Page 33 of The Wayward Sons & The Vampires of Fortune
“It’s just a fact, Gray,” Cole said. “We stole Ryder’s clothes—”
“Now, why in the hell would you do that?”
“—and Sam’s payin’ some guy—a human—to help with a bait and switch,” he continued loudly, ignoring me.Asshole.“We plan to send the vampires chasin’ after him while we drive Ryder across the state.”
“That’s a crappy fuckin’ plan.”
“That’s half the goddamn plan,” he told me. I rolled my eyes.Like that made any difference?“The other half involves a private jet.”
Okay, he had me there. I wasn’t expecting a private jet. Though, it sure as hell beat trying to outrun a vampire in a car. I stared at him as I weighed my options. I didn’t like it—not at all. I didn’t like not being a part of it.
I struggled. Every part of me wanted to start a fucking fight—make him turn the goddamn car around. But what plan did I have? What plan did I have that didn’t involve tearing down an entire city of people and then hoping to hell we could outrun vampires alone?
Not a goddamn one.
I didn’t like being useless. Not when it came to protecting Ryder. Not when he needed me.
“Now, can I drive without you doin’ stupid shit again?” Cole demanded. I scowled but said nothing. Instead, I focused on the radio. I reached for the dial to change whatever bullshit it was that he was listening to. When he tried to stop me, I glared at him.
“Lay off. Kidnapped passenger picks the goddamn music, driver shuts the fuck up and lets him do whatever he wants.”
CHAPTER 23
Listen to me very closely, Mr. Collins, because time is of the essence,” Riley said, his voice loud in my ear. “I clocked seven vampires on your trail.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. That number seemed hopeless. I glanced around the small elevator at the weird band of rescuers Riley had sent. Why were we even trying? Even with their weapons and their uniforms, we were outnumbered.
“Not the worst thing we’ve faced,” he retorted.
“He says that like he’s right,” Omega said, shaking his head.
“Hey, we stopped the fucking apocalypse,” Cobalt shot back. “Twice.”
The apocalypse?
Twice?
Who the fuck were these people?
“What?” I managed to ask, unable to hide my shock. Had I missed two apocalypses?
“Maybe we should discuss this at a different time,” Andrea proposed, though her tone offered no room for argument. “We have vampires to handle.”
“You,” Omega jabbed a finger in my chest, “you’re with me. You have my six, I have yours. We shoot the vampires when we can. You don’t worry about them, got it?”
I nodded. At this point, I didn’t have a clue what else to do. I was so overwhelmed, in over my head, and feeding off the wild range of emotions in the elevator.Worry, anticipation, excitement.
Adrenaline surged through my veins, sending my heart rate damn near skyrocketing through the roof when the elevator dinged.
“Here we go,” Cobalt whispered, though his voice was impossibly loud in the small space. I braced myself—body tense, jaw clenched, senses in overdrive.
The doors opened to a dark garage.Impossibly dark.The lack of light was unnerving. Even the fluorescent light from inside the elevator seemed to just… end outside the elevator.
A rhythmic clicking echoed in the empty garage, bouncing off every wall until it faded out. Over and over in an endless trill.
“Well, that’s not fucking ominous,” Cobalt whispered.
“They close-range hunt by echolocation and scent,” Omega replied, his voice tight with tension.
