“So you two are just going to have a brief fling?”
“Something like that.” Catching the way Stuart’s brow pinched in disapproval, I added, “I know she deserves better. I do. Which is why I kept my distance for a long time. I meant to keep on doing that, but it didn’t work. It was wishful thinking on my part to believe it would. There’s only so long you can resist someone who’s right in front of you every night.”
Stuart exhaled heavily. “Yeah, I get it. Just … be careful with her. I wasn’t careful. I was a shithead, to be exact. Don’t make my mistake.”
“I don’t intend to. Never would.” I frowned when Maya’s jaguar came to an abrupt stop.
She swung her head toward Alora, who instantly stiffened and then looked at Jared. She must have telepathically passed on a message, because then Jared’s voice was in my head.
Lenox is here. Pair up. Be ready.
I glanced around but saw no sign of any—there. A burly, salt-and-pepper haired male appeared a dozen feet away from Sam, but he was gone in a fucking flash only to reappear elsewhere.
We attacked in an instant. The jaguar sprang with a roar. Stuart exploded into molecules and zoomed Lenox’s way. Damien’s astral form disappeared, no doubt in pursuit. The night was suddenly alive with electric strikes, ripples of psychic energy, telekinetic blows, the jaguar’s roars, Chico’s darts, psionic blasts, crackling energy balls, and the shrieks of the tropical birds that Alora had recruited.
I spared a moment to check on Paige. She stood near Imani, on guard and highly alert. Satisfied, I switched my attention back to Lenox. The fucker was doing a good job of evading our attacks, because he kept blinking from spot to spot, and there was no way for us to anticipate where he’d next appear.
I couldn’t paralyse his senses. Not when he moved so fast. If the fucker would just stay in place for a few seconds … but he never did.
And why would he?
He didn’t have a gift that allowed him to attack from afar, so he would not waste precious seconds standing in one spot. Plus, as a member of the legion, Lenox knew our gifts; knew how we fought in battle; knew to move fast in order to dodge our every attack. He also knew not to get too close—many of us could take him out, but not all could do it from afar.
Jared began teleporting from one place to another, doing his best to catch Lenox, but he was always a few seconds behind the bastard.
Again, I spared Paige a quick glance to check on her. She must have felt my gaze, because she looked my way for a brief moment.
Everyone form a circle but face outwards, Jared ordered. Cover all directions. Attack if you see movement.
So that was what we did.
I noticed Jared and Damien’s astral form pop into view here and there, but none were ever close enough to grab Lenox. Shooting yellowy-green ooze from his hands, Denny repeatedly tried catching the motherfucker. But Lenox evaded him every time.
Keep attacking, Jared ordered. With any luck, we’ll tire him out.
But there was no such luck. And, really, there was every chance Lenox would simply disappear if he felt he was even close to tiring. What I kept wondering was … why would he bother exposing himself this way? What did he have to gain?
I growled. “Can anyone work out what the fuck he’s doing?”
“It’s like he’s playing with us,” David replied, letting out yet another psionic blast.
I frowned. “What, he gets off on pitting himself against the Grand High Pair and their personal squads?”
David shrugged. “Possibly.”
A loud hiss of pain. “Motherfucker.”
I stiffened. Paige. I turned to see her staring at the back of her shoulder. No, at the fucking claw marks now spanning the back of her shoulder.
“Shit, Paige!” Imani called out, her eyes wide.
“Get her out of here, Jared, we have this!” Sam yelled.
I tried hurrying over to Paige, but she was gone in a flash. Son of a bitch.
(Paige)
I suddenly found myself standing outside the rows of containment cells beneath the mansion—all of which were constructed of indestructible glass. I wasn’t sure if Jared picked the one nearest to us out of convenience or because he was ready for the captive inside it to die, but he pressed his thumb to the sensor beside the door. The moment it opened, Jared barged inside. Electricity shot from his fingertips and crashed into the captive. The vampire shook, his eyes rolling back in his head as the electricity whipped through his system and held him immobile.
Jared glanced at me as I entered the cell. “Give him the wound.”
Gladly. God, the poison stung like a bitch. I’d gotten the goddamn shock of my life when claws raked me from behind—they’d felt like hot slices of pain.