Oath Bound
Page 46
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Kori glanced at Ian, who glanced at Liv, who glanced at Kris, and they all seemed to come to the same conclusion at the exact same time.
Kris nodded. “Okay.”
I blinked at them. “That’s it? Just like that? You’re all okay with just...ending someone?”
“Just someone?” Kori met my gaze with a frank one of her own. “No. A cold-blooded murderer? Yeah. I’m good with it.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure why that surprised me as much as it did. Obviously, I was okay with it, too. It was my idea. The driving force behind my existence for the past few months. But I’d never expected to find a squad of assassins ready and willing to help me carry such a task out.
I made a mental note not to look that particular gift horse in the mouth.
“Okay, then. You have yourself a Jammer. Just so we’re clear, though, I’m free to leave whenever I want, right? This is no longer a hostage situation?”
Kris rolled his eyes. “It never was.”
“Then...can someone take me to get my stuff?”
Kori stood, but Kris was faster. “Yeah. The sooner the better.”
“Great.” I headed straight for the closet door with Kris behind me, but I turned back when I remembered what I’d never gotten a chance to say earlier. “Oh, Anne?” I said, and she looked up. “Your daughter is no ordinary Seer.”
“What do you mean?” She looked decidedly nervous.
“She doesn’t just see the future. She can also see the past.”
Eight
Kris
It was nearly midnight by the time we left the hideout house to go after Sera’s things, which meant the outside world would still be one big den of shadows. Including most of the Tower property, except where the perimeter lights would render my shadow-walking ability null around the exterior of the entire property.
According to my sisters, motion sensors were scattered throughout the grounds and if triggered, they would activate floodlights, which would both highlight our position and prevent our escape. Fortunately, Kori remembered enough to mark the motion sensors for me on a hand-drawn map of the property. She didn’t think Julia would have gotten around to changing the exterior security features, considering that so far, both of their breaches had originated from inside the house itself.
I held Sera’s hand as we stepped through the dark hall closet and into the cool fall night. Thanks to the moon, stars and lights from the Tower house, nature’s darkness wasn’t as black as the closet, but it was more than dark enough to accommodate my Skill. As we took our first step on Tower’s thick lawn, I had to remind myself to take my hand back. It didn’t want to let go of hers.
I was on alert, my every nerve ending buzzing from the knowledge that we could be discovered at any moment and that even if we weren’t shot on sight or imprisoned by light, Sera couldn’t escape without me and my Skill. I stayed as close to her as possible and told myself it was for her safety.
We started in a patch of deep shadows to the left of the rounded front porch, not close enough to trigger sensors built into the walls, but not exposed enough to be easily seen in dark clothes. Sera’s were borrowed from Kori. They clung to her in places they didn’t cling to my sister—thank goodness—and I almost wished for normal, non-shadow-walker night vision, to render me immune to the distraction.
“It’s gone,” she whispered, staring at the broad, semi-circular driveway, and I had to refocus my thoughts to remember why we were there. Sera was like a mental magnet, constantly pulling my focus off true north. She set me spinning, like a compass needle with no direction. She was a dangerous distraction. A beautiful, enigmatic distraction...who was saying something I should listen to. “My car is gone.”
I glanced at the front of the house. The driveway was empty. “They probably moved it around back.” Where most of the employees parked, according to Kori.
Rather than walk around the huge house and risk triggering an alarm, I took us through the shadows once more. This time we stepped out onto an open patch of grass behind the small, half-empty parking lot.
“That’s it.” She pointed to a small blue four-door sedan, one of only five cars on the lot, which gave me hope that Julia ran a skeleton crew at night. Sera’s car was parked next to the tall industrial lamp rising from the center of the lot. It was completely drenched in light. We couldn’t get to it without risking being seen by anyone patrolling the grounds. Or simply looking out a rear-facing window.
“Is there anything in there that can’t be replaced?” Shopping was much safer than sneaking around in Tower’s backyard. And considering that they’d already moved her car, Julia’s men could just as easily have taken her stuff to dig for private information. Middle names. Policy numbers. Receipts. Anything that could give them something to use against her.
“Pictures,” she whispered. “I brought my mom’s photo album. Those can’t be replaced. I don’t know if she even kept the negatives.”
Shit. Her dead mother’s photos. Real photos, with no digital footprint. “Okay. You have your key?” I asked, and she nodded, pulling the electronic key fob from her pocket. The gaze that met mine was scared, but steady. And intense. “When I say go, you’re going to run for it. Stay hunched over, to make as small a target as possible. Keep the car between you and the house. I’ll keep watch from here.”
Sera frowned and glanced back at her car, and hair fell across her face. “There has to be a better way,” she whispered. “I can’t fight a bullet. Can’t outrun one, either.”
Kris nodded. “Okay.”
I blinked at them. “That’s it? Just like that? You’re all okay with just...ending someone?”
“Just someone?” Kori met my gaze with a frank one of her own. “No. A cold-blooded murderer? Yeah. I’m good with it.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure why that surprised me as much as it did. Obviously, I was okay with it, too. It was my idea. The driving force behind my existence for the past few months. But I’d never expected to find a squad of assassins ready and willing to help me carry such a task out.
I made a mental note not to look that particular gift horse in the mouth.
“Okay, then. You have yourself a Jammer. Just so we’re clear, though, I’m free to leave whenever I want, right? This is no longer a hostage situation?”
Kris rolled his eyes. “It never was.”
“Then...can someone take me to get my stuff?”
Kori stood, but Kris was faster. “Yeah. The sooner the better.”
“Great.” I headed straight for the closet door with Kris behind me, but I turned back when I remembered what I’d never gotten a chance to say earlier. “Oh, Anne?” I said, and she looked up. “Your daughter is no ordinary Seer.”
“What do you mean?” She looked decidedly nervous.
“She doesn’t just see the future. She can also see the past.”
Eight
Kris
It was nearly midnight by the time we left the hideout house to go after Sera’s things, which meant the outside world would still be one big den of shadows. Including most of the Tower property, except where the perimeter lights would render my shadow-walking ability null around the exterior of the entire property.
According to my sisters, motion sensors were scattered throughout the grounds and if triggered, they would activate floodlights, which would both highlight our position and prevent our escape. Fortunately, Kori remembered enough to mark the motion sensors for me on a hand-drawn map of the property. She didn’t think Julia would have gotten around to changing the exterior security features, considering that so far, both of their breaches had originated from inside the house itself.
I held Sera’s hand as we stepped through the dark hall closet and into the cool fall night. Thanks to the moon, stars and lights from the Tower house, nature’s darkness wasn’t as black as the closet, but it was more than dark enough to accommodate my Skill. As we took our first step on Tower’s thick lawn, I had to remind myself to take my hand back. It didn’t want to let go of hers.
I was on alert, my every nerve ending buzzing from the knowledge that we could be discovered at any moment and that even if we weren’t shot on sight or imprisoned by light, Sera couldn’t escape without me and my Skill. I stayed as close to her as possible and told myself it was for her safety.
We started in a patch of deep shadows to the left of the rounded front porch, not close enough to trigger sensors built into the walls, but not exposed enough to be easily seen in dark clothes. Sera’s were borrowed from Kori. They clung to her in places they didn’t cling to my sister—thank goodness—and I almost wished for normal, non-shadow-walker night vision, to render me immune to the distraction.
“It’s gone,” she whispered, staring at the broad, semi-circular driveway, and I had to refocus my thoughts to remember why we were there. Sera was like a mental magnet, constantly pulling my focus off true north. She set me spinning, like a compass needle with no direction. She was a dangerous distraction. A beautiful, enigmatic distraction...who was saying something I should listen to. “My car is gone.”
I glanced at the front of the house. The driveway was empty. “They probably moved it around back.” Where most of the employees parked, according to Kori.
Rather than walk around the huge house and risk triggering an alarm, I took us through the shadows once more. This time we stepped out onto an open patch of grass behind the small, half-empty parking lot.
“That’s it.” She pointed to a small blue four-door sedan, one of only five cars on the lot, which gave me hope that Julia ran a skeleton crew at night. Sera’s car was parked next to the tall industrial lamp rising from the center of the lot. It was completely drenched in light. We couldn’t get to it without risking being seen by anyone patrolling the grounds. Or simply looking out a rear-facing window.
“Is there anything in there that can’t be replaced?” Shopping was much safer than sneaking around in Tower’s backyard. And considering that they’d already moved her car, Julia’s men could just as easily have taken her stuff to dig for private information. Middle names. Policy numbers. Receipts. Anything that could give them something to use against her.
“Pictures,” she whispered. “I brought my mom’s photo album. Those can’t be replaced. I don’t know if she even kept the negatives.”
Shit. Her dead mother’s photos. Real photos, with no digital footprint. “Okay. You have your key?” I asked, and she nodded, pulling the electronic key fob from her pocket. The gaze that met mine was scared, but steady. And intense. “When I say go, you’re going to run for it. Stay hunched over, to make as small a target as possible. Keep the car between you and the house. I’ll keep watch from here.”
Sera frowned and glanced back at her car, and hair fell across her face. “There has to be a better way,” she whispered. “I can’t fight a bullet. Can’t outrun one, either.”
