The Awakening (20 page)

The demon tossed the gun on the dead man’s lap. He gazed into the mirror at Jonas. “Now everyone will think you did it.”

I looked at Jonas. He appeared calm, but underneath the mask I smelled anger and deeper yet, his heart pumped fiercely.

The demon grinned. “I don’t know what you did to earn a full page on our registry, but every demon in the city is looking for you. I was damn lucky to find you.”

I glared at the demon. Another life ended because of me. It wasn’t fair. The human didn’t deserve to die, nor did Jonas deserve the blame.

Sweat beaded on my brow as my temper flared. Damn Sal.

I slipped into Jonas’s mind.
What are we going to do?

I can’t do anything with my hands cuffed, and I’m not strong enough to break the wire screen separating us from him.

He couldn’t, but maybe I could.

The demon lifted a cell phone to his ear. He glanced in the rear view mirror. “I have the missing female. Where should I take her?” There was a pause as he listened. “She’s not alone. I have a human.” Another pause. “All right.”

I had a bad feeling as he put the phone down.

I shifted in my seat and glanced out the window. We were in the middle of nowhere. Jonas and I needed to come up with an escape plan fast. I drifted into his head.
I’ll break my cuffs and punch through the screen.

He’ll reach for the gun.

I can handle it.

I’ll distract him.

I nodded.

Jonas let out a deep throaty cough. I jerked my wrists, keeping my arms behind me. The cuffs snapped with a small clank.

The demon looked in the mirror with suspicious eyes. I leaned back with an impassive face. After a few seconds, he returned his eyes to the dark road.

Got it,
I said.

The demon slowed and turned onto a road between two fields. My body slanted from the sharp curve and it took all my effort not to move my arms. As the car came to a stop, I knew our time to act had arrived.

I have to do it now
.

Go for it!
Jonas replied with a quick nod.

The demon reached over to the dead man’s lap and grabbed Jonas's gun. I swung my arms around and braced my hands on the screen barrier. I threw all my strength against it, and it popped out.

The demon twisted. He looked at me with surprise and fear on his face. He raised the gun as I shoved him into the dashboard. “Bitch.”

He grunted and threw his weight forward, trying to push me off him. I slid backward, my legs and naval brushing over the seat. I felt Jonas wedge himself between my legs. He pressed his body against my rear, and lifted me back over the seat.

Get my dagger!
I shouted to Jonas with my thoughts.

Knees braced against the divider, I kept the demon pinned to the dashboard. He cursed and continued to struggle under me. I felt Jonas move between my legs, and his fingers dig inside my boot.

“Got it!” Jonas yelled.

The demon stunk of sweat and anger. He grunted and thrust his weight against me. While I held him from throwing me off, I still didn't have a way to disarm him.

“Take it!” Jonas said.

I glimpsed over my shoulder. His back faced me and in one of his cuffed hands, he held my blade. How the hell was I supposed to get it and keep the demon down?

“A bit hard to reach right now,” I replied and swiveled my head around.

The demon managed to twist the gun and point it at me. Shit!

I lifted my knees from the seat divider and pushed myself off the demon, twisting before I knocked into Jonas. He hit the back seat head first as the gun fired. Glass shattered from the back window and dropped all around us.

Jonas's body lay twisted in the seat, his rear practically in my face. I grabbed the dagger from his hand. I wanted to break his cuffs and free him, but seconds counted right now.

Blade in hand, I rose from the seat. The demon managed to push the screen off him just enough to move his arms freely. As the demon aimed the gun, I lunged forward. I jabbed my blade into his neck as he fired another shot.

The demon’s face froze. Blood dribbled on my hand. He dropped the gun. I held the dagger in his throat long enough to watch his red ringed eyes became glassy. When his body finally slumped, I jerked my blade free.

The coppery aroma tickled my nose and tightened my gut. But it wasn’t the demon’s blood arousing me. I twisted and found Jonas gritting his teeth as dark fluid spilled out of his arm.

“Shit!” I yelled.

“Get the keys for the cuffs. This fucking hurts.”

Red and blue lights flashed around the corner. The police cruiser raced toward us.

“Shit!” I yelled louder.

“Keys!” Pain strained his voice.

The cruised stopped behind us. I reached over the seat divider and wiped my blade on the dead demon while I searched for the keys on his belt. Once I found them, I jerked them free.

Jonas twisted sideways so I could reach his cuffs. “It will be a small one.”

I slid my dagger back inside my boot, then held the keys up. I found a small one, slid it into the first cuff, then turned it. There was a click, and I lifted the cuff from his wrist. He moved his arm free and I unlocked the other cuff.

The lights stopped flashing. I looked up and saw the driver’s side door open. A man stepped out of the vehicle.

“Get my gun and Tabby’s purse. Use the passenger side to get out. I’ll be right behind you,” Jonas said.

Obeying his instructions, I dove into the front seat, over the demon and human’s bodies. I snatched Tabby's bag from the floor with one hand and shoved open the door with the other. As I slipped out of the vehicle, I grabbed the gun off the lap of the dead human. The minute I had both feet on the ground, I threw the gun into the purse.

“Run,” Jonas said as he crawled over the tangled mess of bodies in the front seat.

I took a step back as he planted one foot on the ground.

“Run!” he said again.

I took off, running as fast I could into the field and gripping Tabby’s purse in my hand. The soft earth underneath me made my feet twist a little with each step. I hoped I wouldn’t find a patch of mud and fall. Cool, night air brushed my hair away from my face. Close behind me, Jonas’s feet thudded on the ground. He caught up and ran next to me. The scent of blood clung to him. Dark streaks ran down his arm.

We need to get to the next farmhouse,
he said to me. His face was tight. I suspected running made the pain in his injured arm far worse.

Behind us, I heard a growl and then a throaty bark. A dog? Oh shit!

Jonas, is a dog after us?

Keep running
.

The growl got closer and closer. There was no way Jonas could outrun a dog, not with his injured arm. And as long as he was bleeding, it would be able to track us.

I stopped, and spun around. Jonas kept running. I almost screamed when I saw the dark beast. It was twice the size of a normal dog and its big eyes glowed eerily. It was running toward me as if it had found its next meal. No way would I get out of this unscathed.

A few feet from me, it leaped in the air. I dropped Tabby’s bag and raised my arms, preparing for impact.

Mid-air, the oversized dog changed into a male body.

Chapter 22

I fell back and hit the ground with a naked, heavy man lay on top of me. His heart vibrated against my chest while his warm breath brushed my cheek. I breathed in his scent–soft pine mixed with the outdoors.

“I can help you,” he said to me.

I breathed in quick breaths. “What?” I asked, confused. He wanted to help me even though he’d just attacked me?

Jonas appeared above me. He snatched Tabby’s purse and pulled out his gun. “Get off her.” He pointed the gun at the man.

“Calm down,” the man said.

“I’ll calm down when you get off of her,” Jonas snapped.

The man pressed his hands to the ground on each side of me, and lifted his body, keeping his eyes on Jonas. “I’m not going to hurt her.”

I crawled backwards to get away from him. He had short black hair, a strong, confident face, broad shoulders and bulging muscles. Very impressive.

I jumped to my feet and brushed the dirt from my rear. “And what about my friend? Would you hurt him?”

Muscle Man sat up on his knees. “Not if you say he’s your friend.”

My wandering eyes dipped below his fine torso. The man had solid muscles above and below the waist. Even his thighs were huge.

“I won’t hurt either of you. If I was going to, I would have done it already.”

He had a point. He could’ve mauled me to death by now in his other form. Still, I had a difficult time trusting anyone other than Jonas, Tabby, and Boss.

“You’re a cop, right? Where are your clothes?” I asked.

“Back near the car,” he said. “I stripped them off after you took off running.”

“Who sent you?” Jonas asked, still aiming the gun at the man.

“No one,” he replied. “Can I stand up?”

“Slowly,” Jonas said.

I nearly drooled as he planted one foot on the ground and then the other. He was a piece of art, well-sculpted and beautiful. The dark hair on his head matched the patch below and his goods were just as impressive. I tried not to stare, but damn, he was pleasing to the eye.

“Why did you follow us?” Jonas asked.

“I recognized her from a picture on the demon website,” he replied.

“Only demons and WWOPP personnel have access to the site,” Jonas said, snippy. “How did you see it?”

“I’m a cop. I have ways of accessing information.”

“Are you a werewolf?” I asked.

“Yes. My Alpha has gone missing. Have you seen him?”

Jonas and I exchanged questionable glances.

Why would he ask me if I’ve seen his Alpha?
I asked.

Did you know any werewolves?

Not that I can recall.

I found dead werewolves at the dump.
They weren’t in their human form.

I turned my attention back to the naked werewolf. “Why would you ask me if I’ve seen your Alpha?”

“There has been a lot of missing people lately. My Alpha is missing. The demon leader is missing, and on their website, it shows you as missing. After I saw you at the store, I planned to question you. I thought you might have some information. Then Henry took you.”

“Who?” I asked.

“The demon cop,” he replied.

“Oh.”

“My gut instinct told me to follow, so I did,” he continued. “I suspected something was wrong after Henry failed to report where he was taking you. From the strong scent of blood coming from the vehicle back there, I’d say I guessed right.”

“So you thought I might know where the leaders are?” I asked.

“I was hoping you might,” he replied. “Four other pack brothers are missing too.”

I shook my head. Of the thirty dead bodies at the dump, five of them were probably part of this man’s pack. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your Alpha or any werewolves.”

“You said you could help us earlier,” Jonas said. “How?”

His chest heaved as he sighed. “I’m going to take a wild guess again that Henry wasn’t taking you to the station, but rather somewhere else.”

“That’s a fair guess,” I said.

“If he’s dead, which it smells like he is, then you are going to need a cover story. I can help create a believable one.”

Jonas and I glanced at each other. We did need help, big help since Henry had used Jonas’s gun to kill the human cop. If Muscle Man had a way to help us, why not accept his offer? I shrugged and returned my attention to the werewolf.

“Do you have a plan?” Jonas asked.

“If you answer a few questions for me, I’ll make up a story and drop you off at the hospital where they took your friend. Hell, I’ll even buy you a cup of coffee.”

“Answer your questions, and nothing more?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I give you my word.”

I slipped into Jonas’s head.
We have nothing to lose.

If he can come up with a cover story, then we should go with him. Besides, I need to clean my wound, and the spelled bracelet needs to come off you.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Paul Jackson. Everyone calls me Jackson.”

“Jackson, I suggest you put your clothes on before we sit down and drink some coffee,” I said with a grin.

A smile touched his lips too. “Easily done.”

Jonas lowered his weapon and stepped closer to Jackson. “Try anything...”

“I have no reason to. But if I find out one of you killed my Alpha, I will change my mind.”

Their eyes locked. Although Jackson was larger, clearly the werewolf didn't intimidate Jonas.

I stepped around the two men. “Easy boys.” I bent to retrieve Tabby’s purse. As I rose, my eyes traveled over Jackson’s body. The man was hot and the temptation to touch him overwhelmed me. Our eyes met. “We have nothing to hide.”

He chuckled. “Everybody has something to hide.” He turned and headed back toward the cars.

I shrugged off his comment and followed him. My vampire night vision came in handy as my eyes lingered over Jackson’s body, mostly his plump rear. I bit my lip, wondering what it would feel like to grab him and feel his hard muscles, every single one.

Jonas walked next to me.
You’re staring
.

Kind of difficult not to.

The corner of his mouth hinted at a grin.
He thinks you’re half-demon. He doesn’t know we can communicate telepathically.
Let’s leave it that way. If he asks what happened in the car, tell him I did it. Let him think I’m half-vampire.

I nodded.

How’s your arm?
I asked.

He held it close to his body.
It hurts. I think the bullet passed through and the healing has started.

Thank God he had vampire blood in him, even if it was just a small amount.

We got back to the car and Jackson picked up the clothes he'd strewn in the field. As he got dressed, Jonas grabbed the keys from the dead human cop and unlocked my broken cuffs. Once they came off, he unclipped the spelled bracelet and hid everything in Tabby’s purse.