Snorting, Harper looked at Piper. “The empathy struggle is real.”
Devon glared at the imp. “I can’t believe you sometimes.”
Khloë frowned. “Jeez, what’s with the tears?”
“I’m not crying,” the hellcat croaked.
“You’re totally crying.”
“I am not.”
“Just like you’re not constipated?” Khloë jerked back. “Stop with the hissing, you ass-clogged freak!”
Devon tried diving at the imp. Raini and Larkin held her back while Piper yanked Khloë out of the way.
Harper gave her cousin a pointed look. “Apologize.”
Khloë’s brow furrowed. “For stating a fact?”
“For making Devon cry,” said the sphinx. “Again.”
“Not my fault she’s hormonal.”
“Apologize.”
Rolling her eyes, Khloë knocked back a shot and then turned to Devon with a sigh. “I am so very, very sorry for …” Her eyes widened. “My God, I love this song! This is my jam!” She all but dragged Piper out of her seat and to the dance floor. She released Piper’s hand and turned to face her with a woohoo.
A hand snapped around Piper’s arm, her surroundings flashed white … and then she was standing in a parking lot with some big burly bastard she didn’t even know. Shit.
She would have struck the fucker and telepathed Levi, but the hand gripping her arm was pumping power into her system. A power that was thick and heavy and drugging. It sent her thoughts scattering, drained the strength from her body, and made it feel as though the world was spinning around her.
Her legs trembled, the muscles beginning to lose their tone. She dropped to her knees, too dazed to wince at the pain of them hitting the pavement. Only the masculine grip on her arm stopped her from face-planting into the ground.
Her vision blurred. A ringing sound filled her ears. Everything seemed so very far away—even her own body.
Voices swam into her mind, calling her name, but it was so hard to tune into them when the power corrupting her system was lulling her into a punch-drunk state.
Her demon slammed against her consciousness, and the short reprieve from the drugging daze was enough to make her resist the ‘call’ to float away. Instead, she blinked hard, forcing herself to focus, and reached out to Levi—
Pain reverberated around her skull. Pain so terrible it made her stomach churn, and she almost threw up. A pathetic whimper left her.
A male chuckle. “Tried telepathing someone, did you? That won’t work as long as I’m touching you. And I don’t plan to stop touching you.”
Panic raced through her. Her demon hissed between its teeth. Piper struggled to free her arm, though she was too weak to do much other than squirm.
“No sense in fighting me, you might as well save your strength,” he told her. “I already telepathed my boys to say I have you. They’ll be here any second, and then we’ll be … ah, here they are.”
She heard the rumbling of an engine shortly before tires screeched to a halt. Her head felt so damn heavy, but she forced it to lift. Her vision was still blurry as hell, but she could make out a black van parked a few feet away. The side door was hauled open by whoever was inside.
Her kidnapper yanked her to her feet. “Got her, boys. That shit was too easy,” he said, a cocky edge to his voice.
A man leaned out of the passenger window. “Took you long enough to grab her, though. Come on, let’s go.”
Dread slammed into Piper. No. No, she was not going with them.
She glanced around, and her eyes locked on the neon sign ahead of her. The colors were hazy and distorted, blending into one another. She blinked rapidly and squinted, doing her best to bring the sign into focus and—there.
Her heart jumped. Needing her kidnapper to release her for even just a moment, she turned to dead weight in his hold. The shock of it made him drop her. She called out, Levi! Legacy Motel parking lot! And then she slapped her hand on the teleporter’s foot, sending a small surge of power into him.
He collapsed to the ground at her side, sound asleep.
“Shit, grab them!” the dude in the passenger seat shouted.
Another male jumped out of the van’s side door and rushed her, but he skidded to a halt when two people materialized.
Her heart thudded, and relief poured through her. Levi. One of the Force, Armand, was with him. Neither hesitated to attack even as they moved to shield her body with theirs.
The guy who’d tried grabbing her and her kidnapper retreated into the van.
Wicked fast, Levi swept out his arm, and a telekinetic blast sent the vehicle tumbling onto its side and skidding along the ground.
Struggling to fight her way through the drug-like state, Piper awkwardly pushed herself onto her hands and knees. Her arms trembled, and sweat beaded her forehead. God, she really might be sick.