Chapter 10
"You know, Jess. If something breaks in and eats me while you're gone, you're going to feel real bad about it. You've seen the movies. Read the books. You know it happens. Sidekick and girlfriend always get kidnapped, snuffed, or usually both by the bad guys after the good ones."
Jess rubbed his brow, trying to soothe the migraine Andy was causing. Not that Dark-Hunters could get migraines, but the boy was definitely putting that theory to the test.
It was either that ...
Or a tumor.
Can't get those either.
Then what was the painful throb that wouldn't let up?
Oh yeah, it was Andy.
Jess sighed. "You're right, pup. So I'll be sending you over to the Ishtar for Sin to babysit until I get back. That'll make sure nothing bad happens to you."
Now, that was a nice shade of indignation mottling the boy's skin. Quite impressive, really. If he were tea kettle, he'd be whistling like a train. "I can take care of myself."
"Not what you just said."
"That don't mean-"
"Jess, we have a problem."
He glanced past Andy's shoulder to see Ren looking as flustered as the kid. Ren joined them in the kitchen.
A huge weight of dread fell right on top of Jess. "What's wrong?"
"Abigail's gone."
There was something Jess didn't want to hear. "Excuse me?"
Ren nodded. "I went to get her from downstairs, and there's no trace of her. She must have snuck up and out while we were preparing. Damn you for a house this big. Really, folks? Was it necessary?"
Andy snorted. "You try finding a house to accommodate a dozen horses with a large basement in Vegas that's not haunted, and that you can close on in two weeks and move in. I think I did pretty damn good."
Ignoring Andy's ornery outburst, Jess cursed. Both he and Ren were still plagued with their waned powers. And he could kick himself for not watching her closer. How could he have lulled his brain into forgetting she was a prisoner they intended to sacrifice?
Hell, he'd have run, too.
Andy arched a brow at them. "Why are you two freaking out, anyway? If she's in one of your cars, which I'm sure she is, she's LoJacked."
Jess scowled. "Come again?"
"I LoJack your ass every minute of the night, cowboy. Just in case." Andy went to the wall security monitor that tapped into all their camera feeds and pulled up the garage surveillance. Then he cursed even more foully than Jess had. "Forget yours, that bitch has taste. She's in my Audi R8 Spyder."
Jess growled at him. "Watch your mouth, pup. That's a lady you're talking about."
He grumbled under his breath, questioning that category. "You wouldn't feel that way if she'd run off on one of your stinking horses."
Ren crossed his arms over his chest. "Is it LoJacked?"
"Of course," Andy said indignantly. "That's my baby. I even have a kill switch on her."
"Then stop the engine."
Andy appeared downright horrified by Ren's suggestion. "Are you out of your mind? What if someone hits it for stalling? I had that thing on order for over a year. Custom hand built. The epitome of German engineering. I even paid extra for the paint on her. Ain't no way I'm going to chance someone denting my baby. Or, God forbid, totaling it."
Jess rolled his eyes at the boy's hissy fit. If he kept that up, he'd be putting Andy back in diapers.
He turned to Ren. "You take the air. I'll get a bike." Then he focused his attention on Andy again. "And you-"
Andy held his cell phone out to him. "Have an app. Track her down, get my car back, and beat the hell out of her.... In that precise order."
Jess would laugh if the entire fate of the world didn't hinge on his finding Abigail. Shaking his head, he went to the garage to get his red Hayabusa. It was the fastest thing he owned. Plus, it would synch to the tracker in Andy's phone-had to love the Squires and their toys.
He grabbed a full face helmet off the rack, along with the keys, and was on it in record time. While the garage door opened, he synched the phone. As soon as it was complete, he peeled out, leaving the stench of smoke and rubber behind him. He ducked to miss the door that hadn't gotten out of his way fast enough.
Opening the throttle, he shot through the gates that were also only partially parted and turned on to the street, heading south. The best part about the tracker was that it told him the speed the car was traveling. She didn't appear to be going too fast-she probably thought she was home free and didn't want to attract the attention of any police. Smart on her part.
But it wouldn't be enough to keep him from finding her.
* * *
Abigail regretted her choice of cars as she tried to navigate traffic. She'd thought the Audi, with its V10 engine, would be fast, but she couldn't have been more wrong. People actually cut her off or boxed her in so that they could slow her down to take pictures of the car with their camera phones. Good grief. She'd never seen anything like it.
Really people, it was a car with four tires like any other. She'd never understood how anyone could become so enthralled by a piece of metal transportation.
How did Sundown ever get anywhere with this much attention? It was so frustrating. She'd never been in a car before that affected traffic and drivers like this.
"I should have found something generic." Unfortunately, her choices had been limited to a Ferrari, an old classic Ford pickup from the 1940s, a Gator and this. The Audi was the only one that was street legal and wasn't a stick shift-something she couldn't drive.
The rest had been motorcycles, and since she'd never ridden one before, she didn't think her escape attempt should serve as her first learning experience. With her luck, she'd have wrecked it in the driveway.
Her heart raced as she habitually checked her rearview mirror, expecting to see Sundown catching up to her any second.
Don't discover I'm gone for a while. Please.
At least not until she had a chance to find out some truths. She wasn't running from what she'd done. She just wanted to understand her memories.
Who was lying to her?
She hated to be so confused. All her life, she'd had one clear-cut goal.
Kill Jess Brady.
Now ... her emotions and memories were tangled into a knot she wasn't sure she could ever undo. If that wasn't bad enough, there was a bitter hunger inside her for ...
She didn't know. The demon blood they'd mixed with hers was causing all kinds of problems. At times her senses would sharpen, then fall back to normal.
Beware the pathway that vengeance will take you down. The voice in her head sounded a lot like Sundown's.
His name had no more crossed her mind than something akin to lightning flashed behind her eyes. In that moment, she saw the past so clearly that it stole her breath.
It was Jess.
He kicked open the door to an old-fashioned room. The low, burning fire cast shadows across the cornflower blue scroll wallpaper that covered the walls. A man shot up from the old-fashioned sleigh bed with a gun in his hand. But as soon as he focused on Jess's face, he hesitated.
"I killed you."
Jess wore the mask of stone cold killer. Fierce. Terrifying. Gut-wrenching. "Yeah, you did, Bart. And I told you, you son of a bitch, that I'd be back for you." He spread his arms wide. "Here I am."
Bart came to his senses and unloaded all six of his bullets straight into Jess's body. The rounds left small puffs of smoke as they embedded in his chest without hurting him. He didn't even bleed that much.
Even with the chamber emptied, Bart continued to uselessly pull the trigger.