Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
He paused before the final turn, sensing the Kurjan on the other side. He looked over his shoulder and mouthed for Leah to stay still.
She rolled her eyes, apparently none the worse for her ordeal.
He pivoted around the side to see the youngest Kurjan he’d fought sitting on the ground, eyes closed, head back in a seemingly hypnotic state. Apparently, Jasper had almost killed the soldier.
When the Kurjan opened his eyes, they were a bloody purple that almost matched his black hair with its red tips—also dripping deep-red blood.
Jasper leaped forward, pivoted, and kicked the soldier beneath the chin. The Kurjan’s head flew back to smash hard against the stone wall, creating a melon-sized impact. He slumped to the side, unconscious.
Jasper reached back for Leah’s hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
He started jogging with her on his heels, still maneuvering through the tunnels until they finally reached the first of what appeared to be many carved ladders in the stone. He listened but didn’t hear traffic. The last thing he wanted was to end up in the middle of a busy street.
“I’ll go first.” Leah tried to push ahead of him.
“Not a chance.” If somebody was going to get their head taken off, it would be him.
He rapidly climbed the ladder and pushed open a steel grate before poking his head up to see what appeared to be a storage room in a bar. Liquor bottles lined one wall, along with a couple of kegs. He hefted himself out and reached a hand down for Leah. She grabbed it, and his entire body jolted as he pulled her up to stand. More sequins fell off her dress.
She looked down. “I paid a fortune for this thing.”
“You look stunning.” He replaced the grate.
She’d left enough sequins in their wake that the Kurjans would easily follow the trail, even if they couldn’t sense him or, more importantly, her as an enhanced female. He had to find them both a change of clothing and soon. He pushed open the door to find an Irish pub of sorts with patrons drinking from overflowing beer mugs near several pool tables or at the long bar lining the side wall.
He took Leah’s hand and walked out, shutting the door. The bartender looked up and then frowned.
Jasper lifted a hand. “Long story. I’ll be back later.”
“You were in my storage room? Wait a minute.” The bartender slammed a glass onto the counter.
Jasper pivoted, lifted Leah into his arms and started to run. “No.”
“Hey,” the bartender yelled. “Wait.” He and a bouncer bustled from behind the bar.
Jasper kicked open the door and barreled outside into fairly busy Parisian traffic. He jumped onto the hood of a taxi and leapfrogged his way over several vehicles to the other side as angry drivers honked their horns.
The bartender and burly bouncer bellowed at him from the sidewalk. They weren’t dumb enough to follow his path, however. He smiled, waved, and kept running, recognizing the area immediately.
“You can put me down,” Leah said, her arm around his neck.
“That’s all right. I’m keeping you here.”
Turning two more corners, he saw Benny’s penthouse not too far away. All of a sudden, the world stilled. The air stiffened. He paused.
“What is it?” Leah asked as the traffic flowed by them.
Jasper looked at several busy restaurants on the sidewalk. “I don’t know. There’s…something.” He couldn’t place it.
He looked at the building again, which stood tall only two blocks away. The world silenced for the briefest of moments before an explosion rocked the penthouse, blowing every window outward with the sharp sound of shattering glass. Fire roared out of the now-broken windows. Several car alarms blared in answer.
“Shit,” he muttered, putting her down. “Apparently, they found Benny’s place. Come on.”
He turned down the nearest alley. The smell of rotten garbage and rodent feces filled his nose, but he kept going. Leah stumbled behind him without her shoes but didn’t complain once.
“I can carry you again.”
“I’m good,” she said, keeping pace. “But, Jasper, I have to get to the kids. I only have a couple of hours left.”
He twisted and turned around several alleys. “I know.”
“Why couldn’t I have managed to keep that recording pen anywhere but in my clutch?” Irritation coated her words. “Where are we going?”
“We have another safe house. It’s not as nice as Benny’s, but nobody knows about it. We can regroup there and call the police.”
She reached for his hand, sliding her small fingers between his. God, she was fragile. “The Kurjans also kidnapped seven enhanced females,” she whispered.
“We’ll rescue them.” After another hour of winding through the bowels of Paris, they’d nearly reached a small hole in the wall that he and his brothers had used before. Emerging from an alley about a block away from the flat, he stiffened and dropped her hand.