Page 35 of A Hunter Turned
With a nod of agreement, Jamie stood and grabbed the bill. Five minutes later, Efrem had said his goodbyes to his friend, had stowed his massive sports duffel in the back of her SUV, and they were on their way.
Grateful for the distraction the boy provided, Jamie asked, “How was the game?”
A shrug. “We won.”
Jamie let out a little chuffing laugh. “And yet you don’t sound at all happy. Shouldn’t you be all like, yay, we won! Go, team!”
The boy grimaced. “I also got dumped.”
Eek face made an appearance. “Oh, Efrem. I’m so sorry.”
“Right after the game too.”
“Ouch. That sucks.”
The boy gave a sharp nod of agreement before he angled his body in the seat and shot her a mischievous grin, “But I hear you didn’t strike out.”
Jamie’s cheeks exploded with a prickling heat and she knew they had to be cherry red. Why had she been so loud last night? Flicking on the blinker, she turned the SUV onto the empty stretch of road that would lead to pack territory. Well, she knew why she’d been loud, amazing orgasms and all that, but dammit, it was embarrassing. Clearing her throat, she sent him a look of admonishment. “We’re not going to discuss that.”
Efrem was still grinning, not at all chastised, but he held up his hands in surrender, “Fine, Fi-”
The impact seemed to come out of nowhere, throwing Jamie sideways. Her seatbelt locked with a stranglehold across her chest as airbags exploded. The bulletproof glass didn’t shatter but assorted items within had become projectiles and she felt something slam into the back of her head just as the SUV was thrown over onto its side.
Jamie drew in a sharp breath as she came to and tried reaching for Efrem but her arm wouldn’t comply with the mental command. Her vision was hazy around the edges and there was a ringing in her ears but she needed to push past that and get to Efrem. The boy was too still, too pale, crumpled against the door, blood oozing down the side of his face.
The SUV rocked unexpectedly, metal groaning as they lurched back onto four wheels with a bounce and Jamie groaned. Help had arrived already? Good. That was good, but… how long had she lost consciousness? It had only felt like seconds. Glancing once more at Efrem, his head now sagged forward over his seatbelt, she tried again to raise her hand to check for a pulse only to discover her arm was pinned. Was it broken? Dislocated? She couldn’t tell. She could feel something warm trickling down the outside of her calf, so she knew she had feeling in her limbs, yet her pain receptors didn’t seem to work to tell her what injuries she’d sustained. Her vision hazed even further and she blinked. She needed to stay awake, needed to get to Efrem.
“Jesus fucking Christ. You told me this was Kane’s ride,” Jamie vaguely heard through the persistent ringing in her skull, followed by another voice saying, “Thisishis ride.”
Shit. At least two unknowns outside and Jamie could barely lift her head much less go for her blade.
“Then why do I have a blonde chick and her kid instead of Kane?”
Jamie’s eyes closed again, she couldn’t seem to help it. Forcing them open, she came face to face with the scarred vampire she’d been tracking, a menacing grin on his brutish face as he loomed over her. “I remember you,” he said, his fingers gripping her chin and squeezing painfully. “We had some fun, you and I.” His eyes wandered over her face and his grin widened even more as a sadistic light lit up his gaze. “Looks like we get to have some fun again.”
With that said, he released her face, yanked her seatbelt free, and dragged her out, throwing her roughly over his shoulder. The move had her losing what she’d eaten on the ground behind her captor’s feet and nearly had her blacking out again but she forced herself to consciousness as she heard the other vampire ask, “What about the kid?”
“Leave him.”
Please let someone find him soon… Please let him be all right, was Jamie’s last thought before she lost the battle and succumbed to the beckoning darkness.
∞∞∞
Archer’s anxiety was through the roof as he paced by the water’s edge and checked his phone yet again. She’d said she had some errands, but the longer she was away, the more agitated he became. Fuck, this was awful. He kept reminding himself that Jamie was a vampire, a trained Hunter, and a woman full-grown who should be able to go out and run some errands no matter how long it took without him acting like an over-protective beast.
He’d been fine while Cady was awake, her steady stream of chatter keeping him grounded. It was only once he’d put his daughter to bed and was alone with his own thoughts that the tidal wave of panic had struck. So, he’d texted, trying to play it cool, no big deal, but hoping Jamie would give him a clue on when she’d be back.
Nothing. No response. Complete radio silence which had had him bolting from the house before the walls closed in on him. Why wasn’t she texting back? There could be any number of reasons, he told himself, compiling a mental list. She was driving, or she was in a building that had lousy reception, or her battery died and she didn’t have a charger…
Any minute now, she’d show up with that gorgeous smile on her face, relief would flood him, and he’d kick himself for acting like an idiot. Any minute now…
Unfortunately, memories of the night Kelsey had vanished were chipping away at his rationale. She too had been running an errand, just grabbing some ice cream. No big deal. No big deal that was, until it became the focal point of his existence.
Approaching feet had his head snapping around with a warning growl until he saw Sissy cower. He was such a fucking asshole. Sissy was a submissive juvenile with a tender heart and he and all the other dominants needed to take care around her. Where a dominant would give back as good as they got, a submissive tended to retreat into themselves, become introverted, and that was never a good thing when you were a pack. Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he shook his head. “Sorry, Sis,” and then with what he hoped was a reassuring smile, “Did you need something?”
The teen swallowed hard, her eyes unable to meet his but she demonstrated her backbone when she stepped closer. Reaching out to her, Archer gathered her into his arms. “What is it, little one?”
“Is the Hunter going to come back? I like her.”
