see five from my current position but estimated at least three more based on the number of times we were struck and the manner by which they’d attacked.
Some of those doors had sounded damaged. Others had not.
Which meant a party had been sent after me.
The question was, did they want me alive or dead? Because that would play into what they did next.
Hmm, they hadn’t opened fire on the gas tank yet, which was what I would have done if I wanted my victim dead. And their slow approach suggested they were instructed to take me, not kill me.
That gave me a slight advantage because I had no compunction about destroying them permanently.
The scuffles of shoes sounded, the assailants creeping closer.
I could still only see five sets, their approach suggesting their amateur training. They were extremely close together, making what I had to do next far too easy.
Five, I started counting down. Four. Three. Two…
I fired a bullet into the ankle of Idiot One, sent a second into the calf of Idiot Two, and shot a third into the shin of Idiot Three. Idiot Four and Idiot Five took off to the side, giving me the distraction I required to quickly crawl out from the rubble, my gun already aiming in the direction of their general trajectory.
Bam. Bam.
I rolled behind the front of the car, quickly checking my periphery and back. Clear.
Then I focused on the groans.
Their sounds told me where to fire next, making clean shots to their heads almost too simple.
Where are your buddies? I wondered, glancing around, searching for the rest of them. There was no way someone had been ballsy enough to send only five men after me.
Except, I found no one else. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” Talk about insulting. Who the fuck had this brilliant idea? I stood up from my crouch, looking around. “Seriously, is there no one else?”
Aside from a few people peeking out their doors and windows at me, it appeared we were alone.
I stalked over to the men behind this shit show of an operation and gaped. “Vigils?” I glanced around. “Someone sent humans to kill me?” What the ever-loving-fuck is wrong with people?!
This had to be a nightmare.
But no. Nope. They were all mortals.
I returned to the car, bending down. “Come out here,” I told Willow, my tone underlined in an annoyance I couldn’t hide. Because this was just fucking wrong. “Grab my bag.”
She worked to obey, her hiss of pain reminding me that she was not properly dressed for this operation at all. “Shit.” I squatted. “Hold on.” I shrugged out of my suit jacket and handed it to her. “Lay that on the ground and crawl across it.” I gentled my tone just enough for her to know I wasn’t displeased with her but with our entire situation. “Rick?” I called to him.
Still no reply.
“Damn it,” I muttered, standing again to go look at the cars that were used to ram us. Four total with two unconscious mortals inside the more damaged of the vehicles. They must have been knocked out on impact. What a ridiculous operation.
Willow yelped as she tripped over her heels, landing on the hard cement. I returned to her, noting her destroyed outfit and the blood coating her skin. It made me want to kill the mortals again. This time, slowly.
Fortunately, her immortal genetics were already working to heal the superficial scrapes.
“We need to find you something better to wear,” I said just as a hum fell over the city. I blinked, looking around, trying to locate the source as everything went pitch black.
Willow jumped, the hairs along her arms standing on end as electricity sizzled through the air.
I narrowed my eyes. “This was all a distraction.” One meant to keep me from reaching the tower before the real show began. I shook my head. “That wicked cunt.”
“What is it?” Willow asked, her voice holding a slight tremor. “Why…? Where did all the lights go?”
“She cut the power to San José,” I said, a smile flirting with my lips because I couldn’t help but be a little bit impressed. “She probably shut off power to my entire region, actually.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Lilith,” I explained. “She’s showing me that she holds all the power—literally—by shutting off our access to her resources.”
“She can do that?”
I snorted. “Apparently. See, the vampires and lycans used a similar tactic when fighting the humans during the reformation. They cut the mortals off at their knees by removing their access