Unstable by Lacey Carter Andersen
13
Kiera
I honestly don’t knowwhat to do. I’d just met this woman. If these people were connected to Maxen, the smartest thing we could do is get as far from this situation as possible, get the relic, and get our marks removed. But even while I’m telling myself that, I pull off the road and the SUV bounces until we stop.
The guys don’t say anything, we all just load out of the car and rush toward where Asha had been forced off the road. My thoughts are scattering, half preparing myself for a battle, half ready to run if this is all a trap. And a big part of me keeps thinking back to all my guys had been through in Maxen’s manor. If I was leading them right back into that hell, I’d never forgive myself.
As we sprint through the underbrush, we all come to a screeching halt. Asha is there, squaring off with three men in dark suits. Tension sings through the air, and I feel like the slightest wrong move might be the spark that burns this whole situation to the ground.
One of the men in dark suits glances toward us. There’s no surprise in his gaze, but his eyes narrow. “I’m Max Blackwell,” he greets. “No relation to that prick Maxen.”
Okay, interesting…
“Well,” I say. “I’m Kiera, and you just pulled the ultimate asshat move, running someone off the road. Care to explain yourself before we rip you to shreds?”
To my surprise, he reaches into his jacket.
Drake is in front of me a second later, and I have to crane my neck to look around him as Adam and Emory stand at his sides.
Max lifts a brow, then pulls out a badge. A gold badge with a familiar symbol on it.
I feel the blood drain from my face. An Enforcer.
“Actually, I have a few questions for you,” he says, and his dark eyes narrow. “How do you know this fucking Blood Mage?”
“We don’t know her,” Drake says, his words smooth and steady.
“We saw you with her at the diner, so care to try that again?”
Asha elbows the suited man standing beside her, his hand on her arm. “I asked her for help because I thought I was being followed. We realized we were heading in the same direction, so they said they’d keep an eye out for me.”
“That’s all?” The Enforcer asks, his gaze locking with mine.
I raise my chin and try to look confident, even though I have no idea what the hell I’m doing. “That’s right.”
He glances back at the two other Enforcers, then sighs, “Fine, we really only need her, so why don’t you all get back in your vehicle and pretend this never happened?”
I glance at Asha. She gives a subtle nod, her gaze intense.
Damn it. I don’t want to leave her. We could try to kill these Enforcers, because that’s the only way we’d get her free from them, but then we’d bring down all the Enforcers on our heads. And probably end up dead. They didn’t exactly take kindly to one of their own being attacked.
Still, I can’t stop myself. “What do you want with her?”
A flash of yellow comes and goes from Max’s eyes. “That’s no business of a berserker.”
“Three men running a single woman off the road doesn’t exactly make you seem like good guys though,” Adam says.
Max lifts a brow. “This is not a woman. She’s a dangerous Blood Mage. Do we make that clear?”
Asha smirks, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Not to worry, I got this.”
I give her a questioning look.
She grins again. “This isn’t exactly my first run-in with cocky assholes.”
I release a slow breath. Okay, if she’s confident she can handle this, I guess I just have to trust her. Yeah, it’d make things harder, not having her to talk to the Blood Mages, but we could do it.
“See you around,” I say.
My men seem to calm, and we slowly, keeping our eyes on them, make our way back to the SUV. Unfortunately, that’s the first time I realize that Cole is nowhere to be seen. A small part of me wonders if we’ll find the vehicle and him gone when we get back to where we parked, but I only feel a small measure of relief when I see the SUV still parked where we left it.
“Where’s Cole?” I ask the guys.
And what the hell is this?
“I don’t know,” Emory says, “but I have a feeling he doesn’t want to be found.”
“Fuck!” Drake growls. “There goes our easy access to the relic.”
“We should look for him,” Adam adds.
And then, all eyes are on me. Damn it. I’m sure Emory wants to leave him, and that Drake would be willing to have him come with us if he was dog tied up, and then there’s Adam who will be sad if we leave him behind. I glance back at where we came from. It was lucky the Enforcers let us go. We might not be so lucky the next time. And then, I look down at the black streaks that have spread further down my mens’ arms.
“Let’s go without him,” I say, then open the SUV and climb in.
Princess is lying on the seat next to me. He lifts his head when I buckle up, and his words come softly into my head. Cole snuck away. I think he’s going to follow the other girl.
“Why?” I ask, frowning.
His eyes close. It’s what strays do. They never make any sense.
Emory opens the passenger door, stares at Princess, then sighs and closes the door, climbing into the back with the other guys. “I don’t know why that cat always gets the first choice in seats…”
I’d prefer to be lying somewhere in the sun, but this spot will do.
Laughing, I turn on the engine. “We have bigger problems than our seat arrangements.”
Where is the other female?
“Enforcers,” Adam whispers.
I see the hairs stand up on Princess’s back. We better hope they want something from her, or they’re just rounding up her kind and killing them.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, I debate with myself, then put the SUV into drive. “She seemed to know what she was doing.”
I just hope she’s right.
“Anyone else’s marks spreading fast?” Adam asks, sounding worried.
I nod.
“Yeah,” Drake finally says.
I pull back onto the road, my heart racing.
How much time do we have left?
