Destiny Gift (The Everlast Trilogy) - By Juliana Haygert Page 0,69
his arms were still around me, with his perfect body touching mine, his sweet kisses intoxicating me, his inebriating scent … I cleared my mind, then refocused. Control of the situation was slipping from our hands.
“I have an idea,” Morgan said. “My aura is much weaker. I’ll go outside and check it out. Perhaps they’re still in the back, like Nadine saw in her vision, and we can run away before they see us.”
“I don’t like it,” I said.
“It’s all we have,” Micah said.
As if we were voting, we turned to Victor. He shrugged. “I’m impartial. Though, I’d rather find a solution where none of us takes risks.”
“I agree.” I glanced up at him. He returned my quick look with a warm shine in his eyes. I wondered what would happen between us when we were done with this adventure—if we survived.
“We don’t have time to brainstorm,” Morgan argued. Then, he took off.
I watched, wide-eyed, as he passed through the hotel’s main door and then looked up and down the street. He seemed to see nothing alarming, but I found myself twirling my hair with both hands. Beside me, Victor squeezed my wrist, causing me to stop my nervous habit and causing my heart to beat even faster.
Through the glass walls, I saw Morgan give a shrug. He came back inside with an easy smile. “Nothing out there. Are you sure about your vision?”
His words felt like a punch in my stomach. I didn’t like when people doubted me. I ended doubting myself too. “I-I don’t know.”
“Just to be sure, I’ll go out again and get the car. When I pull up to the front, we leave.” He motioned to Victor who fished the car keys out of his pocket and handed them over.
“Do your visions ever betray you?” Micah asked, his gaze following Morgan as he strode outside, then down the sidewalk.
I thought about Micah’s question for a moment. Even if what I had seen wasn’t real—my time with Victor, for example—all the things I was told or saw in my visions had come true.
“Never.”
That was when Morgan ran toward the car. I squinted and stepped closer to the door, trying to see what had triggered him to run, but stopped when I saw bats descending.
“We need to help him,” I yelled, ready to sprint outside.
Micah’s hand on my shoulder prevented me. “Want to get yourself killed?”
“We can’t let him get hurt.”
At that moment, a bat landed on Morgan’s back. He fell onto the pavement. He tried to crawl away, but another bat landed beside him.
“I’ll go,” Victor said.
I recoiled, watching as Morgan tried to protect his face from slashing claws.
“Don’t be stupid,” Micah snarled. “I’m the best one for this. I hope I still can repel them.”
I didn’t like the idea of any of us going out there, but I also didn’t like the idea of leaving Morgan alone to serve as bat food. So, I didn’t stop Micah when he ran outside.
But Morgan did. “Don’t,” he shouted, wrestling one of the bats that was trying to bite his neck. “It’s you they want. Go!”
We didn’t have time to process. The bats’ attention turned to us just as the demons I’d seen in my vision rounded the corner of the hotel. They hurtled toward us and growled like gorillas, saliva streaming out of their gaping mouths and baring sharp teeth. Yellow eyes burned with pure death and desire.
I froze. Victor and Micah pulled me back, though I had no idea where we could run to, especially since Brock was coming toward us, holding a gun pointed at my face.
The guys stiffened, and my knees quivered, threatening to buckle. Brock shoved his way through the lobby, pushing the doorman to the ground. A woman saw him and screamed, shifting the attention to us.
“Turn around and step outside,” Brock ordered.
“Or what?” Micah asked, clenching his fists.
“The demons won’t like it, but I’ll kill the girl.” Brock pulled the gun’s safety off.
Behind me I felt Victor move, and then a lamp flew past me, smacking Brock in the temple. His gun wobbled, and Micah jumped at Brock and punched him again. Hard.
When Brock seemed too weak to stand alone, Micah let go.
Victor grabbed me. “What now?” His arms around my shoulders tried to steady me as I shook uncontrollably. My head spun. I heard women scream and men yell, but Victor and Micah didn’t seem to care that the customers and staff were freaking out around us.