Be safe!
She pushed out the thought with her mental beacon, hoping it would reach Jason, wherever he was. She’d never been able to communicate two ways with anyone other than Emily—and that had shocked the shit out of her as it was—but her connection to Jason, new as it was, almost throbbed inside her. If anyone could hear her mind through all the hustle and bustle of the streets of Chicago, then it was him.
The burn started in her calves, and rose steadily up her legs, but Keila ignored it. She was almost there. If she could just keep going for a few minutes longer. . . . Ducking to turn down an alley in the direction of Emily’s wrecked apartment, she heard Zero’s heavy footsteps echo behind her. Shit, he was gaining ground. Keila had warned Emily the night before not to go anywhere near her apartment, but she hadn’t shared why. She only hoped Emily had more sense than Keila ever did when a fight was on, and had stayed away. Keila snorted. Emily was just as stubborn as she was, and so if she rounded the corner and found her standing there, then Keila wouldn’t be too surprised.
More help for me, then.
Exhaustion began to creep into her body, until Keila felt it in her bones. Glancing over her shoulder, she caught sight of Zero, her steps slowing a little as throbbing aches made themselves known. Zero, on the other hand, looked like he could run around the world and still have energy left to chase her.
“Damn psycho steroid junkie.”
It didn’t matter. The pain didn’t matter. In a few minutes she’d be at the apartment and she could stop. Keila took a moment to glance down at her phone as she passed into another alleyway, that one empty. It had stayed quiet during her entire flight across town. She could only pray that Jason was still alive and fighting.
He has to be. You’d feel it if he wasn’t.
The thought spurred her on, and Keila reached the steps of Emily’s building. She jogged up the external stairs, and knocked quietly at the door. The last thing she needed was to run her own marathon only to be shot by Reece when she burst through the door. When no answer came, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Leaving her bag on her shoulders—she’d seen enough movies at least to know not to put it down for the bad guy to grab—Keila quickly cleared the apartment. There were no signs of anyone being there since the disaster caused the last time Zero visited her there. Keila threw out her mental beacon, but Emily was nowhere to be found.
Good.
Zero’s heavy footsteps were unmistakable coming up the stairs, and Keila noticed a small stash of pointy objects at the front door. She dashed to pick up a crowbar. Since when had Emily kept a crowbar by her front door? Then she noticed the Glock, loaded and ready. Looks like Emily and Reece had figured her out after all.
Thank God for the FBI.
Keila grinned her first real smile of the previous ten miles, grabbed the weapons, and then settled in behind Emily’s upturned couch near the entrance to her bedroom to wait. She held the crowbar level and ready; the gun was a last resort. If she killed Zero, it would make him a little hard to follow.
Maybe you could just stab him with the crowbar, so he leaves you a nice trail of blood drops. Like Hansel and Gretel.
She held in her laugh as a large hulking shadow passed over the front entrance.
Okay, Keila, she thought to herself, knowing better than to make a sound. You get one shot at this. Make it count.
Zero’s heavy footsteps moved through the apartment, echoing in time with Keila’s heartbeat. For a moment she was brought back to the day when she’d been called downstairs by her foster parents. When they’d tried to kill her, and had almost succeeded. She closed her eyes and stilled the anger growing inside her.
Focus!
It was not the time to go blindly reliving the past. It was the time to secure her future. Zero’s footsteps moved out of the kitchen and into the hall, past the linen closet just to her right. The sound of a door being ripped from its hinges shrieked through the space, and Keila beat back her panic.
“Keila, Love!” Zero’s gravelly voice echoed through the empty hall. “You know, we’d make such a lovely couple. Just come out and we can talk.”
Keila opened her mouth to tell him she’d rather jump from a cliff, but then slammed it shut before a single sound could escape.
Patience, patience. He knows you’ve got the upper hand, he’s baiting you.
“You know, I don’t want to hurt you. I never do, but I will if you give me no choice. Am I such a worse choice than the fireman you’ve been hiding away with?”
Jason . . .
“My men will find him, you know. He’s not like you and I. He has a life in the real world. He can’t hide away forever.”
Keila nearly collapsed with relief at the realization of Zero’s words. His goon pals hadn’t captured Jason yet. He was alive. Gritting her teeth, Keila rose, ignoring the pain still shooting down her legs, and gripped the crowbar hard, holding it in her hands ready to swing like a baseball bat.
“Keila, come on, let’s be civil.” Zero stepped in her direction. Once, twice. His large boots appeared at the entrance to the bedroom and Keila swung, bringing the crowbar down on his head. Hard. The sound of metal meeting bone and Zero’s howl of pain was a symphony to her ears. It was a shame she couldn’t stick around to enjoy it. As Zero staggered forward, she danced around his form, which was already sliding to the ground, and hit him again. Blood flew from Zero’s head as she made contact, and he was unconscious before he’d even hit the floor. Keila paused. It was a beautiful sight. No matter what happened from there, she had done it. She’d faced Zero, and she’d taken her power back. Big time.
There was little time for gloating, however. If Zero lived up to their previous encounters, he wouldn’t be down for long. Even if that crunching sound had been Keila’s cracking his skull, he always recovered faster than he should. She quickly checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive and then grabbed a few extra pointy weapons and fled the apartment. She crossed the road, bought a soda from a street vendor on the corner, lifted a baseball cap off the head of an unsuspecting stranger as he walked past, and stood in the shadows of a large tree to wait. Less than ten minutes had passed before Zero exited the building in the same place. He was nursing an arm against his chest and he was already developing a black eye, dark enough to be visible from across the street. A small thrill of pride ran though her at the sight, but it was quickly dashed as a black SUV pulled up to the curb and Zero folded himself inside.
“No, no, no!” Keila had to stop herself from throwing her stolen cap. If Zero spotted her, all bets were off. “You were supposed to walk, you moron!” As the SUV pulled away from the curb, she threw her soda in frustration instead, glaring at a passing old man who tutted at her. She was about to dash forward, at least try to record the license plate, when another car screeched up right where she was standing. She was about to run when the passenger-side window wound down and she caught sight of Jason’s blood-spattered face.
“Get in!”
Where had he gotten a car from? She’d worry about that later. Wrenching the door handle, Keila dove in as Jason pulled away as quickly as he’d arrived.
“What the hell on earth happened to you?” Both his left eye and jaw had fresh bruises blooming and a trickle of blood still ran from his nose.
“I’m beginning to think these guys aren’t actually human.”
Keila couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Welcome to my world.”
Jason’s face was grim as he pressed harder on the gas, shooting through a yellow light to keep up with the SUV.
“So you got him?” he asked, a proud grin on his face.
“Yep! Did some actual damage, too.” He held out his fist and Keila bumped hers with it, a true smile on her face. Sure, it was a little strange to be celebrating beating the crap out of someone, but she was taking that one. Wins came so few and far between in her life, and something as simple as knocking Zero on his ass—even if it had only been for ten minutes—was a big dea
l. A temporary win, but a win nonetheless. Zero more than deserved it after all these years.
As she’d been introducing the crowbar to Zero’s head, she’d seen Jason’s face and the beating he’d endured from Zero and his goons to help her. Keila frowned. If it hadn’t messed with the rest of the plan, she would have gladly killed the psycho then and there, but the end game was too important. A surge of determination ran through her. She knew how to find him in return and there’d be another chance. The small taste of a life with Jason had ignited something inside of Keila that she’d thought was long gone, dead and buried after years on the run. She would never truly be free, not while she was still being hunted.
“And you’re okay? Nothing hurt?” Jason glanced quickly over at her before returning his focus to the black SUV. Keila reached over and laid her hand across his thigh, squeezing lightly.
“I’m all good,” she indicated a few scratches, then tears and blood drops on her clothing. “You should have seen the other guy.”
Jason burst out laughing and Keila’s smile turned into a full-blown grin. At the sound of his delight, she felt a warmth creeping up inside her. No, it might not be love, not yet, but there was definitely something there. Something she wanted to spend a very long time exploring later.
God, if you actually exist, please keep him safe. This is my fight, and I will give my life for this before I allow harm to come to him.
And she would, if it came to it. Of that she was sure.
23
Jason kept his eyes firmly on the SUV up ahead, but he couldn’t ignore the intense waves of worry pouring from Keila. He pretended not to see her smile change to a frown as she looked over again at his bruised face. He didn’t want her worrying. It hurt like a son of bitch, but he’d live. Nothing was even broken, as far as he could tell. She might pretend otherwise, but she felt something for him, something good, and more than just the pleasure he could give her in bed. He loved the spark in her eye as she looked at him, the little shivers when he brushed his fingers along her arm. He was falling fast for this brave, proud woman, and he knew that deep down—if she’d let herself feel it—she felt the same.
He already knew that he would protect Keila with his life. Putting a perfect stranger’s life in front of his own was something that he did every day at work, but this was more than that. He may run into burning buildings to save a civilian, but he’d burn the world to the ground to save Keila. She’d never allow it, but his heart wanted to wrap her up and hide her away from the world while he fought the bad guys for her. Not because she wasn’t capable; hell, she’d more than proved that, but because she shouldn’t have to. She’d been through so much, and survived. Keila deserved for someone else to fight for her, to tell her she mattered, and she was worth saving. Every step of the way.
“Where do you think they’re going?”
Keila looked over again, wincing again as she took in his face. She had no reason to feel guilty; the whole thing had been his idea. “I have no idea,” she replied. “But we’re leaving the freeway, so fall back a bit.”
Jason continued to follow the SUV at a distance, turning a corner just in time to see the car pull into the driveway of a small, everyday-looking house. He continued to drive past, his eye catching the children playing just across the road. “You never know who your neighbors truly are, I guess.”
He pulled into a side street and killed the engine. They needed to get a look inside that house, but there was no way that was going to happen. Not in broad daylight with children yelling out right across from them, and definitely not with the security camera he could see attached to the house, pointed directly across the road. Thank God the windows on the car he’d, well, borrowed, were tinted. The car belonged to a friend of a friend, and Jason knew the guy barely used it during the work week. He’d liberated it shortly after defeating Thing 1 and Thing 2, and would return it before the owner even noticed it was missing. He hoped.
“We’ll have to stay hidden for a few hours, wait for it to get dark and people to go inside.”
Keila shook her head. “No way. Zero’s just got back to base with a very unfortunate tale. Whatever he’s doing in there will happen now. We can’t afford to miss it.”
Before he could protest, she’d shoved a ball cap back on her head—that was new—and climbed out of the car. Jason looked skyward and sent up a few Hail Marys before chasing after her.
Keila stood on the curb, pointing at an elderly woman sitting out on her front porch, knitting. “We can get into Zero’s yard from there, back, and then cut across.”
“And if she spots us? I got chased by an old lady once for stealing oranges. I was seven, and I may still be traumatized.”
Keila giggled and Jason nearly groaned out loud. God, that sound. They might be trying to sneak up on a madman, but he’d joke all the way to the door if it put that smile on her face.
“Well,” Keila said, “be thankful this one is more interested in knit one, purl one than anything going on around her.”
“Let me see your face,” She reached back into the car, pulled out a box of tissues, then rummaged around in her bag and found a bottle of water. “Let me clean you up a little. You look like you’ve gone several rounds with Mike Tyson.”
She took his face in her palms and gently cleaned around his nose and eye, her soft fingers dancing across his skin. The urge to pull her in and kiss her senseless was nearly overwhelming. Instead, he settled for dropping a light kiss on her fingers whenever one crossed his mouth.
Keila laughed at one nip before her smile dropped away and her eyebrows furrowed. “Don’t go being a hero in there.” She was scared—no, terrified. He could see every ounce of fear reflected in her eyes.
“Hey.” He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face to look in her eyes. Small tears sat in the corners of her eyes and his heart clenched. “Don’t worry. We’ll look after each other in there, all right? I have a feeling this will all be over soon.” Jason had no idea what Meathead was planning, but if it was at all possible, he wanted to bring Keila peace. He brushed away a tear as it fell and he kissed her gently. Maybe when this was all said and done, they could have a normal life. He had a feeling that Keila was never going to be normal, but who wanted that when you could have a wild, crazy spirit like hers instead? As her lips met his again, something jolted in his heart and everything slid into place. This was it, this was where he belonged, and he’d follow her to the ends of the earth. He chuckled. If she’d let him, of course.
Keila frowned. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, Gorgeous.” She wasn’t ready to hear that yet. “Let’s get moving.”
Linking her arm through his, he pulled her close and walked as slowly as he could manage up the road, as if they were lovers out for an afternoon stroll. Another couple walked past and waved hello, and a flash of what life could be like once Meathead and whomever he was working for were out of the picture crossed Jason’s mind. A man out doing yard work smiled and nodded in greeting as they passed, and Jason picked up a ball and threw it back to children playing in another front yard. Could they have that life? Waving at your neighbors, talking to the old woman knitting on her porch, children playing in the street.
Yep, and homicidal maniacs living next door.
They approached the old lady’s front yard, and Jason narrowed in his focus. He waved hello as they walked past the house, and then quickly ducked into the large hedge on the border of the property when she turned to face the street again. Jason thanked his lucky stars the lady had a green thumb; the hedge was so high it would have taken a CIA surveillance drone to see them inside. Holding Keila’s hand and keeping her tucked into his side, they crossed through to the backyard. A cat sunning itself on the back stairs opened one eye, took them in, and then closed it again without so much as an ear twitch.
Mental note: get a dog.
He continued stepping quietly, reaching the fence line without attention from anyone other than the cat.
Sounds of the children playing still reached his ears, but they were faint. The breeze ruffled the leaves in the trees above their heads and traffic from a nearby road droned in the distance. The house on the other side of the fence, however, was silent. Whatever was going on over there, they were too far away to make use of it.
“Keep an eye out,” he said, and before Keila could stop him, Jason bent lower and crept on hands and knees through yet more hedge. As he emerged on the other side, a drop of rain hit his cheek and he looked up at the darkening skies. Maybe those Hail Marys had gotten the Big Guy’s attention after all. He could only hope the rainfall stayed light. The darkening sky would make it easier to creep closer to the house undetected, but anything more than drizzle and it would be difficult to hear anything over the rainfall. He moved closer again, Keila edging only inches behind him, all the way to the side of the house, where a window was open, framed by a thin Arabian curtain. Voices drifted from inside.
“Is it broken?”
“No, just bruised. What the fuck happened? How did she get the drop on you?”
Crap on a cracker, that was a woman.
An appliance in the room whirred into life, and Keila rose on her knees to peek inside. Jason grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back down. God, she was completely fearless.
“Was she alone this time?”
Silence.
“But the man who she disappeared with at the library is still assisting her?”
“Yes. He’s making himself known. Took out two of my men this time.”
“I see. And you didn’t find him and take him in?”
Silence again. Meathead either didn’t want to own up to his inability to take Jason down, or he’d simply shaken his head. The latter was more likely, but Jason couldn’t help but grin at the idea of the giant man standing contrite in the kitchen, his head dropped, being scolded for not catching up with him. A chuckle almost escaped, until the next words made his blood freeze in his veins.
Keila (Dreamcatchers Romantic Suspense Series Book 2) Page 11
