Eternal Flame (Night Watch 3)

“We’re not armed!” he shouted at the cop. “Stand down!” What the hell was the guy thinking? And who was this “he” the cop was talking about? “I told you, I’m a hunter with Night Watch, you need to—”

The cop smiled and aimed that gun right at Zane’s head. His finger was already squeezing that trigger. Oh, screw this. Zane focused and sent a wave of power slamming into the cop. The trigger-happy jackass screamed and flew through the air. The gun fell from his hand just as he slammed into the front windshield of the patrol car. The cop didn’t get up.

Zane did. His fingers curled around Jana’s, and he pulled her up with him.

“Is he … dead?” she asked.

“No.” The guy would be starting to twitch a bit soon. Zane had knocked him out, not killed him. “Come on.” They weren’t going to stand around and wait for another bullet to come flying at them.

And if I killed a cop …

The paperwork would be a bitch.

They climbed onto the motorcycle. She wrapped her arm around him tightly. Blood dripped from his thigh. As they surged forward, he demanded, “Baby, why does everyone want a piece of you?”

Hell, he needed to get in touch with police Captain Antonio Young. Tony would have his back. He always did. Tony knew the score, and how to keep the peace.

Most days.

“I don’t know.” Her whisper came softly to his ears and only his enhanced hearing let him catch the words. But it didn’t take enhanced senses to know she was lying.

Fifteen more minutes until they were at Night Watch. Fifteen more minutes and he’d be there….

But a cop had just tried to kill him. A cop who hadn’t cared about his position as a bounty hunter with Night Watch.

He glanced in the side mirror. No sign of the patrol car following them. The road branched up ahead. One side would take him back to the city. The other would lead him down a longer, curving path that wound back to the swamp.

His hesitation lasted for only a few seconds. Then he headed toward the swamp.

“Zane?” Her hold on him tightened. The lady must have studied the area pretty well before coming to set up shop in the city. Figured. “Where are we going?”

He heard the faint hope in her words. Did she think he was going to let her go? Just walk away?

Let her.

His fingers clenched around the handlebars. “Got to make a phone call,” he growled back. His cell had burned in the flames, so he’d have to find another phone.

He’d planned to just drive back in to Night Watch, but now, no, now he was gonna check in first. Just to make sure there weren’t any more surprises waiting for him.

Surprises like a cop who’d been ready to blow his head off and steal his bounty.

Her hands were shaking. Jana balled her fingers into fists and stared at the faded walls of the gas station. Zane had stopped at the first phone booth he’d seen, one at a closed station that seemed to be falling into the swamp.

The windows of the booth were busted out. The phone book had long been snatched, but the phone, lucky for Zane—unlucky for me-still worked.

Now he was calling his boss. Probably arranging her pickup. And that was fine. She’d be better off once she was away from Zane.

But he’d covered her body with his. When that cop had been bearing down on them with that gun, Zane had protected her.

Freaking good-guy routine. Why’d he have to do that? Why’d he have to keep acting like she mattered?

A killer. That’s all she was to him. She needed to remember that. Hell, he probably would have jumped in front of any bounty that had been threatened. No matter what the crime, you had to protect the cash cow, right?

“Something’s wrong with this case,” Zane’s hard voice broke through her thoughts, and she knew he’d made contact with Night Watch. She glanced at him and saw that his brows were drawn low, and his jaw flexed with anger.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve got her.” His gaze slashed up to meet hers. Hot. She swallowed. That green gaze seemed to burn with intensity.

And she did like the fire.

Jana licked her lips. His gaze dropped and lingered on her mouth.

“She’s not the problem.”

Uh, okay. Now her eyes narrowed.

“I’ve got her under control,” he said.

Oh, did he?

“It’s the ass**les after her that I’m having trouble with. Shit, yeah, I know what happened to my ‘Vette-I was there.”

Jana almost winced. Okay. Sure, she’d been the one to torch his car, but there hadn’t been a lot of choice there. The car had already been smashed, anyway. Not like the thing had been in mint condition before her flames got to it.

“Some jokers came up and rammed us. Get this, they weren’t firing bullets. They used some kind of drugs instead.”

She really wished she had shifter hearing right then. She would have loved to hear what the person on the other end of the line said because Zane’s eyes flashed black for just the briefest of moments.

“No. I’m fine.” The green poured back and he stared at her. “Under control now.”

Was he talking about her again? Or himself? Jana pulled restlessly at the cuff. Her wrist was aching. She wanted that damn thing off. Wanted to be on the motorcycle, riding fast and free.

“A cop stopped us about fifteen minutes ago. He tried to shoot me. No, no, I’m not f**king kidding you. I identified myself, and he still took aim. He wanted Jana.”

Ah, so now she was “Jana” and not just his “bounty"? “That’s something,” she muttered.

“I took care of him.” His gaze sliced around the area. Probably searching to make sure the cop hadn’t found them. “But you need to talk to Antonio. Find out what’s going on.” A pause. “Right.”

Was the guy gonna talk all day? She exhaled and rubbed the back of her neck. A hot bath would be heaven. She had so many scrapes and bruises on her body. Hell, forget the bath, she’d even settle for a shower.

Maybe even a shower with Zane. Because one last wild ride, before her freedom was ripped away, oh, that was tempting.

She bet the man would look phenomenal wet, those muscles glistening …

“Do I want you to send out a retrieval team?”

His words had her heart racing and the gaze she’d accidentally dropped to his chest flew back up to his face. She couldn’t help it, Jana shook her head once. No. Better the demon you knew, right?

And if she knew those ass**les after her, they’d trail any retrieval team. Zane would never make it back to Night Watch. Neither would she.