King Cave (Forever Evermore, #2)(132)

I gently pushed the door open, my eyes taking in everything all at once.

There was one Com male, maybe nineteen years old, lying right inside the room with his throat sliced open, blood pooling around his head, and a gun not too far from his slack hand. I gulped, keeping from puking when I saw another Com male lying on his back over an office desk, his age indeterminable because his face was smashed in, his head sitting crookedly on his neck. His shirt was vivid red because his stomach was sliced open, his entrails hanging over the desk’s edge and to the floor, another gun lying on the ground where his arm — that was still attached — hung, while his other arm…who knew where the f*ck it was.

Ezra was kneeling on the ground, rocking back and forth while clutching Vivian’s dead body close to his chest, the back of her head missing, blood covering his face and hands.

I swallowed again, breathing through my mouth. “Ezra, baby, can you look at me?”

No response, his rocking and growling not cutting off.

“Ezra, I need you to look at me,” I stated more firmly, putting a little of my power behind my command. I instantly jerked, feeling a backlash of his power. He apparently didn’t like that so much. “Alright. No more of that.”

Carefully, I walked through the room, heading for the video surveillance that I saw in the corner. Through the monitors I could still see Antonio and Cahal lying on the floor, and I quickly shut the computer down. There was a panic button on the wall, bloody fingerprints lining it, which probably meant the authorities were on their way. It was time to go.

Now.

I took all the CDs from the machine recording the footage, stuffing them in my pockets, and then tried one more time. “Ezra, we need to leave.” I carefully edged toward him. “You need to get up.”

Again, no answer.

Taking a deep breath and another step, this time directly behind him…I hit his head hard with the butt end of my gun. He groaned, his body falling, unconscious. Swiftly, I put the gun away, lifted him over my shoulder with my Shifter strength, and raced through the building. I ran outside to the Hummer, gently placing him on the passenger seat. I went back for Antonio. He went on the back seat. I heard sirens in the distance, and I muttered a litany of obscenities as I ran back into the building for Cahal. He groaned when I threw him over my shoulder, but he didn’t wake as I ran from the building. The sirens were almost on us, and I haphazardly threw Cahal on the back seat too, his head banging against the other door as I quickly stuffed their legs in before slamming the door.

Nervous sweat beaded my brow as I jumped onto the driver’s seat, turning the car on, hearing Bonnie and Clyde growling in the back. I didn’t have time to get Vivian’s body, and I didn’t even want to think about the ramifications of that yet. Quickly reversing, I kept my lights off, but let my eyes flare in the darkness. I saw the flashing headlights less than a block away, so I cut the wheel to the right, praying the place had a back entrance.

It didn’t.

I made one.

Bumping over the curb into the next parking lot, I heard multiple Com police car tires squealing to a stop at the ice-cream parlor. I kept the gas pedal down, zigzagging through the parking lot of a grocery store, also exiting their back entrance — they had one —before driving onto a main thoroughfare. Destination unknown.

No one following us, I dug my phone out, having to try three times before I got the numbers right, my hands were shaking so badly.

Elder Merrick answered on the fourth ring. “Hello? Lily?”

God love caller ID. “I have a situation.” The words were flying. “I need your input.”

“Talk.” His voice was dead serious.

“Here’s what you need to know. Vivian was just killed. Cahal is passed out. I knocked Ezra out when he went Vampire crazy. Antonio had a…Mage fit…of some kind, I’ve never seen happen. He glowed, screaming, and then started convulsing before he passed out. I’ve evaded the cops, but I had to leave Vivian’s body behind.” I took in a huge breath. “What I need to know is, what the f*ck happened to Antonio, and is Ezra going to be Ezra when he wakes up, or Ezra-Vamp-crazy?” I knew what Cahal would be like.

There was a long pause, then a heavy sigh on the other end. “I’m going to skip past the fact that all f*cking five of you were together while you’re searching for the Prodigies, and get to what you need to know for the complete clusterf*ck of a situation you’re in.” Thank you. “First, Antonio was having a vision. The more powerful the Mage, the harder the visions hit. He’ll be out for — at least — a day and when he wakes up he’ll want his book. Second, Ezra was reacting as any powerful Vampire reacts when a loved one dies — his predator took control — but when he wakes he should be fine. You know what Cahal will be like when he wakes up and realizes his mate is dead.”

I nodded. “Okay, okay. I can do this. I just need to find a place far enough away that no one will hear their screams when they wake up.” My head continued to bob, a hysterical laugh bubbling, my eyes darting everywhere. “It’s f*cking Vegas, after all. They’ll think this shit’s normal.”

“Lily,” Elder Merrick barked. “Calm the f*ck down.”

Panting, I giggled. “Queen Ruckler.” Another breathless snicker. “What a f*cking Queen I am.”

“Lily, you’re about to have a mental collapse. Take some calming breaths.”