with a jerk of her head. “I’m not the one acting like a brat.”
“Actually,” Rook said, turning on her, “you’re acting like more of a brat than she is. And that’s saying something.”
“Gee, thanks,” I muttered, crossing my arms.
Dezyre looked flabbergasted. “I am not a–”
Rook didn’t even give her time to finish. He was upon her in a flash, a fistful of her lab coat clenched in his fist. He jerked her toward him, so close she had to lean back to keep from smacking her face into his .
“ You’re not on base any more, P rincess. Got it?” he said in a low voice. “No one here is going to kiss your ass just because you’re beautiful , or because you’re Paris’ s star pupil. No one gives a damn about that up here, so either get along or go back.”
I arched a brow, impressed. Before seeing “vampire Rook,” I wouldn’t have pictured him ever getting up in someone’s face and chewing them out, let alone a girl. Then again, he had seemed a little edgy since we left the base, and not that I blamed him. Running for our lives while being solely responsible for bringing back a lunatic was a lot of pressure, not to mention he was doing so while trying to figure out how he felt about his pseudo-girlf riend dying. I’d be a little on edge too.
Dezyre stared at him, her bottom lip quivering. For a moment, I thought she might cry. B ut she pushed her lips together and nodded once, never removing her eyes from his.
He searched her eyes, breathing hard, before at last releasing her. “Remember what I said.” He pointed a finger at her. “If you cause any more drama, I’ll toss you over the fence myself.”
Her face blanched and I resisted the urge to snicker. Oh, how I had longed to see that jerk get what she deserved.
Rook squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, he opened his eyes, seeming calmer now. “We shouldn’t waste a good night. We need to start searching.”
“Yeah, but where?” Dezyre said , seeming to have composed herself as well . “This city is still huge, and he could be anywhere.”
“Hmmm.” I thought of every place that might hold any significance to Orion.
Just as I opened my mouth to start throwing out some ideas, a flash of red came at the side of my face , and I turned my head in enough time to catch a Scarlet Steel club to the jaw. It felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat, not that I had anything to c ompare it to. It hurt like hell and sent me reeling.
Time seemed to slow as the ground came up to meet me, and I threw my hands out to catch myself. The moment I felt the burn of pavement across my palms and cheek, my arms were jerked behind my back and my wrists lit up like someone had set them on fire. I bit my tongue to keep from crying out, not wanting to appear weak in front of whoever had descended upon us. I heard the snap of cuffs and felt a boot being pressed against my spine, holding me down. From the corner of my eye, I could see Rook and Dezyre in similar positions, each being bound with Scarlet Steel cuffs. Dezyre looked like she was on the verge of tears, but her proud face also held a lot of determination n ot to cry. I had to give her credit for that. She was turning out to be tougher than I thought she would be.
A pair of scuffed up combat boots came into view as someone walked around in front of me. “Well, what have we got here,” drawled a deep voice. “Looks like we caught ourselves a McAllister.”
My eyes narrowed. I know that voice.
A few shadows snickered, the glint of red metal in their hands. My eyes widened slightly. Every bit of it was Scarlet Steel, and they had us outnumbered three to one. Without Scarlet Steel, those numbers wouldn’t mean a thing, but with it, it significantly upped the odds in their favor. Some of them had what appeared to be ordinary guns, but I’d bet my life – quite literally – that they were loaded with Scarlet Steel bullets.
A man who looked to be in his
“Actually,” Rook said, turning on her, “you’re acting like more of a brat than she is. And that’s saying something.”
“Gee, thanks,” I muttered, crossing my arms.
Dezyre looked flabbergasted. “I am not a–”
Rook didn’t even give her time to finish. He was upon her in a flash, a fistful of her lab coat clenched in his fist. He jerked her toward him, so close she had to lean back to keep from smacking her face into his .
“ You’re not on base any more, P rincess. Got it?” he said in a low voice. “No one here is going to kiss your ass just because you’re beautiful , or because you’re Paris’ s star pupil. No one gives a damn about that up here, so either get along or go back.”
I arched a brow, impressed. Before seeing “vampire Rook,” I wouldn’t have pictured him ever getting up in someone’s face and chewing them out, let alone a girl. Then again, he had seemed a little edgy since we left the base, and not that I blamed him. Running for our lives while being solely responsible for bringing back a lunatic was a lot of pressure, not to mention he was doing so while trying to figure out how he felt about his pseudo-girlf riend dying. I’d be a little on edge too.
Dezyre stared at him, her bottom lip quivering. For a moment, I thought she might cry. B ut she pushed her lips together and nodded once, never removing her eyes from his.
He searched her eyes, breathing hard, before at last releasing her. “Remember what I said.” He pointed a finger at her. “If you cause any more drama, I’ll toss you over the fence myself.”
Her face blanched and I resisted the urge to snicker. Oh, how I had longed to see that jerk get what she deserved.
Rook squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, he opened his eyes, seeming calmer now. “We shouldn’t waste a good night. We need to start searching.”
“Yeah, but where?” Dezyre said , seeming to have composed herself as well . “This city is still huge, and he could be anywhere.”
“Hmmm.” I thought of every place that might hold any significance to Orion.
Just as I opened my mouth to start throwing out some ideas, a flash of red came at the side of my face , and I turned my head in enough time to catch a Scarlet Steel club to the jaw. It felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat, not that I had anything to c ompare it to. It hurt like hell and sent me reeling.
Time seemed to slow as the ground came up to meet me, and I threw my hands out to catch myself. The moment I felt the burn of pavement across my palms and cheek, my arms were jerked behind my back and my wrists lit up like someone had set them on fire. I bit my tongue to keep from crying out, not wanting to appear weak in front of whoever had descended upon us. I heard the snap of cuffs and felt a boot being pressed against my spine, holding me down. From the corner of my eye, I could see Rook and Dezyre in similar positions, each being bound with Scarlet Steel cuffs. Dezyre looked like she was on the verge of tears, but her proud face also held a lot of determination n ot to cry. I had to give her credit for that. She was turning out to be tougher than I thought she would be.
A pair of scuffed up combat boots came into view as someone walked around in front of me. “Well, what have we got here,” drawled a deep voice. “Looks like we caught ourselves a McAllister.”
My eyes narrowed. I know that voice.
A few shadows snickered, the glint of red metal in their hands. My eyes widened slightly. Every bit of it was Scarlet Steel, and they had us outnumbered three to one. Without Scarlet Steel, those numbers wouldn’t mean a thing, but with it, it significantly upped the odds in their favor. Some of them had what appeared to be ordinary guns, but I’d bet my life – quite literally – that they were loaded with Scarlet Steel bullets.
A man who looked to be in his
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