sail over the stairwell’s handrails and we drop two stories to the foyer below.
Brianna lets out a squeal of surprise from the freefall, but I’m already up and running us out the main door.
Her eyes are wide open when I tuck her carefully into the stolen car’s front passenger seat. “Collin! What the hell are you doing?”
My heart is thumping so painfully that I can’t reply. I turn into a blur to get around the back of the car.
Brianna makes another sputtering sound of disbelief when I slip into the driver’s seat. The car roars to life, and I stomp on the gas pedal. We peel out of the parking spot, the tires squealing as the moon shines down on us.
Brianna sits straight up. “Collin! Stop!”
Her command falls on deaf ears. My mate was just put in danger because of me. She’s not safe in her apartment. The SF knows that I took her, and they came looking for her. I suspected this might happen, but to actually experience it…
“Fuck,” I growl as we pick up speed.
The SF obviously didn’t expect to find me in her apartment, too, since there were only two of them. It would explain their surprise after they realized I was there. And while I don’t know much about the Supernatural Forces, I do know that when they purposefully confront a rogue, they always send a team of four to five squad members. Never two.
Which means those two weren’t there for me, they were there for Brianna.
I slam my fist into the steering wheel.
Of course, you stupid fuck! They were already onto you last week, and then you took a college student right in the area where they were looking for you. You probably left your scent outside of her work, where she plays sports, and right outside of her fucking apartment. It doesn’t take a genius to deduce you were stalking her.
I don’t know how the SF found out so quickly that I’d taken her, unless they tapped her phone and were able to read her texts or listen into her phone calls. I don’t know what’s been said between her and her friends, but I’m guessing someone said something that alluded to Brianna being missing.
I slam my hand against the steering wheel again, which elicits a yelp from my mate. I’ve been so stupid. But even though I know I’ve been reckless, I would still abduct her all over again.
Otherwise I wouldn’t have her with me now.
“Collin what’s going on?” Fear still lines her words. “You need to tell me. You’re scaring the crap out of me.”
Brianna’s terrified plea has guilt eating me from the inside out. I rake a hand through my hair and try to stop the blood that’s boiling under my skin. After taking a deep breath, I reply, “Your apartment isn’t safe anymore. You can’t stay there.”
“What?” She licks her lips. “What do you mean it’s not safe? What are you talking about?”
With a start, I wonder if she saw any of the destruction in her living room. Maybe I carried her too quickly for her to see those details.
“Two Supernatural Forces members just broke into your apartment, except they weren’t there for me. They were there for you. I still don’t know if they were checking to see if you were home, or if they already knew that I took you and you had returned.” I shake my head. “Maybe they didn’t expect to find you at all. Maybe there were simply coming to investigate your home and my being there surprised them. I don’t know, but I do know that you’re on their radar now.”
She gulps just as I swing the car onto the interstate. I know I need to ditch this vehicle and find something new. We can’t keep driving around in a dead man’s car, and the SF is probably monitoring every vehicle around Brianna’s building if they’re looking for her, but I don’t have time to find a new car right this instant.
We need to put distance between us and Quintin Valley—at least a few miles before I stop.
“Collin,” Brianna says. “What do you mean they were there for me?”
I take another deep breath as my mind continues to spin. There’s so much that I need to do.
I somehow manage to reply, “Do you remember what I told you? About how the Supernatural Forces have sorcerers that can manipulate a human’s thought process?” She nods so I continue. “They were there to either check on