Page 20 of Born Reckless
Chapter Five
“We’re on the ground,”Elena says into her phone.
“My guys will follow you,” a dark voice says on the other end.
None of us say anything as the plane loses speed on the runway. Finally, it creeps along, making its way to its final destination. And when we stop, I look out the window and see two black cars waiting. And standing outside one of the cars, is two men.
“You don’t need to be afraid,” Elena says. She stands and looks down at me. “I swear, I’m not going to let anyone hurt you here.”
“I’m not scared,” I say, and it’s the honest truth. “I’ve already killed two people and found the world is a much bigger place than I thought. Meeting new people isn’t the intimidating part.”
Except those people are vampires. And… others, which I have yet to learn the meaning of.
Mason, Elena, and I walk down the stairs into the dark night, and for the first time, I set foot in Chicago.
“Welcome back,” one of the men says. They’re both dressed in all black and look utterly deadly. “Mr. De Luca is waiting for you.”
“How’s his mood today?” Elena asks as she walks across the pavement to the other car.
“Not great,” the man says. A small smile pulls in the corner of his mouth.
“Perfect,” Elena says sarcastically as she climbs inside. I follow after her, and Mason brings up the rear.
No one has to give directions to the driver. He simply takes off, and as I look behind us, I see the other car follow.
The space is small. With the three of us, we’re all cramped beside one another.
Mason’s entire thigh is pressed into mine. His shoulder brushes mine. And when I feel his fingers wrap around mine between us, my eyes fall down to them.
He rubs his thumb soothingly over the back of my hand, and my stomach does a little flip.
Neither of us looks at the other. But I don’t let his hand go, and I will my face not to blush. Not even a little bit.
Elena’s phone beeps and she looks at it.
“Tabitha?” Mason asks.
“Of course,” Elena says. Her tone sounds somewhat annoyed. “She’s meeting us there.”
“Who is Tabitha?” I ask. There are so many players being introduced, I feel behind, lost.
“My bodyguard,” Elena says, her blue eyes rising to meet mine. “All members of the Night Council have them. Except Roman, who you’re about to meet. We had to reposition Mason’s, to sure up our cover story.”
That I’m coming to Chicago to be his bodyguard.
Why I am not acting as Elena’s bodyguard, I’m not sure.
We drive for five minutes, and then we pull in front of an old brick building. It looks abandoned.
“We’re here,” Elena says, and I detect a hint of dread in her voice. I let go of Mason’s hand and shift to leave the vehicle when Elena reaches out a hand and stops me.
“Roman is… intense,” she says. “He’s in charge of security in the city, and he takes his job very seriously because his job is so important. He’s unpleasant, we’ll put it that way. I just want you to be prepared for him.”
My eyes glance over to Mason, and his lips thin out as his eyes darken. Something tells me Mason and this Roman don’t get along.
“Okay,” I say, because what else is there to say?
The driver opens the door and the three of us climb out. My heart starts beating faster as my eyes fix on the door. It’s painted black, peeling. The building looks like a common place for murders.