Hunting Season (Aurora Sky (8 page)

BOOK: Hunting Season (Aurora Sky
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“So long as she stays away from Stanton's Friday, I can handle her and any stones she throws my way.”

“Fine,” I said. “Just promise you'll be careful.”

“Only if you promise first.”

“I promise,” I said.

The trap had been set. All that was left was for Jared to take the bait and for Valerie to keep the hell away. I hated having to worry about her.

Just what we needed this week—Evil Red resurrected, released, and raising hell while we were in the midst of a rescue mission.

6
Hit Squad

A single snowflake flew at the windshield and melted as soon as it touched the glass. Another wet flake quickly followed, then another, until a whole flurry flew at my face like spittle. I blinked despite the protection of the windshield. I fumbled for the lever to activate the windshield wipers, but they didn't budge. I tried to slow the vehicle down, but my foot hit empty air where the gas pedal and brake should have been.

Then, through the blizzard, a dark SUV appeared, barreling straight toward me. My hands dropped to the steering wheel, which had been driving itself a moment before. I cranked the wheel to the right then noticed it hadn't moved at all, only my hands—sliding along the surface.

Frantically, I attempted to open the door only to find it lacking a handle.

Fear seized me by the throat.

I looked up even though the oncoming vehicle was the last thing I wanted to face.

The SUV had closed in enough to see inside—to notice that no one manned the vehicle. Headlights glared into my eyes.

No, not again. Not when I'd faced my fears and taken the wheel.

A movement to my right caught my eye. I saw the blue bandana tied around his forehead first.

Jared sat in the passenger's seat, a bag of theater popcorn in his lap. He pulled a puffy kernel out and plopped it inside his mouth, followed by a
crunch
.

Jared didn't look at me. He stared ahead.

“This is going to hurt,” he said in a matter-of-fact voice.

I turned my head just as the SUV came at us full speed.

My body jerked, reaching out on both sides for anything to grab hold of. This time, my fingers slid over cool, smooth bed sheets.

Slowly, my ragged breaths abated. I opened my eyes to find no blinding headlines aimed at my pupils, only darkness inside my bedroom.

It was only a dream.

Real or not, it didn't bode well. Call it a premonition, an omen, instinct… It could mean only one thing. Jared was back in town.

I half expected to find a dusting of snow on the ground when I looked out the window later that morning, but the sidewalks were clear.

As I organized my backpack, my phone rang, displaying a blocked number.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Agent Sky,” Melcher said.

My breath caught inside my throat. A queasy sensation, similar to the one I'd experienced in the dream, roiled around my stomach.

I wanted to scream, to shout—to tell Melcher I knew what he'd done to me. Instead, I swallowed my anger down like a lump of coal and replied, “Good morning, Agent Melcher.”

“I need you on base in an hour.”

“But I have class in twenty minutes.” I'd blown it off the day before, but I wanted to give college a fair shot. Fane was right. I should live in the moment, experience life. The agency had no right to take away my college experience.

“School can wait,” Melcher said. “This can't. Do you need me to send someone to pick you up?”

My jaw tightened. “I can get there myself,” I informed him.

“Good.”

“By the way, how's Valerie doing?” I asked.

“Miss Ward lost a lot of blood, but no vital organs were damaged. Once her transfusion was complete, she was cleared to go home.”

Uh-huh. Home. Hers. Not mine. Not Fane's.

“See you soon, Agent Sky,” Melcher said.

“Yeah.”

I hung up the phone and immediately dialed Fane.

“I've been called on base for a meeting.”

“Did they say why?” Fane asked.

“No, but that's normal.” I sucked in a breath. “What if he called in Valerie, too? What if Jared shows up?” Rage sparked across my body. “This is my chance. I should do something with it. If Valerie was called in, she could take Jared and I could take Melcher.”

“Aurora, stop and think a moment. Even if everyone was there and even if you could convince Valerie to cooperate in a split second, how would you clear the building, let alone the base, with hostages?”

My shoulders sagged. Man, reality checks sucked. “I don't know. I guess it was more wishful thinking than anything else.”

“Go in and stay calm. Find out what they're planning. Remember, we have the upper hand.”

I liked the sound of that even though it wasn't true. Melcher had an army of hunters at his beck and call, including a particularly nasty vampire. He had backing from the government and his own team of scientists. How were we supposed to go up against that?

“We'll get Jared,” Fane assured me. “But we have to be smart about it. Get him where we want him. So play along today and find out what you can.”

I should have been grateful for Fane's level head. But he sounded like someone else. Someone who hadn't kissed me yesterday. His actions indicated that he cared for me, maybe even loved me. But until he said the words, I wouldn't know for sure.

Fine, Fane wanted to be all business, I would, too.

“You're right,” I said. “This is my chance to find out what Melcher's up to.”

“Just remember to keep cool while you're on his turf,” Fane said. “Once we lure them into the open, they're fair game.”

Fair game? More like bargaining chips.

Jared ought to be thrown into oncoming traffic for what he'd done to me.

Patience, Aurora
. Let Giselle rip his heart out. I didn't care who did the honors so long as it was done and Jared—The Recruiter, The Killer—was no more, followed by Melcher. With those two out of the picture, maybe I could finally begin living a normal undead life with a decent undead guy.

Fane's voice provided only temporary relief. Finding out as much as I could from Melcher made perfect sense, but it didn't mean I was happy to meet with the man. Then there was the immediate dilemma of driving the Jeep.

My hands shook as I opened the driver's door. The keys weighed down my hand.

If only Dante were there to drive me… or Noel.

Scratch that!

What kind of assassin feared cars? Self-reliance meant getting from point A to point B without a chauffeur.

Unless—the dream had been a warning not to get behind the wheel.

The jagged edges of the keys bit into my palm as I squeezed them. I didn't have much choice. I'd rather take my chances behind the wheel than call Melcher back and say I required a ride after all. No way.

BOOK: Hunting Season (Aurora Sky
12.37Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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