Page 82 of Soul Bound

The blond man with the busted face lunges for Ranger, slamming into his back. Ranger stumbles forward a couple of feet but regains his balance. Ranger throws the guy over his shoulder, and the man’s body hits the tile floor with such force I’m surprised he didn’t break his back. He does however get the wind knocked out of him and he lays there gasping for air. While Ranger was distracted with him, his back was turned to the bald man. I barely get a chance to call out a warning to Ranger when the guy pulls a knife from his belt—the blade is serrated and looks sharp as hell. The guy jumps at Ranger, knife held high. My mouth opens in warning, but I don’t have time to form words because suddenly the hallway fills with the scent of smoke.

A tall, black-haired man appears out of thin air and snatches the knife from the goon’s hand in one fluid motion. He squints at the knife as if he is thoroughly unimpressed by it before tossing it onto the floor. The new man wraps his hand around the bald guy’s throat. I expect him to start squeezing but he simply just touches the guy. I don’t know what he does, but suddenly the baldy drops to his knees and his face contorts into silent screams of pain.

“That was the bad guy, right?” the newcomer asks, eyeing the man writhing in pain at his feet.

“Jax?” Ranger’s brows pull together as he looks at the man. “What’re you doing here?”

“Pruitt told me what was going on and I decided to come help.” The man—Jax—smirks. “Good thing I did, huh? Because that wasn’t looking good for you.”

“Yeah, well, we can’t all use hellfire.” Ranger wipes some blood off his hand on his slacks.

“Wait,hellfire?” I cock my head at Jax. “You’re the demon I’ve heard so much about?”

“And you’re the ghost girl I’ve just learned about.” Jax grins at me.

Jax is hot.

There’s no other way to describe him. His olive skin is naturally tan, and his hair is so black it almost looks blue. It’s shorn short on the sides, leaving the top longer. Strands of inky hair fall on to his forehead. His face is all angles. Sharp cheekbones and jaw, with a straight nose. His almond-shaped eyes are what catch my attention the most, they’re a pale violet color. He’s not as muscular as Ranger or Ransom, but he’s the same height.

“That’d be me.” I nod.

“I’d love to stop and swap childhood horror stories, because I’ve heard you have a few, but I don’t think now is the time.”

As if on cue, the door on the other side of the hallway flies open and eight other men barrel toward us. “Shit!”

“Arizona!” I turn quickly to look at Ranger and find he’s taken one of the downed guard’s access keys to open the door to the penthouse. “Go, we’ll take care of this.”

I look between the door and the men barreling toward us. “Ranger…”

“Go!” Ranger urges. “Go get her!”

I jog for the door but stop in front of him. “Don’t you dare get hurt,” I warn him before I slip through the doors, leaving the sound of fighting men behind me.

24

Winslow

Idon’t know why I was expecting to walk into something resembling a cattle auction, but I was. I’m shocked to find the inside of the penthouse looks like a fancy house party. People loiter around in all the corners of the modern space. People of all ages and backgrounds are here, mingling among each other. I notice a couple of them have bid cards in their hands or tucked in their jacket pockets.

Keeping my head down, I walk through the people trying to find a dark corner or bathroom I can come up with a plan in. I walk through a large living room, in the middle of it is a makeshift stage. A man in an expensive suit stands on it, talking to some of the guests that stand below him. My steps falter when I realize I know the man—it’s Vance Langdon—the other man who took Thalia’s baby. He was on the jet with Adam. Whisper had said he tracked Vance to New York, but I didn’t expect to see him here. If Ranger was in here, I’d bet money he would walk right up to Vance and yank him off the stage by his throat—I want to do that too, but know I can’t.Right now, anyway.

“We will be auctioning off the next item in twenty minutes,” someone announces, their voice booms over the soft music playing. “Everyone grab yourself a beverage and if you haven’t already come gather your bid card.”

I walk around another couple that are huddled together, whispering. I can’t help but think this is a really weird date night activity.

I duck into a dark corner in between the kitchen and living room. The lighting in the penthouse is dim and purple LED lights are used as an accent, casting dark shadows. I know the baby issomewherein the penthouse, but I don’t know how to go searching for her without drawing attention to myself. I can’t go around opening every door I come across.

A familiar shiver runs down my spine and my eyes shoot around the room. I spot her almost instantly; she stands out in the crowd of people dressed in suits and evening dresses. At the end of the hallway across the living room space stands Thalia. She cocks her head to the side and waves her hand at me, motioning for me to follow her.

I look around to see if anyone is watching me and find everyone is too engrossed in themselves or Vance who’s still standing on the platform. I weave around as quickly as I can without drawing attention to myself.

The farther down the spacious hallway that I follow Thalia the fewer people there are. I start to relax when the loud voices of the guests start to sound muffled, but I don’t let my guard down.

Thalia disappears around a corner and I quicken my pace to keep up with her, my high heels are making too much noise on the marble floor and I stop to lean against a wall so I can slip them off. With my heels in my hand, I jog down the rest of the hallway to find Thalia. I round the corner to find her, but she isn’t there. I move to the glass staircase and find her standing at the top of the landing, her hand motions again for me to follow her.

I check once more over my shoulder to make sure that no one is following me. No one is there, so I rush up the steps. I step beside Thalia when I reach the landing. “Divide and conquer? I get the baby and you take out any bad guys we come across?”

She just cocks her head to the side.

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