Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 1)

My heart beat frantically as I scrabbled for the key, finding two of them—one small and one large.

The small had to be for the cuffs, and I quickly got them off, then shoved them in my jacket pocket. My heart thundered as I stumbled through the dark, headed for the door. There would be panic in the hall outside—the police station never lost full power. There was a secondary power supply to ensure it. Whatever Corrigan had done, he’d done it big.

r /> A tiny bit of warmth burst inside me. With Beatrix gone, he was the closest thing I had to a friend, and I’d love him forever for this.

I fumbled at the door, my sweaty hands making it difficult work. Self-defense training had proved that I was pretty tough, but I’d never had a lot of experience under pressure.

And this was pressure.

Clear my name or die.

Finally, I got the key to turn and the door to open.

As expected, the hall was chaos. There were no windows in this interior part of the building, and it was nearly pitch black. Flashlight beams sliced through the darkness, illuminating panicked faces. Determined faces.

I turned my head so that my pale hair fell over most of my face and hurried down the hall. I just had to make it out of there before the power went back on.

“Someone call the damned fire brigade!” Banks’s irritated voice carried over the din, and my heart started to pound.

If he saw me outside of the interrogation room, all hell would break loose. Quickly, I darted down a side hall, then found the stairs. I was running by the time I reached it, unable to help myself.

The overwhelming desire to flee had gripped me, turning me into the prey I’d felt like earlier that day.

I had one chance, and I couldn’t waste it.

I sprinted down the stairs, finally reaching the bottom floor.

All of the exits would be guarded. After all, this was one of the busiest police stations in London. I couldn’t just walk out the door. I needed a window.

Blindly, I stumbled through the dark, hoping to find an empty office. I needed one on the alley wall, since I couldn’t just crash out onto the main road. I’d been in this building enough to know which side that would be on. I hurried toward it, heart racing. It didn’t take long to find an empty office—everyone seemed to be out of their offices trying to fix the problem—and I shut myself inside the first one I found.

My gaze was riveted to the one large window in the room. It let in the only light in the whole place, and it revealed the tiny alley on the other side. “Oh, thank God,” I whispered.

Adrenaline raced through my veins as I picked up an enormous iron paperweight. It was cold and comforting in my hand, and I heaved it through the window. The glass shattered so loudly that I winced, but I didn’t hesitate. Quickly, I grabbed a jacket off the chair behind the desk and tossed it over the jagged edges of the bottom of the window.

I scrambled out as fast as I could, getting a couple of nasty cuts in the process. Pain burned through my knee and my hand as I tumbled out of the window and into the damp alley.

The night was still dark, but it had to be well past midnight. I’d been in the station for hours.

Shaking, I raced down the alley, heading for the back street, which was less busy, though not by much. As I neared the alley exit, I slowed. Sprinting away from a police station was sure to draw too much attention.

My mind spun as I strode out onto the road, trying to act calm as I kept my head down. Cars whizzed by. It was the middle of the night, but London didn’t care. It never cared.

Instinct made me head for my flat. I wasn’t far, but I debated hailing a cab anyway. Normally, I’d never spare the money for a cab. Seeing visions and hunting murderers made it difficult to have normal employment. I was perpetually broke.

But this…

If they caught me…

A black cab approached, the light on top shining bright.

I flung my hand up, and it pulled over to the side of the road. I scrambled in and gave him my address.

“’Aight, lass, I’ll have you there in no time.” The old cabbie didn’t so much as spare me a glance, and I was grateful.

I slumped back in the seat, my heart racing.

I was officially on the run from the law.