“He is. To me.” I put a finger to my lips as a car horn bleated.
A few minutes later it was answered by a whoop and a yell from nearby.
My cell phone beeped.
CAVALRY COMING BE READY TO FLY GO FOR BLACK SUV AT FRONT OF PARK.
Thank God for texting—with the Felis having enhanced hearing it’d be almost impossible for us to discuss a plan over the phone. As it was I still didn’t know his entire plan but it beat hanging out here until dawn or the inevitable attack.
“Get ready,” I said. “We may have to get down and out of here in a hurry.”
Lisa tightened the straps on her pack. Evan looked a little green as he glanced down, the neck of his guitar smacking the back of his head.
A rush of feet, booted and otherwise, pounded along the concrete paths. The trees wavered with an invisible wind.
Something was happening. Something big.
“What’s going on?” Lisa whispered.
It started as a trickle, a scattering of young people coming in the front gate, the same way Bran and I had entered. They waved bright neon fluorescent tubes in the air, turning the night into a multi-colored spectacle.
It was as if the stars had fallen from the sky and smashed into the park, exploding on contact. The trickle grew as more car doors opened and shut and I swore, even a school bus.
The park burst into a shuddering sea of activity, young people dashing in from all possible entrances in wave after wave of giddy joy. They swept over the fountain, over the empty grass field and spilled out to circle all the trees, including ours.
A chorus of raised voices surrounded us—singing, clapping and yelling. A haze spread out, covering the ground and I caught the smell of alcohol and certain illegal substances.
Lit sparklers passed from hand to hand as the crowd grew and got merrier, the bright lights screwing up my vision and, I was sure, the Felis enforcers as well. I spotted Bran in the middle of the mob, directing the impromptu partiers to put most of their energy around our specific tree.
They were a mixed lot of street kids and young adults, all enjoying the impromptu rave. Music poured out of someone’s portable stereo and it wouldn’t be long before the cops were called to clean out the park and get the kids to move along.
It was a perfect time to get out.
My phone beeped.
GO GOGOGOGO
I stood up. “Let’s go. Follow me and don’t stop for anyone or anything. Head for a black SUV at the front of the park and don’t look back.”
I dropped from branch to branch without waiting for a response, hoping the kids were following me. I wasn’t in any shape to drag their asses down the tree. My muscles ached and I felt my left leg threatening to cramp up on me.
Bran stood at the base of the tree, glancing around as the mayhem grew. He looked up just as I swung down from the lowest branch and stretched out his arms to catch me.
I fell into his embrace with a huff, feeling my spine complain.
“Hey,” I gasped.
“Hey yourself.” Bran nodded at the two kids, both dropping to the ground in silence. They stood up together and looked around, wide-eyed at the chaos surrounding us.
He pointed at the pair. “It’s go time.” He took my hand and charged through the mob, not hesitating to push a happy reveler out of our way.
The crowd flowed around us, enthusiastic dancers moving with the beat mixed in with laughing teenagers. It was a street party to the nth degree, an organized group of chaos.
It was a perfect storm to escape through.
I looked around trying to find the enforcers. Kidnapping Evan and Lisa in public was exactly what they didn’t want; it’d bring the authorities down on them full force with plenty of witnesses to start the social media tongues a-wagging.
That was the last thing the Pride would want or need. I suspected both enforcers had strict orders to keep this all as quiet as possible.
We went through a tight cluster of partiers, the dancing kids slipping between us and threatening to break our connection. I took hold of Lisa’s backpack and saw Evan latch onto her hand, completing the link. We couldn’t afford to get split up, not if we wanted to do this successfully.
Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Eddie Longstrand charging from our right on an intercept course. Sweaty and red-faced he shoved one dancing teenager to the ground, her annoyed screech shattering the group bliss. He ignored her and kept heading for us, his lips pulled back in a snarl.
“Get to the black car,” Bran shouted. Evan and Lisa didn’t falter, picking up the pace and passing us.
“You too.” He pushed me ahead. “I’ll see you in a second.”
I almost stopped moving, my instinct to stay at his side. But I couldn’t leave the two kids alone, not right now. I kept running and looked back, cursing under my breath.
Bran roared as he bore down on the surprised enforcer, startling the middle-aged Felis with his ferocity. He slammed sideways into Eddie, his head tucked down like a NFL linebacker.
Eddie flew back and fell to the ground, the shocked expression on his face saying volumes. He hadn’t expected to be stopped by anyone, much less a human.
Bran didn’t continue the attack but turned and ran. He’d gotten lucky with Eddie focused on the three of us and ignoring the mere human in his way, figuring no man would be mad enough to meddle with an enforcer on the hunt.
It wouldn’t happen twice.
I panted as my feet hit the concrete path, the sudden shift in texture sending shockwaves up my aching legs. We spun around a small group of skateboarders and through the crowd onto the outer sidewalk. A black SUV sat there with the front and back doors open.
Sirens split the air, growing louder with every second.
The party was about to be broken up.
“You waiting for a personal invite?” Angie yelled from the driver’s seat. “Get the fuck in.”
Evan didn’t need to be told twice. He leaped into the back, pulling Lisa in beside him. The backpack frames smacked and cracked against the doorframe as they piled in, his guitar almost shattering as it banged against the roof of the car.
I dove in the front, almost ending up in Angie’s lap. Bran slid in beside me with a panted laugh and pulled the door shut.
A fast glance back into the crowd showed Nathan McCallister fighting his way through a belligerent group of young men who didn’t appreciate their party being disturbed by an angry thug. He swung at one fellow and landed a full punch on his jaw.
The kid fell like a stone.
Instead of backing off, the rest of his buddies leaped in and McCallister disappeared under a pile of bodies. I doubted he’d get hurt too badly and he wouldn’t Change and risk discovery.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
The door locks engaged before we pulled away from the curb with a screech of the tires.
“Fuck yeah,” Angie laughed and banged on the steering wheel, her long, blond hair flying around her face. “That was great.”
Bran grinned, sandwiched between me and Angie. “Told you I had an idea.”
“What was that?” I wheezed, my head spinning from the sprint to the car. I leaned on Bran, hoping he wouldn’t pick up on my exhaustion and drag me back to the hospital.
“Party central.” Angie turned down one alley and then another, zipping through side streets barely wide enough for the SUV to navigate. “Bran told me you needed a quick mob scene. I supplied the peeps and he paid for the toys. Didn’t take too much encouragement to pass the word for a free party in the park.”
I scowled at Bran. “How much?”
“Let’s just say that your advance from Middleston is pretty well gone,” he replied. “But I got you out of there, didn’t I?”