White Tower Center descended two floors belowground, and three above it. It was a thriving community center as well a shopping mall, though it saw its fair share of roughhousing and brawls. The elevators would take me to the front of the center, which meant a long walk around to reach the meeting spot, so I ducked into the hallway that led toward the stairwell going up. It would have been easier to meet in the parking garage itself, but then again, on a day as cold as this one, I understood her reasoning.
As I swung into the stairwell, I thought I heard a noise. Instantly alert, I stopped in my tracks, listening as carefully as I could.
There it was again—the sound of the door opening and closing somewhere in the stairwell above me. I waited. One beat…two beats…three beats…And the sound faded to silence. No doubt shoppers coming and going between the levels, but I still kept my attention focused around me as I resumed my ascent. No use in letting my mind wander when there were so many things that could go wrong. So many things were already going wrong.
Remember, a voice in my mind whispered, it’s almost sunset. Watch for vampires.
I tried to shake the thought from my mind. I was wearing my silver pentacle, and that should protect me, but it wouldn’t protect me against a gun or knife or sword or any other number of weapons. Vampires didn’t just rely on their fangs anymore. They weren’t that stupid.
Thoroughly spooked, I swung around the corner of the spiraling staircase and found myself facing a door. The word JANITOR was stenciled across the top of it. I was about to go past it when a hollow sound stopped me and I quickly turned, my foot still on the next stair.
The door slammed open and I found myself facing three large men, burly, with snarling faces. Instantly, their scent told me they were Weres. Probably weretigers. I jumped back, almost tripping as my heel caught on the stair runner.
“Who are you? What do you want?” I asked, praying they were run-of-the-mill muggers. I tried to keep my back to the stairwell wall as I inched toward the stairs leading down. They were closer to me than the ones going up, and offered the best chance of escape.
“Tricia sent us. Consider us her welcome wagon.” But he sounded anything but welcoming.
A setup, and I had fallen for it.
“Doesn’t Tricia have any honor?” I knew honor was a big thing among the Weres, so it seemed worth a shot at stalling them.
“Shut up, you whore.”
Nate had been right, even though he hadn’t known about what. I should have listened to him, but in my fervor to protect my friends, I’d let carelessness take the helm.
If I tried to talk my way out of this, I had a feeling my words would fall on deaf ears. Pressing my lips together, I eased my hand down to my thigh and smoothly withdrew the dagger, holding it in front of me. I had had many occasions in my life to defend myself, and while it’d been a long time and I was out of shape, muscle memory kicked in. I wasn’t going to be doing any backflips, but if I was cautious I might have a chance at getting out of this unhurt.
“Look, she’s got a toothpick!”
One of the Weres snickered.
“Do you really think that little pointy blade is going to do much damage to the three of us?” The tallest of the trio also seem to be the cockiest. Which meant that he was vulnerable. Too much ego always threw off your game.
I glanced at the other two. One was cheering on his brother, but the other kept his gaze on my every move. He was the one who was most dangerous, and by the glint in his eye I could tell he would have no compunction about flattening me out.
“So is Tricia paying you to kill me?” I might as well face them directly, although I didn’t expect any answer.
“Oh, not necessarily to kill you. Just to convince you that it might behoove you to leave town for good. Pack up your shingle, sell your house, and move.” Tall Boy snickered.
“What if I told you that I already shut down my business? Tricia won. She’s already scared off most my clients and there isn’t much I can do given the circumstances. In fact, I came here to apologize to her today and tell her how sorry I am. Does that make any difference?” I had my doubts, but it was worth a try.
The one who was keeping his eye on me shifted just enough to tell me they hadn’t expected to hear that. But he looked no less dangerous, and I could tell he was tracking me by the way his nose quivered as he kept testing the wind. “And why would we believe you?”
I had managed to reach the edge of the first step leading down. I paused, gearing myself up to make a leap that would probably land me in a world of pain, but might just get me away from them without bloodshed.
“So you’ve already decided to hurt me even though I’m agreeing to her terms?”
“We have to have our fun,” Tall Boy said. “And we hear you like it rough.”
That was all I needed to hear. I decided to make a leap for it. I swung around, jettisoning myself off the top stair and out as far as I could go so that I wouldn’t hit the steps when I landed. Flailing wildly with my arms, I did my best to soften the landing, bending my knees and tucking in. Muscle memory might work in a lot of cases, but this time it seemed to have a few holes in it. I landed on the balls of my feet all right, but before I could balance myself and stand, I fell forward and faceplanted on the concrete floor. Behind me, I could hear the weretigers scrambling for the staircase. I had just enough time to get my feet before they were halfway down and I ran for the door as quickly as I could, my feet slipping on the wet concrete in my haste.
I managed to slam open the door as I raced into the parking lot, but they were hot on my heels. The snowfall was so thick it was hard to see beyond the reach of my hand. The ice below the accumulation was especially slick.
As I made a beeline for my car, my feet went out from under me and I slid across the asphalt. Of course, the asphalt was covered with ice which, unluckily for me, broke my fall. And also felt like it broke my butt. I could hear the weretigers cursing behind me, and I guessed they were dealing with their own little slip-and-slide game.
I managed to right myself again and began to stagger toward my car. One knee was so bruised I could barely walk. Wincing from the pain, I tried to dig the keys out of my pocket as I lurched across the ice. But before I could make it, the weretigers had surrounded me. The parking lot was empty except for the four of us, and there was no help in sight. This was going to get nasty, and it was going to get nasty really quick.
I caught my breath, holding my dagger out. I was lucky I hadn’t cut myself with it yet. But I couldn’t keep an eye on all of them at once as they circled around me. My breath coming hard, I was frantically trying to think of anything I could to get out of the situation.
Tall Boy picked that moment to laugh. His high-pitched giggle made him sound like a prepubescent boy and my senses were primed enough to know that he was aroused.
“If you hurt me, my people will take revenge. The Fae are as tightly bound as the Weres. And I’m part of Wynter’s court.” Reduced to threats—and they weren’t idle threats, even though they were doing me no good at the moment—I did what I could to stall.
At that moment, the sound of car entering the parking lot at high speed alerted all of us. Archer’s BMW slid across the ice. It had barely come to a stop when Archer jumped out of the driver’s seat, and Nate out of the passenger seat.
Startled, the weretigers turned. Archer pulled out a Tasmat, an extremely powerful stun gun that was more than effective on Weres. Most stun guns were powerful enough to take down a charging werewolf or weretiger, but Tasmats? They could take down an elephant. They were also notoriously illegal.
The moment they saw the stun gun, the Weres began backing off. I limped over to Nate’s side, and he pushed me behind him. Grateful beyond measure, I forced myself to remain dry eyed. The last thing I needed to do was burst into tears. I had no desire for the Weres to report back that I was weak, even though that was precisely what I had let myself become.
“I’m giving you to the count t
hree to get out of here. If you ever come near Lily again, if you ever lay a hand on her, if any of your friends ever lay a hand on her, I will hunt you down, take this Tasmat, shove it up your ass, and pull the trigger.” Archer’s voice was deadly calm, and his eyes glittered with an icy chill that I hadn’t seen before. I realized right then that, as pleasant and fun as he could be, I wouldn’t ever want to be on his bad side. A good reminder that beneath that handsome veneer, he was still a demon.
Nate escorted me to my car, forcing me to sit down so he could take a look at my knee, but it was too difficult considering my jeans didn’t roll up that far, and I wasn’t about to take them off in this weather.
“Can you drive?”
I started to say yes, but then realized that by the time I got the car home, I would probably be in massive pain, if I was lucky to make it at all. “No, I don’t think I can right now.”
By this point, the weretigers were screeching out of the parking lot, their low rider fishtailing on the ice. Archer watched them go, then hurried over to where Nate and I were.
“Are you all right? Did they touch you?”
I shook my head. “How did you know what was happening?” But even as I asked question, I knew. “Marsh. He was watching me, wasn’t he. He let you know I was in trouble.”
“You have a lot to thank that ghost for. Those thugs meant business. I doubt you would have left here in one piece. Tricia set you up, and you fell for it.” Archer’s voice was stern, and the harshness in it made me wince.
“No, I set myself up. I screwed up; I admit it. I just wanted to protect Nate and Dani from her. I should have known Marsh would have been watching me as I texted her about the meeting.”
“Thank your lucky stars he was doing his job.” Archer didn’t let up. He continued. “You have to develop your instincts again, Lily. I know you have them—you couldn’t have survived to the current century without them. Not the way you lived. And if you’re going to work for me, we’re going to have to get you in shape. Not just physically but mentally. I hate to say it, but I’m going to become the drill sergeant you love to hate. And…you have to stop trusting people so much.”
“I know.” I was hurting in more ways than one. My pride and ego had taken a huge hit with this blunder. “I realize that now. I have a feeling that my training with the Aespions will help. I’m supposed to start tomorrow. I guess Nate’s right. I should learn to use a gun and a Tasmat. Now, can we go home so I can put some ice on this knee?”
“Let’s get a move on. The snow is supposed to become a blizzard within a couple hours, and we don’t want be out driving in it. Nate, can you drive Lily’s car?”
“I’ve driven it before. You don’t think the weretigers will be waiting to follow us, do you? I really don’t want to tangle with them.”
“Don’t worry. They won’t be coming after us for a while. But I don’t think we’re done with them yet.” Archer lifted me, carrying me around to the passenger seat, where I stretched out my leg as far as I could.
With Nate at the wheel, we began easing out the parking lot. The drive home was harrowing. Several times we almost slid off the road, but luckily the streets were almost empty. Up ahead, Archer wasn’t faring much better. But we finally made it, intact, and eased into the driveway.
So much for making peace with Tricia and the weretigers. I decided that I would have to go on the offensive, though I had no clue what to do. As for Tygur’s death, I was just going to have to learn how to live with the fact that he had died in my home.
Chapter 26
The first thing I noticed when I got home was that the energy of the yard felt different. Oh, the wards felt steady, but something was off. I glanced around, trying to figure out what was different, but with the flurry of flakes and the throbbing of my knee, I couldn’t pinpoint what felt askew.
Archer wrapped his arm around my waist as I draped my arm over his shoulder. He swept me up into his arms.
“My prince.” I laughed, but that immediately turned to a grimace as my knee let out a bolt of I’m-not-happy pain. “Seriously, thank you. Without you and Nate…” I didn’t want to think about where I might be without them.
“Shush. But you should thank Marsh. He’s the one who did his job, who kept an eye on you. I wish to hell I had known what you were up to. I would never have let you go there alone.” Archer sounded irritated.
“Are you mad at me?”
He blew out a long stream of breath. “No, not really. I’m just…damn it, I was worried as hell when Marsh popped into my office. Our office. He told me get my ass in gear and pick up Nate on the way. You’re lucky traffic was so light, or we wouldn’t have gotten there in time.”
On the way toward the house, once again, the shift in energy hit me. I tapped him on the shoulder. “Stop, would you? Just hold still.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not certain, but something feels off, and it’s making me uneasy.” Another moment and I still couldn’t figure out what it was. “Oh well, I guess it’s nothing.”
Archer headed up the steps, cautiously making certain I didn’t bump my knee on the railings. Nate had gone ahead to open the door.
I held my breath as we entered the kitchen, afraid of what we might find, but the kitchen was empty, and everything looked to be in place. Archer slid me into a chair and then quickly did a check of the house. Once he ascertained the bottom floor was clear, he headed upstairs. He had been gone only a moment when a woman’s scream echoed down the steps.
I tried to jump up, but my knee hurt so badly that I jolted back to the chair. “Nate!”
“I’m on it.” Nate rushed toward the staircase, but at that moment, Archer darted down them, a broad smile on his face.
“I accidentally opened the door on Dani as she was showering. She threw a bottle of bath gel at me.”
“Damn you. You scared the hell out of me.” I tried to catch my breath. “I’m so nerve racked I’ll be jumping at shadows next thing you know.”
Nate motioned to my leg. “Strip. We need to look at that knee.”
“Hey—” I started to say, but he cut me off.
“Don’t play coy. I’ve seen you in your underwear. You don’t care who you dress in front of.”
I gazed up at Nate’s face. He was laughing. “What makes you think I’m wearing underwear? Go get me a pair of panties and a skirt from my room, please.”
Stifling a smirk, Nate headed toward the stairs.
“Thank you, we’ll be over in an hour. Please don’t leave till we get there. It’s important.” Archer slid his phone back into his pocket. “Ray Bender is leaving early because of the storm. I told him we’d be there in less than an hour. So we need to get you fixed up. Either that, or Nate and I can go and leave you and Dani here.”
“Nobody’s going anywhere without me.”
“All right. I put on some water for tea. It should be ready by the time Nate gets back. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’m going out to put chains on my car. We’re not taking your gas hog—it may have the weight to hug the road, but there’s no way in hell those tires are going to work. You need to change them, anyway. They’re almost bald. I have my phone with me.” Archer headed back out the kitchen door.
Just as I was about ready to attempt a trip over to the stove to remove the whistling kettle from the heat, Nate clattered back into the kitchen. He set the skirt and panties on the table next to me and headed over toward the range.
“I assume we’re having tea? Dani said she’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“I think that was Archer’s plan.” I unzipped my jeans and, using the table for leverage, stood, bearing all my weight on my uninjured leg. My other knee gave a pop, sending another wave of pain through my leg. I let out a short cry, and dropped back into my seat.
“You’re going to let me help you, and I don’t want any arguments.” Nate moved around to kneel in front of me, keeping his gaze clearly focused on my face and not lower down. “I�
�m going to have to look at that leg when I take off your pants. Just think of me as a doctor.”
“I don’t know why I feel so shy all of a sudden. You know that’s not me.” I wasn’t embarrassed by my body in the least, but right now the last thing I wanted to do was to give Nate a crotch shot.
“Maybe it’s because you’re giving up your business? Or maybe it’s just all the stress. Whatever the case, I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. Now, I’m going to ease your jeans over your knees. This is probably going to hurt, but I’ll be as gentle as possible. I have to take off your boots first, though.” Nate gently removed my boots, setting them to the side. As he was easing my jeans down my legs, a sudden glimmer caught my eye. I looked over to see Marsh appear by the sink.
“Where have you been? And thank you so much for letting them know I was in trouble. You saved my life, Marsh.”
Marsh raised his eyebrows as he took in the scene. “Well, this is cozy. I’ve been out and about. I decided to follow the weretigers when they left the parking lot. Sure enough, they met up with Tricia Jones. They were having quite a tête-à-tête. She sure was pissed, I’ll tell you that. They told her about Archer, that you are hanging out with a chaos demon. That went over like a lead balloon and after she nailed one across the face with her claws when he laughed, she stomped away, mad as a hornet. You know she’ll be out for revenge now, so you—all of you—should keep on your guard.”
By then, Nate had managed to get my jeans off. My knee was a throbbing purple mass of bruises, swollen double its usual size.
Nate let out a whistle. “You really bunged this up. Here, let’s get your underwear and skirt on and then I will take care of this.”
He had brought a pair of panties that had plenty of stretch in them, so it was easy to slide them up my legs without scraping my knee. Standing up to get them up over my butt wasn’t quite as comfortable, and once again my knee twinged sharply. I winced, moaning as I leaned on the table hard, but at least I didn’t feel so exposed now.
Souljacker: A Lily Bound Novel Page 21