by May Dawson
Well, and a bit of sheer terror.
Jacob was up and running toward the source of the attack. He dived low, taking cover in case there was a third bomb launched, and fired his 9mm into the woods. Levi was already up, scrambling over me and after Jacob, and he passed Jacob and dove down into the ditch at the edge of the road.
"Covering you," Levi called out, opening fire on the woods. Jacob got up and ran.
Ryker low-crawled over to me.
"We're going to head around, try to flank them while they're distracted." He shook his head, muttering a curse.
I understood why. Levi and Jacob using their bodies to distract a heavily-armed enemy was a pretty shit plan.
But the shit plan was what we had, so I was already on my feet. The two of us ran parallel to the road a couple hundred feet. We crept to the edge of the woods. It was eerily silent now, no animal noises or bird sounds, like the arms fire had scared away every living thing that wasn't a stupid human.
Ryker nodded, and the two of us burst out of the woods, running desperately across the open space of the road and flinging ourselves down into the trees. My heart pounded in my chest, my vision narrow. I knew I'd just slammed my elbow down on a tree root and that I'd feel it later, but for now, I didn't feel anything.
I got up, moving as quietly as I could. Ryker gestured with his hands that we should put some space between us, in case another bomb or rocket or whatever it was came our way. The two of us spread out, moving quickly through the woods.
The whine of a motorcycle surprised me. It whipped through a narrow trail in the woods ahead. A black helmet swiveled to watch us; the rocket launcher slung over the biker's shoulder drew my eye, and then I looked again at the eerie black mask right before the motorcycle bumped up onto the road. The engine revved as it reached pavement, and it flew down the road away from us.
Ryker had already sited in with his 9mm, and he squeezed off a few quick shots. I saw the shoulder of the biker jerk, but he kept his seat on the bike even though it dipped to one side. He regained his balance. The motorcycle roared away.
Quickly, the boys and I moved to higher ground, keeping an eye out for an enemy or a trap. But the woods seemed empty now.
"We've got a problem." Levi holstered his sword, as smooth with his left hand as with his right, which still held his 9mm. "We are definitely not making it to Starbucks now."
"What's our time hack?" Jacob checked his watch, but the face of it had been shattered in the fight. "Christ. I loved this watch."
"I'll buy you a new one," Ryker said. "We've got an hour. We need your larceny skills. In to town."
"That poor town has the highest rate of Grand Theft Auto of any rural town in Virginia," Levi said.
"Don't be modest. Probably in America." I said.
"Levi, you stay with Ellis," Jacob said. "Ryker and I will cover each other."
"Why don't we all go together?" I asked. "Things always get worse when we split up."
"Just don't do anything dumb this time that gets you kidnapped," Ryker said. "I'd rather we stayed together too, but we have to be at that factory in an hour or..."
Ryker shrugged. Which was a pretty low-key gesture to symbolize our imminent executions at the hands of the Council. "It makes the most sense for Jacob and me to run ahead full-speed and double back to meet you."
I nodded. "Go."
Ryker grinned slightly—what he'd said about me being the leader of our oddball crew was certainly coming back to haunt him—but there was no time for quips or goodbyes. He and Jacob turned and sprinted for the road.
Levi and I ran behind them, but even though we ran every day to start off our training, I wasn’t as fast as the boys. Ryker and Jacob slowly pulled ahead of us, becoming small in the distance, even though my lungs and legs burned with the effort.
"What the hell do you think happened?" I asked Levi, the words short and strangled.
"Minion?" he asked. "Maybe? Maybe a Company man? We've left a lot of enemies in our wake, Ell."
"We'll have to stop leaving them alive," I said.
Levi's lips curled up. Of course he had the energy to smile; he was barely breathing hard.
"What?" I asked.
"I love you blood-thirsty," he said.
"I'm not blood-thirsty," I said. "But no one is going to hurt my family."
He nodded, and I realized what I'd just said. My family. Damn it, I couldn't play it cool right now; my brain felt fractured and distracted.
"We'll figure it out. We'll find them and we'll end them," Levi promised. "Just... one disaster a time. We have to face the Council first."
As we limped toward town, I asked, "Do you think this could be the McKennas?"
There was only one group of people who would know that we were headed to a trial by the Council. Who would know what it would cost us if we were delayed.
"No." Levi said quickly. But then I could see him mull over it, even though the thought horrified him. He shook his head. "They're angry about Olivia. Self-righteous about the only way to Hunt. But they wouldn’t try to kill us."
"Then why'd they talk to the Council in the first place?"
"Maybe we'll find out today," Levi said grimly.
I tried to keep the pace up as much as I could, but I still felt like I was dragging Levi down.
"Why'd you get stuck with me?" I smiled to take any sting out of my words. I felt embarrassed that I was slowing us all down.
"Jacob has to go ahead," Levi said. "Ryker and I know how to lift a car, but not like Jacob. He's the best choice. Someone has to go with him."
"And why'd you draw the short straw?"
"You're definitely not the short straw," he said. "But the truth is, I'm the best shot and the best with a blade. That's why they left me with you. To make sure you're as safe as you can be."
He said it without arrogance, but I knew it was true. The juxtaposition of Levi's kind heart and tenderness with his dangerous competence with a weapon always intrigued me.
A car turned around the bend in front of us, hugging the corner of the road as it took the turn fast. Levi and I dove off the gravel alongside the road for the shelter of the trees.
The car slammed on its brakes and came to a hard stop alongside us.
Ryker threw open the passenger door.
I was always glad to see him, but especially now. Levi offered me a hand up. I brushed dirt off the knees of my leather trousers as I headed for the car. Levi ran around the side to get in beside me.
"In a Kia?" I asked. “We’re going to meet our potential doom in a Kia?”
“And we aren’t even going to make it to Starbucks,” Levi said. “It’s a bad fucking day.”
Chapter 9
"Nice setting," I muttered as we reached the outskirts of the abandoned factory.
Levi hopped out of the car to open the gates, which were chained shut. He quickly unwound the chains and dropped them by the side of the chain link fence, ready for a quick departure. When Levi pulled open the gates, Jacob slowly eased the car forward.
We rolled into a dilapidated parking lot that led up to an long white-paneled building. The concrete was cracked, with blades of bright green grass forcing themselves up through the gray toward the sun.
"The Council's always got a flair for the dramatic." Jacob put the car into park and twisted in his seat to look at Ryker. "Which is the last smart-ass remark any of us will make today. Okay?"
"Why are you looking at me?" Ryker asked, false-innocent. He gestured to Levi, who was walking up to the car. "Why not say it to him?"
"It's so hard to figure out," Jacob deadpanned. "Best behavior, all of you." His eyes flickered back to me.
"I'm always on my best behavior," I said.
Ryker and Jacob both grinned in response.
"What?" I demanded.
Ryker opened the car door for me and offered a hand to help me out. Even though I obviously didn't need one. I was wearing leather pants, for crying out loud. My hair was back in a tig
ht all-business French braid. No matter how much my stomach was in knots, I’d left the house looking like the girl I was trying to be.
"Make sure you leave your weapons in the car." The man standing in front of our hood seemed to have come from nowhere. He crossed his arms over his barrel chest; he wore the same black armor as the guards we'd met at Turner's shop.
Jacob nodded. He popped open the trunk and then propped his foot up on the bumper, patting his calf to make sure he hadn't forgotten to remove the boot knife he usually carried. "You guys sure you aren't carrying anything?"
The guys quickly frisked themselves.
"Not that it's going to keep Mr. Sunshine over there from groping us," Levi muttered. No one had any weapons on them, but the open trunk was full of guns and blades. Just in case.
Jacob closed the trunk, blocking the shiny contents from view. "Let's get this over with."
Together, the four of us walked toward the factory.
We heard the rumble of the engine behind us and turned to see the McKenna’s truck pull in and park alongside our car.
Mr. Sunshine stepped forward and began to search Jacob, who raised his hands and spread his legs, a look of patient endurance written across his handsome face. I wondered if it reminded him of what he'd called his vacation in Juvie.
Zane, Nash and Yale climbed out of the car.
Levi's jaw tightened.
"Easy," Ryker said, as if he read the tension in his brother's body.
Levi's eyes flashed to his, and he smiled, as if he were defusing his tension. "Of course. It's all good."
Mr. Sunshine stepped behind me, and I felt myself stiffen. But I held my arms out even though I hated having his rough hands fumble across my body. He ran his hands over my hips, then up the inside of my thighs until his thumbs ran into my crotch.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Jacob run a hand over his head, his jaw set, and I knew if I looked the other way I'd see Levi and Ryker gritting their teeth. Bad enough to have this man touch them, but touching me? That couldn't go over well with my overprotective men.
But they were as smart as they were protective, so we all endured.
Mr. Sunshine moved on to Levi. Zane and Yale and Nash were crossing toward us. Instead of Hunter leather, they wore jackets and ties.
"Is there a dress code?" Levi muttered. I heard his exhale of breath in surprise as Mr. Sunshine checked his crotch.
"No one told me about a dress code." Ryker said. He held his hands up, out of the way of Mr. Sunshine. "I came dressed the way I usually do. To kick ass and protect the innocent, not that anyone wants to thank me for the job."
This whole ordeal certainly felt like the opposite of being appreciated.
Mr. Sunshine snorted. He looked over Ryker's shoulder and called to the Nash, "That's far enough. Stop right there."
Mr. Sunshine took a step back, dusting his hands together as if he were trying to shake off our germs. "All right. You're clear. You can go on in."
"Thanks." Ryker glanced over his shoulder at his old friends. "Man, we got fucking hit with a rocket launcher and we still beat them here."
"Yale's got a Starbucks cup," Levi said.
"Would you give it up?" Ryker asked. "I'm sorry you didn't get your caffeine fix. I'll buy you a Frappucino later."
"Both of you," Jacob warned, in that big-brother tone that always made my chest warm a little.
I glanced back over my shoulder. It did seem like we were here for two entirely different parties: Yale wore a dark blue blazer and dress shoes and he carried a cardboard Starbucks cup in one hand. Nash and Zane were dressed similarly.
Levi reached the metal double doors ahead of us and pulled them open. He looked over his shoulder at me. "Normally I'd hold the door open for you."
"It's all right," I said. "I don't much want to go first."
Levi strode in, confident as ever, and Ryker caught the door behind him. Jacob held the door open for me, bringing up the rear, and the four of us filed in.
Whatever equipment had been in here had been pulled out, leaving massive bolts and holes and stains of rust jutting from a cement floor. The ceiling was high, and dust seemed to hang in the air, illuminated by the sunlight.
In the back of the room, there was a row of metal folding chairs. Four on the left, three on the right. Beyond that was a long table, set with a scarlet tablecloth. Notebooks and pens were already set out, along with crystal glasses of iced water, and behind the table stood a row of chairs. The good kind of folding chair, with cushions. Apparently you had to lead the Hunters to get the fancy folding chairs. This life wasn’t for people who valued their creature comforts.
Ryker had drawn the invitation from his pocket, and he slapped it absent-mindedly against his open hand as we walked across the factory floor. We glanced at each other, but there was nothing to do but take our seats.
The room was too warm, stuffy and humid. I would have asked the boys what the Council had against air conditioning, but I'd promised to be on my best behavior. Weren't there a thousand other places we could have this meeting?
Oh, right. We were out where it was isolated, where no one would hear a fight. Or gun-fire. We were in prime body-dumping territory. Wonderful.
The doors creaked open behind us. Zane, Yale and Nash walked in. Nash stopped next to Levi, who sat at the end, and hesitated like there was something he wanted to say. Levi stared straight ahead.
Nash cleared his throat, and Ryker's eyes flickered up to meet his. Levi continued to ignore him.
"Let's talk after the Council." Ryker said gruffly. “If we can.”
"We didn't do this," Nash said. “I swear.”
The doors to one side thumped open. Two guards stepped in and crossed to where we were. One of them shouldered Nash out of the way to stand where he had been. Nash took a step back, then turned and went to sit beside his brothers. The other guard towered at the far end of our row of chairs, beside Jacob.
Well, that was a keen reminder we were on trial here.
Levi leaned out slightly, looking past the guard at Nash and the rest of the McKenna brothers. I knew what he was thinking, because I was thinking it too. They don't get a guard?
But we were on our best behavior. No one complained out loud.
Two more guards stepped into the room. The Council filed in, still dressed in Hunter leathers.
I guess we were the ones who cracked the dress code.
The woman in the center of the Council members, Calla, was the one who had eyed me as I hid Nimshi's pendant. She was surrounded by four men, two who looked like they were in their late twenties or early thirties and two in their forties, who had a silver-fox handsome look. I was curious about all of them. Olivia had filled me in on their names, and I glanced from man to man, trying to match names to faces. The young ones were Adrian and Root—which was a hell of a name, he should ask his parents for a refund—and the two older ones were Luke and Tanner.
The five of them took their seats.
Calla said, "I want to remind you all that your duty as a Hunter is to be honest with the Council. Do you understand me?"
"Yes ma'am," Jacob said. He couldn't say ma'am without sounding like a smart ass, even though I knew he was trying to sound sincere. He elbowed me.
"Yes ma'am," I said, my voice coming out a little too loud and smart-assy myself. Damn.
Once Ryker and Levi shad also agreed, she turned her cold gaze to the McKennas.
When we had all promised to be good little Hunters, she nodded. "Let's begin. Zane, come up here. I want you to tell us what you saw the night Nimshi arrived at the Alexander home."
Zane got to his feet, but then didn't seem to know where to stand; there was no witness box. He took a few steps toward the Council and then hesitated, glancing at the guards. He glanced toward us and then turned toward the Council to address them.
This whole fucking place was set up to throw us off. At least it didn't just work on me and my boys. The ones who had landed us h
ere seemed thrown too.
"I was over at their house and—"
"Why were you there?" Tanner interrupted. He was staring down at his blank notebook, tapping his pen against the white page.
"I'd come over to help them with a medical situation. Because I'm an EMT," Zane explained.
Tanner made an impatient gesture. "And that problem was?"
"Ellis' sister. Ashley Landon. She's in a coma. We were helping with her care."
"Why wasn't she in a hospital?" Tanner asked.
Calla ducked her head slightly, as if she were hiding amusement, as Zane flailed around to answer their questions. I almost felt sorry for him, but I was also unhappy that we were beginning by talking about Ash. I leaned forward and knit my hands in my lap. Ash—and my dream of resurrecting her—was not Council business.
"All right, so let me get this straight," Tanner leaned back in his chair. Piercingly bright eyes met Zane's evenly. "You knew that a demon had removed this woman without her consent from a medical facility, turned her over to the Alexanders, and then the Alexanders chose to keep her. With your help. Instead of bringing her to an appropriate medical facility or, you know, alerting the Council that there might be a situation beyond their jurisdiction. And you only had a problem with this when the demon moved in? That was the step too far?"
Zane stared back at him.
Tanner sighed and set down the notebook. "Go on. The night the demon arrived."
Zane said, "He'd been badly hurt. Apparently he was being chased by Hell Hounds and he'd been in a fight with an angel."
"Which you know because you provided him medical aid." Turner made a small gesture with his pen. "Him. The demon."
"I told them that I couldn't help," Zane said. "That I was a Hunter."
"An interesting time to take a stand," Turner said. "And then you..."
He trailed off meaningfully.
Zane took a deep breath, as if he wasn't enthused to admit to this next part. "I went home and talked to my brothers. We called Duncan Alexander. Their father. We hoped he would talk some sense into them."
"And you still weren't calling the Council." Turner shook his head. "We have a serious overconfident teenager problem around here."
