them both killed. “Okay. I’ll go first. You’d better come right after me. Do you understand?”
Cora nodded.
Alyssa pushed her laptop into Cora’s arms. “Please jump with this. Try not to be stupid about it, but if possible, I want my laptop to survive.”
<
br /> Cora looked confused as she took the laptop in her hands. But Alyssa didn’t have time right now to explain how her one true soul mate was a piece of electronics. Alyssa gripped the edge of the windowsill and took a deep breath. She could do this. First, one leg, and then another. She looked down at the drop. The second story seemed so much taller than it should. This is fine. I probably won’t die.
How did someone avoid breaking bones? How had she never done an internet search on this before? It seemed like a good life tip to know!
She heard more gunfire and jerked in surprise. Yep. No time to be scared right now. Only time to jump.
She awkwardly tried to turn around in the windowsill and lower herself until just her hands were holding on. She might not be tall, but her five-foot-five frame brought her toes five feet and five inches closer to the ground. She took a few steady breaths before she opened her hands and let herself fall.
Lowering herself out the window had allowed her fall to be shorter, but she was much too close to the house. As she fell, her elbow caught on one of the shutters below, knocking her away from the house and sending her sprawling on her back. She groaned in pain as she rolled on her back and looked up at the window. But she didn’t see Cora. Damn it. Why wasn’t she jumping out like she was supposed to?
“Are you okay?” came the high-pitched voice next to her.
Alyssa jumped up in fear when she saw Cora right next to her. Apparently the girl had jumped while Alyssa was falling.
Vampires. Still wasn’t used to that.
Alyssa pushed herself up, holding onto her throbbing arm. She stood. “Okay.” She tried to catch her breath. “We’re both down. Now let’s try to make sure we stay alive.”
It shouldn’t be impossible. This neighborhood was filled with abandoned houses. All they had to do was get to one and hide out until the military presence died down. Easy. Cora was still holding onto Alyssa’s laptop, and she figured the small thing was safer with Cora anyway. Vampires were probably bulletproof.
She reached down and took Cora’s free hand and moved toward the front of the house. She paused before stepping into the front yard, leaning against the side of the house. This would be the most dangerous part of their escape.
Escape. The stupidity of what she was doing hit her hard. She now had the military shooting at her. She had no car, no money, and no charger for this laptop she was trying so hard to protect.
She glanced over at Cora and gave her hand a tight squeeze. And then she took a chance and ducked her head out, only to have a flashlight beam shine directly in her eyes.
“Put your hands above your head!” screamed the soldier in front of her.
Alyssa jumped back, shoving Cora behind her. “I’m not armed!” she shouted, praying he’d hear her over his adrenaline.
“Put your hands above your head!”
Alyssa dutifully raised her hands but didn’t move away from the girl. “I can explain,” she said in as calm a voice as she could manage, but even she heard the tremor in her tone. “This is all a misunderstanding.” She had no idea what kind of misunderstanding would lead to this, but she had to think of something to stall him.
“Step away from the girl,” he ordered.
“If you just listen to me—”
“Move away from the girl,” he repeated.
Alyssa took a few breaths—deep breath in, deep breath out. She just needed to stall him long enough for Cora to get away. And Cora was very fast. She could do this.
“Cora, I’m sorry.” And then she took a step away from the girl. But instead of going sideways, Alyssa ran forward, toward the soldier, shoving the butt of his gun away from her. She knew she wasn’t strong enough to take him, but the momentum pushed him back and into a bush. “Get out of here!” she shouted.
She didn’t hear any running, not that she would’ve, but instead she heard an ear-piercing scream cut through the night. Alyssa would’ve covered her ears if she wasn’t so busy trying to hold the soldier back. Of course, it only took a few seconds for him to get the upper hand as he drew his arm back and slammed it into the side of her face.
Alyssa fell back. Bright lights danced behind her eyes. She tried to keep her balance, but she ended up falling back on her ass. She kicked up at the soldier, getting him square between the legs. He let out a grunt, and his face contorted in anger as he started to kick her. Alyssa rolled into a ball, holding her arms around herself to protect herself as she waited for more blows to come.
But they didn’t. One second, he was kicking her with everything he had; the next, she heard a strangled yelp and the pain stopped.
Alyssa tried to get up, but she realized she wasn’t actually moving. She cracked open her eyes and looked above her. She thought she’d see Cora or the soldier, but instead it was the vampire. The one she’d seen at the Sorenson Building.
It was a good solid piece of proof that she was hallucinating, and she kept that hallucination as unconsciousness started to take over.
Dante knelt down in front of Cora, grasping her face between his hands, forcing her to look at him. He could feel her shaking, and he hated that it had taken him so long to get to her. “It’s okay. I’m here now. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
Her breath came fast and heavy as her eyes bounced around. “It’s my fault,” said Cora in a raspy voice.
Dante shook his head. “No, no, no. You didn’t do any of this.”
Cora tried to shake her head, but Dante was still holding her tight. “I made her come out. I made her come with me. Is she dead?”
Dante frowned as he tried to make sense of what she was saying.
And then he remembered the girl on the ground. “She’s fine. Still alive. Let’s get you out of here. Once we’re inside and safe, you can tell me all about your adventures.”
He heard someone approaching and stood, putting himself between Cora and the newcomer. But he could tell by the gait that it was one of his own.
Talon emerged from the darkness, his lips tight. “All the humans appear to be gone or incapacitated.” He stared distastefully at the dead man by Dante’s feet. “I thought we agreed no casualties.”
“He was going after my daughter,” said Dante tightly. He didn’t need to explain himself.
“Alyssa saved me!” said Cora defiantly from behind him.
Alyssa. That must be the woman on the ground. She was huddled into a small ball, and even though she was unconscious, he could tell by the slight motion of her back rising and falling that she was breathing. Alyssa must be her name.
“We need to leave before backup gets here. The situation is already out of hand.”
“No!” shouted Cora. “We can’t leave her.”
Talon gave Dante a look, and Dante nodded, silently saying that he would take care of it. He turned to pick up Cora, but she darted out of his reach before he could get her.
“We can’t leave her! She wouldn’t leave me.”
Dante had his doubts about the strange woman who Cora had obviously never met until at most two days ago.
“We’ll bring her with us,” conceded Talon. “Maybe we can wipe her memories and try to contain the situation.”
“Can we take her, Dante?” asked Cora, her eyes wide and pleading.
“All right, I’ll bring her. But when we have time, you and I are going to have a long talk.”
“A long talk about how you’re selling me?”
Dante gritted his teeth. “Talon, why don’t you help her to the van. I’ll take care of our guest.”
As overjoyed as he was to be reunited with his daughter, she obviously hadn’t forgotten about their fight.
“Come on, kid.” Talon jerked his head toward the van and started to lead the way.
Cora followed but kept on looking back at Dante, presumably to make sure he was doing what he promised. She really didn’t trust him at all, did she?
Not that she was totally out of line. If it were up to him, he’d leave the human right where she was. Let
her own people take care of her. But if she really had protected Cora, then getting her to safety for now was the least he could do. He bent down and rolled her on her back as softly as he could. When her face finally came into view, he was struck by the shot of recognition. He’d seen this woman. Last night at the Sorenson. She certainly hadn’t seemed like a friend to vampires at the time. Had she known where Cora was the whole time? Was that why she was outside of Cora’s room?
He suddenly wasn’t as upset about saving her. He had a lot more questions for this Alyssa.
Before Alyssa opened her eyes, she felt pain. It seemed to be everywhere: her head, her back, her stomach, and her arm. So a few minutes later, when the memories of last night came back, she couldn’t even pretend they were a dream.
“She’s awake!”
She’d recognize that voice anywhere. “Cora?” she croaked out as she forced her eyes to crack open.
“I was so worried about you. You slept forever. I thought you were never going to wake up. Humans are so fragile.”
Alyssa was going to need a lot more coffee before she could handle this. There was a reason she never babysat.
“Hey,” she managed to say as her eyes fully opened and she could see where she was.
The bedroom was... nice. It was clean and plain. The walls were a nice clean baby blue, with white curtains. It was probably nice and sunny during the day. There was one dim lamp on the nightstand casting the rest of the room in shadows. The four-poster bed was comfortable and warm, yet terrifying at the same time.
How did she get here? When did she get here? And why did everything hurt?
The memories were hitting her hard. The gunfire. Falling out the window. The kicking.
Alyssa wrapped an arm around herself and felt her battered and bruised ribs. She’d be lucky if they weren’t broken.
“I saved this for you,” said Cora as she proudly presented Alyssa’s laptop.
“Oh my God. You’re the best.” She reached out and grabbed her computer, holding it close to her chest like a literal security blanket. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
