Page 130 of Taken

The passage was empty.

“The shadows,” Ridley mouthed at me.

“Yeah.” I tightened my grip on my knives. We turned sideways and crab-walked down the tunnel, backs to the wall, keeping an eye out both behind and in front of us.

Two rats erupted, squeaking, out of a side passage. We both jumped. Ridley swore under her breath. The rats scurried down the tunnel toward whoever was following us.

Ridley’s eyes met mine. I knew she was thinking the same thing as me.

Run.

We took off, sprinting through the twists and turns until we were on the homestretch. Sometimes you can hear a person in the shadows, and now I did. They weren’t breathing hard—the sprint hadn’t been that strenuous—but they were breathing a little louder than normal.

At the bottom of the staircase, I grabbed Ridley’s arm and tried to push her up the stairs ahead of me. “You first. I’ll hold them off.”

She flicked me a flat, you’ve-got-to-be-kidding look and took a stance next to me, knees bent, blades ready.

George stepped out of the shadows, the big-ass dagger in his hand. He stalked forward, his dark irises encircled by blue fire.

I snarled. “What the hell? Spider gave us sanctuary. Does he know you’re here?”

His smile iced my bowels. “I’ll make it good with Spider. The reward for the two of you is worth ten times what you’re paying him.” He turned his smile on Ridley. “We know who you are, Princess. Or should I call you Reaper?”

Ridley winced and brought her chin up like she’d taken a fist to the belly.

I glanced between her and George, shock warring with confusion.

Princess?

And the reward was for both of us?

Ridley recovered. She snorted. “You have the wrong woman. Trust me, I’m no princess.”

“No?” George smirked—and lunged at us. Ridley tried to throw herself in front of me, but I was there first. I parried George’s blow with my dagger. The clang of silver against silver echoed in the tunnel and reverberated up my arm.

I came back hard, targeting the sweet spot beneath George’s ribcage where I could angle the blade in and up to his heart. He evaded the thrust and slashed down with his dagger, aiming for the tendon in the crook of my elbow.

Just in time, I jerked my arm back, dancing away. Ridley had circled to his right.

My lips pulled back in a toothy grin. Got you, mofo.

Then three more men materialized from the darkness.

29

RIDLEY

Zaq and I stood back-to-back, forcing the four vampires to come to us. The pricks fought dirty. One aimed a kick at my kneecap that I barely avoided, and the other tried to slash my left hamstring.

I was afraid the street-fighting moves would throw Zaq, but he clearly knew a few of his own. When George tried to knee him in the balls, Zaq deflected the blow with his thigh, then grabbed George’s arm and jerking him close, using his momentum against him. Zaq’s blade flashed, slashing through George’s eyeball and half his cheek.

George made a sound that was part groan, part shriek.

All-righty, then.

I stopped worrying about Zaq to focus on my own opponents. They moved in on either side, trying to divide my attention.

I bared my teeth. I’d trained with the best, but I was up against two full-blood vampires. They might be able to take me down, but first, I’d make them hurt.

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