And Jenna in the backseat, sitting stock-still, held at gunpoint.
Fury rolled through him like a tidal wave. His sights locked onto the car that held Jenna, he tore past crowds of milling humans on the walkway below the building, moving faster than anyone could track him.
He leapt across the hood of a standing taxi at the curb, then dodged a delivery truck that came up out of nowhere and would have run him down if he hadn't been propelled by his Breed ability and fear for what might happen to Jenna if he didn't reach her in time.
Heart hammering, he raced into the parking garage and jumped into the Rover.
Two seconds later, he was rocketing out into the street, defying the blaze of ultraviolet rays that poured in through the windshield as he sped off in Jenna's direction, praying like hell that he could reach her before Dragos's evil--or the baking afternoon sun--cost him the woman whose life was his to protect.
His woman, he thought fiercely, as he dropped his boot on the gas pedal and took off in pursuit.
Chapter Twenty
Special Agent Green--or whoever, whatever, he really was--kept the Glock trained on her with a steady hand as the sedan weaved and lurched through the clotted New York City traffic. Jenna had no idea where they were taking her. She could only guess it was somewhere out of the city as they left the labyrinth of tall skyscrapers behind and headed onto a gothic-looking suspension bridge that spanned the width of a broad river.
Jenna sat back against the seat, jostling back and forth with each bump and acceleration. As the sedan leapt forward to pass a slower-moving vehicle, she was thrown off balance--enough so that she glanced up and caught an unexpected glimpse in the Crown Vic's side mirror.
A black Range Rover was keeping pace with them, just a few cars back.
Jenna's heart squeezed.
Brock. It had to be him.
But at the same moment, she hoped like hell it wasn't. It couldn't be--
he would be foolish to risk it. The sun was still a giant ball of fire in the cold westerly sky, at least two hours from setting. Driving in full daylight would be suicide for one of Brock's kind.
And yet, it was him.
When the sedan made another sidelong shift in the lane, Jenna checked the mirror again and saw the rigid set of his jaw across the traffic and distance that separated them. Although he wore dark wraparound sunglasses to protect his eyes, the opaque lenses weren't dense enough to mask the ember-bright glow of his eyes.
Brock was behind them, and he was deadly furious.
"Son of a bitch," Green muttered, peering over her head to look through the rear window of the vehicle. "We've got a tail."
"You sure?" Cho asked, taking the opportunity to pass another car as they neared the other end of the bridge.
"I'm sure," Green replied. A note of unease had crept into his otherwise unreadable face. "It's a vampire. One of the warriors."
Cho gunned the vehicle now. "Inform Master that we're almost to the location. Ask him how we should proceed."
Green nodded, and, still holding Jenna under the threat of his Glock, he retrieved a cell phone from his pocket and pressed a single digit. The call rang once over the speaker, then Dragos's voice came on the line.
"Status?"
"We're nearing the Brooklyn cargo docks, Master, as you instructed.
But we're not alone." Green spoke in a rush of words, as though he sensed the displeasure that would follow. "There's someone following us on the bridge. He is Breed. A warrior from the Order."
Jenna took no small amount of satisfaction at the violent curse that exploded over the cell phone speaker. As chilled as she was to hear the voice of the Order's hated enemy, it was gratifying to know that he feared the warriors. As well he should.
"Lose him," Dragos growled, pure venom.
"He's right behind us," Cho said, glancing nervously in the rearview mirror as they sped along a road that followed the waterfront toward an industrial area. "He's only one car behind us now and gaining. I don't think we can shake him at this point."
Another snarled oath from Dragos, more savage than before. "All right," he said in a low, even tone. "Then abort. Kill the bitch and get out of there. Dump her corpse off the docks or into the street, I could give a fuck.
But don't let that goddamn vampire get near either one of you. Understood?"