Enter the Shadows (1st Edition) [SAMPLE]

Those Red Eyes - 2 | ii

Lochlan scooped Penny up out of midair. He landed on the balls of his feet, holding her tightly against his chest. Her death would have to wait for another day.

"I got you." Lochlan wasn't sure if it was his heart or hers that was beating out of control. He had been on a run when she had tried to call. By the time he had gotten back to his things he had ten missed calls and text message. It was a good thing he hadn't been too far away.

Penny took a second before opening her eyes to look at him. Lochlan was looking up at the roof. There on the ledge the three men looked down at them. They could have made the jump with ease, but they did nothing. The one who had killed the woman gave the other two orders she couldn't hear and they walked off. A second later so did he.

Grabbing on the front of his shirt she started to tell him everything that had happened inside. She wanted to go back to help the others. Lochlan knew that would not be possible, but he didn't bother to debate it. He put her to sleep. With Penny limp in his arms, Lochlan walked away. He knew the men and the fact that they were extremely bad news. The fight had taken on a whole new shade of danger.

The smell of blood was fresh. She was injured, but he had no time to check how badly. He placed Penny in the back of his car and sped off.

As he suspected they would, Lochlan saw the men following him. Driving over the speed limit, Lochlan broke all red-lights swerving his way through traffic. Other drivers honked and cursed him as he caused more confusion than was already happening. Lochlan slammed into his breaks as he came almost colliding into the back of an SUV. He had driven right into a gridlock on the main street. Through his rear view mirror, Lochlan could see the men—Sven's men—almost five cars behind him also hampered by the traffic.

Lochlan cursed hitting his hand on the steering wheel. He remembered the fire scare at the business center. More than likely this traffic was caused by it. He came out of the car taking Penny from the backseat. He knew how it would look to everyone who saw him. A man, jumping out of a car leaving it in the middle of the road to run off down the street with an unconscious woman, visibly bleeding over his shoulder. Maybe they would think he was trying to get her to the hospital, maybe they would think something else. Didn't matter. Her safety was paramount.

One hand holding her securely over his shoulder he used the other to open a manhole cover. It took some maneuvering to get Penny's unconscious body down into the sewers. There, he sent Black in one direction while he went in another. Between that and the heavy scent of sewage, the werewolves would require a few seconds to gather their senses. He would use those few seconds to get further away.

Getting further away would have been easier, and faster if he knew where he was going. He was relying on instinct, and his strong sense of direction to lead him through the maze of tunnels that ran under the city. The acrid scent of waste burnt his nose leaving his eyes watery. Turn after turn Lochlan allowed his senses to guide him to where he needed to go.

Howls echoed through the tunnels from several directions. The longer he stayed in the tunnels the more likely they were to find him though the other scents around them would slow them down. Black came trotting into view at a T-crossing a few feet ahead of him. He had found a way out.

Lochlan came out through an old storm drain tunnel. They were in the middle of Medford Park, the largest and most popular park in Chaise Point. To get to the mountains, they would have to make it through the park to the other side. Then go through several miles of nature reserves, a camping ground, and a hiking trail. Carrying an unconscious, bleeding woman would have him arrested before he got to the other side.

Penny woke in the middle of the panic she had been in before Lochlan compelled her to sleep. Pausing, she looked around when she noticed her surroundings had changed. Then she was back to her panic.