Ramon considered it, then nodded.
Liam turned back to us. "Fifty-fifty chance of surviving. And even if he doesn"t, they"ll make it quick. No chain saws for you."
"Why are you telling us this?" I asked. It was like the cla.s.sic James Bond scene, where the villain explains what he"ll do to Bond, giving him time to think up an escape plan. Which I really hoped Derek was doing. I might not be much help-not when it came to plotting against werewolves-but I was really good at stalling.
"Good question, cutie. Why not just grab him, tie him up, toss him in our truck, and deliver him to the wolves up in Syracuse? Because the Alpha isn"t stupid. If we throw him a kid who"s screaming he didn"t do it, he might listen. See, there"s only one way this can work. If your boyfriend comes along voluntarily and confesses."
Derek snorted. "Yeah."
"You don"t like that plan?"
Derek shot him a look.
Liam sighed. "All right then. Option two it is. We kill you and have some fun with your girl."
"I"ll do the killing," Ramon said. "You can take the girl. She"s a little young for me."
Liam grinned. "I like them young."
His gaze traveled up and down me, his look making every hair on my body rise. Derek"s hands vise gripped my shoulders.
"Leave her out of this," Derek rumbled.
"Never." Liam bared his teeth. "I was almost hoping you"d say no. Sure, I"d love a scapegoat to feed the Pack. But a little cutie like that, who already knows what I am? That"s..." He smiled. "Sweet."
He gave me a look that made me shrink back into Derek, my hand gripping the knife so hard it hurt. When Liam stepped forward again, Derek"s arm shot around me, a growl vibrating up from his stomach.
Liam put his hand out toward me. When Derek tensed, he pulled back, then did it again, testing his reaction, laughing when he got one, until even Ramon started to laugh.
"Check this out," Liam said. "I think the pup"s got himself a mate. Isn"t that the cutest thing?" He leaned toward Derek, voice lowering. "It won"t work out. It never does. Why don"t you just give her to me now, let me help you get over it. Painful, but quick. It"s the best way."
Derek moved me behind him. The werewolves let out a howl of laughter.
"I think he"s saying no," Ramon said.
"Leave her out of this," Derek said.
Liam shook his head. "How can I do that? Look at her. So tiny and cute, big blue eyes all wide and scared." He leaned around Derek to look at me. "That hair doesn"t do anything for her. I can still smell the dye. What color is it really? Blond, I bet. She looks like a blond."
His look made my insides twist.
"If I go with you, she walks away," Derek said. "Right?"
"No," I whispered. I whispered.
"Course she does," Liam said.
"Derek," I whispered. I whispered.
He put his hand behind him, gesturing for me to be quiet. It was a trick. He had a plan. He must have a plan.
"Here"s the deal," Derek said.
"Deal?" Liam laughed. "This isn"t up for negotiation, pup."
"It is if you want my cooperation. I"ll go with you, but the first thing we do is get her on a bus. After I"ve seen her leave safely, I"m all yours."
"Uh-huh." Liam rolled back on his heels. "Is your intelligence feeling a mite insulted, Ramon?"
"Sure is." Ramon strolled up beside his friend.
"You said you"d release her-"
"And we will. Once you"ve done your part. Until then, she"s our collateral to make sure you do. And don"t worry; we"ll take good care-"
Derek shot forward so fast it caught them both off guard. He grabbed Liam by the front of his shirt and whipped him into Ramon. The men went down.
"Run," Derek said.
I pulled out my knife.
"Run!"
He gave me a shove that sent me flying. I started running, but slowly, my hand on the knife as I watched over my shoulder, getting far enough so Derek would think I was safe without abandoning him.
Derek caught Ramon and whipped him against the steel fireman"s pole, his head hitting with a tw.a.n.g.
Liam lunged for Derek. He feinted out of the way. As Ramon lay motionless on the ground, Derek and Liam faced off, circling. Liam lunged again, and Derek twisted, but Liam caught the back of his sweatshirt, yanked him off his feet, and threw him.
Derek hit the ground in a slide. Liam bore down on him, taking his time as Derek struggled to get up, wheezing and coughing, crawling along the ground. I veered to race back. Then Derek shot to his feet and broke into a run.
Thirty-five.
W E ZIGZAGGED THROUGH A E ZIGZAGGED THROUGH A dark commercial district, with Liam at our heels the whole way. When we reached a town house complex, he fell back, like he didn"t want to be seen chasing a couple of kids. He kept about fifty feet behind us, clearly planning to close the gap when we got to a more secluded place. dark commercial district, with Liam at our heels the whole way. When we reached a town house complex, he fell back, like he didn"t want to be seen chasing a couple of kids. He kept about fifty feet behind us, clearly planning to close the gap when we got to a more secluded place.
On the far side of the complex was a strip mall. When we reached it, we looked back, and he was gone. We kept going, though, until we were another two blocks away, behind a closed bakery.
I leaned against the cool brick wall, gasping for air.
"You wanted tips on self-defense?" Derek said, breathing hard.
I nodded.
"The first lesson our dad taught us? If you"re up against a better fighter, the first chance you get, surprise him with your secret move..." He leaned down to my ear. "Run like h.e.l.l."
A laugh bubbled up and my teeth stopped chattering. I took a deep breath and let myself relax against the wall.
"So he was as strong as you are?" I asked.
"Whatever those scientists tweaked, it wasn"t my strength. He might have been smaller than me, but he was just as strong, and he"s got a lot more fighting experience. I was seriously outcla.s.sed." He wiped off gravel embedded in his chin. "You aren"t the only one who"s going to need training. My dad taught me to use my strength to my advantage. Only that doesn"t work fighting other werewolves."
He rolled his shoulders, then pushed sweat-sodden hair out of his eyes. "We"ll catch our breath, but then we need to move. Once he figures out he lost us, he"ll go back and pick up our trail."
"I"m good," I said, straightening. "Any time you want to go-"
Something moved above our heads. I looked up as Liam leaped from the rooftop. He landed on his feet right behind Derek.
"Your boy"s not quite ready to leave, cutie. He has some business to finish first."
Liam hit Derek with an uppercut that sent him reeling, blood spraying from his mouth. I fumbled for my knife, but it caught in the folds of my pocket. By the time I had it out, Derek had hit Liam back and now they were both on the ground, rolling, each trying to get a grip on the other.
How many movie fight scenes had I seen? I"d even written a few. But being there, watching it, with someone I knew in serious danger, made those movie fights seem like they"d been filmed in slow motion. This was a whirlwind of fists and feet and grunts and gasps and blood. Mostly what I saw was the blood, flying, spattering, dripping, as I darted back and forth, knife in my hand.
I thought of all the times I"d been in an audience, snarking about the stupid, useless girl hovering on the sidelines of a fight, holding a weapon but doing nothing, watching the guy get pummeled. I knew I had to help Derek. I knew he was in trouble, that most of that blood and those gasps and grunts were his. I wasn"t afraid to use the knife. I wanted wanted to use it. But there wasn"t a chance. The fists flew and the bodies flew and the kicks flew, and every time I thought I had an opening, I"d dash forward only to find Derek in my path, not Liam, and I"d pull up fast before stabbing to use it. But there wasn"t a chance. The fists flew and the bodies flew and the kicks flew, and every time I thought I had an opening, I"d dash forward only to find Derek in my path, not Liam, and I"d pull up fast before stabbing him him.
Then Liam got Derek on his knees, in a headlock, his free hand in Derek"s hair. He yanked Derek"s head back, and I saw the girl at the truck stop, her throat slashed, and I didn"t stop to think whether I could do it, I ran at Liam and I drove the knife into the back of his thigh, ramming it in to the hilt.
Liam let out a howl and backhanded me. I sailed into the air, knife still clutched in my hand. I heard Derek shout my name as I hit the wall. My head cracked back against the brick. The floodlights overhead exploded into shards of light.
Derek grabbed me before I hit the ground.
"I-I"m fine," I said, pushing him away.
I got my footing, wobbled, and found it again.
"I"m fine," I said, stronger now.
I looked around. My knife had fallen beside me. I scooped it up.
Liam lay behind Derek, writhing on the ground, snarling as he tried to stanch the blood. We took off.
This time no one was chasing us, but it didn"t matter. We kept running, knowing Liam would come after us the moment he was able.
"We need to get you to a bathroom," Derek said as we rounded a building.
"Me? I"m-"
"We need need to get you to a bathroom." to get you to a bathroom."
I closed my mouth. Derek was obviously in shock and he he did need a bathroom, to clean up and check the damage. did need a bathroom, to clean up and check the damage.
"He"s going to follow our trail," I said. "We have to trick him."
"I know. I"m thinking."
I was, too, recalling every fugitive movie I"d ever seen where someone evaded tracking dogs. I slowed when I saw a huge puddle from the rain and a trash-clogged gutter. The water stretched at least ten feet across. Then, I had a better idea.
"Climb on the curb and walk along the edge," I said.
"What?"
"Just do it."
We jogged along the curb until I saw a door to a small apartment building. I led Derek over and pulled on the k.n.o.b. It was locked.
"Can you break it?" I asked.
He wiped off his b.l.o.o.d.y hands, then grabbed the k.n.o.b. I tried to get a better look at him to see how badly he"d been beaten, but it was too dark, and I could see only smears of blood everywhere-on his face, his hands, his sweatshirt.
He yanked the door open. We went inside, circled around a bit, then came back out.
"Now we"ll follow the path we came on," I said. "Along the top of the curb. Backtrack."
When we reached the puddle, I stopped. "We"re going to cut through."
Derek nodded. "So he"ll reach this, keep following our trail and think we"re somewhere in that apartment, not realizing we doubled back on our tracks. Smart."
Wading ankle deep through frigid water seemed to knock away the last of Derek"s shock. Once we reached the other side, he took over and got us downwind so Liam couldn"t smell us. Then he hustled me into a coffee shop. There were only a handful of people inside, all cl.u.s.tered at the counter, chatting with the server. No one even looked up as we made a beeline for the bathroom.
Derek scooted me into the men"s room and locked the door. He hoisted me onto the counter before I could protest, then scrubbed his hands well, sleeves pushed to his elbows, like he was preparing for surgery.
"Uh, Derek...?"
He wet a paper towel, and took my chin, lifting and wiping my face.
"Derek? I"m not hurt."
"You"re covered in blood."
"But it"s not mine. Honest. It"s from-"
"The werewolf. I know." He picked up my hand and started cleaning it. "That"s why I have to get it off."
"Derek?" I leaned down, trying to see his face. "Are you okay?"
He kept scrubbing. "There are two ways to become a werewolf. Either you"re born one or you get bitten by one. If you get the saliva in your bloodstream, it"s like a virus."
"Blood, too?"