Scorched Ice (Fire and Ice #3)(48)

Quinn’s attention was diverted from them when Julian took hold of her arms and kissed her.

“Stay here,” he commanded and released her.

“I can help you with this.”

He shook his head as he coiled the chain around his fist and gave it a small tug. “I can move faster on my own.”

Before she could respond, he took off like a sprinter from the starting line. A sprinter with supernatural speed and strength. She was still trying to process where he was when the chain jerked solid, a grinding noise filled the air, and the whole porch tore away from the house. It slid off its foundation like a dock sliding into a pond.

It continued to move forward for another ten feet before coming to an abrupt halt. Quinn spun toward the remains of the porch to discover the concrete bunker beneath it that the removal of the porch had revealed. Like a groundhog, a man emerged from an opening in the bunker. He pushed open a thick metal door, keeping it at his back as he lifted a rifle to his shoulder, took aim at Julian and started pulling the trigger.

Herb, she recognized him from the hotel.

Julian ran in a zigzag pattern across the ground. The earth around his feet kicked up around him from the impact of the bullets. Some of them pelted the garage doors, shredding wood as gunfire rang across the clearing and echoed through the mountains.

Quinn sprang forward to distract Herb from Julian as Vern lunged forward from the other side of the porch toward their enemy. Seeming to realize retreat was his best option, Herb’s hand closed on the handle of the metal door beside his head at the same time blood burst out the side of his skull.

Quinn staggered back when Herb convulsively fired a few more shots that cracked off the trees before he slumped over the side of the bunker. Her eyes widened on the bolt that had driven all the way through Herb’s skull until it jutted out the other side of his head.

Her eyes were drawn to Chris in the doorway as he swung his crossbow over his back and secured it into place. No emotion played over his face while he surveyed Herb’s unmoving form.

“Nice shot,” Julian said to Chris as he strode past her and toward the body.

“Told you I wouldn’t hesitate,” Chris replied, and there was a coldness in his eyes she’d never seen from him before.

“So you did.” Julian knelt beside Herb and slid his fingers into Herb’s thick brown hair. He jerked his head up to peer more closely at him. “It’s Herb.”

Quinn glanced at Herb’s bugged out eyes before focusing on the bunker Herb had been hiding in. Hundreds of holes lined its concrete walls. Holes that had housed the numerous bolts Herb had unleashed on them. It was an ingenious and disturbing design; she would bet anything that Herb could have survived in the bunker for months at a time.

Julian abruptly released Herb’s hair and rose to his feet. Pulling Herb from the bunker, he tossed his unmoving body aside. Before she could blink, Julian disappeared inside of it.

“Julian!” she gasped and rushed forward. She was about to jump in after him when Julian’s hands grasped the sides of the entrance, and he pulled himself out. “Stop doing shit like that!” she snapped at him.

He rose to his feet and reached for her, but she slapped his hand away.

“I’m sorry, Dewdrop. I wasn’t thinking.”

“You should start. It’s not just you anymore!”

“I could never forget.”

This time when he went to touch her, she didn’t try to stop him. She was still pissed, but they’d almost been killed. She could get angry with him again later. He cradled her cheek with his palm for the briefest of seconds before his hand fell away.

“What was in there?” Chris asked as he jumped down from the doorway of the cabin, followed by Dani and Melissa.

“Enough supplies to keep him alive in there for a while, portable toilet, family photos and some medals from Vietnam; they were his father’s. From what I’ve glimpsed, he kept most of those things stored in there and must have been in the process of retrieving them when we arrived. All documents involving The Commission are elsewhere. We have to go.” Julian clasped hold of Quinn’s hand and pulled her away from the wall of the cabin.

“Where elsewhere?” she asked as they ran across the clearing with the others flanking them. They reached the woods, and the group gathered there.

“Where the rest of The Commission can be found,” Julian replied. Quinn’s hand squeezed his as all the others exchanged looks.

“Do you know where that is?” Devon asked.

“I do, and I have somewhat of an idea on how to get there. We can discuss it later, but we have to get to safety before the sun rises, and to Maine to meet with the others. We’ll talk more there. You have my new number?” he asked Vern.

“Yes. We’ll be staying at the motel in town for the day. I’ll let you know when we’re on the move again and on our way to Maine.”

“Good.”

No one said another word as they raced down the road to the waiting vehicles. The first rays of the sun broke over the horizon as Julian opened the door of the RV and stepped aside to usher Quinn into it. The others all scurried into their vehicles as they sought protection from the sun behind their tinted windows. Julian’s gaze remained on the vamps piling into the van until it took off down the road and back to the town where they’d eaten dinner last night.