Mind-bending, heart-torquing fast.
Taking her eyes off the road, she glanced at the onboard navigation system. The little blue screen glowed, showing her location on the digital map. A little over an hour to go before she reached Seattle. Before she found out whether her sister would live or die. All right, so maybe that was a bit melodramatic. She didn’t have any of the details, after all. Not the how, when, or why. Which was a problem. Especially since her imagination never said quit. Right now, it kept kicking out terrible yet oh so plausible maybes, tormenting her with enough worst-case scenarios to sink a battleship.
Par for the course for a worrywart. And some things never changed.
Bad luck seemed to be one of them. ’Cause, yeah, the road? Two lanes of twisting blacktop and stomach-clenching turns. Hell for a girl in a hurry.
White-knuckling the steering wheel, Tania sped down another hill. As she swung around the next bend, the Vette’s headlights pierced the darkness, throwing illumination out in a wide arc before splashing over the side of the road. Huge pine trees rose beyond the gravel shoulders, moonlight painting their midnight needles with a silver brush as a lake glinted in the distance. Tania shifted into fifth gear. A quick glance at the speedometer confirmed her suspicions. She’d broken the speed limit fifty clicks ago. Now she rode the razor’s edge, in control of the powerful car, but not by much.
Instinct made her tug on her seat belt. Yup. Two thumbs up. The five-point racing harness checked out, the shoulder straps secure and...annoying as hell. The thing hadn’t been made for her, but for someone much bigger. Which made sense considering the size of the Nightfury crew and the fact she’d stolen one of their cars. Tania grimaced, feeling terrible about that, but...oh, snap. She might as well face it.
She was in a crapload of trouble.
Her heart clenched at the thought. Tania eased off the gas pedal. As her speed went from supersonic to just-kill-me-now fast, she imagined Mac’s reaction to her midnight run. Furious would be the least of it. Afraid for her, however? Bingo. That about summed it up. Despite her uncertainty about how he felt about her, she knew...just knew...he’d freak out—be worried, terrified, half out of his mind—when he learned what she’d done and where she’d gone.
Guilt collided with regret and then tumbled into remorse. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, wanting to kick herself, hating the distress she would cause him. But there was no other way.
J.J. was in trouble.
Injured and alone. Maybe even dying. So, no. Waiting for Mac to come home hadn’t been an option. The need to protect her sister was simply too strong for that.
Blinking away her tears, Tania gave herself a pep talk. She was safe, winding her way toward Seattle, untraceable by Dragonkind standards. That counted for something, didn’t it? God, she hoped so and that, in the end, Mac would understand. He was, after all, a reasonable guy.
She frowned. Right?
Downshifting into the next turn, she examined that bit of logic and realized she was a first-class pinhead. Who was she kidding? Mac wouldn’t care about the whys and wherefores. He’d be one giant ball of I’m-gonna-tan-your-hide the second he got hold of her.
Which...wow, wasn’t going to be any fun. At all.
“She’s my baby sister. Please don’t be mad,” she whispered, practicing her defense only to recognize the futility. No matter how good her excuse, she would still catch hell. Mac would make sure of it, so...time to come up with a new prayer. “Please make him love me so much he can’t help but forgive me.”
Well, all right. That was more like it. A heartfelt wish she put all her weight behind while—
The OnStar satellite phone crackled.
“Seattle Medical...”
Oh thank God. It was about time. “Yes, hi. This is Tania Solares. I’m still waiting for information on—”
“Please hold.”
“Goddamn it!” She glared at the rearview mirror and its little black button.
Not that it was OnStar’s fault. The guy at Chevrolet Central had been superhelpful, downloading directions to the Vette’s onboard navigation system, connecting her call to the hospital. The receptionist at Seattle Medial, however? The antithesis of helpful. Nowhere near the ballpark, never mind in the same league in the customer service department.
A death grip on the steering wheel, Tania cursed under her breath. Oh, just wait until she arrived at the ER. She was going to find that receptionist and smack her. Right upside the head. With whatever the woman used to keep tabs on incoming calls. She hoped it was a binder, one of those thick heavy-duty suckers. ’Cause Queen-of-the-Phone-Lines had just put her on hold for the third flipping time.
“Double goddamn it.”
Tossing caution out the window, Tania put her foot down again. The engine growled as she crested the top of a rise and swung around another bend. A caution sign flashed past her passenger side window, twin skid marks on display. With a muttered curse, she powered down, slowing the car before whipping into the hard turn. A steep hill led her down, making her stomach dip as it propelled her toward the bottom. One more blind curve, and she was out the other end and into a straightaway that stretched along one side of a lake.
Moonlight winked at her, rippling across dark blue water.
Alive in the ebb and flow, the waves frolicked, then called to her. Tania smiled a little, wishing she could join them for a midnight swim. Foolish, she knew, to allow her love of water to distract her. She didn’t have time to waste but honestly needed the respite. And as the chaotic clamor inside her head died down, the pressure banding her rib cage loosened, allowing her to take a full breath.
Tania took advantage, filling her lungs to capacity as her gaze skimmed over the lake. The quiet moment reconnected her, sharpened her awareness, and...warned her. Something was off. Not by much, and yet she sensed the disturbance ripple around her. Her heart picked up a beat. Tania shook her head. It couldn’t be. She understood how the Meridian worked and how Dragonkind tracked its prey. None of the Razorbacks had touched her, which made it impossible—
The air went still, and the crickets’ song quieted.
Energy snapped, flicking at her already frayed nerve endings. The prickle ghosted down her spine, making the hair on her nape stand at attention. Tania held her breath and listened over the hard thump of her heart. Nothing. Not even a rustle of sound. Eerie. Alarming. So unnatural her internal warning system went off. As the thing clanged, lighting her senses on fire, she glanced out her side window. Backlit by moonlight, the corvette’s silhouette drifted over tree trunks. And above her...
Her breath stalled in her throat.
The large winged shadow hung over her car. A growl rolled over the silence, flooding her with terror, washing in like a tidal wave. Not Mac. It wasn’t Mac. She could feel the son of a bitch and the vicious crackle in the air.
Foe...not friend.
With a wild cry, Tania put the hammer down. The Vette lurched, engine roaring, torquing left as rubber snarled against pavement. Another growl rippled. She saw a wing tip dip low a second before the beast flipped fast and set down hard. Pink eyes aglow, red scales flashing, his sharp talons ripped up the roadway, throwing chunks of asphalt into the air. Rock rained down, slamming into her windshield. The glass smashed, fissuring into a spiderweb of destruction. Tania screamed as she lost control. The back end of the car fishtailed, heading toward the lake. The rear tires caught the shoulder of the road. Gravel flew, cracking against the steel undercarriage as she rotated into a 360-degree death spin.
She ripped through the guardrail and careened over the embankment. The car shuddered. The harness clamped down, cementing her to the bucket seat. Bracing for impact, adrenaline punched through, jolting her into action. Slamming both feet onto the pedal, Tania stood on the brakes. The Vette whined, shrieking in protest. Twin headlights swung around, painting thick tree trunks with revolving splashes of white light. One wheel rim caught rock and threw the car sideways. Steel groaned. A huge
pine tree clipped her front bumper. As wood splintered, the air bags deployed, blowing her hands off the steering wheel.
Pain exploded up her right arm. But the brutal slide stopped. Thank God. Now all she needed to do was breathe. Easier said than done. Her lungs were empty, fighting the clamp-down of the harness strapped over her chest. Fighting through the agony, Tania wheezed, struggling to unclip the racing seat belt and get away from the wreckage.
She refused to panic. Not now. Later would be soon enough to freak out. She needed to keep her head and get moving. Run. Hide. Lie low until the sun came up and the dragon asshole chasing her went home before he got fried. As far as plans went, it was a good one. The only one, really, because without Mac to protect her, she was a sitting duck. Nothing but dragon bait in the middle of nowhere.
Cursing herself and her fumbling fingers, she yanked on the harness. Once. Twice. The third time, the clasp gave way. Not wasting a second, Tania turned sideways in her seat and kicked at the door. The Corvette cooperated, releasing the locking mechanism. She didn’t pause or stop to think...she bolted, stumbling on the uneven ground, rounding the front bumper, her gaze fixed on the glint of water through the trees.
The lake. She must reach the shoreline. Immerse herself, get under the water—a place all dragons hated...with the exception of Mac—before Mr. Asshole-of-the-Red-Scales took flight. It was her only chance. The only way to outwit a hunter with predatory instincts and razor-sharp senses. The second the pink-eyed bastard spotted her, she was done.
As good as caught.
But screw the odds. Tania refused to give up or break down. Not without putting up a fight. Or sending a distress call in Mac’s direction.
Far-fetched? Wishful thinking? Probably. But Tania didn’t hesitate.
Sprinting beneath ancient pines, she reached deep, dipped into her energy—the one she felt each time Mac touched her—and stoked the flame high. When she couldn’t hold it any longer, she threw the electrical charge like dice in a casino. Power whiplashed, then tumbled, swirling out into the night air. An answering ping came back and—
She felt him. Sensed him in flight. Felt the pulsing edge of his bond with her.
Oh God. He was close. So very close.
Clinging to the fragile connection, she gasped, “Mac.”
“Hold on, honey.” Mac’s voice rang inside her head, giving her courage. “Run harder. Buy me time.”
Raw with hope, fighting her fear, she obeyed and ran, injured arm throbbing, legs pumping, each breath sawing at the back of her throat. Blood trickling from the cut above her eye, she reached the lakeshore and splashed through the shallows. The mucky bottom sucked at her sneakers, weighing her down as water flew from her heels. Knee-deep now, she checked over her shoulder. Nothing. No glowing pink eyes. No fireball coming to eat her alive. Not a glimmer of red scales anywhere.
Daring to believe, Tania waded in farther. Cold water washed over her stomach.
A loud splash snapped her head around. Water rippled out in a horrifying ring in the center of the inlet. A second later, a dragon—scales the color of sharkskin, dorsal fin as jagged as a sawtooth blade—surfaced like a crocodile. Horned head half-submerged in the water, black eyes ringed by pale blue narrowed on her.
Tania froze, disbelief warring with terror. Another water dragon, but...how was that possible? The Nightfuries believed Mac was the only one and—
The beast flicked his thin alligator tail, then slithered through the water, leaving no doubt about his pedigree. Or her peril.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Coming out of the cloud cover with hurricane force, Mac left the city behind and leveled out over the forest. Night vision pinpoint sharp, nothing escaped his attention. Not the shape and size of individual pine needles, the texture of the bark on redwoods, nor the glint of spider eyes gazing up from their thin webs. Magic married instinct and intellect, honing his senses, narrowing each thread toward one purpose.
Tania.
He must find her first. Nothing else mattered.
Rain splattered over his scales as Interstate 90 rushed up to greet his rapid descent. Linked into Tania’s bioenergy, he tracked the electrostatic trace she left in her wake. So close. He was so close now. Minutes away from having her in his arms. From making sure she was all right. From bringing her back home to Black Diamond, where she’d be safe and he’d have peace of mind. Enough to give her hell for leaving in the first place. Mac snorted. Yeah, right. No way would that ever happen. ’Cause guaranteed...the second he got his hands on her? No scolding would get done. For good reason too. All he wanted to do was hold her, love her...curl up with her for days on end and never let go.
“Mac.” With a nifty flip, Venom settled on his right wing tip. “Fill us in.”
“A minute out,” he said, mining his connection with her. As his dragon radar picked up more information, Mac banked hard, flying fast toward a cluster of lakes in the distance. “Close to water.”
“I hate water.” Black, amber-tipped scales flashed as Wick rolled in, taking up the wingman position on Mac’s left side.
“Bloody hell, aye.” Forge feigned a shudder, then somersaulted up and over, taking the shadow position over Mac’s spine. “Doonae know how you do it, lad. All that awful, slimy—”
“Fuck off or I’ll drown you.” Whipping up a minicyclone, Mac tossed it into his mentor’s path.
With a “fuck me,” Forge splashed through it, then sent him a dirty look. “Wanker.”
He snarled at his friend. Forge grumbled but backed off as Mac mind-spoke, “Rikar...ETA?”
“Now.” Frost blew in on frigid air. Rikar uncloaked, rocketing behind the pack.
An electrical charge rippled, ghosting around the horns on his head. Mac glanced over his shoulder. “Bastian?”
“On your six.” Midnight scales rattling, B flew in, his wing tip inches from Rikar’s. “Heads up, boys. We got multiple rogues converging, flying hard, but not yet on-site.”
“Lay it out, B.”
“Twelve total,” Bastian said as his magic flared. The powerful surge gathered speed, rushing in front of Mac’s commander, allowing him to read the enemies’ strength and weakness from a distance. “All fire-breathers but one.”
“Motherfuck,” Mac growled, guessing at the one. The fucker from the bar. Pure water rat, the rogue was not only older but more experienced than him. Too bad Mac didn’t give a shit. If the blond bastard got anywhere near Tania, he’d rip the male’s head off, then play basketball with his skull. “The water rat is mine.”
All the guys hoorayed.
Mac didn’t make a sound. He fixated, speed supersonic as he went wings vertical, blasting between two huge redwoods. Caught in the wind gust, wood groaned. Tree trunks snapped, then blew sky-high as the road curved into a rolling hill. As he rocketed over the next rise, a tingle slid around the horns on his head. He mined the energy, sifting through information as his sonar pinged, guiding him in flight.
Almost there. Just a few more seconds and—
His magic whiplashed, triangulating Tania’s position. Mac’s heart clenched, then jumped, slamming into the wall of his chest. Jesus. She was out of the car, on the run, terror fueling her burst of energy. Dread hit him dead center as he felt each pain-filled breath she took. Sensed her struggle as fatigue and injury sapped her strength.
“Run, honey,” he mind-spoke to her, pushing the words toward her. “I’m coming, Tania. Run!”
She whispered his name, static swirling around her voice.
Mac flew harder, pushing himself to maximum velocity. Wisps of air curled from his wing tips, streaming like jet fuel in his wake. As he banked into another tight turn, a flash of yellow caught his eyes. His head snapped to the left.
Holy fuck. Oh God...no, the Corvette.
Twisted and torn, the wreckage lay at the bottom of a shallow gully. Time slowed, filtering perception like images through a camera. His eyes shuttered, fixing the details in his mind. The stench of gas. De
nted metal. The driver’s side door...wide open and hanging off the bottom hinges.
A growl ripped through the frigid winter air.
Mac exploded around a copse of trees. A nanosecond, that’s all it took for him to size up the situation. Tania, waist-deep in water, frozen with fear as two dragons hemmed her in. Red scales glinting in the moonlight, Ivar hissed at her from the shoreline while the water rat swam, slithering toward her like a sea serpent. Rage ripped through Mac, amping into aggression. With silent ferocity, he breathed deep and unleashed, exhaling hard. Water-acid flew from between his fangs.
Dragons snarled overhead as Nightfury intercepted Razorback. The horrific shriek of claws raking scales exploded, echoing across the surface of the lake.
Caught by surprise, the water rat cursed.
Ivar wheeled and, pink eyes aglow, spun to avoid the deadly stream of Mac’s exhale. Too little, too late. The acid splattered across his red scales. The rogue leader roared and took flight. Mac let him go. The boys would chase the bastard down. He had bigger fish to fry.
And a female to protect.
Flying fast, Mac conjured a triton. He hurled it like a thunderbolt from fifty feet away. Magic spun and lengthened, propelling the weapon over the surface of the water. Jet-black eyes rimmed by blue widened, and shark-gray scales clicking, the rogue dove to avoid the deadly three-pronged weapon.
The second the fucker disappeared, he yelled, “Tania, run!”
She spun toward the embankment, obeying him without hesitation. The water rat surfaced and lunged, swiping at her. One razor-sharp claw caught the back of her T-shirt. Tania screamed. Blood welled on white cotton as the force of the blow threw her into the shallows. With an anguished roar, Mac splashed down and attacked. Battling to keep himself between the water rat and his female, he tore at the rogue’s smooth scales. Shifting right, the enemy slashed at him, grazing his shoulder with his claws. Mac retaliated, fought dirty, and kung fu’ed the motherfucker, pushing the rogue deeper into the lake. As his horned head connected, hammering the enemy’s rib cage, he checked Tania’s vital signs.
Fury of Seduction Page 35