Page 624 of Shadowblood Souls
His tone is dry, but I know him well enough to taste the actual insecurity behind it, even if he’s not upset enough for any emotion to blare through our bond. Even after all this time, a little part of him hasn’t totally forgiven himself for how he treated me when we were first reunited.
That knowledge squeezes my heart. I go over to him and slip my arms around his waist while I gaze up at him. “Who says I wasn’t saving the best for last?”
“Hey!” Andreas says in mock protest, but he’s grinning.
A flicker of the heat I love so much in Jacob lights in his gaze. He dips his head to claim a kiss that feels like a question and a demand wrapped together.
When our lips part, I slide my hands down his chest over his shirt. “Are you going out on the hunt tonight?”
“I mean, Icouldbe persuaded to stay in…”
I touch his cheek, the tension I’ve been carrying quivering with a twinge I can’t explain. “No, I want to go out with you too. See how it’s going these days. Bring down a few baddies?”
Jake’s smile softens. “Sounds like a good time.”
It isn’t the first time we’ve gone out together for one of his vigilante shifts, though it’s been a while. I dress all in black, hiding my silvery hair under my sweatshirt’s hoodie, and wave good-bye to the other guys before we head out into the night.
Zian’s outfitted Jacob with a higher-tech set-up since the last time I joined him. The device in his pocket transmits the police chatter to a wireless earphone. As we amble through the streets in one of the city’s more questionable neighborhoods, he flips through the few main channels, pausing and cocking his head when he needs to listen more closely.
He keeps one hand clasped around mine and stares daggers at anyone who passes by and glances at me. I restrain myself from rolling my eyes.
Jake knows perfectly well that I could eviscerate anyone who hassled me. I won’t criticize his protective instincts when I know how much love they’re driven by.
We’ve been making the rounds for almost an hour when Jacob’s posture stiffens. His expression hardens with concentration as he listens to the radio. Then he tugs me around a corner.
“There was a drive-by shooting at the other end of the neighborhood. Police are giving chase—the car’s heading this way. If we’re fast, we might be able to intercept them before they hurt anyone else…”
We dash together down one alley and a second, through an intersection and around another corner. The blare of sirens reaches my ears, distant but getting louder.
The culprit appears to be on the verge of getting away. I can’t even see the flashing lights of the police cruisers yet, but a beat-up sports car careens into view. As Jacob motions toward it to indicate it is the one we’re looking for, the driver swerves around a bend up ahead.
Jake curses and doubles back the way we came. I run alongside him, pushing my legs to supernatural speed, my heart thumping hard with the rush of adrenaline.
There’s nothing like the exhilaration of pushing myself to my physical limits—especially when it’s for a good cause.
The roar of an engine tells me the car is about to pass our cross-street faster than we can reach it—if I keep holding myself back so I don’t leave Jacob behind.
With a split-second decision, I hurl myself forward even faster. The wind bites at my eyes, and the buildings blur around me.
I burst into the next intersection just as the car zooms into view. Instinct propels me forward.
I leap cat-like onto the hood. The driver jerks the wheel in surprise, and I sway with the car’s sudden movement like I’m surfing.
My position is precarious, but the gambit worked. The car slows now that the driver can’t see where he’s going.
“Riva!” Jacob hollers with an edge of panic, reaching the street. He whips his arm around, and the spines he can exude spring free from his arm.
The moment I hear them slam into one tire with a squeak of deflating rubber, I hurl myself back to the sidewalk. The car screeches on down the street, but it’s slowing even more now that one of its back wheels is going flat.
Jacob jogs closer with a few sharp gestures of his hand. His telekinetic power dents the doors—and I’m guessing breaks the locking mechanism so the handles won’t work.
The shooter won’t be able to get out and run for it.
A police car speeds into view at the far end of the street. Jacob grabs my arm, and we dash away.
When we stop in an alley several blocks over, I’m panting but smiling. “Not bad for my first night on the job in ages.”
“That was kind of crazy,” Jake grumbles, but then he kisses me so hard electricity crackles through my veins. He murmurs against my lips. “You’re fucking incredible.”
