Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (33 page)

strapped to my hip.”

Old Sacramento really did

resemble an old-western town. The

brick buildings with wooden façades

and second-floor balconies were well

maintained. The only evidence of age

was a few faded signs on the side walls

advertising the original business that

occupied the buildings. She could almost

believe she traveled back in time if it

wasn’t for the modern cars lining the

cobble stone streets.

Athena casually looped her arm

around Garren’s as they strolled ahead.

Garren smiled at her as he untangled his

arm from hers and wrapped it around her

back to settle on her hip.

Irritation bubbled inside. She

was already tense and nervous as they

searched for any signs of Pioneer Park

or Eradicators, she didn’t need to watch

those two slobbering all over each other,

too.

“Are we interrupting their date?”

she asked Thane in a mock whisper.

Garren

glanced

over

his

shoulder. “Like we’d let you two tag

along on our date.”

Athena laughed as she snaked her

arms around Garren’s body in a

sideways hug. They seemed so natural

together, like a newly formed couple that

couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

Ugh, so nauseating
.

A group of teenagers strolled

toward them, gawking at Garren and

Athena as they passed.

Her annoyance spiked to epic

proportions and throbbed in her brain.

She needed to do something before she

popped a blood vessel. “Will you tell

them to stop their embarrassing display

and pay attention?” she asked Thane.

“Why me?”

Because they won’t listen to me.

“You’re the leader of this mission, right?

Take charge and make them do their job.

We’re going to…”

At the upcoming corner, a guy

leaned against a post, watching people

pass by. Not any guy, a face from her

past. She grabbed Thane and pulled him

over to a store front window. “Athena,

you’ve got to see this,” she called, trying

to sound perfectly normal.

She pointed to an antique doll in

the display as the others crowded around

her. “There’s an Eradicator ahead,” she

whispered.

To her credit, Athena stayed in

character as she nodded. “That’s nice. I

love these old-fashioned toys.”

Heavy footsteps echoed off the

wooden walk-way. The Eradicator

ambled toward them. He stopped right

next to them, peering over their heads to

see the display.

Her heart sped up.
Can he sense

our magic already?
They needed to

move along, quickly.

“I think I saw a toy store back

this way,” She led them back the way

they came. They passed another guy as

they turned the corner. Short dreads,

mocha skin and light blue eyes that could

only belong to her old friend Darius. He

caught her eye for a split second before

she dropped her gaze to the floor ahead

of her.

Crap! Did he recognize me?
She

sped up, the others with her.

“Hey, you,” he called out. “Don’t

I know you from somewhere?”

She slowed down a bit and

hollered over her shoulder. “I doubt it.

We’re not from around here.” Up ahead

were the Sacramento River and the train

house where there were plenty of places

to hide. She focused on getting to the

river, hoping the Eradicator believed her

and went on his way. Fear of being

caught curdled in her stomach.

“They’re following us,” Thane

whispered as they marched across the

street.

She peeked back. Big mistake.

Recognition sparked in his eyes.

“Ivy!”

“Run!” she yelled and took off,

assuming her friends would follow.

Both Eradicators chased after

them.

They dodged oncoming tourists

as they sprinted toward the river docks.

A guy with short dark hair who

resembled Kyle flattened himself against

the wall to avoid being run over.

“Get the blonde,” Darius shouted

behind them, much closer than she

hoped.

“Which blonde?” There was no

mistaking that voice. It was Kyle.

I should’ve known he couldn’t

stay away.
But would he help them? Up

ahead was a familiar door. “In here.”

They swerved around a group of

old ladies and ducked into the hallway.

It was a long corridor with private

offices on either side and it dead-ended

with another hallway like a capital T.

They banked left and ran onto a balcony

surrounding an outside courtyard one

floor down. Twinkling white Christmas

lights criss-crossed above the dining

area and wrapped around the trunks of

trees along the border. Diners sat at

wrought iron tables sipping wine and

enjoying the romantic setting. The

courtyard was surrounded by brick

buildings on three sides and an alley on

the fourth.

She led them behind a one of the

decorated oaks in the corner to regroup.

“Give me your sweater,” Athena

said between quick breaths as soon as

they stopped. Strands of her usually

meticulously styled hair clung to the

sides of her sweaty face.

“Why?” Ivy asked as she

unbuttoned

the

front.

Goosebumps

formed on her flesh as soon as the cool

evening air washed over her skin. She

had an idea what the werewolf was up

to and didn’t like it, but she also didn’t

have any better ideas.

“Do you trust him?” Athena

asked as she shoved her arms in the

sleeves.

She assumed she meant Kyle and

didn’t have time to ponder the question

in great depth, so she went with her gut.

“Yes.”

Before anyone could protest,

Athena took off back down the hallway.

After a few seconds, Ivy peeked

around the corner. Athena waited in the

doorway leading back out to the

walkway. From one of the little shops

behind her, Kyle stepped out.

Her heart jumped in her throat

when Athena spun around and met his

eyes.

Would

he

side

with

the

Eradicators or with them?

“Ivy’s over here,” he called back

to the other Eradicators in the store.

Athena darted out into the night with

Kyle and one of the others in pursuit.

She let out the breath she’d been

holding.

Because

Athena

was

a

werewolf, she could run faster and

longer than most humans. Plus, Kyle

wouldn’t let the others hurt her if they

did manage to catch her.

Now she and the guys needed to

find the prince before the Eradicators

figured out they were chasing the wrong

blonde. She stepped into the hallway to

continue the search when Darius

emerged from the shop.
Damn it
.

Garren yanked her back behind

the wall. He tried to drag her along but

she twisted her arm free. Together, the

three of them scurried along the balcony

to the stairs leading down to the dining

area. They weaved between tables and

waiters in white collared shirts. Garren

turned on the charm, smiling and nodding

at curious bystanders watching their

hasty retreat. When they reached the gate

leading to the alley, Garren led her

through with his hand on the small of her

back. Suddenly, all of her attention was

drawn to that spot. The heat of his touch

burned her skin through her thin t-shirt,

spreading to her toes.

She pulled away after passing

the gate, not wanting to be distracted by

his presence, or more importantly, her

unusual reaction to it.
Focus on the

mission, Ivy.

As soon as they reached the side

of the building, Garren checked around

the corner. “He’s coming this way.

Move!”

They sprinted down the alley,

their

footsteps

echoing

off

the

surrounding walls. A couple turns later

and they were back on the wooden

walkway with the rest of the tourists.

“Guys,” Thane panted. “I need to

rest.”

After a quick glance around,

Garren led them into a gift shop. They

slipped to the back of the store by the

circular racks of California themed

sweatshirts. The first one Ivy touched

was pink with a howling wolf on the

front. Dueling emotions raged inside as

she thought of Athena; concern for her

safety as she played decoy versus relief

that she was no longer making a

spectacle of herself by hanging all over

Garren versus guilt for being glad she

was out of the way. Trying to unravel

her feelings hurt her head. She needed to

shift her focus.

“Are you all right?” she asked as

she pretended to check out the clothes.

Thane shook his head, hunched

over to catch his breath. “I’m exhausted.

I didn’t realize this thing would be so

draining.” He pulled the sapphire out of

his shirt and gasped. It was nearly clear.

“I thought you said it would last

an hour,” Garren hissed.

Of course he would find a way

to make this my fault.
“That’s what

Irene told me. Maybe it’s broken or

something.”

Thane stared at the stone in his

palm as if waiting for it to reveal its

secrets. “Perhaps trying to block the

magic of four people was too much.”

His eyes widened in realization. “Or

maybe there’s other magic around here

that it was masking by default. Like, say,

a prince in a
magical
coma.”

A hush fell over them as each

one pondered the weight of this

possibility. They were so close, yet still

so far away. Pioneer Park remained a

mystery.

Garren broke the silence first.

“Let’s quit wasting… Down!” He pulled

her to the floor, behind the clothes rack.

“Man, don’t these guys ever give up?”

After moments of silence, she

parted a couple hangers in front of her to

check the Eradicator’s location. She

didn’t see him, even as she leaned

further into the rack to get a better look.

The only other person in the store was a

soccer mom buying a visor at the

checkout counter.

All this stress has cooked

Garren’s brain. There’s no one here.

She moved to back up but lost her

balance. She fell forward, out of the

coverage of the shirts, and landed on her

hands and knees. A pair of grungy, white

shoes stopped in front of her.

Oh, no
. Her gaze traveled up

jean-covered legs, over a leather jacket

and settled on the angry blue eyes. She

swallowed the lump of fear forming in

her throat.

Play it cool
. “Hey, Darius.

How’s it going?” She stood and brushed

imaginary dirt off her pants. The top of

her head only reached his shoulders.

She’d had a huge crush on the older boy

when she was, like fourteen. With his

dark skin and light eyes, he was exotic

and beautiful. But he never saw her as

anything more than a little buddy. Maybe

she’d get some sympathy points for old

time’s sake.

“Better now,” he said. “Why you

runnin’ from me?” With his hands resting

on his hips, he seemed genuinely

curious. But he wasn’t stupid.

Like

you

don’t

know.
She

scrambled for a way out of this mess

while thinking up a half-way believable

excuse to play along with his game.

“Was that
you
chasing me?”
Oh yeah,

that’s believable
.

One eyebrow raised as a hint of

amusement tugged at the corner of his

mouth. “Do you usually have black guys

chasing you through the streets?”

She channeled her inner Athena

and flashed him the flirtiest smile she

could muster. “Well, I hate to brag,