Escape (Elite Supernatural Trackers Book 3)

by Heather Renee

“Oh, come on, Grandpa. It won’t be so bad.” Blake laughed, throwing an arm around Mason’s shoulders. “Just try not to break a hip.”

  Spencer followed them outside while I waited for Jaxon. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded. “At least I don’t look like Owen.”

  A shudder ran through me. “Yes, that was uncomfortable. Speaking of, what do you think happened to him? I never saw him during the fight.”

  The sneaky shifter had said he wanted to help us, and even though we hadn’t included him in our plans, I had still been surprised he hadn’t been there to give us an assist when it mattered most. He had seemed to want vengeance more than we wanted an escape.

  “Who knows and who cares? Just proves I was right not to count on him.”

  As much as I wanted to believe Jaxon was right—Owen had left us after all—something still held me back from thinking the lion shifter wasn’t on our side. Plus, curiosity made me really want to know his plans.

  Letting it go, I took Jaxon’s hand and pulled him toward me, but Nixie screeched in my ear. “Don’t forget I’m still here. Actually, never mind.” She reappeared and flew after the others.

  Oops. I had completely forgotten she was there and was about to grope Jaxon.

  “Let’s go before she decides to come back and mess with our faces some more.” Jaxon led the way, and I gladly followed, knowing he was probably right.

  The SUV we’d taken from the prison had changed from black to silver, and the license plate said South Carolina instead of New York. Spencer was already in the driver’s seat, so I didn’t stare for long, eager to get downtown and hopefully spot Zeke.

  “Where to first?” Blake asked once we were all settled into the vehicle.

  “There’s a festival in the center of town. We can start there and see how it goes,” Spencer answered, and nobody disagreed with him.

  Within ten minutes, we were parked and walking through the crowded streets. Though, they really had nothing on what I was used to in New York. The short distance we’d traveled just then would have taken me a good hour back in the big city.

  “Should we split up?” I asked.

  “No, we stay together no matter what.” Jaxon’s grip on my hand tightened.

  It had felt like weeks ago, but only a few days had passed since we’d been separated in the vampire house. It had been so easy for them to trick us and mess with our minds. I didn’t blame him for needing to stick close.

  Vendors were set up on the sidewalks. Everything from food to clothes to art was present, and I enjoyed window shopping while blending in, but my eyes never focused on one thing for too long. Zeke was all I could picture in my head as I scanned the crowd, hoping to see his face.

  “I was expecting they’d be here looking for prey, but we might have to make our way toward their compound,” Jaxon suggested.

  He was right, but I didn’t mind. Nixie’s disguises were holding, and it wasn’t like their building was in the middle of nowhere. We wouldn’t stand out walking down the street during the day with events like this going on around us.

  Slowly, we made our way through the crowds and to the side roads that would lead us closer to where we might find Zeke. Ahead of us, Spencer and Blake shoved each other around like the college guys they appeared to be, while Jaxon and I walked with our little grandpa.

  “This is dumb. Why did I have to be the old dude?” Mason complained.

  “Someone had to deflate your ego before it smothered the rest of us,” Nixie replied from where her invisible form was.

  Mason grumbled, but I stopped paying attention to him as Spencer pretended to tie his shoe and Blake casually paused, glancing around. As we caught up, Spencer stood, and Blake creased his eyes.

  “I can’t sense anything through their shields,” the empath said.

  “It’s not their shield. I remember very clearly how it felt. There’s just nothing here. No vamps, no magic, no anything except humans,” Nixie answered.

  “They can’t be gone,” I said more to myself than anyone else.

  It had taken the help of Greggor to find them before, and I doubted he was in any mood to offer his services again after losing his dogs, since we were mostly to blame for sending Gillian to the demon’s door.

  We needed Zeke, but unfortunately, it seemed like we were going to have to do things the hard way, and I would be the first to volunteer, whether they liked it or not.

  Chapter 4

  After the disappointment wore off that the bloodsuckers were gone, I decided maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing. If they weren’t around, then we could check out the building without worrying about anyone playing tricks on us like the last time. And if that didn’t reveal anything useful, I had another plan to put into motion.

  “Let’s go inside,” I suggested, already moving for the front door we hadn’t used before.

  Jaxon’s fingers wrapped around my wrist. “I don’t think so. Let’s just go back to the house, figure out where the other compound is, and go from there.”

  “First, release my hand. Second, nobody is here. What if they left something behind?” I was all for rough play in the bedroom, but his grabby-angry hands were not going to fly when we were in public.

  Like a smart demon, he loosened his hold. Though, before he could speak, Nixie appeared between us. “Place is completely devoid of magic. I checked every crack and crevice.”

  Mason snorted. “You want to check my cracks and crevices next?”

  As I shuddered from the visual, Nixie didn’t hesitate. She pulled two small blades from her hidden weapons vault that she somehow always had access to and put both knives in Mason’s chest.

  “Like I was saying, the place is clear of vamps, but it’s not empty. They’ve left some belongings behind. Let’s go inside and see if they’re worth a damn,” Nixie continued and completely ignored Mason’s crying.

  “That little pixie made me bleed.”

  I held my finger up to Nixie for our version of a high-five. “I was just telling them the same thing. Come on, let’s go.”

  The rest of the guys knew it was a waste of breath to argue with me and Nixie and followed behind as I opened the door. Nixie flew in first, tapping lights on so we could see.

  The opulent room we had fought in before was still there but had never been cleaned up. Vamp dust covered the once plush carpet, and burn marks marred the walls where spells had missed their targets.

  Glancing around, I searched for the dark area Zeke had pulled me into, but didn’t see anything that stood out, so we continued on.

  “When we came to find you, we ended up in that hallway.” Spencer pointed, and I recalled the relief I’d felt when I saw their faces that night. “There wasn’t much to see then, but if Nixie is sure there isn’t anyone around, then I say we split up and see what we find.”

  Jaxon moved closer to me, and Nixie landed on my shoulder. Mason joined us, while Blake and Spencer went off on their own.

  “Why don’t you two go left, and we’ll go right?” Nixie suggested to Jaxon and Mason, but they weren’t having it.

  “Not a chance,” Jaxon grumbled.

  “A for effort,” I said to Nixie as she zipped ahead.

  “I still can’t believe she cut me,” Mason whined once again.

  Laughter left my lips. “It’s her favorite pastime. She does it to me all the time. If you want to keep her around, get used to it.”

  For once, Mason didn’t have a response, but I didn’t think twice about it as I entered the first room in the hallway we’d gone down. The area wasn’t messy and filled with trash like we’d been led to believe the last time we were there, but it wasn’t anything great, either.

  Bare floors, unmade beds, and a dresser were all I could find in the first room. Jaxon peeked through the drawers while I glanced under the beds.

  “Nothing to see here,” I said.

  Nixie called my name. “I’m two rooms down on the right. Get in here.”

  We rushed back int
o the hallway and saw Mason waiting for us. “We found something.”

  Dread weighed in my gut. Gods, I hoped it wasn’t a body.

  Turning into the room, Nixie came flying at me with a piece of paper. “I think it’s for you.”

  Jaxon moved to grab it first, but I hip-checked him out of the way. Taking the note, I at least held it out for the others to see as well.

  “Don’t let them find you first. Don’t use your powers. Don’t be an idiot. Do those three things and I will find you when it’s time,” I read the words out loud. “Do you think it’s from Zeke?”

  Nixie moved to a dresser with an open drawer. “I also found this.”

  I followed her and peeked inside, finding a pocket watch. With careful fingers, I pulled it from the drawer and flipped it over in my hand. “There are initials on the back. EG. G could be for Gillian, but what is the E for?”

  “Who knows, but I say we listen to the note for now,” Jaxon said.

  We were going to be having a talk very soon about his sudden fear for my safety. If he was going to act like this, I was going to be leaving his ass behind the next time we went searching.

  “You guys find anything?” Blake asked, making me almost drop the watch in surprise.

  “A note and a watch.” I handed him both and caught the creased frown Jaxon gave me. “What? He doesn’t freak out about everything like you do.”

  “I don’t freak out.” His arms crossed over his chest.

  Mason snorted. “Sorry to say it, but I agree with her. You’re turning into a Mother Hen, Bro.”

  “Fuck you both.”

  I patted him on the chest. “Don’t tease me with a good time, sweetheart.”

  His mouth fell slack for a mere second before his face twisted into a scowl and his chest rumbled.

  “Kidding, Jax. I’m just kidding. Calm down before you give yourself a heart attack. And seriously, what are we even still doing here? We should have already left considering they could come back at any time.”

  “You’ve got to be shitting me,” he mumbled as I walked out of the room and toward the back door that was nearest to us.

  Messing with him was almost too easy sometimes.

  I exited through the steel door into the alleyway behind the vamp compound, and any miniscule joy I’d been feeling from messing with Jaxon moments before was wiped clean.

  “Shit,” Nixie said from behind me, then sped to the woman I’d already spotted.

  A young female, small and petite, with blood-matted ebony hair lay in a crumpled mess of shredded clothes and garbage on the concrete ground.

  “Guys!” I yelled, encouraging them to hurry as I raced to catch up with Nixie. They were right behind me and equally as enraged as I was becoming.

  This poor girl. Her neck was bitten into on both sides and not with any care. Her skin was pale, and I was pretty sure we were already too late.

  “They tried to turn her,” Nixie said, standing on the human’s chest.

  Blake moved in closer, holding her face with both of his hands and closing his eyes. “She’s alive. She’s fighting the venom. Her emotions… they’re confused. She doesn’t want to die, but she doesn’t want to be a monster.”

  “Can you calm her down enough that she’ll turn?” Spencer asked.

  I held my hand out. “Wait a minute. We shouldn’t decide this for her. If she’d rather die, then shouldn’t she get that choice? I’m not saying suicide is the answer, but her human life was over the moment she was bitten. She should get to choose whether she’s reborn or not.”

  Blake’s eyes met mine, and he nodded. “Cara’s right. I won’t force this choice on her. If the woman is strong enough to fight the venom and makes her choice, then we let her.”

  “Let’s at least bring her to the beach house until we know how this will play out,” Jaxon suggested, and I agreed.

  She might be fighting the venom now, but a newly turned vampire with nobody to show her the way was not something I wanted to feel responsible for if we saw news stories later of other innocent humans being murdered.

  Blake lifted her, and a purse fell out of her jacket. After grabbing what items I thought were hers, I followed behind Blake, but Mason and Spencer still stood near the door.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked and the others stopped.

  “Are you sure it’s a good idea to bring her with us?” Spencer asked.

  “Yeah, how are we supposed to keep her fed or control her?” Mason added.

  Blake took several steps back. “I will take responsibility for her. She will die without our help, and I won’t let that happen.” The emotion in his voice made me believe there was something going on with Blake that the rest of us weren’t aware of, especially when none of the guys argued with him.

  With those final words, we started back toward the street, but Nixie pointed out it wouldn’t be wise to walk down the street with a bloodied and unconscious girl. She and Mason used a portal and left to get the vehicle.

  The atmosphere was strained as we waited in silence. Blake was being weirdly protective of the young woman and kept her away from the rest of us as if scared we’d take her away from him. I’d heard of mates between same races, but never mixed-race mates. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but I didn’t know if it was possible.

  Though, there was no denying the connection Blake was portraying to the unknown human—well, vampire. The empath was acting as if he’d found his other half. I just hoped his heart didn’t get crushed if things didn’t work out.

  When Mason and Nixie returned, Blake went into the back while the rest of us gave him his space. It wasn’t long before we arrived and hurried inside. Our beach house was somewhat secluded, but we still didn’t want to take any chances.

  Blake took her to the couch while I dumped the few items that I’d found near her on the table. Grabbing the purse first, I pulled out a wallet. “Her name is Jenna. She’s not local, so she must have been on vacation or visiting family,” I said to anyone who was listening.

  Continuing to dig through her purse, I found two tickets to a comedy show for later that night. Someone was going to be looking for her. We needed to be extra careful.

  “Jenna, can you hear me?” Blake said before turning around. “I think she’s waking.” The glee in his voice knowing that the woman had chosen to live was not lost on any of us.

  We moved closer, but not close enough to startle her. I wasn’t overly familiar with vampires and their tendencies, but enough to be cautious of the newborn.

  She rolled around in Blake’s lap, arms flailing, and clocked him in the jaw. “Leave me alone!” she cried.

  Taking a chance, I went in and rested a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Jenna. We don’t want to hurt you. We just want to know what happened to you.”

  Her honey eyes widened. “You’re not one of them?”

  “No, I’m not. None of us are. We brought you here to keep you safe,” I said.

  Blake released her, and she sat up, holding her throat. “It hurts.”

  I pointed to Blake. “He can ease your pain if you’ll let him, and then we’ll figure out a more permanent solution.”

  She nodded, and Blake didn’t hesitate to reach for her. The immediate relief was evident when he held her arm gently and her shoulders relaxed. “Did you find Kristen?” she asked.

  “We didn’t see anyone else, I’m sorry,” I answered.

  Tears filled her eyes. “She was with me. They attacked us both, but they must have taken her.” Gasping, she choked and coughed until she could speak through the crying. “She’s my best friend. I don’t understand how any of this happened.” Her sobs continued, but we had no words of comfort. She was in for the shock of a lifetime once she learned the truth about our worlds.

  “Am I… were they really…” She couldn’t seem to say the words even if she was beginning to realize the shit situation that she’d ended up in.

  “Those were vampires, and they made you one of th
em,” I answered her unfinished questions directly, because there was no point in beating around the truth given the thirst I could see in her eyes.

  She shook her head, breathing rapidly, and I caught a peek at her fangs descending. After nudging Blake, he gave her another dose of whatever emotions he was using to keep her calm.

  “Did you see any of them or hear what they said?” Jaxon asked once Jenna began breathing normally again.

  “I didn’t see any faces. They attacked us from behind, and when I was on the ground, everything was blurry from the blood loss as I tried to stay awake. My entire body burned, making things hard to understand as I fought the pain. They stayed in the alleyway for a while talking about their boss and his niece. They needed to find her and were leaving to do that from the bits I picked up on.”

  The Luccovino boss? His niece?

  Oh, gods. As much as I hoped they weren’t talking about me, something told me no amount of wishing would change what I already knew.

  Chapter 5

  While my ears were ringing from stress, I stood and began pacing behind the couch where Jenna was trying to remember what she could. Blake must have been helping significantly with his powers, because she was much too comfortable with us, considering her situation.

  I knew Greggor had said I was half-Luccovino, but until that moment, I didn’t think I had really believed the demon. There had been the initial shock, then the anger, followed by a lot of denial, but at some point, I was going to have to give in to acceptance.

  I’d been born with Luccovino blood.

  Gods, that was a shitty thing to think about after what we’d learned.

  “…New York, I think,” Jenna said, bringing my attention back to the conversation.

  “What about New York?” I asked.

  Nixie landed on my shoulder. “That’s where vamp girl thinks the other bloodsuckers are headed.”

  Why New York? Were they going to the prison since that’s where we last were? What had Gillian had to do with it all? What did the vampires want with me, and how many people would they kill until they had me?