Sadness briefly touched his eyes. “I’m asking you, as a friend, to join me.”
Her finger tightened reflexively on the trigger, and it was all she could do not to fire the weapon. “No.”
“One last chance.” He took a slight step forward. The touch of sadness in his eyes was quickly giving way to the certainty of death.
“One more step, and I’ll shoot.”
He smiled. “I don’t think so.”
Sweat trickled down the side of her face. “I mean it. Stay where you are.”
He took another step forward. “We’re friends, Ryan. Partners. You can’t shoot me.”
There was no humanity in his eyes now, only that certainty of death. She’d seen that look in vampires before and knew it precluded an attack. “Please, Jack. Don’t make me shoot you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You won’t. You can’t,” he said, and took another step.
She aimed low and pulled the trigger.
Through the booming report of the gun, she heard his curse, heard him stagger away. She lowered her weapon, hit the panic button on her wristcom, and ran for the stairs.
Heat flowed over her, whispering secrets. The thing with Jack was after her, running swiftly and silently through the darkness. If it caught her, she would die, as the old man had died. Quickly, but horribly.
She grabbed the railing with her free hand and took the stairs two at a time. At the top she hesitated and glanced down. A shadow flowed across the bottom step, then stopped and looked up. For just a second she found herself staring into eyes that were milky white and as bright as the stars. In them was a hunger unlike any she’d ever seen before.
Get out, s
he thought. Just get the hell out of here.
She scrambled through the door and slammed it shut behind her. An inhuman roar followed her into the wildness of the night. She ran for the fire escape stairs, but the wind hit her with the force of a gale, thrusting her sideways. Somehow, she managed to stay on her feet and keep running. Behind her, the door slammed open, the sound like a gunshot ricocheting across the force of the storm. Swearing, she leaped onto the fire escape and scrambled down the slick metal stairs.
One flight down. The old man stared up at her, a grim reminder of her fate if she wasn’t fast enough. Onto the second flight. Was that a footfall? She didn’t dare look up; she just kept on running.
She hit the lower landing, then grabbed the rail and leaped over it. She landed awkwardly, and pain curled like fire up her leg. But she ignored it and ran for her car.
A sighing sound carried across the howl of the wind. She caught a hint of movement out of the corner of her eye, but before she could react, something hit her hard and flung her sideways.
She struck the ground with a grunt of pain, her weapon flying from her hand. She twisted, throwing punches at the heavy weight that had landed on top of her. His curses stung the night, and then he caught her hands, his grip like iron as he held her still. She found herself staring into eyes that were an odd, green-flecked hazel, and not entirely human.
Not Jack or the creature. Someone else entirely. Someone she hadn’t sensed.
“If you want to live, remain still and be quiet,” he ordered, his gaze burning into hers for a second before flicking away.
“Get the hell off me and I may consider it,” she muttered, twisting left and right in an effort to dislodge his weight.
“That creature hunts by sound and movement alone. Remain still, and we might escape with our lives.”
A soft snarl ran across the wind. She stopped fighting and turned her gaze to the fire escape. A kitelike shape leaped off the second flight of stairs and landed awkwardly near the boxes. It made several odd snuffling noises before turning blind eyes in their direction. Her fingers twitched, pressing the trigger of a weapon she no longer held. The stranger glanced down at her, his odd-colored eyes holding a warning.
It went against her every instinct to remain still, to not fight, and her muscles quivered as she fought the desire to do both. The creature took a lumbering step in their direction. Her breath caught somewhere in her throat. At the other end of the alley, the howling wind tugged at the garbage bins. One fell and rattled toward the road, spewing paper and food scraps across the pavement before rolling away. The creature roared, then swung around and ran out of the alley.
The stranger released her and scrambled to his feet. She lurched forward and grabbed his wrist.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You’re not leaving until you tell me what the hell that thing is.”
A slight smile creased the corners of his lush mouth. “And what gives you the right to detain me?”
“I’m a cop, mister. You’re under arrest.”