by A. P. Jensen
She did as he ordered and even as the boat scraped onto the mushy shore, someone leapt out of the shadows. Raven lashed out with her knife and the figure stumbled back clumsily and then righted itself with effort. Raven froze when she found herself staring down the barrel of a shotgun. Belle had a nasty gash on her forehead and the large gun looked ludicrous in her dainty hands.
Betty Boop is the one with the shotgun? Damn, that’s hot, Bam Bam said.
Will you get her the fuck out of my way? Raven mentally screamed. She didn’t want to hurt Belle, but she was beginning to realize there was more to Belle than the scared rabbit act she performed in the cabin.
“Turn the boat around,” Belle commanded.
“Take the boat yourself. I’m out,” Raven said.
“You’re coming with me.”
“Like hell I am!”
Bam Bam fired and there was a terrifying hiss as the boat took on water. They both leapt for squishy land and as soon as her feet hit solid ground, Raven took off running. She saw the house off to her left and knew exactly where she was. She caught a glimpse of snarling alligators as she blitzed past.
To the cars! I’ll be there in a three minutes! Raven called telepathically.
That’s my girl, Jackie said and sounded relieved.
Raven used every ounce of speed she possessed to run through the creepy swamp. She reached for her gun as she leapt over a dead tree and when she got a face full of moss, ripped it off her face and continued to run. A man appeared in front of her so suddenly that she wind milled her arms in an effort to brake. She knew who he was even though his face was cast in shadow. She pivoted even as she shot Angel in the face and crotch. She was thirty yards from the cars when she heard someone crashing through the brush behind her way too close for comfort. She knew Angel wouldn’t let them get away.
Raven? Ace called. Where are you?
Go, Raven ordered as she veered away from the cars. She ran for several minutes before she turned to face Angel who walked forward, face dripping with blood.
“Raven, Raven, Raven,” Angel crooned. “You have a nasty streak. I love that about you.”
Her hand shook on the gun. She had only one bullet left and her knives were no good against a man who healed instantly. Just the thought of getting close enough to cause enough damage to buy her a couple minutes made her sick.
“How do you keep finding me?” Raven shouted, terrified that there would be no escape this time.
Angel clucked his tongue. “I have my ways, Raven. There’s nowhere you can hide from me. I won’t stop until you’re mine. Come with me.”
“Stay where you are!” she said, but of course he didn’t listen to her. “I won’t go without a fight!”
“Your defiance is sexy,” Angel drawled. “It makes me wonder how you’ll be in bed. How long would you keep up this act before you submit to me?”
Bile rose in her throat and she coughed.
Duck, Bones said.
Raven obeyed even as Bones placed a shotgun against Angel’s head and pulled the trigger. Blood, bone and other things flew through the air as Angel crumpled to the ground without a head. Raven and Bones ran. She was relieved that the BMW was running and that Sunshine wasn’t in the backseat. She reached for the passenger door just as she became aware of another presence in the woods. Before she could react, Bones plastered himself over her. Three shots were fired. Bones’s body jerked against her and she heard his sharp intake of breath. Raven whirled and used her last bullet. A man dropped from his perch in a tree without a sound.
“Shit,” Raven cursed as Bones weaved on his feet.
She opened the passenger door and shoved Bones inside. She popped the trunk and grabbed what guns they had left and headed to the driver’s side. She turned when she heard the patter of feet just as Belle threw a punch. It caught Raven on the jaw and she staggered backward. Belle got into the driver’s seat and fumbled with the gears. Stupid bitch didn’t know how to drive a stick, Raven realized. Since the window was still down, Raven was able to shoot Belle easily. Belle let out a shrill scream that pissed Raven off even more. How long would it take Angel to regrow a head?
Are you trying to ruin my car? Bones grouched.
Raven felt a spear of relief that he wasn’t so far gone that he still cared about his car.
“Y-you shot me!” Belle gasped.
“Yeah, and if you don’t want to be shot again, shut the fuck up,” Raven ordered.
Very aware that she and Bones were completely alone and she didn’t have much time, Raven dragged the twitching/screaming Belle out of the driver’s seat. Raven dumped her flannel-onesie ass in the trunk before she put the car in gear and drove out of the swamp at breakneck speed.
“Bones? How bad?” she yelled as she rolled up the windows.
Bones lifted the console and pulled out a vial of blue liquid. He tipped his head back and swallowed every drop.
How fast can you drive? he asked woozily.
How much do you care about this car? Raven countered, but he was already unconscious.
Raven shifted gears and slammed her foot down on the gas pedal. Dead branches scraped the bottom of the vehicle, but she didn’t slow. She didn’t have enough money to pay for the paint job, much less any damage to a car like this, but the Unmemorables were loaded. She comforted herself with that thought as she slammed on the brakes to avoid a tree stump and damaged one of the headlights in the process. When Bones drove through the swamp he coasted at thirty miles an hour. Raven was careening through the swamp at forty-five. She heard Belle bouncing around in the trunk, screaming and thumping away.
Jackie? Raven called out
Everything okay? We have Sunshine, Jackie responded immediately.
She blew out a breath. Is everyone okay? Anyone hurt?
No. Not a scratch. What about you?
Heading out of the swamp. Bones got shot. He drank a vial of blue stuff.
Bones got hit? How the hell did that happen? Luester asked.
Angel was in the woods. He and another guy were waiting near the car. Bones shielded me. She glanced sideways at Bones who was limp and too quiet. Maybe she’d forgive him for the rape incident after all.
Son of a bitch. It must be bad if he drank the blue vial. That potion stops his heart so he doesn’t bleed out. Drive fast, Raven, Jackie ordered.
She nodded even though he couldn’t see her. Got it. You have a healer at the mansion?
Of course. I’ll let him know we’re coming, Ace said.
I have Belle. She tried to take the car.
A short silence and then Ace asked, What’d you do to her?
Shot her. She’s in the trunk.
Raven, Jackie interjected. Get the fuck out of that swamp. We’re about fifteen minutes ahead. If you have trouble, we’ll double back. You armed?
Yes, she replied and cut off the telepathic connection.
At least Sunshine wasn’t with her, she thought. She reached over and put her fingers on Bones’s throat. She couldn’t feel a pulse. His skin was cold. They had potions to stop your heart? What would they think of next? She blasted the heater and put a variety of guns and knives in the cup holders for easy access. She didn’t like the swamp atmosphere. It creeped her out. She’d feel better on the open road.
Her phone rang in her pocket. She considered ignoring it until she realized who would call her at two in the morning. She slipped the phone beneath her bra strap, put it on speaker and answered on the fourth ring.
“Cain?”
“Something’s wrong,” he said immediately and her heart stuttered.
“What? What happened? Are you hurt?”
“Angel had the hostages touch things at grocery stores, truck stops, bathrooms at gas stations...Followed a lead to a house in the middle of a neighborhood. I stepped foot on the property and the house blew up.”
“Were they inside?” she half screamed.
“No, it was empty, but there’s no sign of them. Its like they vanishe
d into thin air. I’m leaving Missouri. Where are you?”
Raven sucked in a breath as the headlight touched on two men who stepped in front of the car with rifles pointed at her. They were probably expecting her to slam on the brakes and swerve, which was a natural reflex. Instead, Raven shifted gears and the BMW lurched forward. She saw their eyes widen in horror before she ducked down. Bullets ricocheted off the windshield a moment before the BMW hit something hard. The sound of crunching bones beneath the tires made her gag, but she didn’t stop. Belle screamed in the trunk, and when Raven sat up, she was relieved to find the windshield intact. She refused to look in the rearview mirror to see what she left behind.
“Raven? Are you still there?” Cain asked sharply.
She clutched the steering wheel like a lifeline. “Yeah, I’m here.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m leaving Manchac Swamp.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m not, but Bones is.” Her heart leapt when she saw a road up ahead. Tires screeched as she slid onto smooth pavement. She checked all mirrors to make sure she wasn’t being followed.
“Who’s Bones?”
“He’s...” she began and her voice broke. Reaction set in and tears filled her eyes. “He’s probably a cousin or something. He’s hurt bad because of me.”
Cain’s voice was icy. “Battalion?”
She slammed her hands on the wheel. “How the fuck does he always know where I am?” she shouted.
“Angel?” Cain bit out. “Raven, focus. Is Jackie or Luester with you?”
“No, we got separated.”
“Is the Battalion on your tail?”
She checked her rearview mirrors again. “No, I don’t see anyone. I hope they’re all dead.”
“Wait for me...”
“I can’t. I need to get Bones to the healer. He took a potion to stop his heart, but it won’t last forever.”
“Angel’s playing me,” Cain hissed. “He knows my dad would send me to find the hostages. He did this to keep me out of the way.”
“What do you mean?”
“Angel wants you, right? So, what does he do? He attacks the Council, knowing I would be called away, leaving you to fend for yourself.”
She shook her head in denial. “I don’t think so, Cain.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have left you.”
“What’s done is done,” she interrupted. “What’s your next move?”
“I’m coming for you, baby.”
“I’m fine,” she repeated firmly, eyes moving with paranoid vigil over the empty highway.
“Don’t stop unless you have to. You call me every time you stop for gas. We check in with each other every hour, you understand?”
She was too freaked to argue. “I understand.”
“Raven?”
“What?”
“You better get there in one piece.”
Chapter Fifteen
Twenty-four hours later, Raven drove onto the Unmemorable estate. Her hands clutched the steering wheel so tightly, she was sure the design was permanently embedded on her palms. The panic that dogged her all day left her drained and shaky. Every time she had stopped for gas, her heart pumped so hard and fast, she’d thought she might pass out. Adrenaline had long since deserted her, and if she hadn’t seen Bones lying so still beside her, she wouldn’t have made it. Bones didn’t wake once during the long ride.
Every Unmemorable on the estate was standing on the front steps. She came to a stop behind the SUV, flexed her cramped hands and turned off the car. Men rushed forward and opened the passenger door. There was a lot of cursing and shouting as they hauled Bones away. She rested her forehead against the steering wheel and took a deep breath. She made it.
“So, what was the point of this trip? To damage as many of my men as possible?” Gerald called from the front steps.
Raven was too tired to glare or stick the finger. She grabbed her gun, shoved the door open and limped to the back of the car. She popped the trunk and stared at Belle who was a bloody mess. Belle was in a considerable amount of pain, but she would live. At a glance, Raven noticed that the wound was healing faster than normal. During one of her gas stops, Raven opened the trunk to pelt Belle with a water bottle.
“Keep it down or I’ll shoot you in the ass,” Raven warned.
The startled look on Belle’s face was comical. “You remember me?”
The question didn’t make sense, but Raven didn’t have the time to have a conversation when Bones was a corpse in the passenger seat and the Battalion was on her ass. Raven slammed the trunk on Belle and not until she was driving again did she realize Belle shouldn’t have been able to remember her. Whatever Betty Boop was, she wasn’t the frightened swamp hillbilly she pretended to be.
“You brought a woman here?” Gerald roared.
Belle was manipulative and crafty enough to appreciate the crowd of men looking down at her. She put a hand over her forehead and fluttered her eyelashes, managing to strike a pose even with a gunshot wound in her shoulder.
“She’s connected to Olivie Belrose somehow,” Raven slurred, so tired she could barely think straight. “And our Unmemorable power doesn’t work on her. She remembered me.”
A flicker of fear flashed in Belle’s eyes, but she didn’t drop the damsel-in-distress act. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What am I doing here?”
The gun trembled in Raven’s hand so she lowered it. She looked at Happy who stood nearby. “You guys have a dungeon?”
Happy glanced at Gerald’s enraged face before he nodded.
“Take her there. When I have time, I’ll deal with her,” Raven said.
Happy hauled Belle out of the trunk. Belle tried to wrap her arms around Happy’s neck, but he slapped her hands away. Belle looked shocked that any man would treat her this way and made doe eyes at the Unmemorables who watched with impassive, hostile expressions. Happy jerked Belle’s hands behind her back and she moaned pitifully for show as Happy led her through the ranks of pissed off Unmemorables and into the mansion.
“I have enough to deal with without you getting my men wounded and bringing strange women onto my turf,” Gerald spat. “If what you say is true and she can remember us, she dies.”
“Not until I figure out how she’s connected to Olivie Belrose,” Raven said and shoved past him. She needed water, food, shower, and a bed. She made her way to the kitchen and found Bam Bam, Jackie, Sunshine and Luester at the table chowing down on roast beef sandwiches. She slumped beside them and downed three glasses of water before she ate with her eyes drooping.
“You smell like a sewer,” Luester said.
“So do you,” she mumbled with her head lolling to one side.
“Raven, you caught the villain!” Sunshine said excitedly and clapped his hands together.
That made her eyes open. “What?”
Sunshine eyed her solemnly. “She’s the reason Mom doesn’t remember me.”
Raven blinked rapidly. “What do you mean? We’ve been cursed for centuries.”
Sunshine grabbed his sketchpad and pointed urgently at a drawing. It was Sunshine’s version of the painting with the Queen and her friends. Sunshine redressed one of the women in a Maleficent-like headpiece and black dress. Raven blinked as she examined the drawing. Was it sleep deprivation or did the lady beside the queen look like Belle? In Raven’s zoned out state, she got it. She gave Sunshine a thumbs up.
“I get it. Anything’s possible in this world, right? Fake Marilyn Monroe’s a witch who can live forever or some shit, right? Yup, I caught the bitch. You’re a genius, Sunshine,” Raven mumbled and walked like a drunk to the elevator. Somehow, she made it to her room and washed off the smell of the swamp and cold sweat.
Raven felt marginally better when she was clean, but not by much. She armed herself because Angel’s face was still vivid in her mind. She hoped the process to regrow his skull was excruciatingly painful. Raven glanced longingly at the bed
before she walked into the hallway and bumped into Big Daddy. He gave her a deadpan look that she so wasn’t in the mood for.
“What? Luester and Sunshine didn’t get hurt!” Raven snapped.
“Was the trip worth it?” he asked.
“It was,” she said and tilted her chin.
“How so?”
She had a feeling Big Daddy wasn’t going to appreciate the fact that they’d captured an immortal witch. “I’ll tell you later. Where’s Bones?”
“He’s in his room.”
“Where’s that?”
Big Daddy raised a brow. “Worried about him?”
“His heart hasn’t beat for nearly a day. Yeah, I’m worried. Where is he?”
“First floor, left wing, last door at the end of the hall.”
Raven followed his directions and felt as if she were sleepwalking. She knocked before she opened the door. An old, angry man stood by Bones’s side. He used his middle finger to push his glasses up on his nose and glared at her.
“Ain’t you done enough, girl?” he asked.
Raven examined Bones critically. The healer gave him a sponge bath, she noted. Bones’s chest rose and fell in a rhythmic pattern that eased the tight band in her chest. He had color in his lips, and if it wasn’t for the bullet holes in his chest, she would have thought he was sleeping.
“You best be on your way,” the healer said.
She gave him a long look. “What do they call you?”
“Doc.”
“Figures,” Raven sighed and ran a hand through her wet hair. “See here, Doc. I want to be here, so unless I’m stopping Bones from healing with my presence, you can kiss my ass. You got me?”
The man smacked his lips, and when he sneered, gave her a good view of his larger than life dentures.
“That’s just like a woman, waltzing in and getting one of our best shot for sport. Women are trouble. They’re only good for one thing,” Doc said.
Raven went from mildly irritated to boiling. She leaned over Bones and imagined breaking Doc’s old, wrinkled nose. It would probably turn to dust. “Some sorry woman carried you for nine months and went through unbearable pain for you to come to your old age and look down on other women? What gives you the fucking right?” While he sputtered, she took the opportunity to release her frustration on a deserving sexist prick. “Doc, let me tell you a secret . . . you’ll never be the man your mother was.”