Page 79 of Dancing with My Elf
Zoe
The front door burst open, and smoke billowed out with a burning stench.
Shit.
Two massive blond men strode out of the smoke with smug smiles. No, not men. Demons.
Jakob was one of them. The blond guy next to him must have been his father, Sven, as he matched the description Gianna had provided. How the hell had they escaped?
I dove behind a car to avoid being spotted and reached inside my coat for my stunner.
A handful of beautiful women strode out from behind them, and my gut sank. The sirens? I couldn’t take them all on alone.
What happened inside the Network? Had they been ambushed and killed?
Panic rose inside like the rise of a roller coaster.
Deep breath. Just breathe and count.
I followed a relaxation breathing technique to slow my racing systems and prevent me from acting reckless.
I texted the group at the Network.What’s going on? I’m in the parking lot. The demons and sirens just escaped. Is everyone okay?
After three seconds of no visible dots indicating a reply was coming, impatience spurred me to act. Staying low, I sprinted behind cars over to the side of a building to search through a window while also keeping track of where the motley group was heading. They were walking through the parking lot.
Cassandra had a gas mass affixed to her face. Beside her was her daughter. I rapped on the window. Cassandra lifted her head but didn’t move. I scanned down. Oh damn, their hands were bound to a chair. Others were down on the ground unconscious—or dead.
Hell!
I pulled a mask out of my toolbelt before I rushed in using my credentials to access the building from the back door. Rushing down the hall to where I’d last seen them, I struggled to unfasten the restraints. Finally, it was done. We ran outside.
After removing my mask, I asked, “What happened?”
Cassandra removed hers to reveal eyes glistened with tears. “I didn’t mean it, Zoe,” she stammered. “They forced me to help them get inside.” She removed Paige’s mask. “They had her. They took my daughter and threatened to kill her!” She touched Paige’s cheek. “Are you okay, love?”
Paige sobbed. “Yeah.” She threw her arms around Cassandra.
I peered around the side of the building. Shoot, they were climbing in two cars, one was Cassandra’s. I couldn’t let them escape.
Gritting my teeth, I turned back to Cassandra. “The others. Are they—okay?” I didn’t want to say dead. Didn’t want to contemplate such a massacre.
Cassandra forced her chin up. “They will be. I used a protection spell before the demons ambushed them with dark magic. They should awaken as soon as the air dissipates.”
The sound of a car ignition jolted me to hurry.
“Great thinking.” I pointed to her. “Open the windows. Take care of yourselves. I’m going after them.”
Her eyes widened. “What? You can’t by yourself.”
“I’ll let you know where they’re headed.”
I ran back into the parking lot just as the white van pulled onto the road. Cassandra’s car was gone.
After I jumped into my car, I started it and squealed the tires as I rushed to catch up with them. Shit, I couldn’t draw attention to myself. Once I left the lot and drove down the road, I spotted the white van. Although every part of me inched to punch the gas in pursuit, I had to fight that urge and slow down. I let a car from the side street in to avoid looking like I was tailing them but immediately regretted that decision as the person stuck to the speed limit like a banner of pride.
“Come on.” I smacked the steering wheel.
I lifted my phone to send an audio text to our group at the Network—not that anyone was likely conscious to hear it.
