IM02 - Hunters & Prey by Katie Salidas Page A

comfort of the soft bed.
    As I reached the door, I heard a cell phone ringing from inside the room. I opened the door and flipped on the lights. Immediately, I spotted a small bag sitting on the bed.
    Crap, Fallon left her purse.
    I ran to it and pulled out the ringing cell phone and answered it. “Fallon?”
    “To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?” a strange male voice asked. The formality of his speech was too odd to have been a friend of Fallon’s, but it didn’t sound like Santino’s voice either.
    “Who’s this? You called me,” I snapped.
    Whimpering came from the background of the phone.
    “Now’s not the time for games, monster. I know what you are. Your little friend told me all about you.”
    My stomach sank. Shit, this is bad. “Where’s Fallon?” I roared the words.
    “She’s safe, for now. I want to have a little chat with you. If you cooperate, she will go free, unharmed.”
    Whoever this man was, he had to be Acta Sanctorum. No one else would have grabbed Fallon. “She’s human, you can’t hurt her. You’re supposed to protect humans.”
    “You are laboring under the impression that I play by the rules,” he laughed.
    Anger built up inside me. Blood rushed to my face. My heart thundered in my chest. I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle the life out of this man and silence his taunting voice.
    “If you are willing to risk her life, then by all means, ignore this call and go about your day. However, if you do ignore me, rest assured, she will die.”
    I gulped. My brain jumbled with fear, anger, and anxiety. Lysander was right. Why did I have to get her involved?
    “Now. Do I have your full attention?”
    I took a few moments to calm the anger and make my voice sound normal.
    “What do you want?”
    “Just a chat, that’s all.” There was laughter mixed in with his voice. He was baiting me, mocking me.
    He gave me an address and told me to meet him just after sunset, warning me that I was to come alone or he would kill her.
    He hung up before I could say anything more than, “Okay,” leaving me with nothing but silence.
    Visions of Fallon enduring horrible tortures crept into my mind. “Why did I have to get her involved?” I whined to the empty room. “Would he really hurt her? He has to be Acta Sanctorum. But they protect humans, they don’t harm them! What if he isn’t one of the Saints?” I paced the room, my mind running a mile a minute trying to figure out what to do. “It’s some kid of trap, obviously, but would they really hurt Fallon if I didn’t show up?” Sunset was still hours away; I was trapped, powerless to stop whatever it was they were doing to her. “I can’t leave her life to chance. I brought her into this. I have to go… alone. But how will I get away from the clan?”
    Crystal and Drew would soon be coming to check on me. “I have to hide out. That’s it. I have to get out of here and keep myself hidden until sunset.” Splashing a bit of water on my face, I cleaned myself up. “I have to save her. This is all my fault.,” I said to my reflection in the mirror.
    I took Fallon’s purse and phone and left the room.
     

CHAPTER 8
    *****
    I managed to hide out for a few hours, waiting in the stairwell of the hotel tower. My mind swam with guilt for bringing Fallon into this mess. Lysander was right; I should have never gone to her. Divulging our secrets had only brought trouble. How could I be so stupid ? I cursed myself for ever going back to the café.
    Lysander’s warning weighed heavily on my heart as well. He wouldn’t go after her. He wouldn’t want to save her. In fact, he’d probably be glad to be rid of the problem her knowledge caused. Hell, he’d said he would kill her himself if she became a nuisance. I knew my only choice was to clean up the mess I’d made. I had to go after her. Alone.
    Time moved slowly, as it always does when you’re waiting for something important to happen. I counted down the minutes as