Year Two (Bloodshed Academy Book 2)

by Jen L. Grey

  “Okay.” Except this time, I wasn’t okay with being left behind. I was going to follow them. It was time to see the team we were supporting. We just couldn’t get caught.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Rage and I marched up to the entrance of the skating rink. The outside wasn’t like any building near Clarksville. It was all brick but painted in Coca-Cola red with their standard emblem. Cole had to joke that he bet they didn’t even serve Coke products there when he dropped us off several blocks away.

  Tonight, we were going to find out the truth about the society or at least try. Even though we were technically forbidden, Rage and I told the rest of the pack about what we knew of the society and how we’d been helping them locate the hybrids.

  Even though I wanted to rat out Jess and Cole to Damien, it wasn’t my story to tell so I focused on the truth I wanted to know. Where was this secret location, and what happened to the hybrids there? Theoretically, I understood they took them somewhere safe, but I needed to see the Elite’s definition of safe.

  The others had been hurt that we hadn’t told them right away, but what could Jess and Cole say. They had kept a secret from us just as much as we had with them. Both were protective measures, but I was beginning to see that it just created distance among our group.

  Cole’s car was parked far enough away for them not to notice but close enough that he could watch for when he needed to grab us.

  “You ready for this?” Rage took my hand and squeezed.

  “Yes.” I’d told Rage earlier that I had a feeling something was off. He said there was only one way to find out and here we were. The fact that he trusted my gut spoke volumes.

  Rage opened the door, and I walked in. The inside was typical of any skating rink. Neon colors appeared to be splashed everywhere, and the odor of feet hung in the air. Times like these, I wished that my nose wasn’t so sensitive.

  The front desk had a glass window, and a young kid stood there working the register. He had the standard human boy haircut. So long that it covered his eyes and he had to flip his hair back every few minutes so he could see. “Two for skating?”

  There was no way in hell I was going to put my feet into something so smelly. “Uh, no. We’re here to play the arcade games.”

  These were the times when I missed being part of a pack. It would have been nice if Rage and I could have spoken telepathically while in human form.

  “Yeah. Okay. Whatever.” He shrugged and rang something up on the cash register. “It’ll be ten for you two.”

  “Here you go.” Rage pulled out his wallet and handed over the money.

  “Alright, you guys can go on in.” The kid motioned to the door that was partially ajar, loud music was blaring from within.

  My entire life, I had purposely avoided these types of places. It was so rough on my senses. Why would a supernatural purposely put themselves in here? She must not be a shifter.

  As we stepped through the door, Jordan hollered at us. Her fake smile was solidly pasted in place. Her long black hair was in a ponytail, which bobbed with every step that she took. She looked awkward in her jeans and a light sweater. Every time I saw her, she wore designer things, so this was a new look.

  I forced a smile on my face. I guessed it was time to play my part. “Hey.”

  “It took you long enough.” Her eyes glowed even brighter with the blacklight on.

  “We’re here, so get on with it.” Rage’s voice was laced with his alpha wolf. “Otherwise, we’ll get going.”

  “And you wonder why you haven’t earned a better place in our group.” Jordan rolled her eyes but continued the act of being friendly.

  “Maybe we’d feel better about it all if we knew more.” The superior tone she was using with us grated on my nerves.

  “That’s not my call.” Jordan turned and scanned the area. “Do you smell her?”

  I’d be damned if I admitted defeat to the likes of Jordan. She was testing us. I focused past the smell of feet and sweat, looking for something to hold on to. There was a sweetness in the air but also a hint of salt. No, it couldn’t be. “She’s half mermaid and vampire?”

  “Very good.” Jordan raised an eyebrow. “I thought the mermaid would throw you off.”

  “Is there a point to this?” Rage’s body tensed as his eyes landed on our target.

  Mermaids were rare for our world. They kept to the sea and isolated themselves more so than the fae. Anyway, for us to not only find a mermaid but a vampire-mermaid hybrid was mind-blowing.

  My eyes followed Rage’s and landed on the girl. Her hair was gorgeous like all the pictures I’d ever seen of mermaids. It was thick, long, and wavy, and even though it looked black, purple undertones stood out. She appeared to be around thirteen which at least made a little sense for her to be hanging out here. She looked like a porcelain doll, her beauty was breathtaking.

  “Alright, just like last time, we’ve got to get her to leave with us.” Jordan glanced at each one of us like she was ready for an argument.

  I would’ve given her one, too, if we didn’t have Cole, Jess, and Damien waiting on us.

  The girl must have sensed us. Her ethereal blue eyes glowed as they met my own.

  I forced a smile even though my stomach was twisted into knots. It was uncanny how supernaturals could sense one another even when they weren’t the same race.

  “Once again, they pay attention to you.” Jordan huffed and turned toward the arcade. “I’m a freaking vampire. You’d think she’d notice me first.”

  “You do realize this isn’t a popularity contest, right?” The corner of Rage’s mouth turned upward, but he maintained an indifferent expression.

  “Oh, shut up.” Jordan stomped off and headed straight to the arcade and dinging of games.

  “How is it possible that I get on her nerves when I didn’t do anything?” I wasn’t upset, per se, but damn. There was no winning.

  “I call it talent.” Rage grabbed my hand and chuckled. “I wish I had the same skill for people like her.”

  “No, your talent is with Nate.” Rage rubbed him the wrong way just by breathing. So I guess it was very similar.

  “Damn right.” He winked at me and tugged gently on my arm so that we followed after the sulking vampire.

  Jordan leaned against the wall, watching some teenage boys with pimples play some shooting game. She positioned herself to keep an eye on the girl and yet look like she was watching the guys.

  I had to give her props for her sleuthiness.

  For some reason, I didn’t feel as if we should join her. So I headed to the back of the arcade, close to where the girl and her friends were hanging. The entire way, I could feel her eyes drilling into me.

  “Do you mind getting the tokens for the games?” Rage was hot and intimidating. I needed him to separate from me for a few minutes to see if the girl would approach me.

  “Now?” His brows furrowed together, but he nodded. “Sure. You going to stay here?”

  “Yeah.” I headed over to the grab a stuffed animal game and looked at the toys inside. There were a goofy looking squirrel and a few odd things that I couldn’t quite tell what they were.

  “Okay.” He turned and headed to the middle of the arcade area where the token machines were.

  In just a few moments, her scent grew stronger. I didn’t want to turn around and spook her though.

  “Hey?” Her voice was sweet like a melody.

  When I pivoted to face her, her beauty hit me hard. Mermaids were also known as sirens in some lore. They were devastatingly beautiful and very alluring. The fact that she was that and a vampire made her a sight to behold. “Hi.” I kept my voice calm and gave her a small smile.

  “You seem familiar to me.” She scanned me over as if she was trying to unbury a memory. “But I can’t remember how.”

  “Angel, are you coming?” One of her friends waved her hand and pointed over to a room that all of them were entering. There was a huge birthday cake on one of
the tables.

  “Uh … yeah. I’ll be there in a minute.” She picked at her nails and sighed.

  “Raven, where did you go?” Jordan’s snotty voice pierced my ears.

  She couldn’t just leave me alone to have a chat with this girl. She had to control the situation.

  “I wanted to check out the machine.” Oh and get away from you and Rage. However, that wasn’t going to go over well if I said it out loud.

  “Oh, hi.” Jordan held her hand out toward the girl. “I’m Jordan.”

  Dear lord, is she trying to shake hands with a twelve-year-old? I smacked her hand away. “And I’m Raven.”

  “What the …” Jordan started off, but I didn’t let her finish.

  “Are you here for a friend’s birthday?” I pointed to the kids that were now all in the room eating pizza.

  “Kind of …” She glanced at them and appeared dazed. “I don’t feel like I fit in though.”

  “Tell me about it.” Jordan reached out to touch her arm, but Angel jerked back.

  Great, now she was scaring her. “It’s like there is something inside you that you can’t control.” I remembered those days all too well.

  “Exactly.” The little girl looked at me and nodded. “Like there is something that shouldn’t be there.”

  “But they are supposed to be there.” Gosh, this could have easily been me when I was that age. At least I knew I was a wolf shifter and could identify it. “Where are your parents?”

  “Oh, I’m a foster kid.” Her shoulders slumped, and she glanced at the ground. “I don’t even have a clue who they were.”

  My heart hurt for her. “What if I could tell you things that might help you?”

  “Yes, please.” She was hanging on to my every word, and her face lit with hope.

  “Not here though.” Jordan narrowed her eyes at me and pointed to the door. “We need to go somewhere else for that conversation.”

  Great, here we go scaring another…

  “Hey, babe.” Rage held one of the tokens up. “You want to play?”

  “No, we were leaving.” Jordan grabbed the token out of his hands and put it in her jean pockets.

  “Are you okay leaving?” At least this time, I knew better than to say, “With me.”

  “Actually, yes. If you can give me answers.” She started skating toward the front. “Just let me change into my shoes.”

  When she was out of supernatural earshot, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut any longer. “You can’t just take an underage girl. Her foster parents …”

  “Don’t give a damn about her.” Jordan stepped into my bubble. “Listen here, pup. Don’t you think I did my research before coming here? Her foster parents ignore her. They are only in it for the check, so don’t give me any shit. They probably won’t report her missing for days.”

  “You might have researched, but she’s a young girl.” I couldn’t understand why these kids were such a threat. Each one seemed to be good and not crazed or even a threat to themselves.

  Rage placed a hand on my back and gazed at me. “Listen, you know they’re dangerous. We’re here to help them. It’s not like her foster parents can.”

  He was right. If I acted out anymore, we were going to lose our advantage. We needed Jordan to know we were on The Elites’ side. “You’re right. I’m sorry. She’s just so young.”

  “And even luckier that we found her before she became a threat to herself.” Jordan smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Rage gets it.”

  I had to bite my tongue. “He keeps me grounded.” That was a true statement, but I didn’t like the googly eyes she was giving my man.

  “Come on.” Jordan strode in the direction of Angel.

  Angel was putting her last shoe on when we reached her. “I’m ready.”

  “Great, I’m so excited that we can help you.” Jordan’s smile was basically threatening.

  “Uh … yeah.” The girl took a step back.

  The four of us made our way out of the building when the same dark vehicle the night of Dave and Busters pulled up in front with Nate’s smirking face looking right at us.

  “Here’s our ride.” Jordan opened the backseat driver’s side door just like last time and waved her hand to the vehicle. “After you Angel.”

  The urge to reach out and grab the girl overcame me. It took every ounce of my willpower to not jump in the car.

  Angel climbed into the car and looked back at me. “Are you coming?”

  “Not right now.” I didn’t want to lie to her. “But I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

  “Scooch, please.” Jordan’s tone had an edge. “I’m sitting back here with you.”

  “Oh, okay.” The girl moved to the other side, and Jordan jumped in, slamming the door behind her.

  Without another word, the car drove off.

  “Where are they?” If Cole didn’t hurry, we were going to lose sight of them.

  “He’s on his way.” Rage pointed at headlights. “I texted him when I saw her approach you while I was getting the card.”

  A loud screech filled the air as the red Audi squealed into the parking lot. It raced toward us and then slammed to a stop.

  Dear Lord. We were going to get killed before we even tried to follow them.

  Cole stuck his head out the window. “Get your asses in the car.” A huge grin filled his face.

  He was enjoying this way too much. I rushed to the driver’s side passenger door and opened the car, jumping into the center seat right next to Jess.

  “Go.” Rage jumped in beside me and slammed the door. “We’re going to lose them.”

  “Like hell we will.” Cole slammed the car into drive and peeled out of the parking lot. Car lights shone in our eyes as brakes squealing filled the air. A car horn blared as we skidded to the left and pulled out in front of a large eighteen-wheeler.

  “We’re going to die,” Jess screamed beside me, covering her eyes with her hands.

  “If I waited for an invitation, we’d still be sitting in the parking lot,” Cole screamed as he accelerated the car.

  “I hate to agree with him, but he’s right.” Damien groaned in the front seat as he placed his hand on the glove box. “There they are. Stop driving like a maniac.”

  “Uh, yeah.” Cole turned his head focusing on Damien, and not the road. “It’s like you think I don’t know how to not stand out.”

  Red brake lights were right in front of us and we were maintaining the same speed. “Brake.”

  The car jerked us forward as Cole slammed on the brakes. He turned the car so we poked a little outside of the road, stopping us from ramming into the vehicle in front of us.

  “Dammit, Cole.” Rage roared in the backseat. “Get your head on straight.”

  Soon, we were moving again, and Cole placed his hands on the steering wheel. “Alright, let’s do this.”

  Surprisingly, Cole began driving like a normal person. The car was at least ten cars ahead of us, and Cole did well keeping up without doing any more outlandish stunts. It helped when Nate turned onto a road that led us north of New Orleans. We were able to get out of the city traffic.

  As traffic began to reduce, Cole made sure to stay at least four cars behind. Soon Nate turned into a gas station and slowed at the front.

  “Shit, this isn’t good.” Damien groaned. “They’re going to see us.”

  “Not if I can help it.” Jess closed her eyes and murmured words under her breath. Shimmers appeared around the outside of the car. “There, we should be hidden to them. I just hope they don’t take long.”

  Damn, Jess hardly ever used her magic, but when she did, it was freaking amazing. It made me wonder why she didn’t use it more often.

  “Just pull in a parking space, and we’ll roll down our windows.” Jess motioned to the one in the corner of the lot where the least amount of light hit.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her in the rearview mirror and followed her instructions.

  Rage
rolled down his window as the car became quiet.

  Nate climbed out of the other car and began pumping gas.

  “Why the hell didn’t you get gas before picking us up?” Jordan smiled at Angel and then shut the door. “I mean you know there aren’t supposed to be any extra stops.”

  “Give it a rest.” Nate rolled his eyes at her and pointed inside. “Go get yourself a sugar-free coke or something, and stop bitchin’.”

  “This is a huge deal.” Jordan checked her surroundings before she lowered her voice so that any humans couldn’t hear. “We have to get her to the drop off point before she becomes suspicious. They can contain her there.”

  Contain her? What the hell were they talking about?

  Somehow, Angel’s eyes found mine. She startled and glanced at the two bickering idiots.

  “Jess?” My voice was quiet, not wanting to alert Nate and Jordan to our presence. “The girl is looking straight at me.”

  “That’s not possible.” Jess huffed and scratched the back of her neck. “Only a mermaid could see through my spell.”

  “She’s half mermaid.” Of course, this girl would be the one exception this time around.

  “What?” Jess dropped her hands in her lap. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

  “Uh … Because I didn’t realize it was a factor in your magic.” I looked back at Angel and placed my finger to my lips.

  “Do you think I want to risk me and my brother’s cushy job?” Nate shook his head and laughed. “If you stop shouting and acting like a bitch, we’ll be fine.”

  “Just fill it up, fast. I’m going to go find a snack. I deserve it after having to deal with Raven.” Jordan headed into the store, leaving Angel alone with Nate.

  As Nate pressed the lever, the pump refused to start. He smacked the machine once like that was going to help.

  The attendant inside must have pressed the intercom button. “This is a prepay pump.”

  “Of course it is.” He growled deeply. “Damnit. I can’t use my card.” He marched into the building, leaving Angel alone.