Page 225 of Blood Day
I pressed my lips to hers, needing to thank her with my tongue, but instead ensured she swallowed a healthy dose of my blood in addition to my gratitude. Because Khalid was right—we were out of time. I could sense the lycans prowling nearby, their presence causing the hairs along my arms to dance on edge.
Interesting that I didn’t sense Viper when he arrived earlier,I thought, pulling away from Lily to take in the silent lycan. He held my gaze with an arrogance that reminded me of Khalid. Perhaps that was why I hadn’t liked him from the start.
Regardless, he was our escort. “Lead the way.”
Chapter 47
Cedric
Viper’s escaperoute led us to an underground tunnel, making the stairwell the trickiest part of our journey. However, he used some sort of device to set off an alarm on the opposite side of the compound, ensuring all the lycans left us alone.
It was a rather uneventful journey, but considering Lily’s half-dressed state, I was grateful for it.
“You can tell Damien you’re out, if you want to absolve his conscience,” Khalid said conversationally as we reached the tunnel exit. “Your comms will work again once we’re outside, but only for thirty seconds. Mention me, and you’ll regret it.”
The threat wasn’t needed.Also…“I very much doubt Damien has a conscience where I’m concerned.” But as I had tucked my earpiece into my pocket earlier, it would make sense to use it to communicate my escape to Damien.
I worked on inserting it again as we reached a set of gates.
The compound had been built on a decomposing trashpile—one that had to be at least a hundred and fifty years old since it was from an era where humans had ruled. That was what had created the somewhat hilly infrastructure for the building. I wasn’t sure of the purpose for this tunnel, but it was clearly part of the grand design because Viper needed a code to open the gate.
Once he keyed it in, we stepped out into the evening sun with a clear view of a four-by-four vehicle.
A quick glance around proved that we were very much alone out here, meaning I could try to grab Lily and run. But one howl from Viper could still draw a lot of attention, and wolves on four paws would outrun me and Lily.
If I knew the land better, I could teleport.
Alas, I wasn’t as familiar with this area. And I didn’t want to risk phasing into the middle of a structure or in the center of a prowling lycan pack.
Besides, Khalid would just follow me.
“Twenty-five seconds, Cedric,” he murmured.
I nodded and pressed my finger to the comms unit. “Damien?”
No reply.
“Just letting you know I’m out and I have the package.”
“Roger that,” he replied. “Any casualties?”
“None.”
“That’s disappointing,” he drawled. “So much for making it rain.”
“Maybe next time,” I told him.
“Maybe next time,” he echoed.
“I’ll transfer the rest of your payment later today.” I held Khalid’s gaze while I spoke the words, my subtle way of saying that if I didn’t make that transfer, Damien would come looking for me. Not because he cared about me as a friend or anything of that nature, but because he wouldn’t appreciate being stiffed.
“Excellent. See you around.”
The line went dead before I could reply. I wasn’t sure if that was from Damien severing the feed or if I’d run out of time. Whatever the case, it didn’t matter, because Khalid was already walking toward the waiting vehicle.
“Viper will drive us to my jet. Then we’ll talk,” he said by way of explanation.
“On your jet?” I guessed.
