Why would it be that way when everything was so wrong? Surely it should be storming. But it wasn't. The world appeared completely ignorant of the horrors to come.
"I have to fix this," she whispered. Before it was too late.
She would go with Choo Co La Tah to the Valley.
And there she would die.
Jess followed Sasha's directions as they sped toward Abigail's location. His stomach was knotted tight, and he had no idea why. It wasn't just that she was gone. He had a tangible need to find her and make sure she was all right.
To make sure no one hurt her.
He came around a corner right as a car rolled through the stop sign-straight into his path. Biting his lip, he tried to swerve to miss it, but because of the car's speed, it still managed to clip his back tire. His motorcycle came out from under him and dragged him down the street at a deadly pace.
Crap! The asphalt tore at his clothes and skin, reminding him why he wore a duster when he rode and why he was glad he was no longer mortal. Still, it hurt to kiss pavement, and his body was extremely unhappy with this predicament.
* * *
Abigail's heart stopped beating as she realized in her dazed stupor that she'd just hit someone. She slammed on the brakes and looked back to see the motorcycle and rider on the street, skidding sideways toward the curb.
Oh my God! What have I done now?
It wasn't until she'd put the car in park and opened the door that she recognized the sprawled-out man.
"Jess!" She ran toward him as fast as she could. She cringed at the length of how far he'd traveled over the road on his back. He's a Dark-Hunter. A crash won't kill him. In her mind, she knew it was the truth.
But her emotions weren't listening. Panic filled her as she drew closer and didn't see him moving.
Jess lay on the street, looking up through his helmet, trying to figure out if he'd broken something other than his pride. Gah, it hurt to breathe. To move. He felt pretty banged up, but it was hard to tell just how bad.
And the damned billion-pound motorcycle was lying on his foot. That was going to leave a limp.
"Jess!" Out of nowhere, Abigail appeared, her face a mask of terrified fear. Before he could answer, she sank down beside him. "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Are you all right? Are you alive? Did I hurt you?" She clutched at his body as if trying to find an injury. "Jess? Can you speak?"
It was so wrong, but he couldn't help grinning at her panic. No woman had been this scared for him in a long while. "Yeah, I can talk. But I kind of like the attention you're giving me. You want to grope a little lower, it'd be even better."
"Oh, you..." She shoved at him.
Pain cut through his body. "Ow!"
Her panic returned instantly. "Are you all right?"
He laughed. "Dang, you're easy."
"And you're completely evil."
Jess pulled his helmet off to stare up at her. The streetlights played in her dark hair, making it shimmer. Her eyes glowed with warmth, concern, and anger. It was a heady combination. "And you're completely beautiful."
Abigail's breath caught at those unexpected words. They settled something deep inside her. Made it calm in a way she'd never been calm before. And at the same time, her entire body was on fire from his nearness. A strange dichotomy that made no sense whatsoever.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her lips down to his so that he could give her the hottest kiss she'd ever received. One so unsettling that it made her entire body burn and caused her to forget where they were and what had happened. Nothing mattered in this moment except the sensation of his tongue sweeping against hers. Of his arms holding her close to his hard body.
Nothing had ever felt better.
"Excuse me, people. You're both lying in the middle of the street. Might want to move before someone else runs over both your damn fool selves."
Abigail pulled back, then turned to glare at Sasha, who stood on the curb, under the streetlamp, giving them an irritated grimace. She started to smart off, when all of a sudden, she heard a peculiar sound. It was like someone had let loose a herd of angry chainsaws.
Scowling, she looked back at Jess. "What is that?"