The bushes rustled, and he emerged on his hands and knees. “Are you two all right?” He tried to move toward her, but winced, grabbed the back of his head, and sat where he was.
“We’re all right, just scared.” Pain pierced her brain, and she longed for a hot bath and her soft bed. “What was that thing?” Her voice shook, but she lacked the energy to try to steady it. A memory struck her. “You knew it.”
“Yes.” He held her stare.
Her thoughts churned frantically. Jackson knew that bizarre creature, had called it by name, conversed with it, stabbed it. Was he one of those things?
She maintained eye contact as she began to back away, didn’t dare break it. Grabbing Mia’s arm, she dragged her back too.
“Ryleigh, wait.” Jackson reached for her hand.
“Get away from us.”
“Please, Ryleigh. You have to listen to me.” He held both hands up in front of him.
She got to her feet, hauled Mia up with her.
Jackson stood as well, but didn’t lower his hands. “Ryleigh.”
“Stay away from us, or I’ll scream.”
“Just wait.”
“Is that thing going to come back?” She had to turn around, needed to check behind her, but didn’t dare take her eyes from Jackson.
“Yes.”
Fear gripped her lungs, squeezed. She couldn’t breathe.
“Calm down. Please, listen to me. I don’t think he’ll come back right away. Besides, he’s not really a threat. He’s just angry, probably because he doesn’t understand what’s going on. If he wanted to kill me, believe me, he could have. It’s Daygan we have to worry about. Please, let me get you somewhere safer, and I’ll explain everything. I promise.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” She hobbled toward the walkway.
“Wait.”
She looked over her shoulder as he moved toward her. “What?”
“Where are you going?”
“None of your business.”
“You can’t even walk, and Mia is freezing. Please, just wait here and let me pull the car up. I’ll drop you off wherever you want to go.”
Mia stood shivering, arms wrapped around herself for warmth, or comfort. Ryleigh pulled her sister closer, tucking her under her arm.
“Please?” His cocky smile returned, and he turned it on her full force.
Her feet pleaded with her to accept his offer. She scrubbed her free hand over her face, and slivers of pain stabbed her. “Oh, fine. But you’re dropping us off at my car, and then I don’t want to see you again. Are we clear?”
His smile widened. “Be right back.” With that, he took off, jogging down the alley into the darkness.
She must be crazy. How could she even contemplate going with him?
Mia rested her head on Ryleigh’s shoulder. “Thank you, Ryleigh. I didn’t want to walk all that way.”
“Here, honey. Sit down.” She helped Mia to the ground and sat beside her.
Mia curled into a ball and laid her head on Ryleigh’s lap.
“I’m not sure what’s going on here, but we’ll be home soon.” Small bits of sticks and leaves had tangled in Mia’s hair, and Ryleigh tried to work them free.
Mia smiled but didn’t open her eyes. “I’m just exhausted, and I want a shower.”
“Me too.” She gave up and smoothed the mess of knots.
Jackson didn’t make them wait long. He pulled a dark colored car into the alley, hopped out, and jogged to them.
Ryleigh remained sitting. “I guess you’re feeling better?”
He appeared perfectly normal, no lingering effects from the injury he’d suffered.
“I heal fast.”
That cocky grin shot straight to her heart. “No kidding.”
“Come on.” He lifted Mia into his arms. “Grab my arm.”
Ryleigh used his arm to pull herself off the ground. Her feet were on fire. She took a few steps on her own then gave in and leaned on Jackson’s arm until she slid into the passenger seat.
Jackson placed Mia gently on the back seat. Before closing the door, he brushed the wild mass of hair out of her face.
Warmth spread through Ryleigh.
“Where to?” He climbed in beside her, threw the car into reverse, and hit the gas.
“They brought me here in the ambulance and left my car across town.” She started to give him the address, but a memory surfaced. A silhouette moving toward her. “You were there.”
“Yes.”
She waited.
He didn’t elaborate.
She stared out the window and watched the miles pass. Everything looked so ordinary, so normal. People moved on with their lives as if an earthquake hadn’t rocked the city only a few hours earlier. As if a very large, strange man hadn’t tried to kill her. As if he hadn’t shot a fireball from his fingers and disappeared into a world that couldn’t possibly exist.
She studied his profile.
His full mouth had thinned to a firm line, his forehead wrinkled in a frown of concentration.
The urge to reach out and smooth his brow overwhelmed her, and she quickly averted her gaze.
Strong hands gripped the steering wheel, hard. The same hands that had so gently—“Hey.” The ignition sat empty. “Where are the keys?”
His answering grin told her all she needed to know.
“Let us out. Now.”
“We’re almost there. As soon as I drop you off I’ll return the car to the hospital and leave it a few spots away from where I took it.”
She shouldn’t ask, shouldn’t get any more involved with this stranger who appealed to some deep part of her she didn’t understand, elicited feelings that scared her. “Why not leave it where you found it?”
“If the owner already looked for it and couldn’t find it, maybe he’ll think he just forgot where he parked.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t have taken it if it wasn’t an emergency, but I had to get you and your sister out of there.” He met her stare, held it. “Would you consider following me and letting me take you somewhere safe so we could talk?”
“No.” She held his gaze.
He broke eye contact first, only for a second to glance out the windshield then returned his intense, hypnotic stare to her. “Your life is in danger, Ryleigh. Mia’s life is in danger. Please, you have to trust me.”
Indecision beat at her. She tore her gaze from his to check on Mia. So many things had happened in only one day. How could she possibly decide what to do? Every instinct screamed at her to trust him, and yet…“Are you human?”
She looked back in time to catch the indecision in his eyes before he turned them back to the road.
“How can you ask me to trust you, if you aren’t going to be honest with me?”
“You’re right, and I want to be completely honest with you, but I don’t want you to get scared and run