CHAPTER SEVEN
The important thing was that Gabby was okay and the rescue was done in time.
Also an important thing? The fact that Gabby was hiding something.
When they finally located the van containing her and her kidnappers, it had been Jake who’d run after it first, wanting to get it done and over it. Raz had admonished him before eventually following, and they’d used a stolen motorcycle to catch up. Passing by three other vehicles that attacked them and almost got them killed, it was safe to say that these men were professionals, but the only real threat was in the container van itself. In silent agreement, Jake had left the vampire and leaped ahead, intent on getting to the driver.
That was when he heard the last few statements of Gabby bartering in hushed, urgent tones.
Everything else got cut off as he got busy wrestling control over the steering wheel from the driver and Raz finally jumped, too, leaving the motorcycle tumbling behind. Then the driver put up a fight and Jake had to concentrate his efforts there, especially when it turned out said driver was more prepared with some jolting weapon than Jake had expected.
They grappled. They punched each other like hell, and Jake used his claws to strike when the driver used his jolt weapon and singed Jake on the arm. Then the driver dove to the side and off the van, and Jake had to dive for the wheel as the van swerved to the side.
Things happened too fast after, with Raz killing the witch inside the back and blood everywhere. Then it was time to leave, and Jake held on to Gabby as they ran into the forest and away from the open road. Jake and Raz were equally fast, and once Gabby ditched her heels, she was also surprisingly fast as she caught up to their speed. From a distance, they could sense men following them—not shifters, because they hadn’t caught on to their scents fast enough.
Not vampires, either.
To be honest, Jake thought returning to the city and the airport should have been their first option. But he didn’t know this area at all, and he’d rather trust a vampire whose reputation was also at stake than be swarmed by local, prejudiced vampires. They entered a hilly field and saw lights from afar, and Raz kept running in that direction until they stopped a few kilometers away.
The vampire tossed a bottle towards Jake, which he caught.
“Spread that all over you,” Raz ordered. “It will mask your scent.”
Jake remembered Gabby’s silent warning but spread the liquid, anyway. He tossed it at her, who eyed it suspiciously before reluctantly following suit. Then they headed for the lights, which turned out to be a village with an iron gate and wooden walls as high as the tallest oak tree. Lights surrounded the walls, and it was the most impressive sight Jake had seen in a while. He watched as Raz stepped forward, then tried very hard not to tense as the guards blocked his way.
They were vampires.
“I’d like to seek shelter for the night,” Raz spoke, his tone polite. “We are on the run from some vicious forces.”
“State your name,” the guard said forcefully.
“Raz. I’m under Lucinda’s command.”
And just like that, they were granted entrance. The gate closed automatically once they were inside, giving Jake the feeling of being imprisoned. But he shook it off, and they followed as they were led to a barn, where there were lots of hay, some blankets, and boxes of dried food that had Jake thinking this shelter-seeking thing wasn’t a one-time thing.
He could feel a dark presence surrounding the air but couldn’t quite pinpoint it. It gave him the chills, though. The presence disappeared the moment the barn door was closed, and the three of them were left alone.
“These men are very protective of their territory and will not let anyone other than vampires enter,” Raz explained.
The message was clear: they were never to reveal themselves.
“If you took us here to set us up…” Jake warned.
“If you insult me one more time, you’ll discover how petty I can be,” Raz shot back. “We leave at daylight when it’s safer.” Then he was slipping out the barn, closing it with a definitive click.
Once they were alone, Jake checked the premises to make sure there were no traps set. Finding none, he went back to Gabby, who was rubbing her wrists and trying not to wince as she did so. Her orange dress was muddied, and her curly hair looked like it had been through the ringer. The sight of her had him torn between getting irritated by what he heard and wanting to keep her safe from trouble, and his protective instincts surprised him and pissed him off all the more.
So he settled for pulling her to her feet.
“What are you? Why do you need to be healed?” he asked without preamble.
Her eyes widened. Then she quickly banked her reaction down and attempted a smile, one that had anger flowing through him at being duped by it in the beginning. He shook her to show her he meant business, then regretted it instantly when he accidentally touched her wrist, and she hid a wince. Jake ran his hands up her elbows instead to keep her in place.
“Gabby, if you don’t tell me this instant—”
“Your job is to protect me, not to interrogate me,” she interrupted.
“And I’m doing just that,” he shot back. “I’m protecting you from your own stupidity.”
She made a hiss like a cat. She tried to shake him off, but he held on.
“There are some things you’re better off not knowing,” she said. “I barely know you. I don’t trust you.”
“But you can. I’m your bodyguard. I will protect you with my life.”
The words tumbled out before he could stop himself, and she froze. Jake realized he meant it, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. She was right. They barely knew each other. But instinct told him that she needed protection more than anything else, and as a bodyguard, it was his job to provide it.
But protection from what?
Before he could contemplate it, she was trying to move away and purposely evade him again. He clung on, and they had a quiet tug-of-war in place. Gabby glared at him, but he was undeterred, and she finally lost a little bit of the temper she was trying to hold on to.
“I don’t need your protection,” she snapped out. “You ruined everything.”
“What did I ruin, exactly?”
“Answers. The witch. Raz.”
“What answers did you need? What the hell is going on, Gabby?”
With one last force, Gabby pushed him again. This time, Jake let go.
“Raz can’t be trusted. That’s all I can say on the matter.”
Jake scoffed. “Maybe. What answers did you need?”
“To my problem. And that’s my secret,” she answered. Then she moved away and went to the blankets, rummaging around until she found new clothes. She tossed some over to him without a word, then snuck in between some haystacks to get dressed.
Jake did the same, still watching her out of the corner of his eye. He rummaged around the dried food until he found some jerky, then tossed some to her when she stepped out in fresh dark clothes.
Even with the curly hair, even with the less than fashionable dress, she looked absolutely delectable. He didn’t know when he’d started seeing her that way, but there it was, staring him right in the face—an attraction that was inconvenient as well as unnecessary. It was especially unnecessary now that he knew she’d been lying to him, though the same instinct that wanted to protect her also told him that she only lied to protect herself, too.
Damn it.
They sat a safe distance away from each other and quietly ate, replenishing the energy they lost. Questions ran through his mind, and when Gabby stood up, he stood up, too. Then he strode over to her, noting how she quickly stepped back and tried to look for a way out.
Oh, no, you don’t.
Jake shifted his feet for faster movement. Then he was holding her in place again and ignoring her protest as she cursed under her breath and glared at him.
“Tell me,” was all he said.
“No,” she bit out.
“Tell me, or I’ll force your hand,” he threatened.
“And how are you going to do that?” she goaded him. “I’m just as strong as you.”
In response, he pulled her close until their bodies met. “You know I have one way of making you surrender.”
Her eyes widened. Then they flared, and in that flaring, he saw the response from her as she parted her lips almost unconsciously. His body responded, a sexual call from within.
Then her hand came up, and it took a moment for the sting of her slap to register on Jake’s cheek. His ears rang from the force.
Gabby slapped like a pro.
“You’re a conceited ass, and I hate your guts.”
She pushed him off belatedly, and he let her. Jake felt bad for what he said immediately, so he strode over again and took her hands. Then he slid something from his side—a bottle tied through a string around his waist that he always carried around. He opened it and placed some drops on Gabby’s wrists, watching as the burns boiled over before slowly healing right before their eyes.
Gabby gaped. Then she looked up at him in confusion.
“My witch friend gave that to me for emergencies,” he said. “I think that constituted one.”
Jake let her go. Then he slipped out of there before he could do something he would regret.