Страница 20 из 66
If only I knew which crowd that was.
At the karate studio, Hayden ushered me to a back room. I didn’t want to wait any longer. “I have a strange request.”
“Does it involve my lips and your neck?”
“You’re not supposed to be flirting with me.” I glared.
“You call that flirting?” He chuckled.
“You still have Back Up Plan’s smell on you and you’re talking to me like that? Please stop or I’ll vomit.”
“Tessa, get over it. Maybe next time I ask, you should say yes.”
It would be too easy to take his bait. Instead, I sighed and lifted his keys from my purse then set them on a nearby table. “I want you to pick these up.” I flattened my palm on his chest to stop him from doing it yet. “With your eyes closed.”
“Yep. That’s a weird request.”
“Humor me. Close your eyes.” I held his arm and turned him until the table bumped his back then repositioned the keys a few inches from where they were. “Okay, now do it.”
“Can I at least turn around?”
“No. And those eyes stay shut. Now find the keys.”
Hayden’s hands fumbled behind his back for only a moment before the keys came to him, gently floating over the table. Fawn and the principal had told me that sorcerers were rare, that finding two in the same city was unheard of. But Hayden and I were proof that what they said wasn’t right. Either they lied or something was up.
“Are we done?” He opened his eyes and turned.
Hayden couldn’t find out yet what he was. Once he knew about himself and began using his powers, he’d ‘open’ and be detectable. I wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing or bad. “Yeah, I got what I needed to know.”
He squinted at me. “Which is what?”
“I’m writing a short story. It’s about a girl who’s been kidnapped and blindfolded.”
“Oh. You write? I’d like to read a sample.”
No way. “You wouldn’t like it. Girl stuff. You know how they like to talk about their feelings and stuff.”
He laughed. “I’d like to see it anyway.”
Time for a subject change… to something that needed to be discussed anyway. “Agent Phillips and Principal Linton said they’d only use you a few days. It’s been a week. You should get that recommendation letter before your replacement comes. Once Linton doesn’t need you, it might be hard getting him to keep his end of the deal.” Plus, Linton could change his mind about anything once he discovered Hayden’s abilities.
“You don’t trust him?”
I didn’t want to lie since Hayden might relax if he thought Linton and Phillips were safe. “I’m not sure. Bells keep going off, you know? Little things like what you already pointed out. We should get started. I have things to do today.”
* * * *
My butt crashed to the floor. Again. “Is that really necessary?” I rubbed my thigh that still throbbed from the last fall. “I mean, what, are you crabby today or something?”
“Hey, you tripped yourself.” He chuckled. “Sorry, I’ll be a little more gentle.”
“No, don’t.” I moaned. “If I get in a bind, they’re not going to be any nicer. I’ve gotta toughen up.”
He held out his hand to help me up. “You should run every day. Builds endurance.”
I took his hand and popped up. “Is that what you do?” I really didn’t want to talk about how he got in such great shape. It only made my mind go in weird and not unpleasant directions.
“Yeah, five-thirty every morning. I’ll pick you up tomorrow and we’ll go together.”
“Five-thirty in the morning? Are you crazy?”
“Go the slow way or take the fast track. Up to you. Let me know.”
“I guess you were going the slow way this morning when I woke you up.”
“I skip it after a party.” He checked his watch. “We should call it quits for the day. I have plans.”
Probably with Back Up Plan. I sighed. “Fine. I’ll run with you in the morning. Five-thirty, huh? Really?”
He laughed. “Not on weekends. We’ll go at eight-thirty, then come directly here. Get it all done in one shot.”
“Deal. Meet you at your house?”
“Yeah.” He handed me my purse.
I shuffled out the front door, the soreness already settling into my muscles. Together, we walked toward his car parked on the street. In my peripheral vision, cars whizzed by. A white van barreled around the corner as I neared Hayden’s car. The van screeched to a stop and double parked next to the Viper. Immediately on alert, I tensed and moved to shield Hayden who lagged a few steps behind me.
The van’s side door slid open. Before I could get to Hayden, a man covered in black from head to toe aimed a gun and fired. The muffled shot did its job and Hayden toppled over, clutching his side. Then he lay perfectly still. I dropped to my knees beside him and glanced over my shoulder, my adrenaline roaring through my veins. The next instant the gunman and another masked guy jumped out of the van. The masked guy’s arms shot out to grab me and I lunged forward to dodge him, only to be seized by the other guy.
I was about to scream when I felt a prick in my arm. My eyes closed and the dark settled over me like a practiced assassin’s shot, quick and painless.
Chapter Fourteen
Tessa
“What the hell did you do?” The familiar voice behind me reminded me of the gorgeous guy who’d visited my room. “That wasn’t necessary. I’d already made contact. Kidnapping does not make us look good, people.”
I lay on my side against a cold cement floor with my arms bound behind my back. Numbness was begi
By the dirty floor and musty smell, I guessed I was in some kind of old, deserted building. My eyes slowly opened to what appeared to be a rat skeleton about three feet away. Gross. Light from a big window shone on my feet but there seemed to be no other light source in the place.
Right… I’d been leaving the karate studio and we’d been attacked. Now I was bound and barely able to move. My pulse throbbed at my temples as fear revved up my heart rate. I made a conscious effort to slow my accelerated breathing so my captors wouldn’t notice I’d woken.
What had happened to Hayden? Was he dead? Was he still lying on the sidewalk unconscious, the life slowly seeping out of him? My heart ached at the thought.
“It was taking too long. I sped things up a bit is all,” a woman answered.
The guy groaned. “On what planet does kidnapping endear us to anyone? Rena, you’ve gone too far.”
“Me?” she asked. “I got it approved by our superior. He understands that we can accomplish in two hours what would’ve taken you days. We don’t have time to waste.”
“Untie her now,” he demanded.
“It was only temporary anyway,” Rena said.
A moment later, someone rolled me over and ripped the duct tape from my mouth. I yelped.
Rena tossed the balled-up duct tape over her shoulder. “Besides, we had no idea how loyal she might be to the others and we had no way of knowing how powerful she is.”
“Where’s Hayden?” I asked, taking a more careful look at Rena. She wore her short, dark blond hair pin-straight with bangs. She was lean and her tank top showed toned and cut arms. She didn’t look much older than me, but her eyes were hard, as though she’d lived decades.
“He’s fine,” he said gently. It was the man-candy from last night who’d ambushed me in my room. His face quickly hardened when he eyed Rena and the two figures in black against the wall. “He’d better be.”
Rena rolled her eyes. “Lighten up. We were informed that he’s got some fighting skills. We didn’t want to deal with him so we gave him a tranquilizer. It’s comforting to know how much faith you have in me, partner.”
“Real partners work together.” He motioned for the guys in black to untie me.
The ropes fell loose and I scrambled up on trembling limbs. Were they playing good cop, bad cop? “Can you guys squabble later? Like after I leave?” I took a step toward the giant tinted glass window and my vision grew hazy, my head spun. I stumbled backward and leaned against the wall.