Page 23 of Delinquents Turned Fugitives
Malcolm immediately popped his head up from where he’d bent forward to check Andros’ pulse, or lack thereof. “What?” he asked sharply.
“He’s gotta be playing the music off his phone,” Z said, waving his hand. “Don’t worry I can disconnect—”
“Bluetooth uses radiowaves. It only has a short range, like thirty feet,” I whispered as chills crept up my spine.
“So?” Evan asked.
“We should still be able to see him,” Malcolm’s reply was low and even, though his face grew pale.
I glanced out the open van door, down the alley where Gray had disappeared, but the tall buildings made it nothing more than a shadow-filled gash. I didn’t see Maurice’s silhouette. I didn’t see Gray’s either.
Goosebumps formed on my arms as I tilted my head and caught Evan’s eye. “How long has Maurice been gone?”
“Um…”
Evan’s uncertainty was guillotined by a shout from Gray.
“Go!”
His yell shot through me like a bullet.
I turned to see Gray spring out from behind a dumpster, sprinting toward us at top speed. A weak wind whipped behind him, his power shoving backward and flipping up smashed soda cans and random trash. That thin wall of wind was the only thing that separated him from the nude, clawed vampire who stepped out from behind the dumpster. Even without lighting, I could see the vamp’s entire chest was coated in a dark, slick substance.
Fuck.
Maurice. Poor Maurice.
My hand flew to my mouth as I realized our driver was dead.
The vampire snarled as he started to chase after Grayson.
My heart contracted.
His six-inch long claws caught on Gray’s shirt.
I slid to the side door opening and screamed, “Cover your eyes!” Then I shot blinding sunlight into the alley though using my power made me feel faint. I wavered where I stood.
The vampire howled.
“Fuck!” In the front seat, Z cursed, grabbing the passenger door and slamming it closed. He started to scramble across the console to the driver’s side but I faintly heard Malcolm argue with him and climb into the driver’s seat. Maurice’s key fob still lay on the dash. Malcolm fumbled with the controls and the engine roared to life.
“Come on, Gray!” I screamed, though all I could see of him now was his outline.
He leapt through the door, the clawed menace still attached to his shirt as he fell face first onto Andros.
As soon as I saw Gray’s feet clear the door, I slammed the door shut on the creature’s body. Again. And again.
“Fuuck!” I screeched, panic surging through me as I saw the crazed vampire’s fangs descend toward Gray’s back.
Evan shifted with a roar, his grizzly head smacking the roof of the van and his shredded clothes fluttering around the van’s interior like fallen leaves. He used his bear paws to yank the vampire’s claw out of Gray’s back and bodily threw the wild, slavering man backward. The vamp tumbled out and I managed to smash the van’s door closed. Malcolm floored the gas pedal and peeled out into the street.
I turned, chest heaving, clutching the passenger chair for balance as I looked down at Gray. Evan had already shifted back to human and knelt. He pulled up Gray’s shirt to examine his back. The wound looked deep, and was at least four inches long, right near his shoulder blade.
“Shit!” I cursed.
“I’ve got this,” Evan reassured me. He grabbed his wand and the parchment he’d laid out to work on Andros.
“No, it won’t—” Gray muttered, raising a hand to block Evan, but then sucked air through his teeth as if the movement had hurt.
