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"Ambitious and fiercely original. Sondi Warner is the exciting new voice we've all been wai...
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September 9 | Late Noon
Clutching Senpai's shoulders, I dragged him from the quad cab and shoved him toward the driver's side. "We should leave now. I feel them getting closer," I urged as I hopped in the passenger seat and slammed the door.
The items we had spent a leisurely forty-five minutes shopping to buy were left behind, except the first aid kit. I had grabbed it on the way out without thinking. Now Zyr threw it back to Aurie. I tried to guess what charges we would face when this all hit the fan.
He peeled from the parking lot on two wheels, and the speedy reverse jostled us like bobbleheads. Aurie let out a squeaky yelp while I hugged myself, struggling not to puke. Pedestrians seemed a hair's breadth from being flattened. Commendably, the detective navigated the human obstacle course like a pro.
We sped toward the road. A shimmer hovered over the blacktop, and sunlight glinted off vehicles. The beads of sweat rolling down my face had little to do with the summer heatwave, however. Empathy was destroying me. There were too many people. Too many impressions. Panting, I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Can you sense how many are following us?" Zyr asked, switching on the AC.
His voice was calmer than he felt. I knew. He buzzed with yellow and orange agitation, and his need to morph was a painful throb in my head—his head. His fight or flight reflex only had one setting: A bright red impulse to battle hard. Oddly enough, deep purple desire twisted in his gut at the same time.
"I'm not sure. I think no more than the two we saw, but they don't read like the usual vampire pets," I breathed.
"They're not pets. They're mercenaries, hired guns. The vampire scent wasn't on them. I bet Cyprian never even met them in person. That's why I didn't smell them." As Zyr spoke, he studied the rearview mirror to see if they were coming up behind us.
I processed the news while I let the cold blast from the vents gradually help. Fists unclenching, I stretched my fingers. I took a few deep breaths, and I slit my eyelids to view the oversaturated cerulean sky, my blurred vision growing accustomed to the noon sun.
"Is that why my Empathy didn't work until the last minute?" I looked over at the detective.
"My guess is they weren't sure of their targets. Probably working with photographs."
"Top shelf. Gotta hand it to Darcy. He's clever, but those same weaknesses can't be exploited again, now that we know his game," I said.
I glanced at Aurie in the backseat. Her face was devoid of emotion, but she was a tangle of feelings. Sad about not seeing her final resting place, confused by Zyr's noncommittal push-and-pull, depressed by the constant threat Darcy posed.
I reached between the seats and interlocked our fingers. Some of her tension unfurled. A tenuous sort of resignation took its place, and she locked our hands tighter together.
