by D. N. Hoxa
“Of course not! He’d freak out bad!” She laughed hysterically.
“And you…didn’t?” Just trying to make sure.
“I probably will later on, but it’s fine. I’ll handle it. You go do what you need to do.” She waved me off. “You’ll come back, right?” she said when I reached the door. Lilly was watching me, too, and the expression on her face said she couldn’t wait to get rid of me. I couldn’t blame her. I’d upset her mommy. She hated me with reason now.
“If I can, yeah,” I said reluctantly, and when tears threatened to ruin everything, I turned around and opened the door.
“Here, take this,” she said, and ran to me, holding a couple of bills in her hands.
“No, no, I—”
But she didn’t let me finish. “You’ll pay me back. Just be careful, okay? And come back because I’m going to make a list of questions to ask you about your world. If you’re not here to answer them, I’m going to lose my mind.”
She tried to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
I hugged her for a quick second. “Then I’ll just have to come back before that happens.”
I hoped to God I’d be able to make good on that promise.
I bought a disposable phone at a convenience store, and I hid in an alley that smelled safe to make a quick call.
When he answered, I propped myself against the wall to make sure I wouldn’t fall.
“You turned me in,” I said to my father, and I sounded as incredulous as I felt. I wanted to believe so badly that Finn had lied to me, but…
“Victoria,” he breathed. “I’m so sorry, but I was worried. I didn’t hear back from you, and I thought…I thought something happened.”
Now, was that a lie? A truth? Or something in between?
“You shouldn’t have told them about me,” I ended up saying, which made me feel even more pathetic about this entire situation.
“Are you okay?” he asked instead. “Are you hurt? Did you find Isabelle?”
“I’m fine,” I mumbled. “And I did.”
A pause. “And?”
“And I need your help to get to her, but if you’re going to go tell someone about this, you should know that you’re going to get us both killed.”
I already knew this was stupid. Asking a man like Oscar Hogan for help was like aiming for your foot with a loaded gun and hoping to miss your mark. But I was desperate here. I was all alone. Trying to get close to Kayne territory could end with handcuffs around my wrists or a bullet between my eyes, so no. It was going to be my father.
“Yes, yes, anything,” he said, breathing heavily through the speaker. “What is it? What do you need?”
“I mean it, Dad. If you tell anyone at all, we’re gone. For good.”
“Tell me what you need, Vicky. I won’t tell anyone as long as you bring Izzy home,” he said.
A lump formed in my throat. Not that I hadn’t known he didn’t give a shit about me, or at least not as much as he did about his real daughter, but it still hurt.
“I need a wolf,” I said in a hushed whisper, hating myself for speaking. My wolf growled in my head, but I pushed her away. She’d had more than enough of me already. She didn’t get to come out again, not unless I was running for my life.
“A wolf?” said Dad, as confused as I expected him to be.
“A pack wolf. Any will do. I need you to bring him to me, alive and unharmed. Do you understand?”
“I don’t,” he said the next beat. “Why do you need a pack wolf to find Izzy? Are you…are you going to use magic?”
All those pictures Finn had showed me of mauled pack wolves came in front of my eyes. My skin crawled at the thought of it. No, I wasn’t going to use magic. I was just going to use my wolf’s smell to order the pack wolf to play nice until I got a location. And then, when I went for Izzy, I’d take the wolf back, too. I’d return it to the pack without a hair missing on his body. For that, at least, I could count on my wolf to help a hundred percent.
“Bring him to Jersey City as fast as you can. I’ll text you the address. I’ll be waiting for you there,” I said instead. It would take him about an hour to get there, plus another to get the wolf, if he even could manage that. But he was Oscar Hogan, a pack security supervisor, and nobody was going to doubt him when he went to check for the wolves. It was his job, and he was going to do it. Because if he couldn’t, I was more screwed than even Finn believed.
At least that’s what I thought when I broke the disposable and threw it in the alley.
But when I stepped out on the street, I smelled the nasty smell of burning tires even before I heard or saw the cars. There were two of them, big, black and ugly, turning the corner to the street. Maybe my instincts were improving because I instantly knew that something was wrong. I sniffed the air hard while I searched for a place to hide in my mind. Where could I go?
The smell. The strange smell of Haworth’s men. It was it. It stuck to my nostrils like glue, and even my wolf growled at me in warning. It sounded like get the hell out of here! but I was still frozen in place, trying to process what had happened.
They’d found me. They’d probably used my blood for a finding spell, and now they’d found me. It felt like ages before my body finally was able to turn around and run. I had no direction, no idea where I was going to go, but I knew that I was going to run until I couldn’t anymore—and that’s exactly what I did.
Half of me wanted them to catch me. That would have been the easiest way to get to Haworth, and I wouldn’t have needed to even put that pack wolf in danger.
But I knew that if Haworth got me handcuffed and sedated, I stood no chance against him or his men. They could put me in that ritual drawing again, and I wasn’t going to be able to do shit about myself—let alone help Izzy. So I ran and I was glad that I’d left Mandy’s apartment. She, at least, would be safe.
One of the cars coming for me had stopped, and four werewolves and a witch were running for me. My nose picked up their scent—even the smell of their weapons, which meant they were closer than I’d thought. I turned corner after corner, crossed streets without bothering to check for oncoming traffic, and I tried to come up with a plan while my heart was all up in my throat, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t long now before they reached me. Three were in the first car, still chasing me, and the other five were doing it on foot. There was no way to escape them now—except for my wolf. If she came out, she could outrun them all easily.
“Come on!” I shouted at the street. My muscles were burning badly, my knees shaking every time my feet hit the asphalt. I didn’t know how much longer I could go on, and the people running after me, at least three of them, had yet to break a sweat. I could smell them so close, I wanted to stop and surrender from sheer panic. My wolf was there and conscious. I could feel her watching through my eyes, but she made no attempt to come out. It was laughworthy, almost like she thought I could do it myself. She was delusional, a complete fucking bitch.
I’d slowed down considerably and was bumping into people a lot more. I had no idea where I was or where I was going, but I turned the corner and I had two options—light and dark. There was a street to my left where most stores were already closed, there was little light, and very few people. There were bound to be some alleys I could use to my advantage in there. So left I went.
Only when I slipped into the first alley and caught sight of the high metal fence at the end of it did I realize that I’d made the wrong decision. But I climbed on that fence anyway. Now that we were all alone in the dark, though, Haworth’s people began to shoot their guns. Maybe they were real bullets, or maybe just tranquilizers, but by some miracle, they missed until I climbed the fence all the way, and from the top, I jumped. Landing with my face on the asphalt was no fun, but the pain didn’t even register. I had trouble catching my breath from the impact but I’d survive it. They kept shooting at me, and I held my arms around my head to protect myself—until something grabbed me by the arm and stopped me. I�
��d gained a lot of momentum by running so I spun around and hit the brick wall of the building with my side. This time, I did feel the pain, but before I could react, someone pushed me against the wall and wrapped a hand around my mouth.
“Don’t move.”
I hadn’t even needed to smell her. Her big brown eyes were right in front of me. It was Amara.
Someone screamed from the other side of the fence. I looked to the side just in time to see the man who’d made it all the way to the top get dragged down to the asphalt again. Three gunshots echoed in my ears.
And then, there was silence.
My whole body was shaking as I watched the shadow moving. He climbed the fence with such ease, you’d think he was a ghost, not a man made of flesh and blood. Someone else’s blood, but still. Red jumped from the top of the fence and landed on his feet, like the ten-foot fence had been no higher than two.
When the moonlight fell on his face, I felt like I hadn’t seen him in a month, not just a few hours. My heart was already beating like it wanted out of my ribcage, so I didn’t notice any changes in my body, other than my eyes. My eyes that refused to blink.
Goddamn it. What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I suddenly feel safe at the sight of him? He was a vampire, for the love of God!
When Amara finally let go of me and stepped back, I breathed a little easier. And I could speak.
“I had it covered,” I mumbled. Yeah, I wasn’t fooling anyone, but I was hoping to make myself feel better. Didn’t work.
“What the hell are you doing out in the open like this, Victoria?” Red demanded.
“I was making a phone call.” Crossing my arms in front of me, I turned around toward the street, feeling very uncomfortable. And then Amara closed her eyes, raised her hands toward me and began to chant a spell. “What are you doing?”
“She’s putting a protection spell on you so that they can’t track you again,” Red filled me in. “You shouldn’t be out here by yourself, Victoria.”
“That’s done,” said Amara when she finished chanting. “It’s not going to last long, so we need to get going right away.”
“Look, I appreciate you saving my ass just now, and spelling me, but I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said. Not that I wanted to be mean, but I’d already put things in motion. There was no stopping now. I had to get going—just as soon as my feet didn’t feel like jelly anymore, and my heartbeat returned to normal.
Red stepped closer to me and made me look up at him. “We’re leaving, right now,” he ordered.
I bit back a curse word and focused. “It’s already done. Someone’s bringing me a pack wolf right now. I’m going to meet them, and I’m going to let the wolf loose for Haworth’s people to chase, and then I’ll chase them.”
“What?” they both said at the same time.
“Are you out of your damn mind?” Amara cried.
“I knew you were reckless, but I had no idea you were this stupid,” Red spit.
“And I had no clue you were such a fucking pussy,” I said through gritted teeth.
His hand practically materialized in front of my chest, and he pushed me back against the wall again. He was so close I could smell every inch of him, and to my surprise, there was hardly any hint of the deadness I’d smelled on him when we first met. It was all just Red now.
“I’m no coward. I’m reasonable,” he said in a whisper, watching my lips as if he wanted to tear them apart. I, on the other hand, had different thoughts completely while looking at him.
“I don’t care, Red. I don’t care what you think of me.” Not entirely true. “My sister needs me, and I’m doing this whether you like it or not.”
I put my hands on his chest and pushed him. He stepped back because he wanted to, not because I had any strength against him. Then, he lowered his head and covered his eyes.
“You’re impossible,” he whispered, more to himself than to me. “You’re so fucking impossible.”
“Sorry to disappoint, Mr. Reasonable,” I said, my hands on my hips.
“Okay, I’ll just be over there,” said Amara and backed away toward the street slowly.
It was better she left us alone. I didn’t want her to hear all the things I had to say to Red.
“First, you stalk me, you fucking stalker.” I raised one finger at his face. “Then, you save me because you want something from me, just like everybody else. You want your precious item back, but you’re not brave enough to do what it takes to get there! We had a plan and you backed off. You left me alone!” I shouted. He had it coming. Every word of it, though in my head, it probably sounded worse than it was.
“I backed off because it was too soon! You have no control of your wolf—or your emotions. You have no idea what you’re doing, and you’re going to get yourself killed.”
“I won’t! I’m stronger than you think, damn it.” At least my wolf was.
His hand wrapped around my neck, cold as ice, bringing chills down my back. “You’d break so easily,” he whispered against my lips, and my body behaved as if he’d said I want to kiss you. I had an asshole body.
But I used it and kneed Red in the crotch with all my strength because why the hell not? And when he backed away and doubled over in pain, I felt like I was on top of the world.
“Not so easily, jerk.” I contemplated kicking him in the head while he was bent over like that, but I didn’t want to let it get that far. “Just because you’ve seen what I become, it doesn’t mean you know me.”
Slowly, he straightened his shoulders, but his cheeks weren’t flushed like I’d have liked. No, he didn’t do that shit. He was a vamp.
“But I want to. And if you go through with this, I’ll never get the chance.”
Oooh.
“I-I-I…” Perfect time to stutter. My tongue tied in a million knots, and I backed away while he walked to me until my back hit the wall.
“I’m a vampire. I’ve been here for a long time. I don’t care about many things because caring gets you killed out there. It’s a personal principle of mine, one I’m damn proud of,” he said through gritted teeth, looking down at me like he meant to really break me this time. “And then you come along, stubborn, wild, completely clueless as to what goes on in the world, and I…”
His voice trailed off, and for a second, he looked surprised. Surprise to find me there, practically pressed against his chest.
“You, what?” I pushed, my voice hoarse. Even my wolf wanted to hear the rest of it.
“I’m either going to kill you myself, or I’m going to make sure you live,” he finished reluctantly.
Well, that wasn’t what I’d had in mind. Not at all what I thought he was going to say. The disappointment in my chest grew, and I stepped to the side to get away from him.
“So do one or the other. Either way, I’m going through with this. My sister needs me. I let her down before, and I’m not about to let it happen again.”
“But there’s time. We can make this work if we can plan,” he said, his voice much softer now.
“There’s no time,” I whispered. “My father, he…he told the ECU about me. They’ve issued an order to bring me in for questioning, and they’re the ECU. They’re going to find me sooner or later. Probably sooner.”
Raising his brows in surprise, Red just stared at me for a moment.
“You can hide from the ECU,” he said, sounding defeated for the first time since I met him.
“But I don’t want to. I want to get my sister out of there, kill Haworth, if at all possible, get you back what he took from you, and then I’ll turn myself in to the ECU myself.” I shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe they’ll figure out what I am.”
It was a risk but one I was willing to take. I couldn’t keep running and hiding forever. The time had come to face the music, and I did want to know what I was, where I came from. I wanted to learn how to control myself and my wolf, too. Who better than the ECU to teach me?
“That might not be necessary,”
Red said, lowering his eyes to the ground.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I might know what you are.”
It was like a punch in my gut. “What?”
“A witch,” Red said. “You’re a witch.”
14
A witch.
Red had to be high on something.
Oh, and Amara, too. She was in on it. They both walked with me out of the alley and insisted we stay quiet until we got to Red’s car—ten minutes away. But as soon as I got in the passenger seat, I didn’t intend to stop laughing.
“She’s lost it,” said Amara from the backseat as my laughter grew.
But Red didn’t say anything. He just opened the glove compartment. When I saw the steel disk in there, my laughter died all by itself.
“I met with the guy about this.”
The words hung in the air, refusing to make sense to me.
“He recognized it. Said it was the Reaper String,” Red said.
“So it’s not a yoyo?” He didn’t even blink. “What the hell is a Reaper String?”
“The Reaper String. It’s a very powerful enchanted item,” he said, half a smile on his face.
“But we already knew that. Haworth only collects very powerful enchanted items.” We’d already discussed this. “What does it do?”
“It kills,” Amara said from the backseat. “Very effectively.”
“It also reaps magic,” Red continued. “From whoever it touches, except its master.”
“Really?” I reached out and grabbed the steel disk. It certainly didn’t look like it could reap magic.
“It can only be used by a witch, and only if its previous master gives his blessing,” Red said. “It’s literally attached to the master, to his or her magic, and it reaps for it.”
“Okay?” I said, shaking my head. “So you think that, when that guy at the Palace chanted his spell and gave me this, he gave me his blessing or something?”
“Exactly,” said Red, suddenly very excited that I’d caught on. Maybe he really thought I was stupid.
“Cool story, really. Except I’m a werewolf,” I reminded him.
