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)
They didn’t belong to any coalition, and it had taken her a while to band them together, but they’d be very wealthy if they did their jobs right tonight. She didn’t feel it necessary to remind them of that again.
Bonzo stiffened. “I sense them. They’re close.”
Warning whispered across Leah’s skin. She didn’t have the senses of a true immortal, but even she could feel evil nearby. “Remember.”
“Got it. You need one alive to question in order to find Wallace the Kurjan, unless Wallace is one of the squad, then we keep him alive,” Bonzo said. “Take a right here.”
She moved down the next alley, noting no plants, no lights, and even more garbage. It was a good place for an ambush.
Three figures emerged from sunken doorways, and her breath caught. Three to five wasn’t ideal, but it’s what she had. The first Kurjan was tall, at least seven feet, and his pale, translucent skin illuminated the darkness.
The Kurjans were a vampiric race that could not withstand sunlight, unlike most vampires. At least until recently, when science had caught up to assist them. They were tall with mainly purple eyes. Although the new generation seemed to have evolved to have green and maybe even blue irises, which enabled them to blend better with the human world. Truly unfortunate, that. Their hair was black with red tips or, once in a while, red with black tips. These all had darker hair covered by caps, and they wore all black, much like the soldiers surrounding her. When the first Kurjan smiled, elongated, yellow canines glinted ominously.
“Get lost, shifter,” the one in front growled. “The enhanced female is coming with us.”
“I don’t think so.” Bonzo cracked his knuckles.
The Kurjan sneered as his buddies moved up to his sides. “You don’t want to fight with three of us.”
“You might be surprised.” Leah pushed her hood off her head and settled into her stance. She hadn’t spent the last eighty years sitting around knitting. Not that there was anything wrong with knitting—it was a skill she hoped to acquire. But right now, she prepared to fight. “Are any of you Wallace?”
The closest guy’s eyes widened. “We work for Wallace. How do you know about him?”
Darn it. She’d really wanted an easy night. Why couldn’t Wallace just be here?
The roar of a motorcycle had them all stiffening. Who would ride a motorcycle down such an alley at night? She turned, gasping as two black motorcycles, sleek and uniquely designed, roared their way.
“What the hell?” Bonzo swung around.
The Kurjan hissed and pulled out a gun. Almost in unison, the two riders, who were somehow navigating the middle of the alley side by side, reached into their pockets and pulled out weapons. Green lasers instantly fired through the night, hitting all three Kurjans and then all four shifters before any of them could get off a shot.
Leah frantically searched for an escape. Those were immortal-injuring guns. The lasers turned into metal upon hitting immortal flesh, and all the males around her dropped, still in the act of reaching for their weapons.
The two on the motorcycles, their heads covered by helmets, continued to fire. Damn it. She turned and leaped over one of the shifters, then pivoted and ran down an alley—this one also lacking any light. Both motorcycles followed her. She didn’t know who they were, but they were no doubt another Kurjan faction. Rumor had it they were working in small vigilante groups these days.
She ducked her head and ran as fast as she could, reaching a rickety fire escape. Using all her strength, she jumped and grasped the bottom rung, pulling it down so she could climb. If she could reach the roof, she could find a quicker way out.
One of the riders manacled her waist in one smooth motion and pulled her onto the bike in front of him before she could climb a rung. She shrieked and struggled, but he banded one iron-strong forearm around her waist and pulled her against his hard body before plopping his helmet onto her head and swiftly fastening it under her chin as he sped down the midnight-black alley.
She paused, and her ears heated. They’d only spent one night together, but she knew this male. His scent wrapped around her, and her body turned to lava as if she’d been waiting for him with every heartbeat. “Jasper,” she whispered.
* * * *
Jasper had never been this pissed off in his entire life. He held the struggling bundle in front of him as he maneuvered the dangerous streets of Paris to reach a tall and luxurious building. There, he parked, tossed his key to the valet, threw his wayward mate over his shoulder, and stalked into the beautiful vestibule without saying a word.
She fought furiously, beating her head, still safely ensconced in his helmet, against his lower back. He ignored her and the shocked looks of everyone in the lobby as he strode to the elevator with his brother, Dax, loping along next to him.