Eternal Flame (Night Watch 3)

“But now they want you back.”

“Looks like it.” They were wasting time. One cop was already on their payroll. Where there was one, there were always half a dozen more. They’d be at the station soon. Maybe posing as cops. Maybe dressed like lawyers. But they’d be there to take her.

And what would happen to Zane?

“Give me a name.”

Her lips parted. Footsteps thudded outside the door. Tony was coming back.

Zane’s eyes stayed locked on her. “Tell me who’s after you. Tell me. “

“They said-they said they were members of Project Perseus.” Perseus. The guy from Greek mythology who’d fought the monsters.

But some monsters didn’t need to die.

“Did you work with them? Did you kill for them?”

Jana took a breath. The right side of your mouth kicks up when you lie. “Yes.”

His eyes narrowed.

“If I stay here, they will come for me, and they’ll kill anyone in their path.” No telling how many cops they already had on their payroll. “They’re framing me, forcing me against the wall.”

“And what-you want me to bust you out of jail? Baby, that’s just—”

“A jail won’t hold me.” Simple. “I can burn my way out, and I will.” Because she wouldn’t wait on them to come and get her.

“No, you won’t.” He blew out a breath. “Not when there’s another way.”

Hope began to stir in her chest. “You’ll help me?” His jaw clenched.

“Zane?”

The interrogation room door swung open. “We’ve got a problem.” Tony marched inside, shaking his head. “Officer Harris seems to be missing from the hospital. He’s not answering his cell, and no one knows where the hell he is.”

“We have to get out,” Jana said. Didn’t he see what was happening? Another Ignitor … or a damn powerful demon … had set the fire at Night Watch. It was only a matter of time until they came for her.

A setup. The team after her must have bugged the phone lines at Night Watch. They’d known she was coming. They’d started that fire for her.

Why? So that the cops would haul her to the station? Of course, the cops on scene would pick her as suspect number one. With her history, there was no way they wouldn’t have hauled her in for questioning.

Those bastards knew that.

Zane’s fingers tapped on the tabletop. “I need to be on the streets, Tony.”

“You can be. She can’t.” He exhaled. “This case is shit. We both know the woman gets off on the fire, are you sure—”

“You don’t know what gets her off.” Zane’s voice. Cold and hard.

“You know better than to let the case get personal.” Tony stalked around the table and grabbed Zane’s arm. He hauled Zane to his feet, grabbing for the cuffs. “Let’s find a way out of these damned things and you can get on the streets. You can find Harris for me—”

He never finished his sentence. Zane’s fist plowed into Tony’s jaw, and the cop went down. Hard.

Jana jumped to her feet. ”What are you doing?” She’d thought the cop was his friend.

Zane pulled her forward as he rolled Tony onto his back. “I’m making sure we get out before the bastards after you get to us.”

He’d attacked a cop. Not a very “good” guy thing to do.

Zane glanced back at her. “They herded you to the station. They’re going to be sending someone for you. Maybe Feds, maybe someone pretending to be Feds, but they’ll have paperwork, all nice and neat, saying they can take you into custody.” He paused. “They’ll take you, and no one will see you again.”

No, he was wrong. They’d take her … and they’d use her. The price for her life would be death for others.

“Come on, we need to get the hell out of here.” He frowned down at the cop. “Sorry, Tony.”

Sorry? Sorry? “What’s going to happen to him?”

“He’ll get to deny helping us escape. He’ll have the bruise to prove he was hit. He’ll be clear….” Zane hurried away from the table, pulling her with him. “And, in a few minutes, so will we.”

His fingers curled around the doorknob.

She grabbed his shoulder. “This place will be crawling with cops! We won’t be able to just walk out, we can’t—”

“Tony sent ‘em away.”

“Why would he—”

“Look, baby, trust me on this, okay? Tony knows the deal around here. When he found out Harris was missing, he knew what was going down. Hell, why do you think he came close enough for me to hit?”

The cop had wanted them to escape? Since when did a cop want someone to break out?

“Not like it’s the first time we played this game. …” Zane inched open the door and gave a nod. “All right, we’re gonna have to move quickly. Don’t fight me. Whatever I do, just go with it, okay?”

She would have gone with just about anything right then. She nodded her head in agreement and then realized he couldn’t see the move. “Let’s get out of here.”

“On three…”

He began to softly whisper the count, and when he got to three, they ran into the hall, darting fast in a series of twists and turns. The place looked deserted, but she could hear voices, phones. She kept her head down and followed Zane, moving as quickly as she could.

Five more feet, and they were at a door with a red exit sign. Go, go. Footsteps tapped behind them.

Zane shoved open the door and yanked her across the threshold. The door shut with a clang behind them.

Jana’s head was pressed against Zane’s chest. She could hear the fierce pounding of his heart, racing so fast.

“Stay behind me,” he murmured, and then he pulled back. They eased down two flights of stairs, going deeper into the bowels of the precinct.

Minutes later, they came out in the garage. Squad cars were scattered around, waiting.

Time to steal another ride?

“Don’t even think about it,” Zane said. “The second we vanish in one of those, every cop in the area will be after us.”

“Then what are we going to do?” Someone would be raising the alarm any minute, she knew it, she knew—

“See that door? It leads to the alley. Come on, move that sweet ass, baby.”

She hauled ass.

A hard push from Zane, and the door flew open. They stumbled outside. She looked to the left, to the right, and—