Whiteout (Aurora Sky (29 page)

“Maybe
she
would want to join the new agency, since it sounds like there's going to be a vacancy,” Dante said in a begrudging tone.

“Giselle?” I asked with a snort. “Yeah, right.”

He really needed to let it go. At this point, the odds of agency reform were about
as likely as becoming the next American president. Were vampires even
allowed
to campaign? We needed to focus on the task at hand before making plans for the future. Perhaps it was Dante's way of dealing with the unknown. I couldn't deny I liked envisionin
g a future beyond hiding and disguises and the shadow of night.

“Let's focus on the current operation,” I said. “You have to admit that removing Melcher from power is the mission to end all missions. If we pull this off… well, at the very least, we deserve
a vacation.”

“You're
right,” Dante said with renewed enthusiasm. “This operation is a big deal. We need to stay on point.”

He turned on the radio and surfed the channels before settling on a classic rock station. He kept the volume on low. It had a lullin
g effect. I relaxed into the seat of the SUV. As my eyelids grew heavy, Dante said
,
“Someone's following us.”

Those
three words set my heart on edge. They didn't register immediately. He spoke in a low voice, without alarm, but I could sense the tension in
his tightened fists and jaw.

I sat up and glanced in the mirror at a set of headlights a fair distance behind us.

“How is that possible?” I asked, not wanting to believe him. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure. I'll pull off the highway and take one of the pri
vate roads through the woods to make certain.”

“What?” I squeaked.

Most private roads dead
-
ended. One way in, one way out. In other words, we'd be trapped.

“Here's the plan,” Dante said. “We're not going to do anything to indicate we're aware of them. I'm
going to use my blinker to get off the highway. Any of these roads leading off would work.”

Unlike the
Lower Forty-
Eight
, Alaska's highway system was so remote that it skirted thousands of dirt roads leading into private property right off the main thoroug
hfare. Many towns were so small, the highway acted as the main drag.

“We'll drive in a bit, park the car
on
the road, get out, and watch from the woods,” Dante continued. “When they exit their vehicle we'll ambush them.”

My heart raced. “Can't we lose the
m?” I asked, gripping the backpack in my lap.

“Negative,” Dante answered. “The city's behind us. Nothing but the open road and woods for hours. Here we go.”

Before I had time to respond, Dante flicked on the SUV's right blinker and slowed down. The blinke
r flashed red against the surrounding trees like a beating heart against a
rib cage
.

“You've got your gun?” Dante asked as he turned onto a narrow dirt road.

“Yes,” I said.

“Okay, I've got mine. Once I find a place to stop
,
we need to exit the car immediat
ely. Find a place to take cover on the right side of the road. I'll take the left. We don't know how many of them we're dealing with.”

I grabbed the flashlight from Dante's pa
ck and shoved it inside my
pocket. I pulled out the knife next and kept a tight h
old on it.

The SUV rocked over the bumpy road. A silent scream burned up my throat, preventing me from answering. Why did this have to happen now when we were finally headed back home? I hoped Dante was wrong, that we'd take our places in the woods, waitin
g until it became obvious paranoia had gotten the best of us.

Better to be safe than sorry. I tossed the backpack beside my feet. It
wasn't
like we'd need radios, we'd be within easy yelling distance. The only thing I wanted to hear out of Dante's lips wer
e the words, “The coast is clear.”

As Dante drove, he glanced side to side.

“Here,” he said, stopping the SUV with a jolt. The headlights shut off, pitching us in darkness. The last thing I heard was Dante yanking the keys out of the ignition.

My heart
jumped into my throat. I scrambled out of the vehicle and looked around frantically, but we were surrounded by darkness. I didn't want to give away my position by turning on the flashlight. Instead, I stumbled through the brush encroaching on the road and
squatted in the trees.

I tried steadying my breath, but that wasn't easy while lying in wait for an unknown enemy. Whether the threat was real or a figment of Dante's imagination, my senses treated the situation as though danger was imminent.

There was no
sound from the other side of the road. Dante must have gotten into position right away.

I listened for sound of any kind—the cry of an owl or howl of a wolf—but the forest seemed to hold a collective breath. Then the sound I wanted to hear least of all hu
m
med inside my ears. An engine
headed our way.

 

 

 16

Alias

 

My heart raced anew as a car slowly approached. It was a wonder I could hear it past the pounding in my ears.

I watched for headlights, but not even a pinprick of light penetrated the
surrounding copse. The car's progress was mind
-
numbingly slow, especially while
I was
crouched over the frozen ground trying not to shiver. Would the driver be able to make out my breaths coming out in white puffs?

It occurred to me, while waiting, that th
e reason for the slow progress was the vehicle had
its
headlights
off.

I stayed crouched low to the ground, but it was difficult to hold still with my body shivering. I tried pulling my coat over my knees while they were bent. I waited, listened, and watc
hed the road.

The car was now closing in. I could make out movement down the road, a large dark object—like a dark cloud moving in.

The car crawled forward, coming to a sudden stop behind the SUV.

With my eyes adjusted by this point, I could see exhaust ri
sing into the darkness. Knife and gun in hand, I waited for our pursuers to make their next move.

A
door squeaked open and a woman screamed in surprise.

Not what I'd been expecting.

I jumped up, trading the knife for the flashlight and clicking it on. Ligh
ting the ground in front of me, I hurried toward the car. Upon reaching the vehicle, I lifted the beam. Dante held the
blond
from the club with her back against him. Since I last saw her she'd put
on a pair of black leggings
under her dress.

Dante's hand w
as clamped over her mouth as she struggled in his arms.

“Open the back door,” he yelled.

I hurried past them and opened it as Dante dragged Alice backward toward the opening. He flipped her around and pushed her. She tried to grasp his coat. In doing so,
she dragged him down with her, falling onto the
backseat
. Dante recovered quickly and pinned her wrists.

“Get the
d
uct
tape
,” he said between heavy breaths as Alice struggled to free her wrists from his grasp.

I ran to the SUV and grabbed the backpack.

What the hell was going on? This was the last person I would have imagined following us. At least she was alone. Which surprised me further. What happened to vamp daddy? Back at the club they'd been attached at the hip. Even if she had seen past my hair an
d recognized me from the wanted
flyer
, why did she care? Maybe she thought I was out to kill her boyfriend and his cronies.

I jogged back to find Dante pushing Alice's legs into her car before climbing in back with her. Alice lunged for the door handle on
the other side of the vehicle. Dante yanked her back. She slapped at his arms and face.

“Settle down!” he bellowed. “You're not going anywhere.”

I gave a little jump. I'd never heard him talk to a woman that way—like he wanted to slap her right back.

Witho
ut taking his eyes off Alice, Dante held his open palm out to me. “Tape,” he said gruffly. Once I'd pulled it from the bag and handed it over, he asked, “Can you drive? This one's going to need restraining.”

As I stepped back, Dante closed the door. I hust
led into the driver's seat. The keys were still in the ignition, car running. Dante must have been on Alice before she had any chance of retreat.

The sound of ripping tape was immediately followed by t
h
rashing. I flipped around in case Dante needed help. I
wasn't sure what I'd do from the front seat
. G
rab Alice by the hair? But Dante had the situation under control… kinda. He was practically sitting in her lap to keep her down while he taped her wrists together.

Alice's teeth ground together. I knew all too
well how she felt. Well, she shouldn't have followed us. Big mistake. Big, big one.

After Dante succeeded in binding her hands, he ripped more tape off the
roll
and bent down to her ankles. Alice pounded his back with her elbows and arms, but they only se
emed to bounce off as Dante stayed focused on binding her legs.

The exertion had turned Dante's face red. Irritation flashed in his eyes when he lifted his head and met my gaze.

“We need to get out of here,” he said.

I flicked on the headlights and backed
down the road slowly. There wasn't
anyplace
to turn around. I hadn't driven a car in
over
a month
, but this one was manual, which was a
cinch
compared to automatic, even when driving backward through the dark woods.

Once I'd reached the Richardson Highway,
I stopped.

“Where to now?” I asked Dante.

I glanced in the rearview mirror. Dante's chest rose and fell. He had a firm grip around Alice's upper arm and she'd stopped struggling for the moment. Her blue eyes seemed to shine with angry unshed tears.

“Home
base,” he answered.

My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “What about her?”

“Her fanged friends can't help her now.”

“She's human,” I said.

“Then what's she doing following us?” Dante's head turned in the mirror. “What are you doing following
us?”

I looked at Alice in the mirror. She pressed her lips together.

Dante sniffed. “No matter. I'll make her talk at the lodge.”

I'd once seen Dante torture a deadbeat college student for information. Deadbeat, but not undead. Being human hadn't stopped D
ante from ending his life. But the boy was the reason Janine's identity had been compromised and why she'd been brutally murdered. The boy's death had been swift and painless in comparison.

Tailing us had been an extremely unwise decision on Alice's part.

I had my eyes on the road when she spit on Dante. At least that's what I assumed happened. I heard the sound. A second later, Dante was on top of Alice and she was yelling.

“Or maybe I'll make her tell me now,” he said.

“You're a disgrace!” Alice yelled.

“
Oh, I'm a disgrace. That's rich coming from a fang banger,” Dante said in a taunting tone.

The only thing I heard after that were grunts, both male and female, as Alice squirmed and Dante struggled to keep her down.

It still didn't make sense why she
follow
ed
us. Even if she was looking out for her boyfriend, she could have shared her suspicions—brought him along from the start. What was the point of having a big bad vampire boyfriend if not to keep him around like a personal
bodyguard
?

“Oh my god,” I
said, my fingers tightening around the steering wheel when it dawned on me. “She's an informant.”

It all made sense now—her suspicious questions and the sharp eye she'd used to look me over. A typical vampire groupie wouldn't be on alert the way she'd been
. Those hadn't been loving looks she'd cast over Robert. I'd bet a hundred to one Melcher instructed her to go out with him or someone in his group. Dante said Janine used to case the place. The agency had never stopped monitoring it. They'd sent in a repl
acement. Alice.

We'd kidnapped a freaking agency informant. It was like finding a needle in a haystack
. O
ne better left where it was.

Dante's head appeared in the rearview mirror as it shot up. “This chick? No way.” He looked down. “You're not an informant
.”

Alice's head emerged in the mirror, a bit mussed. There was a scowl over her lips. Her eyes narrowed on Dante.

“She must be Janine's replacement,” I said, sharing my hunch aloud.

“If she is, she's a poor one,” Dante said, likely goading her. “Does she
even have a weapon in her car?”

“Can't look,” I said. “Driving.”

Dante turned to Alice. “Did you tell anyone you saw us?”

My eyes were on the road so I didn't see Alice's expression. I didn't hear her either. She wasn't talking.

“You might as well tell me,
” Dante said. “I'll find out one way or another.”

“Do whatever you want. I'm not saying anything to a deserter and a traitor.”

“Sweetheart, you're working for the traitor. We're the good guys.”

“Don't call me that. My name's Alice.”

“If you're Alice
,
then
I'm the Mad Hatter. What's your real name?”

Alice was silent. I hadn't considered her to be going under an assumed name when we first met. How ironic after the hard time she'd given me for having fake hair. Leave it to Dante (a.k.a. Peter Pan) to see thro
ugh the informant's alias right away. Fairbanks was no Wonderland, as I knew all too well.

When it became clear that our hostage wasn't going to answer the question, Dante sniffed. “Very well,
Alice
. Sit back and enjoy the ride
down the rabbit hole
.”

“Mayb
e we should drop her off somewhere,” I said. “She's just doing her job.”

“Negative. She's working for the enemy.”

I sat up in my seat. “Yeah, and so were we before we found out what was going on. You didn't believe it at first either.”