Embrace The Night (7 page)

The glass shattered and Sage swept the remnants out of the way as she launched up and into the vehicle just as the wolf leapt.

He slammed against the car, and she felt the whole thing jolt as she tumbled into an overgrown, moldy car seat covered with glass. Shards sliced into her palm and upper arm, and cut through her jeans and above her knees, but she was in, knife in hand. Scrambling around to face him, her head bumping the half-caved roof, Sage readied herself.

The wolf snarled and leapt at the car, but she could fight him off with the blade now as he tried to get at her through the small opening. Blood flew, splattering her, the mildewed glass that remained at the edges, and the wolf’s gleaming black nose. Fury lit its eyes as it lunged again, and she stabbed out with the knife, sending the wolf squealing and writhing away, his snout and face cut deeply.

He cried and howled, then came back once again, but Sage was ready, gripping the knife now slippery with their blood. With a grunt of exertion, she angled her weapon to the left and, when he lunged, she shoved it into the wolf’s neck.

The animal froze, its body snapping and seizing…then suddenly went limp, sliding off the blade and slumping to the ground.

Sage sagged back into the car, bloody, trembling, queasy…and triumphant.

Not that she ever wanted to repeat such an event, but…she’d done it.

Saved herself.

Stomach still roiling, she pulled herself up from the seat of the vehicle. The heavy scent of blood tinged the air, partly from her wounds, but mostly from the dead wolf. Her belly pitched and swayed, and the rush of adrenaline had washed into weakness.

Where had he come from anyway? Envy was supposed to be safe—from
gangas
and wolves and the lions and tigers that lived beyond the walls. He’d obviously been starved and desperate.

Sage looked out from the car window, in the direction from which she’d come, back toward the civilized part of Envy, and then she turned and looked on the other side. Her knees were weak and her hands shook, but she still wanted to investigate the building.

But maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. At least, not alone.

Still nauseated, she managed to get the rusted door to open by kicking at it while lifting the latch. And, for the first time in her life, Sage stepped out of a car.

The wolf lay in a bloody heap in front of her, a dark pool seeping into the dirt and grass beneath it. That was all she needed. Her stomach rebelled, and she held on to the side of the car while everything came up. Just like last night.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she took a deep breath. Then Sage cast one last, long look at the sleek Beretta building, and turned to go.

And suddenly, Simon Japp was standing there. Right in front of her. Lean, and humming with tension. His expression was more than a little frightening.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

Sage had to blink a few times to make certain she wasn’t hallucinating—and after what she’d been through, who’d blame her? Though why she should conjure up Simon Japp, in a tight black T-shirt and faded jeans, she couldn’t imagine.

“Sage?” he asked, and she felt his attention swipe over her. Then linger.

“I’ve got a few cuts. But nothing really bad.” She realized suddenly that the cut above her knee was really hurting, and that her jeans were sticking to its drying blood.

“You did that?” He gestured to the dead wolf.

Sage nodded and straightened her shoulders, showing him her knife. “I did.”

“Buena.”
Then he gestured to the blade, a sharp, short movement of annoyance. “But now you’ve got to clean it.”

She nodded again, trying not to notice how fast her heart was pounding, and that her hands were unsteady. Of course, anyone’s heart would be racing if they’d just beaten off a wild canine, puked their second meal within twelve hours…and were suddenly being lectured on cleaning their knife. By a handsome, secretive man with steady, dark eyes…who’d appeared from nowhere.

“Did you follow me?” she asked suddenly.

“No.” He shifted and she noticed how the sun filtered over him from one side, fringing his long lashes and smooth, tied-back hair, and all along a sharp cheekbone and chiseled jawline. Her mouth felt even drier.

“Are you sure?” Sage demanded, all at once annoyed at the thought of him watching her creep around the fence, and then as she desperately fought off the wolf. And, oh yeah, horking up her breakfast. Just wixy great.

It wouldn’t be the first time he’d come upon her unexpectedly. He’d shown up on the roof last night. And then in the nick of time after she left the restaurant. Her heart began to pound again…and she wasn’t sure why. Was Simon following her? Was Theo right…was something going on with him?

“I’m sure,” Simon said, those dark eyes hard. “If I’d followed you, I’d have made sure
that
didn’t happen.” He shoved the wolf with his booted toe. “What the hell do you take me for?”

Sage recognized that he was truly irked and decided to believe him. And the realization followed. “You were here. In there,” she amended, pointing to the Beretta building. “Weren’t you?”

He hesitated a mere moment before giving a short nod.

“You saw me? How did you get past the
gangas
? There are
gangas
in there, aren’t there?” she demanded. Damn it. He’d figured it out before she had, and he’d already gone in and found whatever there was to find. “Did you learn anything?”

“How did you know to come here?” he asked.

“I found your search results—it was you, wasn’t it? On my computer? Searching for ‘Remington Truth Las Vegas condo’?”

His mouth twitched in a sudden flicker and Sage noticed. Yes, she definitely noticed…they were beautiful lips. Just perfect, with sharp angles and the right amount of fullness for a man—

“And you figured it out from that?”

Sage felt her telltale fair skin warm as she realized she’d been staring, distracted. “That’s what I
do
. I figure things out. Did you get in there, Simon? Really?” She tried to hide the wistfulness in her voice, the hint of petulance. “Is his place still there?”

“I think so. I didn’t get all the way in…I left.” He held his hand out. “Give that to me before the damned thing’s ruined.”

She realized he meant the knife, and she obeyed. The dried blood on her hand itched, and she tried to wipe it away as Simon cleaned off her blade, swiping it expertly over the side of his jeans. He handled it so easily, comfortably, and she felt a little shiver, imagining him putting it to use. The image came readily, and seemed to fit all too well with the underlying violence she sensed.

Without speaking, he gave her back the knife and she slipped it into her boot. She realized that he must have cut his exploration inside short when he noticed her from the building, and had either come to her rescue…or simply came to rush her off, back to Envy.

Looking up at him, Sage said, “Great. So, why don’t you show me the way inside and we can finish checking things out? Obviously, you know a way in past the
gangas
.”

He looked at her for a long moment,
“absolutely no way”
all over his face and stance. Then at last, he said, “Because if I don’t take you in now, you’ll come back on your own.”

She grinned at him. “Right you are.” She didn’t mention that she’d probably bring Theo with her. Why give him an excuse to change his mind?

“Better be careful with that,” he said, turning away, fingers tucked into the front pockets of his jeans as he sauntered a few steps off.

“The knife?” she said, glancing at the hilt sticking up from her boot as she started to follow him.

He cast a quick look over his shoulder, fast, liquid, and dark. Her belly dropped. “Not the knife. That smile.” Simon slowed so she caught up with him, but he was staring at the Beretta building in front of them.

The rush of embarrassment heated her face and Sage didn’t know what to say. But it didn’t matter, because he continued, “You try that out on Theo Waxnicki, and he’ll do anything you want.”

What about you?

Sage stumbled on a rock and reached for Simon, who easily caught her arm and steadied her. Now her face blazed hot and red, as if she sat directly in front of a roaring fire.
Where did that come from? I didn’t say that out loud, did I?

“As you’ve already realized, there are
gangas
in there,” he said. His long, deceptively easy strides had taken them around the perimeter of the barricade once again, nearly to the hundred-eighty-degree mark from where she’d first approached. “They appear to be living on the lowest level—what’s left of it.”

“And feeding off wolves?”

Again he gave her that quick flash of a look. “Right. Wolves, and I’m guessing any humans who might venture into their area.” Simon bent forward and opened the sagging door of a large wheelless vehicle. “Follow me.”

For the second time that day, Sage crawled into an automobile. But at least this time, she wasn’t running for her life. This auto was larger than the one she’d tumbled into, and though the roof was smashed into a deep vee, leaving the door unable to close properly and little head room, she still had plenty of space to crawl through.

Despite the ache in her thigh and the hand that had been cut, Sage moved quickly and saw that the other side of the car was missing its door. Someone had already created a passageway through, and following Simon, she made her way up, down, left and right through a tunnel-like maze of the ruined cars.

Mildew and mold grew beneath her hands, and their musty scent filled her nostrils. She noticed items left by the occupants of the cars a half-century earlier—rotting shoes, nibbled-upon bags, cans, and bottles. Some of them even had strings and ornaments dangling from a little mirror in the front of the car. Leaves and other debris crunched beneath her, and flaking rust and curling plastic caught at her hands and knees. Just as she reached the other side of the fifth vehicle, she felt a tug on her jeans.

Startled, Sage turned to look behind her, certain that someone had reached up and grabbed her. She was proud of herself for not gasping, especially when she saw that she’d somehow just gotten hooked on a knob in the car.

“I’m caught,” she said, twisting in the space to free herself. But she couldn’t undo whatever had gotten hold of her, and Simon had to help.

“Hold still,” he said, sliding back past her, reaching around to free her belt loop from whatever had caught it. She hadn’t realized how tight it would be until his shoulder brushed against her waist, and his warm body nudged her. Then he was there, shoulder bumping her shoulder, so close she could hardly breathe…and when she did, over all the mustiness in the air, she smelled the clean, sharp scent that clung to his dark hair.

Sage closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, but dared not look over. He’d be too close…their faces only centimeters apart. Her breathing felt heavy and slow…and why were her hands suddenly damp on the palms?

“Okay?” he said, right next to her ear. She was again aware of that subtle flavor of an accent, just enough to be intriguing…but not enough to obscure the syllables.

“Yeah,” she said, and he eased back ahead of her again, his bare arm brushing against hers once more. Taut from holding himself up, his shoulder and biceps rounded hard and smooth beneath the sleeve of his black T-shirt, showing the bottom edge of a tattoo. His shirt had come loose from his jeans, and as he moved ahead of her, she saw the shadowy hint of a bare, smooth hip as he reached up to the roof of the car.

Suddenly she was thirsty again. Really thirsty, and warm.

He reached above and shifted something on the roof. There was a dull clunk and an opening appeared above them. Simon pulled himself up and through the top of the vehicle and moments later, a strong tanned arm reappeared to help pull her up and through.

Instead of being in an open area in front of the Beretta building, as she’d expected, Sage found that they were in a shadowy area between two tall trucklike vehicles.

“Stay here while I check on things,” he said. “Don’t move. Okay?”

“I’m not stupid,” she said, thrusting her chin out at him.

Simon looked at her in that way that made her belly flip. “No, you’re not.” And then he slipped away, leaving her alone in a silent, unfamiliar world.

Simon had found only one way into the building, and it took him right through the darkened lobby—where the
gangas
lived.

He hadn’t mentioned to Sage that there were just as many canine bones as human bones littering what had once been a highly polished black and yellow marble floor. Nor had he told her that there were about two dozen of the creatures trapped in there—obviously set to guard the place from inquisitive people like the two of them. He wondered how often someone came to provide the
gangas
with food—in the form of feral canines or unlucky humans. Or could the monsters subsist for months without food?

During the day, the
gangas
must stay in the building, but at night they were free to roam within the perimeter of the vehicular barrier. The wolf that had attacked Sage must have somehow escaped from the corral. Fortunately, it hadn’t gone as far as the inhabited part of Envy, or something worse than a few cuts and scratches might have occurred.

Simon mulled these thoughts as he moved out of Sage’s sight, forcing himself to keep his mind away from…other things.

If he weren’t such a
chavala
, he’d have taken her back to the city and been done with it. But he’d seen the enthusiasm and determination in her eyes, and knew it wouldn’t be long before she was back here.

Of course, he could have taken her back and turned her over to Theo Waxnicki, who could probably have kept an eye on her if he knew she’d try and come back. That would have been the smart thing to do.

But no. He’d let a killer body and one soul-shattering smile override that sensible solution, and now he had to find a different way to get into the building so that she could come with him.

Simon paused and listened. Silence.