Dirty Blood by Heather Hildenbrand
A stinging slap across my face jarred me into consciousness. My head swung to the side and my eyes stung with sharp tears. A bass drum throbbed a beat between my temples. I struggled to focus on my latest attacker. My grandmother stared back at me. She was crouched down in front of me, her brows and forehead crinkled with worry. My jaw dropped.
“Did you just slap me?”
“I did.” She nodded, looking a little relieved.
“Why?”
“To wake you up. We need to find a way out of here and we can’t do that if you’re unconscious.” She rose and began wandering along the wall, running her hands over it.
I stared at her back, still shocked. “But … you slapped me,” was all I could say.
“Would you rather I leave you here to sleep it off while I escape alone?” she asked without turning.
She was closely inspecting a pipe that ran down the wall, across from where I sat. We were in a dimly lit room the size of a large closet, and we were alone.
“Where’s Mom?” I asked, slowly pulling myself to my feet, and rubbing a lump that was making my head thud with every blink.
“I don’t know. Back where we found her, I imagine. It was a trap, obviously. Though I’m sure they didn’t expect me to be with you. They had a serious fight on their hands, too, let me tell you. They might’ve got me in here, but I was conscious the entire time.” She gave up on the pipe and turned back to me, a gleam in her eye. “Which means, I know exactly how to get us out of here.” She frowned. “But it also means that Leonard will be along sooner rather than later.”
“Mom said he’s my uncle,” I said.
She came over to me and pulled me in for a quick hug. “A story for another time, hon. We need to get moving.”
I didn’t even feel surprised that she’d just confirmed it as truth. I was sort of numb to surprises by now.
She walked toward the door and I followed, not sure what we were going to accomplish. It was metal and sealed tight. Grandma banged on it and stepped back. I started to tell her that wasn’t going to yield results but a second later it swung open. A man with wiry muscles and a graying beard stood on the other side, flanked by four wolves. He didn’t come any closer, but he regarded Grandma with a dangerous glint. There was a fierce energy about him.
“Leonard,” Grandma said, her small hands fisting at her sides.
“Edie, what a surprise. Was there a family reunion no one told me about?”
Grandma took a step and Leo clicked his tongue at her. “This is close enough.” Then his eyes flicked to me, and his expression hardened. “Tara and I have … business. Then we’ll talk.”
Grandma sidestepped, blocking me from Leo’s view. “You and me first,” she said.
Something thudded behind Leo and he turned. One of the wolves flanking him, the one farthest in the back, dropped to the floor and lay still. Grandma took advantage of the distraction and launched herself at Leo. He turned back just in time and jumped out of the way, sending Grandma’s fist into a waiting Werewolf. Antsy to jump in and help, I reached down to my boot and came up empty. I felt my pocket, where the gun had been. Nothing.
Our weapons were gone.
A commotion began with the remaining two guard wolves, and I strained to see beyond Grandma and the wolf that was snapping at her. Someone—or something—let out a yelp. A human hand clamped down on my ponytail, dragging me backward down a side hallway.
“Keep your mouth shut and your mother and grandmother might survive,” Leo hissed in my ear.
I didn’t answer. I was too busy trying not to lose my footing as he pulled me out of sight. We rounded another corner, and the catwalk became more of a platform that across to the other side of the warehouse. I used the railing to keep from falling as Leo continued to pull me along by my hair. Below me, I could hear the sounds of the fight, a growling, grunting hum of bodies in motion. My shoes caught on the lip of metal that signaled we’d reached the other side, and Leo turned and shoved me into a room. My shoulder thudded into the wall, and I was pretty sure a handful of hair came loose from my scalp.
He crossed quickly to the other side and, using the hand not still clutching my ponytail, he began punching numbers into a wall-mounted keypad that hung next to another door. I knew I had only a few seconds while Leo was distracted, and still in human form. I could only hope that would give me an advantage since there were absolutely no weapons to be had. As hard as I could, I jabbed my shoulder into Leo’s rib cage. He let out a surprised, “Ow,” and his grip on my hair loosened. I jabbed again with my elbow and his hand came free. I scrambled away and managed to dodge Leo’s fist, already sailing through the air, aimed at my face.
He was fast, even as a human, and his next hit landed against my shoulder, driving me back and throwing me off balance. He would’ve been on me then, but Jack appeared in the doorway, shoving his way in and sinking his teeth into Leo’s ankle. Leo’s knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor.
“Jack,” I said. My muscles went weak with relief.
The second Leo went down, Jack was on him, teeth heading straight for Leo’s throat. Leo managed to push him aside and then rolled away, his body blurring and fading around the edges. By the time he rolled to his feet, Leo was a wolf. I stepped back as far as I could, my back hitting the wall near the locked door. This room was getting smaller and smaller. Then, another wolf appeared in the doorway, its russet fur heaving up and down with labored breaths.
Wes watched Jack and Leo and then looked over at me. “Can you get around them?”
“I don’t know. But you need to find my mother. And Grandma.”
“I’m right here, hon. Oh.” Grandma appeared behind Wes and stopped short at the sight of the two Werewolves snapping and clawing at each other in the tiny space.
“Go find my mother. I’ll be fine with Jack,” I said, not really seeing a way to maneuver safely around them.
Grandma nodded, but Wes hesitated. I stared at him, eyes pleading, and Grandma took it all in. “Come on, let’s go get my daughter. Then, we’ll come back to watch Jack finish off this useless sack,” she said. When Wes still didn’t move, she tugged at him, and he reluctantly turned and followed her.
I watched for an opening, a way around Leo and Jack. I couldn’t really attempt it, though, even past Jack. He was too caught up in the fight and could just as easily snap at me as Leo if I tried to push past him. They came at each other, over and over, neither one really gaining ground. There wasn’t really any ground to gain. It was an even match, in age and experience, and I wondered if it would come down to stamina. But Jack was ferocious. I had no doubt he could beat Leo.
I shrank away as a claw—I couldn’t tell whose—swiped dangerously close to where I stood. The wall gave way and opened inward and I had to catch myself from falling. I turned. The door that Leo had been working on yawned open into the darkness beyond. I didn’t even glance back as I stepped through, and pushed it shut behind me. It banged closed with an echo. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. The sounds of the fight behind me were muffled; there was no way to tell who was hurting whom. I wondered if I should go back. What if Jack needed me? What if my mother wasn’t where we’d left her?
I heard the click of the switch at the same time an overhead fluorescent flickered to life. I blinked, and saw that I wasn’t alone. Miles was leaning against the far wall, about twenty feet away, just next to a short set of stairs, with EXIT painted in peeling letters. His hands were in his pockets. He had a jagged-looking cut on his jaw that was already beginning to heal.
“Where are we?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Attic, I think. The roof’s up there.”
A muffled snarl came through the door behind me. “Jack and Leo,” I explained.
Miles cocked his head to the side. “You’re so much more resourceful than he gives you credit for. It’s probably the only reason you’re still alive. Well, that and dumb luck.”
Another snarl, loud
“Not enough room,” he said, shaking his head. “They’d shred you. Both of them.”
I sighed. “I have to do something. I can’t just hide out here all night.”
He pushed off from the wall and strode over to me. He stopped and bent his head down, so that his face hovered an inch from mine. “Yes, you can. Stay with me.”
I tried taking a step back, uncomfortable with our closeness, and the way he looked at me. But my back was already against the wall. I looked away. His lips hovered over my cheek, instead. “You should be out there fighting, too.”
“You don’t want to stay with me?”
His hot breath blew in my face, and my stomach twisted. “Miles—”
The door behind us was wrenched open, and I fell backwards. Miles’s hand reached out and caught me, inches before Leo’s sharpened teeth did. I whirled to face him and took an automatic step back, bumping into Miles. He didn’t move out of the way. My skin crawled.
“What the hell?” Leo growled. “Why is she still alive?” He was looking at Miles.
“We were talking,” said Miles. There was no trace of fear or anxiety in his voice. He sounded annoyed and bored.
“I told you, she’s not going to turn,” Leo said.
“She might, if she understood what we’re offering,” said Miles.
Something about the easy way he answered, the familiarity with which they spoke to each other, triggered alarm in me. I tried to step away. Miles hand clamped down on my wrist, holding me in place. I looked past Leo, for Jack. He wasn’t there.
“What are you doing, Miles?” I whispered.
“Giving you a choice,” he said.
I twisted around so I could see his face, which I instantly regretted. He was close. We were nose to nose. “What choice?” I kept my voice as even as I could, but I knew I sounded freaked. “Why are you talking to him like that? He’s the enemy.”
“He’s your enemy,” said Miles. He smiled down at me, and I suppose he meant it to be friendly and inviting, but it wasn’t. It was creepy and calculating, and I began to realize …
“You’re working with him?”
Miles looked past me, back to Leo, and his smile twisted into a grimace. “Don’t have a choice, do I, dear old Dad?”
“Shut up. You’re telling her too much,” said Leo. “Kill. Her. Now.”
I tensed, but Miles seemed utterly relaxed. He was looking at me again. I swallowed. “He’s your dad? As in, you’re my cousin?” I asked.
“I always wanted a big family,” he said. His free hand went around my waist, holding me still inside the circle of his arm. He leaned in, inching his lips toward mine, and I had to struggle not to gag. He stopped and hovered with his lips just a breath from mine. His eyes were still open and he was watching my reaction. I couldn’t help the horror that must’ve shown on my face. He frowned and eased back. “No? Not going for it, huh?”
“No,” I said on an exhale. Had he really just been about to kiss me?
“Ah, well. Shame. I’d hoped we could work together. You have so much potential. But …” He looked back at Leo. “You win again.” Then his hands released me and he shoved me back through the door, straight for Leo.
I stumbled and then sidestepped Leo back into the tiny room. Leo regarded me with a look I couldn’t read. Probably because I didn’t speak crazy. There was blood on the floor at his feet, but I tried to ignore that. Where was Jack? Maybe I didn’t want to know.
A furry form appeared in the doorway and I almost cried. “Jack!”
“Tara?” He was panting and there was a shallow cut on his leg. “I didn’t know where you’d gone. I was looking for you. Leo said you ran …” He trailed off and glared at Leo.
Leo looked seriously pissed. “One more minute, dammit. You couldn’t stay gone one more minute?”
Jack answered by launching himself at Leo, jaw wide, teeth bared. A growl erupted as the two slammed into each other, and then the wall. I looked back at Miles. He stood, blocking the doorway to the attic. I inched to the left. Maybe he wouldn’t notice, and I could slip out. Get help for Jack.
Miles watched the fight with a look of mild interest for several seconds and then abruptly turned his gaze back on me again. I froze, halfway to the door.
He looked angry. “Always someone there at just the right moment, isn’t there? No wonder Leo was so set on killing you, instead of trying it my way.” He shook his head.
I blinked at him.
Without another word, he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a gun, leveling it straight at my chest. It looked a lot like the gun I’d used on Kat. Then, he fired. I didn’t even have time to duck or swerve. Just stand there and wait for the pain.
In that exact moment, Leo’s claws took a swipe at Jack and he swerved and jumped out of the way, putting him directly between me and the gun. Miles slammed the door and disappeared as Jack went down.