I had no weapons on me. The only protection we had was my fists, and those weren’t going to get us very far against the spray of bullets.
We had to be extremely careful.
I pushed us back against the wall so we were out of sight of anyone who might be milling around down in the parking lot. Giving myself a second to get my bearings, I looked back and forth, hoping fruitlessly that there might be a second set of stairs for staff.
No such luck.
“All right,” I said, without looking at Violet. “We get down there and hook a left immediately. Our first priority is getting out of eyesight of the Shades in the restaurant. We go around the side of the hotel and steal a car from the parking lot next door.”
Violet leaned slightly forward to peer down the length of the hotel to the parking lot in question. An old convenience store was situated at the back of the lot with iron bars on the windows. It was open for business, and there were a handful of cars in the lot. “Which one are we taking?”
“Whichever one we get to first,” I told her.
Violet nodded. “Okay. What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to stay behind me on the stairs. Once we get to the ground, you take the lead and run like hell to get to the other side of the hotel. If nobody is on our tail, we stop there and make sure the coast is clear before making our dash for the parking lot. Got it?”
“Got it.”
I afforded a glance at her. She was looking up at me with an expression I hadn’t seen on her face before—grit. She was ready for this. Our time running from my organization had been hardening her slowly but surely.
Her jaw clenched as she nodded firmly. “Tell me when.”
She gripped the strap of the bag on her shoulder so tightly her knuckles turned white. Like me, I imagined her body was buzzing with adrenaline.
I licked my lips and leaned forward to make sure the coast was clear one last time. Nobody was on the stairs. There wasn’t anyone down below within range that might slow our retreat. This was the best chance we were going to get. We just had to hope the Shades didn’t leave the restaurant while we made our move.
“Now,” I said, and we both took off running for the top of the stairs.
We raced down them. Violet was hot on my heels. The steel hummed under our feet, and I kept going, not pausing to look back and make sure Violet was okay. I had to have faith that she would be. Of all the things we’d faced so far, this was nothing. Just two Shades and a short run.
No big deal.
But, apparently, it was more of a big deal for me physically than I realized.
By the time my feet hit the pavement, my side and my thigh protested furiously. I was not in fleeing shape or even close to it. I still needed time to heal. Sharp streaks of pain raced up my side with every step I took.
So I pressed a hand to my side, swung myself around the base of the stairs, and reached out for Violet who came down right behind me. I caught her by the elbow and swung her out around in front of me.
Violet dropped her head and ran full speed ahead.
Thatta girl, I thought, as I took off behind her and ignored the pain. There was nothing to do about it now. Just grit my teeth and bear it. Once we were in the clear, I could worry about torn stitches and wounds.
Violet didn’t look back. I was impressed. She kept going, arms pumping by her sides as she propelled herself past the rows of hotel doors, planter boxes filled with pastel colored flowers, and two maid carts. We swerved around people coming out of their rooms and wove between couples making their way down to the restaurant, who gave us wary looks as they parted to make way for us.
We passed the lobby.
Escape was in sight. If we could just get around the side of the hotel and be out of sight of the Shades, I had full confidence we could get to a car in time and get the hell out of here before they ever realized we’d been here.
Ten seconds. Tops. That was all we needed.
But we weren’t going to get it.
“Dyer!”
I heard my name on the lips of a familiar voice. It split the morning air with such fury that the people around us gasped in surprise, and looked past us back toward the restaurant.
I didn’t need to look to know what they would see.
Two men with their eyes fixed on Violet and me as we closed in on the corner. Guns raised.
I dropped my head and pulled my bag up to cover my back. I made sure I was in line with Violet, just in case they landed a shot on us. I’d take any bullet for her.
The first shot rang out loud. People screamed. Violet pitched forward, caught herself, and kept on running.
She reached the corner of the hotel, skidded, and raced ahead. I swung in close beside her and nodded at the parking lot. “You need to get us a car. I’ll handle these two.”
“With what?” she asked breathlessly.
“I’ll improvise. You worry about your job. I’ll worry about mine. Can you handle it?”
Violet nodded.
“Good. When I tell you to go, you go.” I handed her my bag. “And if I don’t catch up, you leave without me.”
“Xavier, I—”
“You leave without me,” I growled.
Violet looked to the parking lot across the way. Her stare hardened. “Fine.”
I moved in close to the corner, lining my shoulder up with where the brick ended and gave way to the space where the two Shades would appear any second now. I strained my ears, listening for the telltale sound of the heels of their shoes striking pavement.
It came quickly.
They were running hard.
They wanted me badly.
I cracked a wicked grin.
They had no idea what they were running toward. I was in no mood for this shit. My body hurt, and I was tired of running from these assholes. I knew they were all chomping at the bit to get to me. They probably sat around at The Vex talking about all the ways they would end my life. Years upon years of jealousy had all led up to this moment. The other Shades were finally getting their chance to act their vengeance upon the man who had always outdone them at every turn.
Why they thought they had a chance of putting me down with just the two of them, I had no idea.
“Now,” I said.
Violet pushed off the wall and ran like hell. The Shades were only feet away. Two more steps and they’d be mine.
They saw Violet. One of them skidded to a stop to take his shot.
I came around the corner, disarmed him in a flourish of twists and jabs, and left him wailing over his broken wrist as I fired his gun into the face of the second Shade. Blood splattered across the concrete behind him as he went down. People started screaming in earnest now.
I moved in on the second, who had scurried backward and was clutching his broken wrist to his chest while he scowled at me.
“You’re gonna get yours, Dyer. Mark my words. One of us is going to end you.”
I lifted his gun. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“There are more of us,” he seethed. His name was Trevor. He was in his late thirties, and he was a good Shade. But he’d behaved like an amateur here. Letting his anger get the best of him, he made a stupid and fatal mistake.
I shook my head at him. “It doesn’t matter how many men Arman send after me. I’ll kill you all. One by one. I’ll take the entire organization down if I have to.”
“Over a bitch?” Trevor spat.
“This is bigger than that.”
“Not from where I’m standing.”
“From where you were standing,” I corrected.
Then, I pulled the trigger and blew a hole through his head.
Trevor fell backwards to land haphazardly on top of the second Shade, a man whose name was lost on me but whose face was familiar.
“Happy retirement,” I growled, as I tucked the gun into the waistband of my jeans. Ignoring the onlookers still gasping and wailing, I swiftly checked the bodies, took another gun and a knife, and race
d to the neighboring parking lot to catch up with Violet as the people at the motel started calling the police. As fast as I moved, pain shot through me with every step. I ignored it.
I leapt across the cement divider between the two parking lots. Violet pulled up in a yellow car and hit the brakes hard. The tires squealed on the asphalt as I slid into the passenger seat. Violet raced to the exit and didn’t slow down, pulling right out into traffic. Horns blared, but Violet didn’t hesitate. She pushed the gas pedal to the floor and sped away.
She glanced at me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Violet swerved around an SUV and went into oncoming traffic to pull in front of them. I gripped the handle in the door panel and braced myself as she swung back into the lane and picked up speed. “Don’t kill us, woman.”
“Shut up,” she spat as she geared up. “I’m used to fast cars and no consequences. Just let me drive.”
I checked the mirrors to make sure we weren’t being followed. There were no dark sedans racing after us. Hell, there was nobody racing after us at all.
“How’d you get the car?” I asked.
“I asked a girl for her keys and told her it was a life or death situation.”
I groaned.
“What?” Violet snapped. “I can’t hotwire a car and this was my job. What did you want me to do?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “She’ll report it to the cops. We’ll have them on our ass in no time.”
“They’re already on our ass. This won’t have made a difference. Now put your seatbelt on.”
I did as she said and clenched my teeth against the burn in my side as Violet got us as far away from the hotel as possible.
Chapter Twelve
Violet
Hours later, I spied a burger fast food chain up the road a bit. The big neon sign beckoned me with temptation, and I pointed it out to Xavier as we approached. “Can we stop for food?”
He nodded. “We’ll eat in the car.”
I moved into the right lane and took the exit to get to the off ramp of the highway before veering back around to head into the parking lot of the fast food joint. I took the car through the drive thru and paid in cash. Once we had our bags of delicious smelling food, I pulled into a stall facing the highway so we could see if anyone was coming for us.
I greedily began devouring the contents of my bag. I was learning sheer terror fed a serious appetite in the aftermath.
Xavier ate quietly. He also moved gingerly, and I suspected our run in with the Shades this morning had done a bit of a number on him physically. A little bit of blood stained his jeans where his bullet wound was, but it wasn’t enough for me to say anything about. He’d probably just tell me to mind my own business.
As I unwrapped my burger, I glanced over at him. “So what’s our next move?”
Xavier let out a soft laugh that held no humor. “We’re shit out of options now, Violet.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, as it stands, I figure we might as well make a run for it and head to an airport.”
“Really?”
Was he actually willing to follow one of my ideas for once? What had started that shift? Was it because I’d stolen the world’s most obvious car and probably sent the cops on our trail?
Most likely.
“Where do we go?”
Xavier shrugged. “We’ll figure that part out when we get to it. For now we have other things to worry about. Like getting rid of this car and swapping it out for something less obvious, and getting some cash. We’ll need to pay for our tickets in cash, and we can’t show up at the airport with no luggage expecting to be able to board a plane without hassle. We need to buy some suitcases and items to look like respectable travelers.”
I arched an eyebrow. “And how are we supposed to do that? I’m not standing on a street corner to lure unsuspecting men over so you can steal their wallets.”
Xavier surprised me by laughing. He shook his head. “We can do something easier than that. Although it’s not a bad idea.”
“No,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.
He grinned sheepishly. “Don’t stress. We’ll play it safe and hustle some pool.”
I blinked at him. “Um. I don’t know how to play pool.”
“Don’t worry. I do. And all we need is one good player.” Xavier shifted in his seat and grimaced.
I chewed the inside of my cheek. “Did you hurt yourself back there?”
“No. Just tore some stitches, I think. Nothing serious.”
Xavier and I probably had very different definitions of ‘nothing serious.’ In my mind it seemed perfectly sensible to stop and make sure he was okay. I mean, it had only been five or so days since I half dragged him from the stolen SUV into the house we’d crashed at, and he’d been in a bad way then.
Barely a week seemed hardly enough time for him to make any real recovery.
“Should we look at it and clean it up?” I asked. “Infection could still be a problem, couldn’t it?”
“Not likely.”
I licked mustard from my thumb and frowned at him. “Are you just saying that because you don’t want to spend the time?”
“Perhaps.”
I rolled my eyes. He was impossible. “You know, you might end up being the cause of your own demise, not the Shades. How dumb would you feel if that happened?”
He lifted his nose at me. “Not very. Because I’d be dead. And you’d be standing there looking down at my sorry corpse saying I told you so.”
The expression he used as it said it made me giggle. It surprised me. “You’re probably right.”
“Not probably. I am most definitely right. You’re far more stubborn than I am.”
“Impossible.”
Xavier crumpled up his now empty burger wrapper and tucked it in the bag. I followed suit and we collected all of our garbage before dropping it in the can on the way out of the parking lot.
“Any idea where we’ll find a place to play pool?” I asked, as we set off down the highway.
Xavier pulled his seatbelt across his chest and buckled himself in. “No. But we’ll keep our eyes peeled. The sort of place we want is never hard to find. Low key. Under the radar. A little rough around the edges. Think biker bar.”
“Great,” I groaned. Another place where we would find too much testosterone and too little self-awareness. Just what I was missing in my life. “And what am I supposed to do?”
“Stand beside me and look cute to attract attention.”
I shot him a dark look. “Hey. I can do more than that.”
“All right. I’ll stand beside you and look cute, and you can play pool. Does that work better for you?”
If he weren’t injured, I would have hit him. “Fine.”
“Do you have something in that bag of yours you can throw on?”
I looked down at what I had on at the moment. High-waisted jeans that were a little too big and a black t-shirt that ended right at the waist of the pants. It wasn’t my most flattering outfit. But it wasn’t the worst, either.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I asked dubiously. “We’re looking for a shitty pub. Not a high end club. Right?”
“You look like you’d have a minivan parked out back full of soccer equipment and PTA flyers.”
“Rude,” I grumbled. “You don’t look so spectacular yourself.”
Xavier sat up a bit straighter. “I’m not the one with the job of puffing up my chest and looking cute. Remember?”
This was just my luck. I was always the one being put on a pedestal and paraded around. Sure, this was a little different than my father’s social gatherings where rich trust fund men flocked to me like mating pigeons, fluffing up their feathers, but it was going to be equally as humiliating.
And annoying.
There was nothing worse than being hit on by intoxicated men, except being hit on by sober men with weak egos and entitled attitudes.
<
br /> Xavier and I found just the sort of place we were looking for after driving for another half hour or so. I followed the signs off the highway for a food stop, and lo and behold, we arrived at a log cabin style pub with a cold beer and wine store attached to it.
Xavier opened the double wide doors for me and held it open as I stepped inside.
I was instantly glad that I’d followed his instructions and changed.
The place was rougher than I expected and the outfit I’d had on before was definitely way too soccer mom and not nearly biker enough.
I’d kept the same jeans on but rolled them up to pair them with black ankle boots. Over top of the black t-shirt, which I’d tied into a knot at the front, I’d thrown on a wide shouldered black leather jacket. It wasn’t the sort of thing I ever would have picked out for myself, but it would do for tonight.
Xavier stepped up beside me as I cast my eyes around the dimly lit place. It was full of men in leather or denim jackets. The women were few and far between, and the ones I did see either worked there as wait staff or were just as tough and scary looking as their male counterparts.
I swallowed.
Xavier nudged me lightly in the ribs with his elbow. “You’ll do great. Look. Some of the boys are already checking you out.”
I stayed quiet as we weaved our way through the tables to make our way to a spot near the back where Xavier could put his back to a corner and survey the entire restaurant.
He picked our table in the corner by the fire. It was also close to the pool tables, bank machine, and bathrooms. There was a lot of action happening around us as people got ready to play a round of pool or took cash out of the ATM to tip their servers. Waitresses bustled every which way with trays loaded down with pitchers of beer and baskets of wings, and even though I’d just eaten a burger less than an hour ago, my mouth started watering.
Xavier fished a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket and put it on the table.
I looked from the money to him. “Shouldn’t we save what we have?”
Dark Lover: Sins of the Night Page 7