Page 35 of Keep Her from Them

The armed guards squinted at me as I flew by, but I didn’t stop to explain myself.

If Alex was loose in the city, she’d thrown herself into harm’s way again, and a wild guess suggested she didn’t have another team member with her. I put on a burst of speed and rounded the corner to the exit she’d left, then refreshed her tracker.

Alex was across the road now and further down a wide boulevard that led away from the royal property. She was slower than me, so possibly in a car as traffic crept steadily through the busy city streets, headlights and horns the backdrop of my flight.

Waiting to cross the road was an exercise in torture, but finally I was over and running again. As I did, I placed another call to Alex that went unanswered, for fuck’s sake, but at least I could see she was on the same road as me and not that far ahead.

Where was she going? There were countless options in the city. A bar, a friend’s house, somewhere private.

On the map, a green space opened up at the end of the boulevard; a large park. Was that her target? I dove between people on the street, outside of busy restaurants and pubs, orwandering in admiration of London’s mixture of old and new architecture without looking where they were going.

I dodged and sprinted my way across half a dozen side streets and a long row of shops before closing in on Alex’s beacon, right at the end of the boulevard. Across another busy road was the park, the gates still open, though night was almost upon us, and orange streetlamps spilled pools of light on the shadowy path under thick trees.

A woman with short hair passed through a patch of light and peered over her shoulder, her side profile giving me an electric burst of energy. The prey I’d been hunting.

Alex had put on another of her disguises, but even if I hadn’t seen her face, I would’ve known her shape. Warmth flooded me at my success.

It was quickly replaced by fresh concern. If I recognised her, others could as well.

I diced with death to cross the road before she vanished into the park’s depths, but as I reached the gate, she was strolling unhurriedly.

I prowled after, catching up to round her with a hand outstretched. “Found ye.”

Alex tilted her head. “How long have you been a pilot?”

She neatly dodged my hand and passed me.

I swivelled to keep pace. “Since I was a teenager and decided I had to learn. Why the fuck are ye out in public without security?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“Because I chased ye across the city. Anything could’ve happened.”

“And if I’d told you where I was going, you would have insisted I took a full team, leaving us unable to talk in private. In this quiet corner of a royal park, where I know the other gateshave already been locked so most people have left.” She dusted her hands as if winning the argument.

“No, I would’ve met ye at the palace gates and had a chance to anticipate what we were going to do. Plus ye wouldn’t have been transmitting your location to anyone watching.” The next words I uttered came out lower and against my better judgement. “I didn’t want to be interrupted by others either.”

She peeked over at me. Her pixie-cut wig of ruffled blonde hair stuck out at angles, and she’d chosen a long-sleeved top with holes for her thumbs and a pair of ratty shorts for the rest of her disguise. Yet it wasn’t that which had me staring at her when she looked away.

The same buzz of something powerful passed between us, just as it had done the time we’d danced together. Alex was undeniably beautiful. She conversed with people easily and handled herself gracefully, even when up to no good. It could have been that spark of passion that ran through her which fascinated me, the one which spilled over into antics that drove the professional version of me crazy. It could have been a lot of things.

In the summer night’s air, all I was certain of was the fact I wanted to test how well she’d fit under my arm, should I choose to extend it to tuck her against me.

It took any amount of effort to force my brain to take the lead over my smitten body. “We should go somewhere safer.”

“We’re fine. I’ve been coming here at night since I was thirteen. The park keeper will round the lake in a minute and call out that he’s locking up. Most people have already gone, but that will take care of the stragglers.”

“And if we’re shut in?”

“We climb a tree to hop the wall.”

I kept my hands loose, watching our surroundings as she spoke. Alex was wrong about the park being empty. There wereat least two couples in discreet corners and a small group on a picnic blanket under the trees. No one appeared to be paying attention to us.

She giggled, the sound so pretty. “Besides, you’ve already catalogued all the dangers, haven’t you?”

I rolled my shoulders, still overly warm from the run. “From what I can tell, no one is following ye, and none of the people I spotted are alone. I can have the team here in minutes if there’s any trouble, but…”

“You’re not going to, because you know I’m right about being safe.”

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