“Okay. Here’s the deal, W. In order to save you, I need to put you in my bag. You can’t move or make any noises. If you do, I’ll go to jail, and you’ll be dead. Understand?”
I’m making deals with a rabbit. I mean, it’s what any wise wizard would do in this situation. Why shouldn’t I appeal to the urgency? Maybe he’ll understand me. On the off chance he does, I want to make sure he knows the details.
I open the cage and hold the backpack at the edge. W moves forward and hops down into the bottom of the bag. I raise my brow, surprised that my little talk worked. Point one for an understanding rabbit. I feel a tiny ball of excitement rise when I think I’m a little like Dr. Dolittle before I gently zip up the backpack and put it on. My saddle bag goes over my shoulder and then I’m moving towards the elevators. I try to keep my movements as gentle and non-suspicious as possible. I wave to the security guard on my way out. He’s too busy eating pizza and watching a game on his phone to really notice me. A lot of good he is for actual security. I’m walking right out the door with Star Corp property.
San Diego is a crowded city. There are too many people squeezed into one area which makes for shitty parking situations. The parking garage where we’re all meant to park is around the side of the building and across the street. It’s dark and many of the streetlights are burnt out. Obviously, no one cares about safety. I grab my keys from my pockets, nervous energy making me keep them threaded in my fingers in case I need to use them as a weapon. If I aim for the eyes, I can do some real damage.
The parking garage isn’t any more well-lit than the street. My car is parked on the second floor, up a dark flight of stairs. More burnt-out lights. After a hurried trip up the steps, as smoothly as possible, so I don’t jostle W too much, I head towards my car. It’s the only one left on the floor, a single light shining over it. I breathe a sigh of relief at the sight.
I take a step towards the vehicle just as a shadow moves from the darkness. I stiffen and clutch my keys tighter. When a person steps from within the dark garage and moves into the light directly in front of my car, I frown.
“Josh?”
My awkward coworker stands in front of my door, his face decidedly not as awkward as before. He stands tall, a small smile on his lips. His hair is pushed back from his face, making him seem more confident than he has the entire time I’ve known him. Gone is the quiet and uncomfortable scientist.
“Hello, Jupiter.”
My heart rate kicks up a notch. He doesn’t sound like the Josh I know, either. His voice is no longer meek and soft. It’s strong and sure now. I wrinkle my brow and take a step back. Something screams at me to run as far away as possible.
“Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Suddenly, I know I’m standing with a predator. Somehow, I had missed the signs before and wrongly assumed Josh was the lesser of two evils. As I look into his eyes, I know I’m about to fight for my life, whether I want to or not. All with a stolen rabbit in my backpack.
Cue epic fight music. Seriously, where is my super suit?
Chapter Seven
“What are you doing here so late?” Josh asks, glancing at my backpack and saddle bag, his eyes wide and alert.
“I was doing research.” Stick with my cover. Don’t give anything away. “I plan to submit to Science Weekly, remember?”
“Why are your bags so full? You planning on not coming back?”
I fight really hard not to stiffen at the questions, realizing he’s fishing, searching for exactly that sort of reaction. I don’t know how I had missed this version of Josh in front of me. Normally, I’m pretty observant. I’m trying to avoid thinking about all those TV shows about this exact scenario. Josh has the psychopath traits down. He’s apparently a master actor; I never once suspected him.
“I just like to take my things with me. I’ve had my stuff stolen before.” I keep my voice strong, but I’m starting to panic. I can feel my heart rate pick up at the threat in front of me. I don’t have a weapon, not a true one. The best I have is the heavy saddle bag and my keys clutched tightly in my hands. If he rushes me, I can aim for his eyes with the keys, and use my training to disorient him enough to get away. How experienced is he with these situations? Would he expect me to fight? And I have W in the backpack. If it comes down to a fight, he could be seriously injured. I need to be careful.
“You owe me a drink.” Josh grins at me. “I did save you from Dylan, after all.”
“Okay.” I seize the opportunity. By the time we would have met up for drinks, I will have left this city and the lunatic in front of me far behind. I have no intention of being anywhere near him after this. “We can get a drink this weekend like I told you before.” I gesture to my car. “It’s getting late. Can I leave now?”
“See, I don’t believe you, Jupiter.” He tilts his head to the side, studying me.
This time I can’t hide the tensing of my shoulders as he lifts his shirt and pulls a handgun from his waistband. The rabbit moves in my backpack, reminding me how serious of a situation this is. Not only am I being confronted and threatened by my coworker, I also have stolen lab property in my bag. If Josh decides to go to the cops, or I fight him off and call the cops, they will take the rabbit from me, and I will be booked and charged. Dead rabbit and life ruined. I’m on my own.
“What are you doing?” My voice doesn’t waver, and I’m proud of that fact, but there’s still a thread of fear in the tone that gives me away. The rabbit shifts again.
“You’re going to come with me, and you’re going to show your gratitude.” He points the gun at my chest. “And if you don’t, then I’ll just shoot you and do whatever I want anyways.”
At that moment, I take stock of everything around me, searching for a way out of this. Josh is blocking my car, standing in front of the door. I’m fast, but I don’t know how fast he is. If I attempt to run around him, he could get his hands on me, and I know that isn’t the best case scenario. Once he gets his hands on me, it lowers my chances of getting away, and there could be an even worse fate for my rabbit.
While the saddle bag can be used as a battering ram, it won’t be very helpful, and it will only slow me down. I can throw it and hope that it catches him off guard enough for me to slip around his reach. There isn’t much else in the parking garage besides a random fire extinguisher but even that is too far away. I curse the fact that I haven’t been bringing my pocket knife to work, since they aren’t allowed through the metal detector. No, even that is in the center console of my car, just out of reach.
Josh takes a step towards me, and I drop the saddle bag at the same time I drop into a defensive position. This is going to turn into a fight because I don’t give in to bullies or psychopaths. If Josh rushes me, that means he’ll be further from my car. If I can dodge him, and keep hold of my keys, I can make it to the car and slip inside. That doesn’t eliminate the danger of the gun, though. He can shoot me anytime between now and the time it takes me to start my car and throw it into gear. I’m well and truly screwed. I have no choice but to take Josh out before I make my escape.
When Josh grins and takes another step forward, I feel a charge in the air that makes the hair on my arms stand on end. It’s like the moment before a thunderstorm, when static runs across everything, and you accidentally get little shocks. The world around me grows so quiet, it’s like I’m in a tunnel, and then everything moves so much faster, I can hardly follow.
My backpack jerks. When I register that the zipper is coming undone, it’s already too late. The weight on my back eases, and my rabbit is standing in front of me like an attack dog prepared to fight. If this wasn’t such a dire situation, I might have laughed. This is getting out of hand. Now, if I get away from the psycho, I have a witness to my crime.
Josh blinks down at the white rabbit protecting me before throwing his head back in laughter. The gun doesn’t move from its aim on my chest even though he’s losing his shit.
“Stealing from t
he lab, I see,” he guffaws, wiping at the tears that gather on his lashes. The rabbit doesn’t react, his position stiff and determined. “My, have you been a naughty girl. Seems like no one will think twice about what I do with a criminal.”
Dammit! This is not the kind of adventure I was hoping for. This is the exact opposite of what I hoped for.
The rabbit doesn’t seem to like those words, a harsh grunt coming from his body as he stands on his hind legs. His ears are tense, and I’m certain I’ve never seen a rabbit look so threatening. Rabbits are timid creatures, or they’re supposed to be.
Suddenly, there’s a bright flash so startling that I close my eyes against it. For a moment, I think the gun goes off, and the flash is from that, but I’ve seen guns fire and a handgun like Josh has shouldn’t do such a thing. I also don’t hurt, although that doesn’t mean I haven’t been shot. Sometimes, our adrenaline can make the pain receptors lag.
When the flash recedes, and I reassure myself that I’m not sporting a hole in my chest, my eyes land on the man now standing in front of me. Not Josh. This one is definitely not Josh. The new man stands before me in the same spot the rabbit had been. The rabbit is conveniently missing, and I glance around, looking for his white fur. When I find no sign of him, I return my eyes to the man before me.
For a moment, I completely forget that I’m about to fight a psychopath for my life, and instead, I peruse the man blocking my view of Josh. His shoulders are wide and relaxed, perfectly at ease even though there’s now a gun pointed at his chest. His arms are bare, only a green waistcoat wrapped around his torso and leather pants on his legs. There’s a watch on his right wrist. His hair is a little longer, like the beach bums I see daily, and it’s so pale, it’s almost white.
None of that gives me pause. Hell, there are some odd people in California. This man has just appeared out of nowhere and is now protecting me. That isn’t even what throws me off. What bothers me, is that I have to blink extra hard in an attempt to check my sanity.
On the man’s head stand two rabbit ears, moving and twitching as if they’re on a real rabbit. I’ve never seen technology that does that. I’m so tempted to reach forward and touch one, even in this messed up situation I’m in.
“What the hell?” Josh stumbles back and flicks the safety off on the gun. I can hear it, the tiny click. It’s what brings me back to the moment, and I peer around the mystery man to look at my coworker.
“You will leave Jupiter alone,” Mystery Man threatens, the ears on his head twitching at the words. His voice is deep and husky, pleasant to my senses. I’m so curious and confused right now, but there is a time and place for questions. Right now, if Mystery Man helps me out, Josh might back down, the odds against him. I’d still like to rip his face off and stab my keys through his eye, but I might restrain myself if he backs down and leaves. Wait, how did Mystery Man know my name?
“Or what?” Josh is attempting to sound tough. Even I can hear the waver in his voice, see the shaking of the gun and the tenseness in his shoulders.
Mystery Rabbit Man looks at the watch on his wrist and shrugs his shoulders, completely mellow. It’s really setting my nerves on fire. There’s literally a gun trained on him, and he doesn’t seem to care.
“Or I break every bone in your body for daring to threaten her.”
I take a step back from Mystery Man. I appreciate the help, but the possession I hear in those words sends another thread of panic through my body. Had I just traded one psychopath for another?
At my movement, Mystery Man turns to look at me, and I get a good view of his face. He’s beautiful in a menacing sort of way, his jawline sharp, his brow strong. His eyes meet mine, and he winks. I gasp and nearly choke on my tongue. It can’t be. The eyes staring at me from this man are the same silver eyes my rabbit possesses. The ears, the eyes, there’s no way. This isn’t possible.
“What can a freak with bunny ears do to me?” Josh actually has the nerve to laugh. Even I know that for the mistake it is, sensing the danger coming from Mystery Man, my white rabbit, in waves.
Weirdly, I never sensed it while he was a rabbit, and it’s not directed at me. Because I’m certain this is my rabbit. I might be a scientist, but I’m a firm believer in searching all the possibilities. I believe magic is just science we haven’t figured out yet. My geek self is going a little insane at the probability, but I keep it contained, for now.
At Josh’s words, his body stiffens before he he looks back at my coworker.
“They’re rabbit ears!” he snarls, lunging towards Josh faster than I can even comprehend.
The gun goes off, and I scream, ducking down and covering my head. I don’t know why that’s my first instinct, as if I’m fast enough to dodge a bullet, but it’s all I’ve got. This far away, I’m no help. My training only covered close contact, knives and such. I can disarm him if I get close enough, but from this distance, I’m at a disadvantage.
The sounds of a scuffle, some harsh grunts, and a sickening wet sound draws my head up again. My eyes land on Josh’s body, laid out on the ground, surrounded by blood spreading quickly around him. His face is directed at me, his lifeless eyes gazing into mine. His neck is at an odd angle, completely mangled like a wild animal ripped it out, and I know he’s dead. My heart beats a frantic rhythm at the sight, but I don’t freak out. In my mind, the words he had it coming whisper. Something tells me I’m not his first victim, and I wouldn’t have been his last.
My eyes jump to the man now standing over me. One rabbit ear is drooping, and he’s breathing hard. His hand is clamped against his side, blood welling around his fingers. I jump to my feet and add my own pressure to the wound, a tiny bite of static jumping between our fingers.
“You’re safe now,” he says, his eyes half closed as he looks at me. A tiny smile curls his lips even as he lists to the side so fast, I barely have time to loop my free arm around his waist. I grunt under the weight before directing him towards my car. Damn, he’s heavy. Maybe he needs to lay off the carrots. I almost snort at the thought.
“We need to get you to a hospital,” I grunt, leaning him against the vehicle and popping open the door. I practically drop him into the seat, not gently at all. I really can’t help it. The man feels like he’s made of pure muscle.
“Won’t help,” he mumbles as I lift his legs inside, feet enclosed in some wicked-looking combat boots. Where the hell did this guy come from? “Just give me some time. I’ll be alright.” I lean across him to buckle the seat belt, our faces practically inches apart. “You smell so nice,” he whispers, his voice fading away.
When I look at him again, he’s passed out, his head lolling to the side, his ears limp. I’m tempted to touch them, but I realize how terrible that is considering he’s injured.
“Control yourself, Jupiter,” I whisper as I make my way to the driver’s side and climb in. I completely dismiss the body laid out behind us on the concrete as I start the car, and pull from the garage.
What kind of mess have I gotten myself into?
Chapter Eight
I have no idea what’s going on. That’s the first thought that flits through my mind as I turn the corner onto the busy road. It’s after midnight, but the city is still very much awake, bright headlights shining into my car and highlighting the scene inside.
There’s a man in my passenger seat, bleeding from a bullet wound and passed out from the blood loss. Beautiful white rabbit ears are on his head, decidedly less perky than the first time I saw them. I’m almost positive the man is also the rabbit I’ve been taking care of in the lab and rescued, a fact that I really need to ask said man about but since he’s passed out, I can’t. My brain is working overtime as I drive on autopilot, my eyes constantly drifting over to his unconscious face.
He’s injured, and yet I can’t get over the fact of how beautiful he is. He isn’t beautiful in a normal sense; it’s a harsh beauty, like he belongs on a battlefield rather than on a runway. Where the hell did he come from? I
’m starting to feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone. Maybe I’m actually passed out back in the parking garage. Maybe Josh isn’t really dead, and I imagined the whole thing. I pinch the skin on my arm and flinch at the sharp pain that shoots through my body from the action. Okay, so maybe I’m not dreaming.
I should be heading towards the hospital. I have a gunshot victim in my car, bleeding out the longer I take, but instead, I’m driving towards my apartment. Rabbit Man said it wouldn’t help to go to the hospital, and I’m not sure how I would explain the large rabbit ears protruding from his head. Besides, if he really is my white rabbit like I think, I’ve seen him come back to life too many times to count. Somehow, he can’t die. Why should a gunshot wound be any different? My sensible side is telling me to take him to the hospital, anyway, but I ignore it. Something bigger is going on, I just know it.
I pull as close to my apartment as possible, not paying attention to the clearly marked slots and taking the empty space of one of my neighbors. I’m certain they’ll be displeased in the morning when they return from their graveyard shift, but I can’t bring myself to care at the moment. I have a sudden thought that I should call the cops and let them know about Josh in the parking garage, my heart speeding up when I think that they could suspect me as the murderer, but I focus on one thing at a time. The fact that I’ve left the crime scene is already suspicious enough. If I also have a bleeding man on the brink of death with me, that’ll be even worse. I’ll get Rabbit Man inside and then call the cops. I can tell them I was so panicked that he was trying to attack me that I had to leave before I realized what I was doing.
I turn off my little Subaru and jump from the car, rushing around the side. I look around the apartment complex, noting that there doesn’t seem to be anyone moving around. Good. I don’t want to have to explain to someone why I’m carrying a half-dead man into my apartment.
Late as a Rabbit (Sons of Wonderland Book 2) Page 5
