Page 39 of Mortal Heart

“Assuming we can get there.” His chest rumbled. “They’re behind us.”

She hadn’t heard anything or seen headlights, but when she glanced over her shoulder she saw two small black SUVs, their headlights off, two blocks back and gaining fast. “Are they tracking the bullet?” she asked.

“Probably not. Visual tracking most likely. It’s hard to do that kind of magic in a speeding vehicle.”

That was moderately good news, at least. She took off her jacket, found the bullet wound in Ronan’s side, and made sure the jacket was wedged tightly between them so its lining would soak up his blood.

“I suggest you lose them,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist again. “And do it fast, before you faint from blood loss and wreck us. We don’t have our helmets, and you promised you’d get us out of this without killing me.”

He shook slightly with what she thought might have been silent laughter, though with a bullet in him it must have hurt like a son of a bitch. “Hold on to me, my Valkyrie,” he said and twisted the throttle.

With a roar of horsepower, the Harley shot ahead. She squeezed him as tightly as she dared and watched over her shoulder as the SUVs fell back initially, then began closing the distance again. When it came to vehicles, as a rule the vamps loved luxury and engine power, and their pursuers were no exception.

Ronan slowed and took a right at a cross-street, an immediate left, and another much sharper right. She made the turns with him, leaning forward slightly, her elbows low and grip tight on his waist. A few blocks later, the SUVs reappeared behind them, now only about a hundred yards away. They must have found a shortcut. The back of her neck prickled.

“We didn’t lose them,” she said into Ronan’s ear. “They probably want us alive, but that might not be a mandate.”

He knew these streets well for a relative newcomer to town, she thought. She’d been here for several years, but this part of town wasn’t the area she knew best. Then again, the Harley had a GPS on its dash that showed their location and the immediate surroundings, so maybe he was relying on that too.

“We want to head north and east toward the witch’s house,” she told him as they took another corner and sped down an alley.

He made a left, heading east. She no longer saw the vamps, but she had no reason to think they were in the clear. Her suspicions were confirmed when one of the SUVs appeared once again behind them.

She wanted to text their would-be helper and warn of their arrival, but she had to keep her attention on what Ronan was doing—not to mention she needed both hands to hold on as he tried to lose their pursuers. Her jacket squelched with his blood when she moved. He was breathing hard, and she could feel his heart pounding as the chase went on. That meant he was losing blood even faster.

“How are you doing?” she asked as they turned another corner, echoing his words to her in the elevator shaft.

“I’m lightheaded,” he said grimly. “I can’t keep going much longer, and they’ll be able to start tracking this bullet before long. All they’ll need is someone who can scry.”

She spotted a familiar building ahead. “Turn into that parking garage.”

“A parking garage is a death trap, not an escape route. Using one to lose a tail only works in movies.”

Her temper flared. “Just do it, damn it!”

He slowed and made the turn into the entrance. The gate was down for the night, but the Harley made it around the barricade through a very narrow gap between the gate and the curb. The SUV would probably drive right through the gate.

When he headed for the ramp that went up, she poked his shoulder. “Go down.”

“Down?” he echoed disbelievingly. “You’ve got to be joking.” But he obeyed, steering the Harley down the ramp to the garage’s below-ground parking levels.

“First, they’ll never believe we’d go down instead of up. That’ll buy us a little time,” she said as the Harley made it to sub-level one. She pointed to the narrow pedestrian ramp to their right. “And second, they can’t fit up that ramp. If I remember right, it comes out on the terrace of a conference center.”

“Good thinking.” He revved the Harley’s engine and headed for the ramp. She braced herself and held on tightly.

They went up the ramp far more quickly than even she would have attempted as a single rider. At the top, Ronan scanned the terrace, located a ramp down to street level, and followed that path to a street Arkady knew much better than the area of town around Nyx.

Best of all, she saw no sign of the SUVs. They might still be lurking, but judging by Ronan’s labored breathing, they’d run out of time to screw around. If the vamps caught up with them, they’d just have to deal with it. They needed a witch, and they needed hernow.

She gave Ronan the address of their destination and pulled out her phone to send a quick text.Coming in hot with a man wounded by a bullet spelled with black magic. I’ve been poisoned by demons. Need first aid and an umbrella.Umbrellawas code between them for protection and hiding.

The full minute that passed between her message and the response had Arkady’s already frayed nerves even more on edge. Finally, an answer came:Go straight to Carly’s, the text read on her phone’s screen.I’ll meet you there.

Arkady let out a breath and tapped on Ronan’s shoulder to give him the new address. A painful cramp in her stomach made her groan. Ronan put his hand on hers and squeezed.

In her worry about his bullet wound and their pursuers, she’d gotten enough adrenaline to hold off her own pain. Now the agony came back with a vengeance. She swallowed hard and rested her head against Ronan’s warm back. All she could smell was leather and blood.

We have to get to Carly’s, she thought, a little hazily.Just get to Carly’s. Then we’ll be okay.

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