“Take the keys and get it started. I’ll be right behind you.”
I pulled the keys from Jack’s back pocket and took off at an unsteady trot for the car. The sirens were getting pretty deafening, and red and blue lights were now flashing through the trees over my head. I veered off the path and cut into the bushes, sticking to the dark and moving from tree to tree, trying to stay concealed. I hoped Bo had thought to do the same.
A few uniforms raced past me, some unnervingly close, but none seemed to notice me in the shadows. They all had their hands on their guns and were booking it for the plaza. The bodies would cause quite a stir. Six dead or dying Weres beaten to a pulp and one dead White Hat were no doubt an unusual sight, even for New York’s finest. They’d have to call in supernatural consultants to check the scene, but Patrick’s body meant civilian involvement. It would be a public relations nightmare for the Others in the city once word got out.
I was sure Bo had had alterations done to his gun and ammunition so the bullets and casings wouldn’t be traceable. None of the hunting activities of the White Hats could be considered legal, and they’d had years to learn the pitfalls of dealing with police interference and investigations. The kind of damage we’d done and lack of human bodies on the scene would most likely make it appear to be an Other-related fracas Patrick had unwittingly stumbled upon, so hopefully that meant little suspicion would fall on the hunters. Or on me.
Once the cops were well past me, I counted to fifty under my breath, then huddled into my jacket and headed at a good clip toward the car. The image of a civilian trying to get away from a scene of violence and bundled up against the cold should work as long as no one looked too closely, noticed the blood or the way the parka lay in tatters on my back.
Luckily enough, no one called out for me to halt or to say that they just wanted to ask a few questions. Most of the cops must have gone straight to the scene. They’d left their vehicles parked haphazardly on the street, only one policeman left behind to keep an eye on things. He didn’t appear to notice me—his attention was on whatever was coming out of the radio.
I held my breath as he looked my way, noting movement or maybe hearing something in the park. He scanned the area for a heart-stopping twenty or thirty seconds, then looked elsewhere, once again distracted by some report coming in over the horn.
Bo must have been making some noise. As soon as the cop wasn’t looking his way, he rushed out from behind a bush to crouch behind the concealment of the car, easing the door open and shut.
“Don’t go back to the house,” Jack said, his voice weak with pain. I jerked around in the seat to look him over, examining his injury as best I could. His hand was over the wound, putting pressure on it, but it appeared to have stopped bleeding. Couldn’t be that serious then. “That ambush... somehow they knew. Ricky betrayed us. Who knows what else he’s told them.”
With a grimace, Jack tried to sit up but settled back when Bo pushed him down.
The belt released its hold on me, now that its skills and stealth weren’t needed, but it was still projecting excitement and satisfaction. Creepy thing.
I started the car and eased out into the street, careful to avoid the cop cars. Wouldn’t do us much good to have gotten this far without attracting notice just to end up having the cop read the license plate and put out an APB for suspects in a multiple homicide. Self-defense would come across like a pretty lame excuse when faced with the mess we left back there. Our combined documented histories with Others also wouldn’t help our case. Oh, and let’s not forget that I was already considered a suspect or at the least a person of interest in the murder of Jim Pradiz. This was looking better and better by the moment.
Fingers tight on the steering wheel, I didn’t focus much on where I was going other than to ensure I didn’t plow into somebody else or run any lights. My attention kept flicking to Jack through the rearview. “Where the hell do we go? What do we do, Jack? We need to get you to Doc Morrow.”
He coughed, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He examined whatever rubbed off with dull eyes, then closed them, his features twisting in pain. “Take the next left. Head toward Times Square. There’s a safe house downtown. We’ll call the others over when we get there.”
I did as he bid, getting the address when he started fading so I could find it if he passed out. His normal pallor had become sallow and worried me. It was possible he needed more than Dr. Morrow’s attentions. What if he needed another infusion from Royce? Jack was clearly fading. I doubted he went to the vampire except when he had to. Nikki would never forgive me if I let him die—but Jack might never forgive me if I told Royce where the hunters’ hideout was, or let the other hunters find out that Jack was playing both sides.
Plus, facing Royce right now did not seem like the best idea. He’d wormed his way into my head, right there on the street, and I knew he was losing patience with me. No matter what he said, he wasn’t interested in letting me run around on my own much longer. I had to finish this business with Chaz before I went back to Royce’s place, or he might never let me go.
‘Might? You know he wouldn’t. If not for the vampire, you never would have gotten in this mess.’
It’s not Royce’s fault Chaz cheated on me, I replied, keeping a tight lid on the explosive rage behind that thought. I can’t do this right now. Let me concentrate on driving.
‘All I’m saying,’ the belt whispered, barely there in the back of my head, ‘is that you need to start considering what you’re going to do about the vampire once this business with the wolf is over. You know it won’t let you go. It’ll enslave you, just like it did before. Is that what you want?’
I didn’t bother responding.
‘You know it’s true. Look at what it tried to do right in the street. What do you think it will do to you once you’re alone with it? It doesn’t care about you. All it sees is an asset. An expendable one.’
My grip tightened on the steering wheel. Stop. Talking.
‘Just think it over. Consider your options. The longer you wait, the less choice you’ll have.’
Story of my life.
Chapter 16
(Days left to full moon: 6)
Less than a week left. I hadn’t been sleeping or eating for the last two days. Ever since we had come to the loft apartment Jack had directed us to, he’d forbidden most of us to leave until he was back on his feet.
The doc didn’t want Jack moving around or doing anything strenuous. The damage the Were had done was minimal, but the blood loss combined with the lung cancer had set Jack’s recovery back a long way. There was little Dr. Morrow could do, as all of his treatment had to be off the books, and there was only so much equipment and medicine he had to work with there. Jack kept insisting it wouldn’t be much longer before he was ready to fight, but from the look of him and the sound of his breathing, I wasn’t sure he’d ever get back on his feet again.
Nikki was falling apart. She wouldn’t leave Jack’s side and ran the other hunters like she owned them. When she tried to boss me around, too, I walked out. It pissed her off, but I wasn’t going to pretend even for a minute that I considered her fit to lead this outfit once Jack was gone. If he died before this was over, I had no doubt Nikki’s first order of business would be to kill me, even if I hadn’t shifted yet.