Page 29 of Relentless (Relentless 1)
I hit the off ramp going a little too fast and almost stalled the car at the bottom, which did nothing to help my confidence. The road I merged onto did not look familiar at all, and I let out a nervous groan. I had no idea where I was, and I had no business being behind the wheel of a car. Not to mention Scott was blubbering like an idiot next to me, I had no clue where my attackers were, and Peter was probably bleeding to death behind me.
Don’t think about that!
I got off the road as soon as I could, taking a series of turns until I was hopelessly lost. A few times I thought I spied a black SUV on a parallel road, so I just kept driving, afraid to stop for even a minute. My phone rang several times, but my hands clenched the steering wheel too tightly to answer it. It was probably Roland, wondering why we weren’t back yet.
Despair of ever finding my way home was settling over me when a large building I recognized came into view. My heart quickened. I had never been so happy to see the mall. Following this street I would reach the high school in ten minutes. I couldn’t go home. There was a strong possibility those men knew where I lived. They might not be able to get past my wards, but I couldn’t take that chance with Peter and Scott incapacitated as they were.
“Thank you, God!” I sobbed when I spotted the steeple of St. Patrick’s church. I pulled into the church parking lot and drove around to the back. My hands shook as I turned off the car and immediately checked on Peter, afraid of what I’d find. “Peter?”
“Hmmm?” he murmured without moving.
“How are you doing?” I probed anxiously.
“Better than I expected. You know, your driving really sucks.”
I laughed and cried at the same time. Falling back into my seat, I pulled out my phone. My strength almost failed me when I heard Roland’s voice. “Roland… we need your help.”
“What happened? Where are you guys?” he demanded with a desperate edge to his voice.
“We’re behind St. Patrick’s. Just hurry. Peter’s hurt.”
There was a short pause. “Sit tight. I’m on the way.”
I laid my head back against the headrest, but my body was too tense to relax. Scott moved, turning his face toward me, and his eyes tried to focus on my face. “Why do you hate me?” His voice was small and vulnerable like a little boy’s, and I was too shocked to respond. It took me a long moment to remember that his mind was messed up, and he probably had no idea who he was talking to. “I wish you didn’t hate me,” he mumbled sadly.
“I don’t hate you, Scott.” It was the truth. I didn’t like him, but I didn’t hate him either.
“I’m glad.” His head lolled to the other side, and he pointed at the empty parking lot. “What a funny looking camel,” he said before his eyes closed again. Definitely messed up. I bit my lip. Scott and I might not get along, but I didn’t want to see him hurt.
I was still puzzled by Scott’s strange behavior earlier and why he had hung around the rest stop in the first place. It was almost like he had been waiting for me to come out of the diner. But that couldn’t be right. The last person Scott Foley would willingly spend time with was me.
A few minutes later, Judith’s car raced into view. I sagged in relief. “It’s Roland,” I told Peter, who lifted a hand in acknowledgement then let it fall back to his side.
Roland ran over and tried to open the door. I hit the unlock button, and he yanked the door open. He stared open-mouthed at Scott before his eyes moved to me sitting behind the wheel and then to Peter on the back seat. “What the hell happened to you guys?”
I let out a shaky laugh. “It’s a long story. Can you look at Peter first? He’s been stabbed.”
Roland helped me out of the car because my arms and legs felt a little like wet noodles. Then he pushed the seat forward and leaned in to look at Peter. He withdrew, gave me an encouraging nod, and spoke low so Scott couldn’t hear him. “He’s okay. It takes us a bit longer to heal when we’re not in wolf form. As soon as we get him somewhere private, he can shift and heal that in a few minutes.”
“Oh, thank God!” I sat on the driver’s seat again and rested my forehead against the wheel. At least I hadn’t gotten one of my best friends killed. I wasn’t a total screwup.
“We heard the police were called for a commotion out on the highway an hour ago. They said a crazy girl choked a guy at the rest stop and tore out of there in a red Mustang, banging up cars and being chased by a black SUV. I guess I don’t need to ask if you know anything about that.”
“I only hit one car, and that man deserved to be choked for stabbing Peter.”
Before he could reply, a motorcycle roared around the corner of the church.
“You called him,” I said accusingly.
“I didn’t have to. He’s been all over my ass since you disappeared from Dylan’s. He probably put one of those damn trackers on the car before I took off to look for you.”
The motorcycle stopped a few feet from us. Nikolas leapt off and strode straight for the Mustang. His hand closed around my arm, and he unceremoniously hauled me from the car. “Do you have a death wish?” he shouted.
“Hey!” I protested, but my mouth clamped shut at the thunderous look on his face. He pulled me closer until I could feel the heat radiating from him. Oh crap, was he in one of those rages Chris had mentioned?
I struggled futilely. “Let me go.”
“Forget it. You’re coming with me since it’s obvious you can’t be trusted to take care of yourself.”
“Now wait a minute,” Roland protested, coming around the car as I tried to pull away from Nikolas.
If Nikolas had hackles I swear they would have been raised at that moment. “I’ll do whatever is necessary to protect her, even if it’s from herself.”
My own outrage boiled over. “The hell you will! You don’t own me.”
Surprisingly it was Peter who stepped in – figuratively from the back seat – to play referee. “Hey, this is not helping anyone. Before you all go off half-cocked, why don’t you let us tell you what happened?”
Nikolas nodded stiffly and released my arm, but did not move away from me. Ignoring his towering form, I explained to Roland how I had met with David as planned and I was about to call Phil to pick us up when the man named Tarek showed up. I heard Nikolas’s sharp intake of breath beside me, but I refused to look at him. When I got to the part about the witch, I saw comprehension dawn in Roland’s eyes and I knew his thoughts mirrored mine. Why were the men from the marina after me? I had been in such a panic to get away from the rest stop that I didn’t think to ask the witch that question.
Nikolas cut in. “You’re sure about him, what he looked like?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever forget that face after what he did,” I said, unable to keep the quiver out of my voice. Thinking about the way he had touched my mind made me feel violated all over again.
“What did he do?” Nikolas’s voice took on a
dangerous note I’d never heard before. I paused, afraid to tell him what had happened next.
“Sara, did he hurt you?”
“No, not really. He tried to do something to my mind. It felt like something… awful got inside my head and took control of me. I couldn’t move or say anything.” I shuddered at the memory. “It was the most horrible feeling, like I’d never be clean again.”
Roland blanched. “Fuck! How did you get away?”
“I don’t know. One second there was a creepy voice in my head telling me to go to sleep, and the next thing I knew the tattooed guy was screaming.” I wrapped my arms around myself and stared past them at the hulking shape of the high school next door, allowing my mind to dwell on what I had refused to think about since the witch’s attack. My mind probed at the silent part of me where the demon was, like a tongue touching the gap where a tooth used to be. “I think… I think my Mori is dead. I felt it dying,” I said hoarsely, filled with an inexplicable sadness. Evil or not, its voice had lived inside my head my whole life, and it felt like a part of me had been extinguished.
A warm hand touched my back, sending a small flare of heat through me. “It’s been hurt, but it’s still alive,” Nikolas said in a gentler voice.
“How do you know?” I asked without looking at him.
“Trust me. I would know if it was gone.” My breath caught at the rough edge in his voice, and I wondered if his demon felt pain or anguish if another Mori died.
“What kind of witch can hurt a demon like that?” Roland asked, awed.
“A Hale witch.” Nikolas spat out the words as if they were poison. “A desert witch from Africa. They get their power from the spirit world.”
“Like a shaman or witch doctor?” I asked. I’d thought shamans were all about healing and helping people.
“Hale witches only deal in dark magic, and their power is much greater than a shaman’s. A Hale witch can cripple a person with a single thought, and their compulsion is even stronger than a vampire’s, almost unbreakable.” Nikolas paused, and I looked up to meet his searching gaze. “Not even the Mohiri are immune to their power. I’ve seen warriors brought to madness after a single encounter with a Hale witch.”
I had no answer for the question in his eyes.
“Hale witches abhor demons, and they do not work with vampires,” Nikolas informed us. “And they usually stick close to their tribal region of the desert. It would take something big to get one of them to come all the way to America.” He fixed me with a hard stare. “You aren’t telling us everything. Who else is after you?”
“No one,” I declared and saw the doubt on both of their faces. “I swear, I have no idea why they attacked me.” It was true. As far as I knew, they were after Malloy, not me.
“What happened after you got away from the witch?” Roland asked.
I told them how Peter fought Tarek and then the man had pulled a knife on him and slashed him. “I kinda lost it when I saw him cut Peter. I just jumped him and squeezed his throat until he went down. Then we took off.”
Roland pointed at Scott, who still sat quietly in the car. “Where does he come into this?”
“He was there at the rest stop when those guys showed up. He got blasted by the witch when he tried to stop Tarak from taking me.”
Nikolas’s anger was still evident when he spoke again. “What were you thinking going off to meet a total stranger in the first place with everything else that’s going on?”
“I had to go,” I said defensively. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to find answers about my dad. I’ve been trying to meet with David for weeks.”
“How do you know he didn’t lead those men right to you?” he demanded.
I remembered the anguish and the pain in David’s eyes, and I knew his story was real and his motives had been good. “He’s an Emote, and I believe he was telling the truth. He knew things… things about Madeline.” I felt Nikolas stiffen beside me. “Ten years ago Madeline went to see David’s father to tell him she was in trouble. They were friends or something, and David’s father gave her a lot of money to leave the country. She said vampires were after her and before she left she had to warn – ” My voice broke, and it was a moment before I could continue. “She had to warn my dad. A few days later, my dad was killed.”
“Jesus, Sara,” Roland breathed.
“David wanted to meet with me because he lost someone, too. The vampires killed his father the same day they killed mine. David’s afraid the vampires will come after him because of what he knows. He was hiding upstairs while Madeline was there, and he heard something he wasn’t supposed to. He thinks it’s why his father was killed.”
“Did he tell you what it was?” Nikolas asked tightly.
“Madeline told David’s father that she knew the identity of a Master.”
Before I could blink, I found myself beside the Ducati with a helmet shoved down over my head. “Stop,” I sputtered, pushing the helmet away. “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting you out of here,” Nikolas ground out. “I can’t protect you from a Master by myself. The only place you’ll be safe now is at a Mohiri stronghold.”
“That happened ten years ago. There is no Master after me.”
He barked a laugh and tightened his hold on my arm. “To you ten years is a long time, but to a vampire who has lived hundreds of years, it’s nothing. And what of this witch and the man who grabbed you? Either way, someone is looking for you and we need to get you out of this town.”
I shoved against him, but he was like a marble pillar. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“I’m not asking.”
“So, that’s it? You’re going to force me to go against my will?” I cried in helpless anger. “You’re no different than them.”
“Sara, maybe he’s right,” Roland cut in. “I don’t want you to go, but I don’t want you to get hurt either.” He spoke to Nikolas. “But maybe we should talk to Uncle Max first to see what he thinks.”
I blasted them both with an icy stare. “I see. So everyone gets a say about my life but me?”
Nikolas grabbed my shoulders and forced me to face him. “If you stay here, you or someone you care about is going to end up hurt or killed,” he said mercilessly. “Someone is trying very hard to get to you, and they obviously won’t think twice about going through your friends to do it.” I thought about Peter’s stab wound and winced. “Next time it could be worse. They could go after your uncle. Is that what you want?”
“Of course not!” I wouldn’t let anyone hurt Nate. If I had to leave New Hastings to draw the people pursuing me away from him, I would, but it would be on my own terms. My mind immediately began to formulate a plan. Remy would hide me somewhere in troll territory where no one, especially vampires, would dare to look for me. I just needed to find a way to get to him.
Nate would be home tomorrow. I had to talk to him, try to explain things to him before I up and disappeared. He was not going to understand and he would struggle with the things I was going to tell him, but he deserved to know the truth. After everything he’d done for me, I owed him that much at least. I felt a pang of regret that we had never been as close as my dad would have wanted. I always thought there would be time to fix it somehow.
“Talk to Maxwell all you want,” I conceded. “But I am not going anywhere until Nate gets home tomorrow. And if you make me go, I’ll run away the first chance I get.”
“Fine. You’ll stay with me and Chris until then,” Nikolas stated firmly.
“I don’t think so.” There was no way I’d be able to contact Remy from some Mohiri safe house or wherever they were holding up. “I’m going home, and you are free to follow me if you want.”
Nikolas shook his head. “That location is not secure.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Trust me. The devil himself couldn’t get into that building.”
“Um, guys, can we just figure out where we’re going?” Peter called from the c
ar. “Bleeding here.”
Nikolas raised an eyebrow at me as he pulled out his phone and called Chris to tell him to meet us at my apartment. I turned toward Judith’s car and saw the Mustang. “What are we going to do about Scott? We can’t leave him here like this.”
“Don’t worry about him,” Nikolas said, following close behind me. “Once we get you safely to your fortress of an apartment, we will take care of your friend.”
“Those guys are looking for a red Mustang. We can’t take a chance of them finding Scott before you come back. Besides I think he needs a doctor.”
Nikolas went to the Mustang and looked at Scott, peering into his eyes and checking his vitals. He pulled out some of the same nasty green stuff Chris had given me after the crocotta attack and forced Scott to eat some.
“I think he’ll be okay in a few hours,” he told us. “If he’d been permanently damaged, he’d be catatonic. I gave him something to speed healing. By tomorrow he won’t remember any of it and he’ll feel like he has a bad hangover.”
And banged up his car, I thought guiltily looking at the dented right fender and smashed headlight.
“How will he get home?” I had to make sure Scott was okay before I left. I was leaving no casualties from this mess.
Nikolas called Chris again then held out the phone. “Chris is on his way here. If one of you can tell him where your friend lives, Chris will drive him home.”
Roland took the phone and gave the other Mohiri directions. I walked to the Honda to wait for him without a backward glance at Nikolas. I didn’t need to look behind us to know he was right on our tail for the short drive to my place.
Roland parked in Nate’s spot, and the two of us helped Peter up the stairs and into the apartment. I refused Nikolas’s offer of help, and he followed us with a stony expression, bolting the door behind us. Instead of putting Peter on the couch, we carried him up to my room where he would have enough space and privacy to shift and heal. I wanted to stay with him until Roland reminded me that Peter would have to disrobe to change. That sent me down the stairs pretty fast.
I found Nikolas going around the apartment, checking the windows and doors as if a vampire was going to burst through them any minute.
“I told you this place is safe. I warded it myself.” I grabbed the orange juice from the fridge. “Anyone thirsty?”
Nikolas stood by Nate’s office doorway. “You warded it?”
“Don’t look so shocked.” I poured juice into a tall glass and took a long gulp. “I told you before I’m not helpless. And I got away from those guys, didn’t I?”
Roland came into the kitchen, and I handed him the juice carton. “I’d believe her if I was you,” he said to Nikolas. “Sara knows things, and if she says we’re safe here, then we – ”
“Argh!” he yelped a second before the carton hit the kitchen floor and orange juice sprayed up my legs. He jumped in front of me and pushed me back against the refrigerator. I heard Nikolas shout something and fear rose in my throat.
“Sara, stay behind me,” Roland shouted as I struggled to push his weight away so I could see what was happening. Had something gotten past the ward? No. It was just not possible.
“Keep her there,” Nikolas barked. “I’ll take care of it. Damn it, I knew this place wasn’t safe.”
“Take care of what?” I cried, afraid for my friends. With a mighty shove I squeezed out from behind Roland to face the new threat.
It stood in the hallway outside the kitchen, teeth bared menacingly and glaring between Nikolas and Roland, ready to pounce at the slightest provocation. A more frightening snarl I had never seen.
Nikolas reached inside his jacket and pulled out a long gleaming blade.
“No!” I screamed and ran to throw myself in front of the creature that could rip everyone in the room to shreds.
