didn’t care if anyone saw him. All he cared about was Grace and whoever was responsible. Ripping the driver’s side door off its hinges, he tossed it aside like a crumpled piece of paper. Slumped over the seat against the steering wheel was a Fallen. They’d found her.
Not understanding why the driver couldn’t move, Quentin grabbed him and slammed him back against the seat. “You’ve come to help me, have you?” the Fallen said with an evil sneer.
Glancing down, Quentin saw that his legs were crushed and stuck under the smashed steering column and dashboard. A tempting thought shot through his mind. The enemy was stuck, which meant he wasn’t going anywhere. Quentin could make him pay—slowly and painfully. Fallen and Guardian didn’t die, not by human means, but they could surely be hurt. Every sick method of torture rushed to the forefront of his mind.
Quentin’s smile turned equally evil. “Actually, I have.”
The blade’s hilt gripped tightly in his hand, he swung it over his head and slammed it into the man’s groin, and the Fallen shrieked in pain. Quentin knew he could have sliced him anywhere and the Fallen would have appeared to have died, sending his soul back to his holding chamber in hell; however, Quentin felt Grace’s pain and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mete out a little justice on the responsible party. He wanted to inflict more, but he didn’t have time for pleasantries. The groin seemed like an excruciatingly painful, but quick spot.
He pulled himself away from the SUV, crossing the intersection to the Blazer with a few strides. Only a couple of moments had passed since he’d arrived at the accident, but it felt like an eternity. Not knowing how badly the others were hurt, he refrained from righting the vehicle. Squatting slightly, he powered himself over the vehicle, ripping Grace’s mangled door from its hinges and pulling it with him as he rolled to the other side. Quentin opened his hand and the hunk of metal clanked loudly on the concrete beside him. With both hands, he tested the stability of the Blazer on its side. Satisfied it wasn’t going anywhere, he leapt atop it, one foot on the top of Grace’s door frame, the other on the bottom.
Grace and Emily were unconscious. Tommy moaned and Leah cried with confusion. He knew it seemed harsh, but he couldn’t worry about the welfare of the others; there was no time. Sirens screamed in the distance. From past experience, he knew just because someone wore a badge didn’t mean they were at the scene to help. The Fallen could be anywhere, or anyone.
He peered down at Grace and then around to her friends, as he took his blade and gently cut her seatbelt. With lightning speed, he bent inside and gently slipped his arms under her shoulders and legs, and pulled her out. Before leaping off, he told the others they’d be okay and help was on the way. As he was running back to his Jag, ignoring all the gasping onlookers, Grace came to and began mumbling about her friends.
“It’s okay, Grace, I’ve got you. Your friends are safe.”
Relief washed over him as he buckled her into the passenger seat of his car. She was safe and was going to be alright.
Shoving the gear in drive, he slowly made his way through the stalled cars surrounding the accident. Grace came to completely, trying to make sense of the wreckage. When she noticed Tommy’s car, Quentin’s seneschal band twisted with fear.
“Emily,” she whispered. “Stop the car!” she screamed.
“I can’t,” he said tersely. He glanced at Grace and, sensing her resistance, gentled his voice in an attempt to sound sympathetic, but firm. “I have to get you home. It’s my responsibility to keep you safe.”
Quentin blinked hard and groaned as she grabbed the door handle and shouted, “If you don’t stop the car, I’m getting out anyway.”
He pulled over on the shoulder. “Please, Grace, listen to me. The Fallen know where you are. There could be more coming.”
“I don’t care,” she hissed. The seatbelt clicked free, and she scrabbled for the door again.
Desperate, he grabbed her hand. He watched as she sucked in a breath, staring at him with the same wonderment in her eyes as she did every time he touched her. “Don’t. Please,” he begged.
Grace relaxed and her face softened. “I have to. I can’t leave my friends.” Then she smiled that beautiful smile. “You’re my Guardian. Guard me.”