Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats 1)

She had to give Jaxton credit—sound traveled well inside the parking garage. When she heard someone sneeze in the distance, she released the safety on her gun, but kept her finger off the trigger, just like Cam had instructed.

The footsteps drew nearer. A middle-aged woman appeared and headed toward the elevator before disappearing behind a wall. Kiarra released the breath she’d been holding, only to feel something solid poke into her back. She shifted her foot ever so slightly, but the solid object pressed harder. She felt someone’s breath near her ear.

“I told you to stay in the car.”

Jaxton. As she turned, Jaxton moved his gun away from her back. She wanted to yell, but she kept her voice a whisper. “Why, so someone could trap me inside the car? I think not.”

He pushed her behind him before whispering, “A man and a woman are snooping around a few rows down. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

Kiarra listened and nodded. Jaxton went in front of her and looked both ways before waving her on. Kiarra ran across to the other side, squeezed between two cars, and hunkered down, keeping Jaxton’s car in view.

Her heart pounded as she waited. She wouldn’t screw up. She could do this.

The sound of footsteps came nearer, and Kiarra looked at Jaxton, waiting for the signal.

He gave it. Kiarra took out her clip and slid the gun across the ground. As expected, the pair walked toward Kiarra’s direction with their guns raised. She took a deep breath and said in her best terrified voice, “I’m Kiarra Melini. I surrender. Please don’t hurt me.”

A woman’s voice started to sing. “Come with us, child. Your pain will ease, you’ll be safe. Most of all, you’ll go home, back to where you belong.”

Kiarra wanted to stand up and walk over to the woman. But just as she was about to do it, she caught herself. What am I doing? She crouched back down just as she heard a few grunts, followed by the sounds of objects hitting the ground.

She stayed put until Jaxton came into view and offered her a hand. She took it and let him pull her along, toward the car. She noticed that there weren’t any bodies lying on the ground. “Where’d they go?”

He patted the trunk of the car. “Don’t worry, they won’t be troubling us. When they wake up and start making a fuss, someone will find them.”

Part of her was relieved that Jaxton hadn’t killed them. He let go of her hand and reached inside the car to honk the horn twice. Garrett remained unconscious, but a car slowly turned the corner and stopped right behind them. A pretty black woman about her age, wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, stepped out of the car.

Jaxton opened the rear door and maneuvered Garrett out of the back seat. The woman came over to help, took one of Garrett’s arms around her neck, and said, “How much longer will he be unconscious?”

“Maybe an hour, possibly two. Hopefully that’s long enough to get him somewhere safe?”

The woman nodded. “I can move him again later. My only other patient right now is nearly recovered and can help me take care of Garrett.”

Kiarra watched as they got Garrett inside the other car before the woman buckled him into harness straps in the back seat. She wanted to say something, but hesitated. Garrett wasn’t related to her, but in a way, he’d been a patient of hers, if only briefly. Finally Kiarra took a step forward. “Make sure not to touch him when he’s awake or he won’t stop screaming. If you hum the tune of Holst’s Jupiter, it’ll eventually lull him to sleep.”

The woman shut the car door and turned with a smile on her face. “I’ll make sure to follow your advice. I’m Amma, by the way.”

The woman put out her hand and Kiarra forced herself to take it and shake; touching others was becoming easier. “I’m Kiarra. And thank you for taking my advice under consideration.”

Amma’s smile turned sad. “All that matters to me is getting him well. Too many don’t recover, and your advice might be the extra bit of help he needs. Thank you.”

Kiarra didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had thanked her for anything. She’d never get used to feeling needed, either.

Jaxton touched her lower back. “We need to go. The two in the boot have probably missed a check-in call, and their associates might try to track their car’s location.” He put out a hand to Amma to shake. “Thanks, Amma. I’ll try to visit him as soon as I can.”

“I understand, no worries.” Amma opened the driver’s door of her car. “Nice to meet you, Kiarra. If you ever need a place to stay, come find me.”

Jaxton’s hand moved from her back to her waist and he pulled her closer against his side. She should’ve been alarmed, but for some reason the heat of his touch, the familiarity of his scent, it just felt…right.

As soon as Amma was gone, Jaxton released his hold and handed Kiarra her gun. He took her hand and led her out of the parking garage.

Kiarra was passed out on Jaxton’s shoulder. Not that he could blame her; after all the changes and stops they’d made, it was late. But he was confident no one was following them, at least for the moment.

They’d crossed the US-Canada border without incident not that long ago—thankfully Kiarra’s fake passport had worked—and they’d soon be in Vancouver. From there, they would take a taxi to Squamish Airport and then a private plane to Toronto, change to an international flight to Glasgow, and a bus to Edinburgh. Some might say he was being paranoid, but he wasn’t going to risk Kiarra’s safety.

He looked at her sleeping face, gently brushed her bangs to the side, and smiled. She’d done well in the parking garage in Seattle, playing her part and not losing her nerve. Every day outside of the AMT allowed Kiarra to find out more of who she was and what she could be. If it weren’t for the physical training she still needed, or her continued hesitation with strangers, she would probably challenge Jaxton for his leadership role the first chance she could.

Unable to resist the softness of her skin, he traced the line of her cheek and it hit him that he wanted to see Kiarra healed and ready to take on the world.