Page 66 of Born Reckless
My brows draw together and my gaze slides to Elena. I simply give her a nod, and she hesitantly walks back into the party.
“What’s going on?” I ask as he grabs my arm and drags me out the front doors. It’s quiet out here, as quiet as it can be on a Friday night in Chicago.
“You know how we have the barrier that tracks the comings and goings of all the vampires?” he asks. His words all come out in a panicked rush.
“Obviously,” I say as I raise my left arm, the one with the rose tattoo that is mixed with his own blood.
Warren nods. “Well, I can put certain markers on the barrier. Things like thoughts and intentions.”
“Excuse me?” I ask as I arch an eyebrow.
He nods once more. “When you came to the city and we learned that someone was after you, Roman had me put a marker for anyone who enters the city with ill intentions toward you, or Elena, or Mason.”
My entire body goes cold. “Oh, shit.”
“Oh, shit is right,” he says. His eyes dart up and down the street. And he looks scared. “Someone with the intent to hurt you just entered the city about ten minutes ago. Whoever this guy is, he knows who Elena is and he ispissed.” He says the last word with a frantic sing-song tone. “He doesn’t know who you are, but he’s figured out who Elena is and he’s on the warpath.”
“Damnit,” I curse. “What else can you tell me?”
Warren shakes his head. “That’s it. I can just read his intention as he crossed the barrier. Since he’s not tagged, we have no way of tracking him.”
“But if he knows who Elena is, there’s one pretty damn good guess where he might find her.”
“Juliet, he plans to kill her if he can find her,” Warren says in a breathy, terror-filled slew of words.
“I’m not going to let that happen,” I say with the shake of my head as I turn away.
“Wait!” he calls after me, even as I search the road for Patrick and head to the limo. “You need some backup!”
But backup means those that I care about might get hurt.
So, I ignore Warren and slip into the seat as Patrick opens the door for me. “Back to the Godfrey Tower,” I instruct.
“Yes, ma’am,” he says, shutting the door.
My heart is hammering. I don’t have anything on me to defend myself or attack with. I could search around for another piece of rebar, that worked out nicely before. But who am I kidding? That was a lucky twist of fate.
But anger makes my heart beat faster and hotter.
This asshole is threatening my friend. Because of what I did. I’m seeing red and my hands are burning for some bloody action.
Ten minutes later, we pull in front of the doors to Godfrey Tower. I thank Patrick and speed through them.
“Poe,” I bark as I walk up to his massive desk. “Has anyone you aren’t familiar with come asking for Elena?” I ask. “Dark hair, kind of scary looking?”
Poe’s eyes widen. “Uh, yeah,” he says dramatically. “Just two minutes ago. I told him there is no Elena here, and when he heard my lie, he got really nasty and mean. But he ended up storming out. I mean, you just missed him by like, thirty seconds.”
“Shit,” I breathe and race back for the door. I step out into the dark night and look up and down the sidewalk.
Patrick is already gone. Even though the party is happening tonight, he takes his job very seriously and has stayed on duty. The sidewalk is empty, and the only sounds are those in the background. The city never sleeps.
I close my eyes for a moment and take in a deep breath. My brain tries to untangle the complexity of all of the smells out here. Since coming to live in Godfrey Tower, I've come to recognize the scent of many of its employees. I search for any scent that is unfamiliar.
And almost immediately, as soon as I focus on it, I find it. The smell that doesn't belong, but one I’ve smelled just once before.
I follow my nose down the sidewalk. My eyes are scanning the shadows, searching for a familiar face. Down the block I walk, barely keeping my pace slow enough to look natural.
And as I walk past one of the towering skyscrapers, suddenly the smell does not continue forward, but up.