Enemy Mine

Chapter 77

That voice I heard. The one calling my name as Stan laid at my feet writhing in pain. It sounded a lot like Vincent. But that's not who burst through the trees with gollum force. It was Colin, and he skidded to a stop in front of Stan's bleeding body, tucking his massive wings behind his back.

"Wow! Did you do that, Reese?"

"Well, he didn't stumble into the blade by accident. He was going to kill me with it." I explained myself with no small amount of reproach. He's the one who taught me how to throw.

Colin's mouth dropped open when he realized I was standing in the nude, and then a look of fury swept across his features. "What did that son-of-a-bitch do to you? Did he..."

"No, he didn't get the chance."

Colin roared like an angry beast as he jumped on Stan and started pummeling his face. "You are scum!" Colin said, taking hold of the dagger and shoving it deeper into Stan's chest.

"Please, no!" Stan groaned as he feebly tried to block Colin's striking claws. "I was going to let her go."

"Like hell you were," I said as I gathered up my clothes. "Adamo would skin you alive if he knew you had let me go."

"Adamo? What does he have to do with this?" Colin glanced at me over his shoulder as he held his fist in front of Stan's nose. "Is Adamo behind this attack?"

I nodded.

"And Vincent's disappearance too, I assume?" he said.

"No," Stan groaned. "Adamo believes Marco is behind Vincent's disappearance. He used the situation as an opportunity to get rid of the hybrid."

Colin growled again as his open palm met with Stan's bloody cheek. "Well, we're going to use this opportunity to create a situation. After that, I'll think about removing the blade from your chest." Colin didn't bother getting up as he picked his cellphone from his pocket with sharp nails and placed a call. "Hey, Adamo. Colin Valentino here." He was silenced a moment while Adamo spoke. "Yes, I've heard, and I'm not calling about Vincent. I'm here in Italy. At the Mincio River. I'm with Reese and Stan."

Again, Colin was silenced but not for long. "I'm sure you mean that, and Reese is fine. But Stan had a run-in with an adamantium blade, and he appears to be losing a lot of blood." Colin smiled as he listened. "Oh, despite Stan's faults, I don't think he deserves to die. Besides, I need him alive so he can testify against you when you're charged with conspiracy to commit murder."

There was a good amount of yelling through the speaker, and Colin held the phone away from his ear as Adamo ranted on the other end. Something about lack of evidence, followed up with dammi all'inferno, which sounded like a curse.

"Whether or not you think our evidence is damning enough won't keep the media from the story, and you know how they love to pull things out of proportion," Colin told him. "But, we may be able to come to terms if you work your magister magic with the police. I want a full-scale manhunt for Vincent, and I want it now."

Colin listened a few seconds more. "I'm glad you're seeing reason. Reese and I will take Stan into town and drop his sorry ass on your friend's doorstep. Then we will wait for the police. I expect to hear from someone within the hour."

After pocketing his phone, Colin jerked the dagger out of Stan's chest without warning, and Stan screamed like a hyena while Colin tore Stan's shirt off, balled it up, and shoved it back at him. "Press this to the wound. You've got five minutes to get hold of yourself, then I want you to change forms. I'm taking you to someone Adamo knows in town so we don't have to fool with hospitals."

Colin scowled as he watched me zip up my vest, then he turned back to Stan. "Don't count yourself lucky just because Vincent wasn't the one to find you. You'll need to watch your back from this day forward."