Whiteout (Aurora Sky

by Nikki Jefford

  It occurred to me, while waiting, that the reason for the slow progress was the vehicle had its headlights off.

  I stayed crouched low to the ground, but it was difficult to hold still with my body shivering. I tried pulling my coat over my knees while they were bent. I waited, listened, and watched the road.

  The car was now closing in. I could make out movement down the road, a large dark object—like a dark cloud moving in.

  The car crawled forward, coming to a sudden stop behind the SUV.

  With my eyes adjusted by this point, I could see exhaust rising into the darkness. Knife and gun in hand, I waited for our pursuers to make their next move.

  A door squeaked open and a woman screamed in surprise.

  Not what I’d been expecting.

  I jumped up, trading the knife for the flashlight and clicking it on. Lighting the ground in front of me, I hurried toward the car. Upon reaching the vehicle, I lifted the beam. Dante held the blond from the club with her back against him. Since I last saw her she’d put on a pair of black leggings under her dress.

  Dante’s hand was clamped over her mouth as she struggled in his arms.

  “Open the back door,” he yelled.

  I hurried past them and opened it as Dante dragged Alice backward toward the opening. He flipped her around and pushed her. She tried to grasp his coat. In doing so, she dragged him down with her, falling onto the backseat. Dante recovered quickly and pinned her wrists.

  “Get the duct tape,” he said between heavy breaths as Alice struggled to free her wrists from his grasp.

  I ran to the SUV and grabbed the backpack.

  What the hell was going on? This was the last person I would have imagined following us. At least she was alone. Which surprised me further. What happened to vamp daddy? Back at the club they’d been attached at the hip. Even if she had seen past my hair and recognized me from the wanted flyer, why did she care? Maybe she thought I was out to kill her boyfriend and his cronies.

  I jogged back to find Dante pushing Alice’s legs into her car before climbing in back with her. Alice lunged for the door handle on the other side of the vehicle. Dante yanked her back. She slapped at his arms and face.

  “Settle down!” he bellowed. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  I gave a little jump. I’d never heard him talk to a woman that way—like he wanted to slap her right back.

  Without taking his eyes off Alice, Dante held his open palm out to me. “Tape,” he said gruffly. Once I’d pulled it from the bag and handed it over, he asked, “Can you drive? This one’s going to need restraining.”

  As I stepped back, Dante closed the door. I hustled into the driver’s seat. The keys were still in the ignition, car running. Dante must have been on Alice before she had any chance of retreat.

  The sound of ripping tape was immediately followed by thrashing. I flipped around in case Dante needed help. I wasn’t sure what I’d do from the front seat. Grab Alice by the hair? But Dante had the situation under control… kinda. He was practically sitting in her lap to keep her down while he taped her wrists together.

  Alice’s teeth ground together. I knew all too well how she felt. Well, she shouldn’t have followed us. Big mistake. Big, big one.

  After Dante succeeded in binding her hands, he ripped more tape off the roll and bent down to her ankles. Alice pounded his back with her elbows and arms, but they only seemed to bounce off as Dante stayed focused on binding her legs.

  The exertion had turned Dante’s face red. Irritation flashed in his eyes when he lifted his head and met my gaze.

  “We need to get out of here,” he said.

  I flicked on the headlights and backed down the road slowly. There wasn’t anyplace to turn around. I hadn’t driven a car in over a month, but this one was manual, which was a cinch compared to automatic, even when driving backward through the dark woods.

  Once I’d reached the Richardson Highway, I stopped.

  “Where to now?” I asked Dante.

  I glanced in the rearview mirror. Dante’s chest rose and fell. He had a firm grip around Alice’s upper arm and she’d stopped struggling for the moment. Her blue eyes seemed to shine with angry unshed tears.

  “Home base,” he answered.

  My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “What about her?”

  “Her fanged friends can’t help her now.”

  “She’s human,” I said.

  “Then what’s she doing following us?” Dante’s head turned in the mirror. “What are you doing following us?”

  I looked at Alice in the mirror. She pressed her lips together.

  Dante sniffed. “No matter. I’ll make her talk at the lodge.”

  I’d once seen Dante torture a deadbeat college student for information. Deadbeat, but not undead. Being human hadn’t stopped Dante from ending his life. But the boy was the reason Janine’s identity had been compromised and why she’d been brutally murdered. The boy’s death had been swift and painless in comparison.

  Tailing us had been an extremely unwise decision on Alice’s part.

  I had my eyes on the road when she spit on Dante. At least that’s what I assumed happened. I heard the sound. A second later, Dante was on top of Alice and she was yelling.

  “Or maybe I’ll make her tell me now,” he said.

  “You’re a disgrace!” Alice yelled.

  “Oh, I’m a disgrace. That’s rich coming from a fang banger,” Dante said in a taunting tone.

  The only thing I heard after that were grunts, both male and female, as Alice squirmed and Dante struggled to keep her down.

  It still didn’t make sense why she followed us. Even if she was looking out for her boyfriend, she could have shared her suspicions—brought him along from the start. What was the point of having a big bad vampire boyfriend if not to keep him around like a personal bodyguard?

  “Oh my god,” I said, my fingers tightening around the steering wheel when it dawned on me. “She’s an informant.”

  It all made sense now—her suspicious questions and the sharp eye she’d used to look me over. A typical vampire groupie wouldn’t be on alert the way she’d been. Those hadn’t been loving looks she’d cast over Robert. I’d bet a hundred to one Melcher instructed her to go out with him or someone in his group. Dante said Janine used to case the place. The agency had never stopped monitoring it. They’d sent in a replacement. Alice.

  We’d kidnapped a freaking agency informant. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. One better left where it was.

  Dante’s head appeared in the rearview mirror as it shot up. “This chick? No way.” He looked down. “You’re not an informant.”

  Alice’s head emerged in the mirror, a bit mussed. There was a scowl over her lips. Her eyes narrowed on Dante.

  “She must be Janine’s replacement,” I said, sharing my hunch aloud.

  “If she is, she’s a poor one,” Dante said, likely goading her. “Does she even have a weapon in her car?”

  “Can’t look,” I said. “Driving.”

  Dante turned to Alice. “Did you tell anyone you saw us?”

  My eyes were on the road so I didn’t see Alice’s expression. I didn’t hear her either. She wasn’t talking.

  “You might as well tell me,” Dante said. “I’ll find out one way or another.”

  “Do whatever you want. I’m not saying anything to a deserter and a traitor.”

  “Sweetheart, you’re working for the traitor. We’re the good guys.”

  “Don’t call me that. My name’s Alice.”

  “If you’re Alice, then I’m the Mad Hatter. What’s your real name?”

  Alice was silent. I hadn’t considered her to be going under an assumed name when we first met. How ironic after the hard time she’d given me for having fake hair. Leave it to Dante (a.k.a. Peter Pan) to see through the informant’s alias right away. Fairbanks was no Wonderland, as I knew all too well.

  When it became clear that our host
age wasn’t going to answer the question, Dante sniffed. “Very well, Alice. Sit back and enjoy the ride down the rabbit hole.”

  “Maybe we should drop her off somewhere,” I said. “She’s just doing her job.”

  “Negative. She’s working for the enemy.”

  I sat up in my seat. “Yeah, and so were we before we found out what was going on. You didn’t believe it at first either.”

  “She’s not going anywhere. She might have information.”

  We were now the only ones on the highway. I was getting used to living in the dark, a life in the shadows.

  “Pull over,” Dante said.

  I eased onto the highway’s shoulder and put the car in park. Did Dante want to trade places? I wasn’t keen on holding Alice down in the backseat.

  “Check the glove compartment,” Dante instructed.

  I reached over the seat and popped it open. There were papers on top.

  “Vehicle manual and registration,” I said, unfolding the paper and holding it closer to my face. “Registered to Ashley Scott.”

  “I knew your name wasn’t really Alice,” Dante said, triumphant.

  Ashley. Alice. They sounded a lot alike. I set the papers on the seat beside me. Beneath the manual there was a knife. “Switchblade.” I tossed that on top of the papers.

  Dante snorted. “You ever actually use that thing?”

  “Hand it over and I’ll use it now,” Ashley jeered.

  Couldn’t blame her there. I would have said the same thing.

  I caught Dante’s scowl in the rearview mirror. “Is there a phone in there?” he asked.

  “It’s up here on the console,” I said.

  “Good. We can find out who she called. But before we do…” Dante’s words trailed off. A second later, I heard a tearing sound. “I’m going to need you to keep quiet,” he finished, slapping a piece of tape over Ashley’s lips.

  Her nostrils flared as the tape muffled her outcry.

  “Let’s see her phone,” Dante said.

  Once I handed it over, I took the car out of park and accelerated onto the highway. I didn’t fancy idling along the side of the road, especially now that we’d abducted an informant and were driving her car.

  “Number ending in 5698,” Dante said. “That’s Melcher’s direct line, isn’t it? Let’s find out.”

  My heart sped up as Dante lifted the phone to his ear, cradling it with his neck.

  “Sorry, Agent Scott can’t come to the phone right now,” Dante said.

  I slowed the car and held my breath, waiting to hear what Dante said next.

  “Hello, Melcher,” he said, after listening for a moment.

  Just hearing the name made my gut twist.

  “I don’t have to do anything. I don’t take orders from deceivers,” Dante informed him brazenly. “That’s right. I know what you are and how you lied to us all. You should be the one running after everything you’ve done.” Dante was silent for several seconds before raising his voice. “I’m done listening to you.”

  He lowered the backseat window. Bitter cold air raced up to the driver’s seat, and I shivered. Dante tossed the phone out the window and raised it back up. With the phone now gone, Dante pulled the tape from Ashley’s mouth. She gasped in her first breath.

  I waited for Dante to say something, to share what Melcher had said to him. From what I’d heard, Dante had done most of the talking... and threatening. But I still wanted to hear every word of the exchange.

  Before I could ask, Ashley spoke. “How could you betray the agency? They gave you a chance to make a difference in the world—to protect humanity from the undead.”

  “I hate to break it to you, Ashley, but the agency is run by vampires. We found out and now they’re after us,” Dante answered.

  “You’re lying.”

  “It’s true,” I said, glancing in the rearview mirror. “Melcher’s a vampire. He killed Agent Crist.”

  “Who’s Agent Crist?”

  Dante sniffed in disgust. “How new are you?”

  “That’s none of your business,” she snapped.

  “Have you ever even killed a vampire?” Dante demanded.

  “She would have during initiation,” I said.

  “That was when they thought AB positive blood could be poisoned,” Dante said. “After they determined it was useless, there’d be no reason to put informants through an initiation destined to fail.”

  “Maybe they skip the feeding part,” I said, biting on my lower lip in thought. “I thought all recruits had to kill a vampire before they were sent out into the field.”

  “There’s no way Agent Scott here has ever killed a vampire before,” Dante said, disgust lacing his words. “She’s vamp bait. A suck toy. A pincushion. Isn’t that right, Ashley?”

  Ashley—or Agent Scott, rather—didn’t answer. I felt almost sorry for her. She had nothing to do with agency corruption or our present situation. If anything, she was a victim of their abuse as much as us. Yet Dante seemed to be baiting her, taking out his frustrations on a newbie recruit. Poor girl had no clue an undercover assignment would lead to capture by renegade agents.

  If we could convince her to join our side, she might prove useful in our fight against the agency, but judging by her reactions, that wasn’t happening. She probably wouldn’t have done us much good anyway. She was feisty, but Dante had overpowered her way too easily.

  Female informants, unfortunately, were more like glorified call girls. During our brief exchange in the club, I’d witnessed no affection in her tone toward Robert. I remembered the way she’d slipped out from under his arm. As much as I’d hated being a hunter, I was grateful I hadn’t been pimped out to a vampire.

  “What did Melcher say?” I asked.

  “He tried to order us to a safe house. Said our lives were in danger.” Dante snorted. “Like he isn’t the reason every vampire in the state is after us.”

  “What are you talking about?” Ashley asked. “Why would vampires be after you?”

  “Because the agency handed out flyers to them with our photos,” I said.

  “I didn’t hear anything about flyers. I received a classified email, along with all the other informants in the state, to keep an eye out for you, but Agent Melcher was clear that he wanted you unharmed.”

  “Only so he could torture us and turn us on new recruits to be killed during initiation,” Dante snapped.

  “They only use vampires for initiation,” Ashley said.

  Oh heavens, how far down the rabbit hole was Dante going to push this woman in one night?

  Dante sounded annoyed when he said, “You have no clue what’s going on.”

  Something wasn’t sitting right with me. Ashley said Melcher had sent out word that he wanted us unharmed. He’d told Dante our lives were in danger. What if he really was trying to bring us in safely? What if the wanted flyers had nothing to do with the agency? It wasn’t like Dante and I hadn’t been seen together before. We’d gone into Diederick’s tasting together. Someone from a prior evening could have put two and two together and started spreading the word.

  Or Valerie.

  The vindictive redhead knew I’d escaped the music room and gotten away from the agency. Maybe she went into a jealous rage and decided to throw Dante and me under the bus. I wouldn’t put anything past her anymore.

  Maybe we were the ones who had no clue what was going on.

  17

  Bombshell

  Dante didn’t speak for the remainder of the drive. He didn’t even ask me to turn on the radio, and he didn’t hum.

  I wasn’t too happy about our new passenger either. Tommy was safe for the time being and we were finally headed in the right direction… until Ashley went and threw a wrench in our plans. What now?

  “How soon till the turn?” I asked Dante. Everything looked the same in the dark.

  Dante’s head appeared in the rearview mirror, filling the tiny rectangle with his reflection when he leaned against my sea
tback. His eyes followed the road.

  “We’re still a ways out,” Dante said, sitting back.

  I continued driving another twenty minutes before Dante leaned forward again.

  “Getting closer,” he said.

  This time he stayed in position, watching over my shoulder.

  “Slow down,” Dante said.

  I slowed.

  “Okay, it should be coming up somewhere along this stretch of road.”

  Our speed dropped as I eased my foot from the gas pedal. The entire area had been blanketed in snow. I felt like I was driving through a film shot in black and white, an old Alfred Hitchcock movie. Way to spook myself out. Thank goodness I hadn’t been thinking that way in the motel shower. Somehow I doubted I would have enjoyed it for very long.

  “It’s the turn up ahead,” Dante said.

  Good thing Dante could navigate, because none of this looked familiar to me.

  Once I turned off the highway onto a wooded road, I had no trouble following it to the unplowed portion where we’d pulled off and unloaded the snowmachines. Easing along the snowbank, I brought the car to a stop and put it in park. I let the engine run several seconds longer, soaking in the last of the heat before we began the cold journey to the lodge. That presented another problem. Only two people would fit on the snowmachine, and there were three of us.

  Dante leaned up to my ear. “I need to talk to you outside. Privately.”

  I turned the ignition off and pocketed the keys.

  “Wait here,” Dante said to Ashley as he opened his door to exit the car.

  “Where else would I go?” Ashley asked begrudgingly.

  Dante handed his backpack to me over the seat.

  “Put her switchblade inside and anything else she could use as a weapon,” he said.

  I tossed in the contents of Ashley’s glove box, even the unsharp items. The moment I opened the car door, my lungs filled with the cold night air. Dante and I shut the doors in unison and walked a good thirty feet down the road, stopping a fair distance from the vehicle, but still keeping it in sight.

  Cold or not, if I were Ashley, and I had an opportunity, I’d try to break through the restraints and make a run for it—no matter how bad my odds.