"Oh, crap." Hailey snapped her fingers when they were about to step into the yard of Shane's house. "I forgot my purse and Morgan's gift, they're still in the car." She scowled at her scrambled thoughts. This man seriously messes with your head! "I'll go get them."
James arched his eyebrow and Hailey mentally sighed at the sight of him.
You should make him wear a suit more often, just so you can watch him take it off again.
His deep voice snapped her out of her inappropriate thoughts, the heat from their kisses still warming her cheeks. "We'll go together."
She gave him a small smile and laced her fingers through his. Just then, a slight tremor rocked the ground underneath their feet.
James jerked.
Hailey looked up when James stared absently in the distance as he was processing whatever was happening.
Was he having another vision?
She softly squeezed his hand.
When he answered her unasked question, her skin pebbled. "There has been an explosion in the city. Possible terrorist attack. I need to get on site immediately. Nerida and Abbot are out of the running; they were on rotation yesterday."
"An explosion?" Her heart jerked in her chest, but Hailey decided not to hear him out about it right now. "I'll stay over at Shane's house." She felt her body tense at the idea of James being in the middle of such a dangerous situation, her stomach knotting and heart thudding a fast rhythm.
This is what he does, Hales, she reminded herself. You better get used to it.
James brushed his knuckles over her cheek. "Don't leave until I send someone to pick you up. I'll send for one of the sentries to guard the premises." He stiffened again.
Hailey's heart clenched but she quickly rose on tiptoe and kissed him. "Go, they need you. Be safe."
James gave her a curt nod before the air around him shimmered. Within seconds, he disappeared.
Hailey squeezed the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger as she walked towards the car and punched in the code. A possible terrorist attack. Jesus. As if the world didn't have enough to deal with right now. Psy were only just recovering from the blows they took to the Net while humans were lashing out, fighting to find a way to make the world an equal place. When would it stop?
She bent forward to grab her purse and the bag containing Morgan's gift before turning around and walking to the house. She quietly prayed for James to be okay while she grabbed her phone out of her purse to check for any news about the incident.
Instead of knocking at the front door, Hailey automatically followed the narrow path to the back while reading live newsfeeds. She lifted her foot to first step of the stone stairs leading to the backdoor when an arm slung around her waist and another tightened around her neck, pulling her off the steps and into a dark corner of the garden.
Gasping and swaying on her heels, she released everything she was holding and used her Tk to boost the elbow she thrust in her attackers gut. Just as she made contact, Hailey felt a sharp sting against her throat.
A knife.
A groan sounded behind her as the blade slit through her skin. Hailey froze when she recognized the familiar aftershave penetrating her nostrils. Her heart boomed in her chest as warm drops slithered past her neck, down to her breastbone.
"I've been waiting for you," Matt's lips touched the outer shell of her ear. She closed her eyes and swallowed.
Don't look into his eyes. Don't let him use his ability on you again.
Inhaling deeply in order to calm her nerves and focus, she noticed Matt was moving behind her and clasping something around her wrist.
Handcuffs?
That would hardly hold her back from injuring him. Badly.
She bared her teeth, fury a roaring tornado barely contained. Goddamn idiot. All she needed was a small opening to twist and push out of his hold with her Tk.
Breathing past the rush of adrenaline, Hailey found her voice. "To do what, exactly?" Distract him! the voice in her mind said as Matt tightly held onto her lower arm.
But he didn't move to clasp the second shackle around her other wrist. When his hold relaxed a little, Hailey lifted her leg to stomp the four-inch heel of her pump down on Matt's foot while wrenching away her upper body, boosting her movement with Tk. The knife would probably mark her skin a little, but as long as she was out of his hold, it didn't matter.
A searing stab slashed through her spinal cord.
Whimpering, Hailey's legs nearly gave in, the punishing spike slamming though her body hard enough to cause black spots in front of her eyes. Swaying, she heard Matt's soft chuckle as he dragged her along to the back of the yard while pushing the knife against her throat.
"Nah-ah, sweet Hailey," a smile in his voice, "you won't be using your Tk on me any time soon."
Heart thudding an irregular beat, Hailey tried to step onto the psychic plane to alert James. Another crashing wave of agony burned through her body. She jerked forward, causing the blade to dig deeper into her skin. Gasping, Hailey fought the panic building up inside of her.
What the hell is happening?!
Her scalp prickled when Matt laughed again. He held up her arm to show her a narrow metal bracelet. "Military grade tech," Matt said smugly. "It seems some humans don't like the fact that other races have psychic abilities." He brushed his thumb over her arm while nuzzling her neck. "Useful, isn't it?"
No. He must be lying.
Hailey tried to step onto the psychic plane again, but sharp stabs in her head prevented her from making the connection. Grimacing, she watched the bracelet light up with a blue glow before dimming. The fire in her veins turned to ice, her breath stuck in her lungs.
"Don't be stupid, Hailey. If you just come with me and behave, I won't hurt you."
Somehow Hailey managed to restrain her urge to snap at Matt. That probably wouldn't sit well with him and right now he had the upper hand. She needed to get away from him as fast as possible. A thousand options tumbled through her mind, but she was near certain she wasn't strong or nimble enough to incapacitate Matt without her Tk. Matt was muscled, and she estimated he outweighed her by at least thirty pounds. Besides that, he was a lot taller than she was.
Shit.
The odds of her fighting him off were bad, to say the least. Hailey took as deep a breath as she dared with the blade still so close to her throat.
Focus, Hales. Breathe and concentrate. You can outthink him. Just wait for the right opportunity.
If she wasn't able to use her Tk or her connection to the PsyNet to contact James, the option of using her draining abilities was most likely also out the window. She glanced down at the narrow but heavy metal bracelet. She needed to remove it somehow. It was the only way to defend herself against Matt.
Somewhere in the back of her mind Hailey noted that time was a very relative construct. Rather than an hour, barely a minute had passed since the moment Matt pulled her away from the steps. The sentinel James had sent to watch over her had probably arrived by now. She thought about screaming for help but reconsidered it when she felt the knife rasp against skin of her throat. Matt was more than strong enough to do serious damage if he wanted to, and if she'd draw attention he'd certainly hurt her badly.
Ordering her chaotic thoughts, Hailey realized she had no idea why Matt was doing any of this. Was it payback for sending Devraj after him? Was this James' vision? It didn't feel like the right place, and Matt was the sole attacker.
When Matt stuck his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply, Hailey fought the urge to retch. "What are you going to do, Matt?" She kept her voice steady, deliberately using his name to connect with him, to see her as another human being he was hurting.
Matt kicked open the door to their left–leading to the carport–and exited the garden. Hailey saw a large black van standing next to the fence, underneath the carport.
This wasn't good. If Matt managed to take her somewhere, it was almost certain her chances of survival would narrow down to a few percent.
When he swung her around the corner, she almost fell due to her high heels, but managed to stay upright, the knife stinging against her skin again. Suddenly, Matt switched his hold and dug the blade into her right cheek while clasping his hand over her mouth. Hailey winced when he quickly slashed the blade over her skin twice. Blood trickled down her jaw. She tried to bite him, but he moved his hand away and clasped it around her throat hard enough to inflict severe pressure on her trachea, causing difficulty breathing.
"Nah-ah, Hales. Don't you try anything silly." His lips ran over her nape.
Hailey squeezed her eyes closed as she tried to breathe past the pain and the nightmares that were choking her as potently as Matt's hand. Matt gentled his hold on her throat while he continued speaking. "This," he dug the tip of the blade into her cheek again, "is for all the trouble you've caused me with Santos." Another slash across her face, slithers of blood wetting her skin.
"Maybe I should give you a taste of what your Psy did to me and break your arm." He let out a dramatic sigh. "Decisions, decisions…"
Rage a scorching fire, Hailey almost screamed at him but stopped herself when Matt held the point of the blade right under her eye.
"Be very, very quiet, Hailey. If you'll be a good girl, I might not hurt you any more than necessary."
Her heart turned to ice at the insinuation that he believed cutting up her face was a necessity. Keep him talking, stall him!
"Okay," her voice a breathless croak. "I'll come with you. Where are we going and what can I do for you?"
Matt kissed the side of her neck. "That's more like it, Hales. You'd make for a good playmate if only you kept that sharp tongue of yours behind your teeth more often."
Standing in the shadow of the carport, Hailey ran her eyes across the street. The dull light of the street lanterns and the lack of sound wasn't promising. No one was here to help her.
Matt pulled on a lock of her hair. "Hmm. Are you going to give me everything you've given that Psy of yours?"
Hailey shuddered in disgust. She knew she'd been apprehensive of the protective detail at first, but where the hell were they right now?
She froze at another tremor underneath her feet, a muted blast rolling through the sky.
"Explosions," her voice a whisper. Mind reeling, Hailey felt nausea churn in her stomach, praying to God James wasn't anywhere near the second explosion. Then it dawned on her that the Arrows on duty must have gone to help the victims of the first strike and track down the perpetrators, and now there was a second blast. Even if there was an Arrow guarding the house right now, they'd probably assume she was already inside.
Matt barked out a laugh as he dragged her towards the van. "Yes, that was a nice touch, wasn't it?" The rear door opened automatically when they stood at the back of the vehicle. "You see, I've made some nice new friends after work hours. Apparently I'm not the only one who dislikes the Arrows, and if I was able to give them an Arrow, they would let me keep you." She could hear the pride in his voice, as if he'd thought out the perfect plan. "It's a win-win for all of us."
He pressed the knife horizontally against the skin of her cheekbone and she felt it cutting through the layers of her skin again. Hailey gritted her teeth but couldn't help letting out a small grunt at the sharp sting.
Blood dripping from her hands. Begging voices inside her mind.
No! Breathe!
She had to stay calm and strong. For herself. For James. Matt was insinuating James was also at risk.
Maybe James had been right about the interpretation of the first vision, that she would be used to bait him?
Hailey had to get some information somehow in order to do something about her current situation. She tried to focus and kept her voice steady as she spoke. "Why would they want an Arrow? They'll never share their secrets."
They'd rather die.
Hailey couldn't let that happen. She had to find a way out of this situation before James–or another Arrow–got hurt.
"You're not as smart as you like to act, are you?" Matt laughed and pushed the knife a little more into the skin of her cheek, cutting a deep line from her cheekbone to her jaw.
Hailey inhaled sharply through her teeth and felt drops of blood run past her neck, the scent of iron filling her nostrils. She squeezed her eyes shut to ban the dark memories of the other time where blood had dripped down her skin.
You need to stay calm, Hales. Breathe.
"No, sweet Hailey. They don't want information. This is just their idea of the ultimate hunt."
All air was punched out of her lungs at Matt's words.
Was he saying what she thought he was saying?
"Are there actually people stupid enough to try to trap Arrows for the sole purpose of killing them?" Hailey's heart twisted in disbelief. James would always come for her, would always try to protect her. It was a comforting idea that the entire Squad would come to his aid, but how fast? Under the current circumstances, they would certainly be too preoccupied with the critical events in the city.
Which is probably exactly why they are attacking the city.
Matt quickly slashed the knife down her face again; causing another deep cut and placed it an inch to the left. Hailey cried out at the sharp, painful sting.
"I told you to be nice." He angled the knife next to the corner of her mouth, his own mouth right next to her ear. "Next time you don't behave, I'm cutting here," he demonstrated by running the tip of the knife lightly from her mouth to her ear. "I'd like to keep your face pretty, but if you force me, I can't."
He moved the arm he was trapping her with, his hand resting on her breast now. Then he squeezed through the fabric of her dress. "Don't think I won't have my way with you even if you're a little marked."
Hailey nearly started screaming in rage, but for the knife pressed roughly against her throat again. Matt had proven not to back away from hurting her. One mistake, one slip up and she'd be injured so badly, she wouldn't be able to run to safety, wouldn't be able to protect James.
"I'm sorry," she coaxed, sickened by Matt but filled with enough adrenaline to disregard her injuries for now. "I'll behave."
If Matt put her in the van, at least she wouldn't have to deal with the threat of the knife anymore. Once she was inside, she could study the bracelet and figure out a way to get it off. And if she was able to manage that, finding a way out of the van would be easy.
She decided that option was the most likely to succeed. Hailey had no idea who these new friends of Matt were, but if they endorsed his current actions and weren't afraid to use explosives, she damn sure didn't want to meet them.
"I am very sorry for the next part," Matt drawled in a tone that didn't sound sorry at all as he pushed her against the bumper, "but I can't have you awake for the ride."
Matt lifted the hand that held the knife, and Hailey knew he was going to hit her head with the hilt to incapacitate her. The last thing she wanted right now was to be unconscious, but if she turned in his hold he would be able to use his abilities and she wouldn't be able to get away either.
Use what you've learned! A hit against a stagnant object causes more impact than when you give in and redirect some of the force.
Thinking quickly, she let him make contact with her skull while moving her head in the direction of the impact in order to reduce the hard blow to a more bearable hit. She slumped her head forward and fell with her upper body in the back of the truck like a broken doll. Fighting every instinct to break her fall with her arms in order to make her fainting convincing, she hit the hard, cold surface. The side of her head thumped on the metal, making a thudding sound and she bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from making a noise.
Fuck! That hurt!
Way more than she'd anticipated. But if she didn't get out of this situation fast, she was scared Matt could do things to her that would hurt more than a few cuts and bruises. She heard some voices in the distance. Matt cursed and quickly pushed in her legs.
When he slammed the doors of the van shut, Hailey dared to open one eye. Everything was dark, only a small window between the back part of the van and the driver's seat let in some faint light. She could make out Matt's silhouette as he sat down and started the car. When the van started moving, Hailey's body slid towards the doors.
Good.
Lying down was probably the best way to feel if there was a handle on this side of the door, one she could use to open it from the inside. She nearly rolled over when Matt turned the car. He drove like the devil himself was chasing him, and her body bounced on the hard surface.
Gritting her teeth, she wiped away a tendril of hair from her eyes and accidentally ran her fingers over the cuts on the right side of her face. Gasping at the sharp sting, Hailey tried not to think too much about the fact that her face had felt like minced meat as thick blood wet her fingers.
Seething with anger and using that as her fuel, Hailey ran her hands across the inside of the door. Unfortunately, this proved to be the more modern type of van that only opened when the driver had the code. Luckily, Hailey didn't need a code.
Okay. Now, check out the bracelet.
Hailey lifted her arm and watched the heavy iron band with use of the dim light of the small window. It had no obvious hinges and she failed to figure out how Matt had gotten it around her wrist in the first place. When she twisted her arm, she couldn't even find the seam of the clasp. Frowning, she tried to pull the shackle over her hand, but it proved to be too narrow.
Fuck!
Anxiety unfurled in her chest and slammed down her hope of getting out of the moving vehicle. Perhaps James had felt her shock through their connection when Matt grabbed her in the garden, though chances were high he was too predisposed to have noticed. Maybe the Arrow guarding Shane's house was aware of her absence by now, but without her abilities or her phone she wouldn't be able to contact anyone. The van didn't have windows, so she couldn't sign at other road users that she was in danger–which got her back to the starting point; getting the bracelet off somehow.
How on earth was she going to–
Oh! Of course!
Hailey nearly face-palmed herself. Lifting her leg, she pulled off her pump and sat up a little, warily glancing to the front of the van to make sure Matt didn't see her move. When she was certain he wasn't paying attention to her, she looked at the elegant suede footwear in her hand.
If she tried using the icepick heel as a chisel while bracing her arm on the bottom of the car, Matt might hear her efforts to break the device and would incapacitate her for real this time.
Holding her arm steadily in her lap, she lifted her shoe and forced herself to keep looking at the bracelet while slamming the heel down.
A sigh of relief escaped her lungs when the heel made impact with the metal. The sharp tap was barely noticeable through the humming of the vehicle. She quickly looked up and through the window, to see Matt still focused on the road. Lifting the bracelet into the faint light, she moved it around until she saw the small dent from the impact.
Placing her arm back into her lap, Hailey lifted the shoe again and slammed down.