Addict (Hunter #2)(58)

Liv helped me, putting her shoulder under my good arm. I shoved the bad one into my jacket, Napoleon style. I was worried if I let it dangle, it might fall off. We started to make our way to the door.

Suddenly Casey was standing in front of us, his blue eyes wide with pure anxiety. He went a little white as he noticed the bodies on the floor. He took a long breath and I saw his fangs lengthen. Blood. There was blood everywhere. Casey was a baby vamp so he had impulse issues. Yet another thing I probably should have thought about before taking him into the field. Luckily, he was also an academic, and control was their stock-in-trade.

Casey shook off the blood lust and got to the point. “Come on. I hot-wired a car. Dude, what happened to your arm?”

“Talk in the car.” Liv pushed past him, dragging me along, and sure enough there was a nice SUV sitting on the snow-covered street.

Liv shoved me in the front seat then hopped in the back. Casey jammed the car into gear, and I held on for dear life. It was harder than usual since I only had the one hand to hold on with.

“I’m sorry it took so long. I had to find one with four-wheel drive,” he explained. “It’ll handle the ice better. I also called in. Henri is beyond pissed. Marcus is on his way. I don’t know how he knows where we are, but he’d already called Henri.”

I knew what had happened. Marcus had felt my terror and potentially my pain. The fact that he was out there, trying to get to me gave me great strength. Casey moved down the street as I heard someone pull on to the road behind us. I managed to turn in my seat. The van behind us was dark. I prayed it would stop and whoever was inside would go into the clinic and waste precious moments investigating.

Unfortunately, the van barely slowed down. When we turned, it turned, and I saw an arm come out of the passenger side window and a glint of steel reflecting our way.

“We have company.” I pulled the Browning with my left hand, trying to keep the right hand as still as possible. “Keep your head down.”

Liv lay down in the backseat, getting her head out of the way in case they decided to fire into the car. “Are they following us?”

“Yes. They’re coming after us.” I reached up and hit the button that opened the sunroof with the back of my hand.

Casey glanced my way. “Uhm, Kelsey, I don’t think we need fresh air. If you haven’t noticed, it’s snowing. Let’s keep the cold air out.”

I groaned as I turned in the seat and got up on my knees. “You just drive, pretty boy.”

Cold air blasted in from the sunroof. Casey was booking it and the wind whipped in. The last thing I wanted was to get more of my body frostbitten, but I had a better chance with a clear view of the car behind me. I got to my feet and popped the top of my torso through the sunroof.

Pure cold bit into my skin, chaffing every inch of me that was exposed. My lips cracked, but I concentrated on the van racing behind us. I held the Browning tightly in one hand, preparing myself for the recoil. I lined up my shot and pulled the trigger as I released the breath I’d been holding.

Just as I shot, Casey slid across a patch of ice, throwing me into the side of the car. My feet slipped on the leather seats and I slammed my head as I went down. My peripheral vision started to fade, but I managed to keep it together.

“Sorry.” Casey wrestled with the steering wheel to get control over the vehicle.

He turned into the slide and the van behind us took advantage. There was a loud crack as the passenger shot at me through his window. He hit the mirror on my side of the car. I forced myself back up and managed to get a shot off while Casey straightened out the SUV and started toward the freeway.

Blood dripped down from my forehead, clouding my vision. Naturally, I didn’t have a free hand to wipe it away with. I was going to miss my right hand if Henri had to amputate. I hoped Marcus’s blood could heal it, but it felt really dead. I took a deep breath. I wouldn’t have time to miss my arm if the rest of me got shot up.

Casey cursed as the wheels spun out again.

“Hey, could you keep it steady for more than two seconds?” I have to admit that I was the tiniest bit irritable.

“Don’t bitch at me.” Everything about Casey seemed tense. “I’ve never driven in this shit before.”

The van behind us wasn’t having the same trouble. Perhaps their security detail had been brought in from someplace cold. I struggled back into a position to fire from. Again, this is where Trent would have come in handy. I bet that Boston boy knew how to handle some snow. “Try to keep us on the road.”

“Maybe we should wait until Marcus gets here.” Liv hunkered down in the floorboard of the backseat.

“Not an option,” I replied.

The back windshield cracked as it took a bullet.

“Owww!” Casey yelled. His right arm was bleeding freely, staining his shirt. “I think I got shot.”

“Stay calm,” I ordered. “Keep moving. Whatever you do, keep moving.”

Casey tried. He really did. It became impossible when the van slammed into us and our SUV hit the side of a building. The impact jarred through my body and seared my senses. The sound of metal tearing hurt my ears. The airbags deployed, leaving an acrid smell hanging in the air. I wasn’t wearing a seat belt, so I slammed against the side. Pain flared and then the sound of gunfire seemed more distant than before. I could hear someone shouting, but the world seemed hazy and then dark.