“Holy crap,” he says.
I narrow my eyes and smile when I realize it’s Max.
“What do you think you’re doing, Captain Psycho?” he says, breathing hard. “You almost shot my ass.”
I put the gun away and pull Max into a hug. “What are you doing here?” I say, laughing. “I almost killed you.”
“Dude.” He starts motioning toward his body. “You know you can’t hold this down. Besides, you’re going to need me.”
When I realize what he’s saying, I push him lightly. “Shut up. You’re going to help me?”
He nods and grins, but a flash of fear fires behind his eyes. “Figured you’ll need someone to talk to when you turn into a Popsicle.”
My chest aches when I remember that I’ll never make it that far. Realizing this, I know I have to stop him. I won’t let him be locked away because of me. “Max,” I say, “I’m not going to let you do this.”
“The hell you’re not,” he says. “It’s done.”
I inspect his face, searching for any sign of wavering. But he looks as determined as a bull. And if I’m being honest, this works out even better. I’d planned to find Valery first, but this will save time. If Max says he’ll help me, then I trust him to take Charlie to Valery once I rescue her. “I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I?” I ask.
“No,” he says. “So what’s the plan, man?”
I rub my forehead, remembering Charlie and feeling a knot of dread form in my stomach. “They’ve got my girl.”
“Seriously?” Max asks.
“Yeah, you didn’t hear?”
He shrugs. “Never got a call.”
I think about what that means. If Max didn’t get called, and I didn’t, either, then maybe only one collector has Charlie. And I have a good idea which collector that would be. “I’ve got to find her,” I tell Max.
He nods, runs around Elizabeth Taylor, and jumps in the passenger seat like we’re headed to freakin’ Disneyland. I get into the driver’s side and glance at my best friend. “Thank you, Max. For helping me. For helping her.”
“Meh,” he says. “Figured the world could use some peace. I’ve been giving it hell for a while now.” He winks, and I punch him in the shoulder. My way of saying, I freaking love you, man.
For the next twenty minutes, we drive around town with our heads stuck out the windows like dogs trying to sense another collector. When we near an enormous grocery store, Max grabs my shoulder. He looks over at me with big eyes, and suddenly I sense it, too—another collector. I pull into the store parking lot and park near a line of Dumpsters. We watch people coming in and out of the sliding glass doors. I’m not entirely certain what the collector will do to Charlie, but if he wants witnesses, this would be the place.
“You think he’s in there?” I whisper, like the guy can hear us from here.
“I don’t know. But I think I feel him, don’t you?”
I nod. “Look, Max. When we find Charlie, I want you to grab her and run. Let me deal with this dick, okay?”
“No way,” he protests. “I came for a fight, yo.”
“Dude, if you care about our friendship, you’ll do this. Please? I want her safe. It’s the only thing that’s important to me.”
He rolls his eyes and sighs. “What am I supposed to do with her?”
“Find Big Guy’s liberator. Hand Charlie off to her. Then run. I’ll be right behind you.” The last part is a lie, but I can’t chance Max’s safety.
As Max mutters about Big Guy calling his collectors liberators, something moves across my line of vision. When I glance forward, I don’t see anything, but I know someone was just there.
“Hey,” I say slowly. “Does the collector feel closer to you?”
A banging sound rings near my head. Max screams like a girl, and I jump in my seat. I turn to my left, ready to punch through the window if I have to—and stop when I see a mane of red hair.
“You scared the crap out me, Red,” I snarl, rolling the window down.
“Who is it?” Max asks. He leans forward but doesn’t say anything.
In front of me, Valery’s eyes get so big, I’m sure they’ll explode right out of her melon head.
“What’s your deal?” I glance at Max, who has a similar look on his face. “Uh, Valery, this is Max. Max, this is—”
“Valery,” Max chokes out.
“Max!” she screams.
“What the H, guys?” I say.
Max flies from the car and races around the front. Valery meets him right in front of Elizabeth Taylor’s grill and leaps into his arms. She wraps her legs around his waist, and he presses his mouth over hers.
And then…then they just kinda start getting it on right there on the hood of my car. Like I’m not sitting right here. Like we’re not trying to save my girlfriend from hellfire demons.
Through my open window, I can hear Max moaning. My face scrunches in disgust. I lay on the horn. “Can someone tell me what’s going on?” I yell out the window.
Nothing.
They keep making out like I’m freaking invisible.
Then it hits me. Valery turning into a nut job and declaring her devotion to her fiancé. Max telling me his fiancée died, saying people change when shit happens after I questioned him about his playa ways.
I get out of the car and move to stand in front of them. Over their slobbering bodies, I say, “Seriously?” I scratch my head. “I mean, seriously?”
When Valery comes up for air, she giggles like a psych ward junkie. “Max,” she coos, running her fingers down his cheek.
“Baby,” Max says, nuzzling her neck.
“Not that this isn’t terribly romantic and wildly coincidental,” I say. “But I’ve got to find Charlie.”
Valery’s head twists to face me, Charlie’s name snapping her out of it. “I knew something was up. You’ve been driving around town like a maniac, and I just knew you’d lost her.”
I look at Max but point at Valery. “Meet the liberator.”
Max stares at her, wide eyed. “No way.”
She nods and gives him a devilish smile. “I’ve been busy since…you know…the accident. So, are you…?”
Max nods, appearing ashamed. “I work with Dante,” he says, no doubt hoping that sounds better than I work for Lucifer. Heard of him?
She bites her lip and seems for a moment like she’s going to cry. Max pulls her close and whispers in her ear. She shakes her head back and forth. Then her head snaps up.
“What are you going to do?” she asks me.
“We’re going to find Charlie,” Max answers.
Her body relaxes against him. “You’re going to save her?” she breathes. “You’re going to risk your life?”
He nods, clearly pleased with himself.
Valery steps away from him. She studies him for a long time without saying anything. Then she turns to face me. “Then I’m going to help you.” She glances back at Max, and I fight the urge to mention that this was already my plan, to have Valery help us. “And once this is done,” she continues, still staring at Max, “once that girl is safe…you and I are going to make up for lost time.”
The twosome snuggle and laugh, and I have to practically drive a stick between them to wrench their bodies apart. “Both of you,” I say, “in the car. There’s time for that later.”
Valery looks at Max and nods. Then she climbs into the passenger seat, and Max jumps in the back. When I slide into the driver’s seat, I notice Max running his fingers over Valery’s neck and whispering in her ear.
I roll my eyes, but a small smile tugs at my lips. I’m happy for them. And with Valery and Max both on my side, I allow myself to get excited that this will work—that I’ll save Charlie from the collector and get her safely under Valery’s protection.
Before my time is up.
Chapter Forty-nine
I Quit
Valery, Max, and I drive around Peachville. The music is off in my car, and now there are t
hree heads hanging out the windows instead of two.
“You’d think,” Max says, “that between heaven and hell, we’d be more helpful than a pack of German shepherds.”
“My boss doesn’t want us having too much power after what happened with your boss.” She says your boss like it’s an insult, but Max only nods.
“Does anybody sense anything yet?” I ask.
“Oh, yeah,” Valery says. “I did a few miles back but decided not to mention it.”
I grip the steering wheel tighter. Apparently just because we’re working together doesn’t mean she’s going to cut me any slack. As much as I’d like to, I can’t manage a comeback because I’m struggling with the feeling that we’re being followed. It’s not a sensation that my cuff delivers. This is different, like someone is staring at me from across the room and I just now noticed.
Pulling the car over and onto the shoulder, I ask, “Sure no one feels anything?”
“Why?” Valery asks, her mocking tone gone. “Do you?”
“I feel like we’re being followed.” I turn around to look behind us but don’t see anything.
“How in the world do you feel that?” she asks, also turning around.
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
She falls back in her seat. “Just keep driving. We’re wasting time.”
I press my lips together and pull back onto the road. We’ve already explored the heart of the town, and Valery assured us she checked the major retail locations. The only thing left to do is circle the perimeter, where the lights are limited, and the trees are thick. In other words, total axe murderer territory.
As I’m driving down a long and narrow dirt road, surrounded on both sides by a dense forest, Max asks, “Does anybody—”
“Yes,” Valery says, clipped.
Hearing their suspicion, and feeling my own, I shiver from a wave of anxiety. I drive farther down the road while Max and Valery become restless. We’re getting closer. Remembering I want an element of surprise, I pull Elizabeth Taylor over and throw her into park.
“What are you doing?” Valery hisses. “Keep driving.”
“No. I’m going to sneak up on them,” I say. Then, knowing they’ll wonder what I mean, I add, “I can be quieter than the two of you.” I glance back and forth between Max and Valery. “Remember the plan. When I find Charlie, I’m going to tell her to run, and I need you guys to be here when she does. I can handle the collector. Don’t wait for me, just start driving.”
“Yeah, I’ve changed my mind on this,” Max says.
But Valery nods. She looks at me like a human being just sprang up where a swine once sat.
“Hey.” Max waves a hand between our faces. “Why is everyone ignoring me? We’re not really leaving Dante.”
I turn in my seat and face him. “Max, I need you here. You have to trust me. Take care of Charlie when she gets here. And take care of your fiancée. I’ll find the three of you. I promise.” I know I’m lying again, but at least now my lies help protect the ones I care about, rather than serving selfish desires.
Grabbing Max’s shoulder, I squeeze. “You’re my best friend.”
He pulls back. “Screw you, man. Don’t be a freaking martyr.”
I slide out of the car and glance once more at Valery. She smiles, but it’s mixed with pain. She thinks the collector may overtake me, that I’ll be dragged back to hell for sentencing. But I know it’ll never get that far.
I’m about to close the door when Max says, “Hey.”
I tilt my head so I can see him in the backseat.
He looks at me for a long time, then smiles. “Bring the thunder.”
I close my fist and raise it. He bumps it with his, and we both say, “Pow!”
The door clicks shut beneath my hand, and I turn and face the forest—and the final hours of my life—alone.
After only a few seconds of walking, I turn around. Already, I can’t see the road or my candy apple-red Escalade. Goose bumps rise on my arms. It’s now or never. The collector I’m searching for most likely already knows there’s another of his kind nearby. Because if we can sense him, he can sense us. I glance around, then drop down onto the ground. Pulling up my jeans, I inspect the cuff. The collector won’t notice I’ve removed it. He’ll just assume I’ve moved from where I stand now to where Valery and Max are. It’s why I needed Valery with me. That, and she had to be here to get Charlie to safety.
Fingering my cuff, I know this won’t be too difficult. Our cuffs are strong but can easily be broken if the will is there. I search the ground for a rock and find one. My pulse quickens, and my mind spins. This is my life. This is it. I stare at my cuff, at the rock cold in my hands. If I do this, there’s no going back. I won’t be able to protect her once I’m gone. I swallow hard, thinking of that word. Gone.
Maybe I was never meant to protect Charlie. Maybe Valery was always the best person for the job; she has Big Guy to back her up, to help her hide his precious cargo. Maybe keeping Charlie safe was never my destiny.
Maybe dying for her was.
A cracking sound splinters the night. I raise my arm and hit the cuff again. And again. And again. The noise is earsplitting as stone meets metal. I try not to hurt my ankle in the process, but at this point I don’t really care.
A fracture forms in my cuff, and I laugh out loud. I hit the metal three more times, and the cuff breaks apart and falls to the earth. I jump up and toss the rock over my shoulder. Then I raise my middle fingers and point them toward the ground, hoping Boss Man sees me real good right now, and scream inside my head, I quit asshole! Pow!
I smile big and wide like Charlie would. My breath comes strong, and I feel like I could take on the entire world.
My hours may be numbered, but damn it, I’m going to live them free.
Chapter Fifty
Guess Who?
I stare at my newly exposed ankle. Part of me can’t believe what I just did, but it’s too late to dwell. My time is limited, and if I don’t rescue Charlie from the collector, I’ll have died again in vain.
The guy I’m tracking should here should be here soon, drawn by the noise. I retrieve the broken dargon, move behind a tree on the other side of the small clearing, and wait. Sure enough, after only a few moments, I hear the sound of leaves rustling. I can’t sense him coming, but I know he’s there. Even if he is sporting his shadow.
I’ve never fought one of my own before, and the thought that I will makes my forehead prick with sweat. In my head, I flip through the alternatives. There are six of us. Max and I make up two of those, which leaves only four people it could be. Each has his own strengths and weaknesses, but since I’ve had a hand in all the collectors’ continued training, it should be easy to predict their actions.
Still, this knowledge does little to calm the nerves pulsing through my body as the footsteps grow closer. I feel like a gas leak waiting to detonate—like if someone lit a cigarette on the other side of Peachville, I’d explode into a billion pieces. It’s a wonderful thought as I’m stalking a demon in the middle of a dark forest.
I still as the leaves stop crunching and hold my breath. After what feels like an eternity, I see the ground rustle. Footprints. He’s so close, I see his footprints in the dirt. And now they’re leading away. I wait for as long as I can and then follow him. Right about now, I’d love to utilize my own shadow, but I kissed that ability good-bye when I broke off my cuff. Instead, I walk lightly and just keep moving.
Then I hear her.
Charlie sobs, and it takes everything I have not to race forward. Listening, I notice the sound of her voice is muffled, like something is stuffed in her mouth. I continue taking soft steps, ensuring I’ve stayed behind the collector in front of me. Every few seconds, I glance around. I’m still not sure there’s only one collector out here, and I don’t want to be surprised. When finally I see Charlie, I freeze.
Her back is to me, and her arms are tied behind a tree. She’s still wearing her red dress
, but her costume angel wings are missing. Everything in me wants to run to her, to untie her hands and scoop her into my arms. Fury that I can’t burns through my veins.
I inch closer, removing the gun from my waistband. Not knowing who’s done this to her is driving me crazy. I need to see his face, need to know who I’ll destroy tonight. And then I do.
One of my collectors—Kincaid—shrugs off his shadow and glances around. He still thinks he heard something.
That was me, asshole. And I’m watching you. Right. Now.
Kincaid is the newest collector. Younger than me and one I trained only a few months ago. Out of all the collectors, he’d be the most naïve, the one most likely to try a stunt like this. I can just picture him thinking how easy it’d be to trump me as I taught him how to seal a soul. I bet the second he heard about my assignment, he drooled all over himself. He just knew I’d screw this up, and he’d be there waiting when it happened.
Cocky bastard.
He doesn’t know who he’s messing with.
I prepare myself to lunge toward him but stop when I see a glint of chrome tucked between his belt and dark jeans. No matter. I’m still taking this guy out; it’s just going to take the right moment.
Kincaid finally decides there’s no one watching and crouches down next to Charlie. He pulls the rag out of her mouth and quickly replaces it with his hand. “I know you want to scream, pumpkin,” he coos. “And I’m going to let you. Know why?” He pauses as if giving Charlie time to think. “Because if your boyfriend is out there lurking, he’ll come running when he hears that scream of yours. And that’s exactly what I want.”
Kincaid is kind of squatting so that I can see his profile. I just need him to turn a bit more toward Charlie and away from me. That’s all I need. One moment of surprise to attack. He slowly uncurls his fingers from Charlie’s mouth.
He stands up. “Go ahead,” he says. “Scream.”
But Charlie doesn’t. Her eyes are locked on him, and her jaw is clenched.
Kincaid bends down again. “You think you’re saving him? You’re not. Even if he doesn’t come here tonight, I’ll find him. And I’ll kill him. Just me.” He smiles and rubs a hand along his jaw. “See, Dante? He thinks he’s hot shit. But one on one, there’s no way I won’t come out on top.”