But it was really too late.
I started toward the guy to get the phone, but he snapped out of it and took off. I could’ve run after him, but there were bigger problems to deal with.
The stench of smoke and death was everywhere. I staggered back to where I knew I had seen everyone last, using the red tourist bus as a destination, aching on a cellular level as I took in the damage. The guns—those PEP weapons—weren’t harmless if they didn’t hit a Luxen or hybrid. Lampposts were broken in two or melted, about to collapse. Pockets of fire lit up the entire Strip.
There were bodies littering the road.
I shuffled around them, grimacing at the melted and burned clothes, the ragged holes and scorched skin. It seemed unnecessary that there’d be so many innocent deaths. The Luxen were glowing like walking lightbulbs, and even we hybrids were pretty obvious. It was like the military didn’t care how many were taken out in friendly fire. Were they insane?
And I knew how the government would spin this—that it was our fault, that the Luxen were to blame, even though they had made the first strike, taking innocent lives.
Looking at all the bodies turned my stomach, but I kept picking my way through them until I felt the warmth skittering over the nape of my neck. Lifting my head, I saw Daemon in his human form fighting hand to hand with a soldier. My heart leaped when the soldier got a right hook in, but Daemon rebounded, taking him out with one punch.
He looked over, his gaze locking onto mine. His hair was damp, clinging to his forehead and temples. His eyes glowed like diamonds. Relief shot across his face, and he shook his head, the emotion in his eyes unbearable.
There was a flare of red farther down the Strip, reminding me of how incredibly dangerous the streets still were. I took another step forward, seeing Ash and Beth rounding an overturned Humvee. I was happy to see them still standing, even though tears were flowing freely from Ash’s eyes. Her brother…
I sucked in a breath. So much—
“Kat!” roared Daemon.
Strong arms circled me from behind. The instinct to fight and struggle kicked in, but I was pulled back an instant before a red pulse shot past right where I’d been standing. The PEP zoomed by, heading straight for Beth. I heard Dawson’s enraged shout, and time slowed down until it was a near crawl. The arms around me loosened enough. Archer’s voice was yelling in my ear. Daemon was running, leaping cars.
Ash spun toward Beth, moving incredibly fast, as fast as a bullet. Her arms went around the girl and she twisted, shoving Beth out of the way.
The shot hit Ash in the back.
Light exploded up her spine, following the network of veins. Her head snapped back and her knees folded under her. She fell forward, lacking the grace that always seemed natural to her.
She didn’t move.
I broke free from Archer’s hold, reaching her side the moment Daemon did. He grasped her shoulders, turning her over. Shimmery blue liquid spilled out of her mouth as her head flopped back over Daemon’s arm.
Somewhere, a man’s scream was cut short by a sickening crunch.
“Ash,” Daemon said, giving her a little shake. “Ash.”
Her eyes were fixed on the endless sky above. Part of me already knew it, but my brain refused to accept it. Ash and I would never be friends. We probably would never be upgraded to frenemy status, either, but she was incredibly strong, stubborn, and I honestly thought she’d be like a cockroach, outliving nuclear fallout.
But that beautiful human form—those painfully stunning features—faded in the soft glow that quickly dulled. There was nothing of Ash in Daemon’s arms, just a shell of translucent skin and narrow veins.
“No,” I whispered, staring at Daemon.
His body shuddered.
“Dammit,” Dawson said. His arms were around a softly crying Beth. “She…”
Beth gulped. “She saved my life.”
Standing beside Dawson, Dee pressed her hands to her mouth. She said nothing, but it was all etched upon her face.
“Guys, we really need to…” Luc appeared behind Daemon, pausing with a severe frown. “Damn.”
I lifted my head, having no idea what to say. And it would be pointless if I had. A car or something exploded somewhere.
“I’ve got a big SUV about a block down the road—all of us will fit in it,” Luc started. “We’ve got to go while the road is clear. They’ll send more soldiers, and I won’t be able to take them out again. Neither will all of you. We’re running out of steam.”
“We can’t leave them here,” Daemon argued fiercely.
Archer chimed in. “We don’t have a choice. We stay here a second longer and we join them—Kat joins them.”
A muscle flexed in Daemon’s jaw, and my heart ached for him. They’d grown up with the Thompsons, and I knew a part of Daemon did love Ash. Not the same way he loved me, but no less important.
“I don’t want to leave Paris here,” Luc said, catching Daemon’s eyes. “He doesn’t deserve to be left behind, but we have no choice.”
Something must’ve connected in Daemon’s head, because he laid Ash down gently and stood. I followed his lead. “Where’s the car?” he asked, his voice hard.
Luc gestured down the road.
I reached out to Daemon, and he took my hand. There had been ten of us however many minutes ago. Now only seven raced across the dark road strewn with burned-out cars, bodies, and debris. I kept my legs moving, refusing to allow myself to really think about things.
Luc had found a Dodge Journey and a truck, but we only needed one of them now. That realization sent a pang of grief through me. Archer got in the driver’s seat of the Journey and Luc in the front.
“Hurry,” Luc urged. “There’s still some traffic up ahead, but it’s moving, and the blockade is gone. People are fleeing the city. We should get lost among them.”
Dawson helped Beth into one side while Daemon and I went to the other. We climbed into the very back, and Dee joined Dawson and Beth in the middle row. The doors weren’t even shut before Archer peeled off.
Numbness settled into my body as I twisted in the seat, staring out the back window as we raced around cars and narrowly avoided panicked people in the streets. We were leaving the city behind—leaving Paris, Andrew, and Ash behind.
I kept staring out the back window, watching Vegas burn.
Chapter 30
Katy
The ride was silent and tense. Besides the fact that all of us were looking over our shoulders, expecting the entire military to be on our tails, none of us knew what to say or if anything could be said.
Turning in Daemon’s arms, I pressed my face into his chest and inhaled the rich, woodsy scent. The scent of death and destruction hadn’t lingered on him, and I was grateful. If I closed my eyes and held my breath until I lost a few brain cells, I could almost imagine that we were just taking a ride in the desert.
He hadn’t bothered with the buckling stuff. At some point, he had pulled me away from the back window and nestled me between his thighs. I didn’t mind. More than anything, his embrace was grounding in the aftermath. And I think he needed it, too. I wished I could be inside his head, knowing what he was thinking right now.
I smoothed my thumb over the spot above his heart, mindlessly tracing odd shapes against his chest. I hoped guilt wasn’t eating away at him. None of what happened—the deaths—had been his fault. I wanted to tell him that, but I didn’t want to break the silence, either. It seemed that everyone in the car was mourning someone.
I hadn’t been close with Andrew and Ash, and I hadn’t known Paris that well, but their deaths hurt nonetheless. Each of them had died saving someone else, and most people would never know their names or what they’d sacrificed. But we would. Their loss would leave a mark on all of us for a long time coming, if not for eternity.
Daemon’s hand smoothed up my back and threaded through my messy hair until his fingers brushed the back of my neck. He shifted slightly, and I felt his lips on my forehead. My grip on his shirt constricted along with my chest.
I stretched up, my lips brushing against his ear. “I love you so very much.”
His body tensed and then relaxed. “Thank you.”
Unsure of what he was thanking me for, I curled against him, listening to his heart beat steadily. Every part of me ached, and I was tired, but sleep seemed impossible. Two hours in, Luc had said that heading to Arizona would be too risky and too close to Vegas. I hadn’t even noticed in which direction we were heading. There was another place he had—in one of the largest towns in Idaho, something called Coeur d’Alene. Another fifteen hours from where we were.
Dee had spoken up then, asking how he had so many properties when he was barely pushing fifteen. I thought that was a very good question.
“There’s a lot of money in the kind of club I run, and favors don’t come cheap,” he said. “So I like to keep my options open, own a couple of hidey holes around the States. You never know when you’ll need them.”
Dee seemed to accept the answer. And really, what choice did we have?
We stopped once to get gas somewhere in northern Utah the following morning. Dawson and Daemon went in to pick up some drinks and food, but not before changing their appearances. The rest of us stayed behind the tinted windows while Archer filled the tank, keeping his head low under a baseball cap that had been in the car.
Too anxious to sit still, I leaned forward and checked on Bethany.
“She’s sleeping,” Dee said quietly. “I don’t know how she can sleep. I don’t think I’ll ever sleep again.”
“I’m sorry.” I placed my hand on the back of her seat. “I really am. I know you were close to them, and I wish…I wish a lot of things were different.”
“Me, too,” she said, placing her hand over mine. She laid her cheek on the seat and blinked several times. Her eyes were misty. “None of this seems real. Or is it just me?”
“It’s not just you.” I squeezed her hand. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up.”
“And it’ll be months ago, right before prom, huh?”
I nodded, but that kind of wishful thinking was a one-way ticket to Downersville. Daemon and Dawson returned, their arms full of bags.
When Archer was once again behind the wheel, they started doling out drinks and snacks. Daemon handed me a small green bag of Funyuns. My breath was going to be kicking. “Thank you.”
“Just don’t try to kiss me for a while,” he said.
I smiled, and it felt weird to do so, but his eyes glimmered when I did, and I knew the no-kissing rule wasn’t going to last very long. Not when he had that look in his eyes.
“Did you hear anything interesting in the convenience store?” I asked, curious.
Daemon and Dawson exchanged a quick glance. I couldn’t decipher it, but I was immediately suspicious when Daemon shook his head. “Nothing important.”
My eyes narrowed.
He arched a brow at me.
“Daemon…”
He sighed. “There was a TV on behind the counter, airing live from Vegas. It was muted, though, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying.”