Hunter's Heart

Chapter 2

Stupid, she thought to herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Since when do you get jumped by common thugs?

Only they weren't common thugs. The guy dragging her down the alley was strong, too strong. He was no human. She felt the sharp sting of a needle being thrust into her neck and realized they must have dosed her again when they realized the first one wasn't putting her out as quickly as it should have. Sedative, she realized.

Thank God those things don't really work on me, Quinn thought to herself as she was unceremoniously tossed into a nondescript van that had been parked on the other side of the alley.

She'd never told anyone about that particular ability. Hunters were faster and stronger than your average human, but the only supernatural ability any of her people's records described was a form of precognition in extremely rare cases throughout the centuries. Rapid healing and a high tolerance for poisons was not a Hunter's trait.

"What the fuck?" one of her kidnappers said in confusion as he realized she was still conscious. "She's still awake!"

Quinn felt the van speed off and something told her she was being taken out of town.

"Maybe you didn't give her enough," the driver retorted. "You always go too easy on them."

"I gave her two freaking doses!" the first guy argued. "Payne said he'd have my ass if another one woke up before he was done with them again."

He grabbed her chin in an iron grip and looked hard at her. Quinn narrowed her eyes at the brute, wishing she could just reach her boot. Then she'd show these bastards just who they were messing with. She wouldn't kill them – the very idea made her stomach turn – but she would leave them with the scars to remind them not to fuck with her again.

He must have seen the calculating look in her eyes because his expression turned wary. "Seriously, guys, there's something wrong with this one. She ain't even afraid or nothing."

"Fuck it," the one in the passenger seat of the van snapped. "Just fucking do it, already. We'll break the bitch in when we get to Payne's."

All the while, they were speeding further and further away from town.

Quinn's mind was racing. Who in the hell were these guys? Where the hell had they come from? They seemed to be pros – well, not quite pros if they hadn't looked into just who they were kidnapping – but they certainly seemed to have done this kind of thing before.

"Fuck!" the driver swore and Quinn looked beyond the guy holding her face to see there was something in the road ahead, but it was still too far away for her to make out with the drugs still in her system.

"How the fuck did they know?" the guy in the passenger seat demanded before he turned panicked eyes to his buddy holding Quinn. "Do it! Do it now!"

Quinn kicked out with both feet, catching the guy holding her by surprise. She wasn't going down without a fight. She punched and kicked and scratched.

But the close quarters were a problem and she didn't have much space to maneuver. Her ankle was grabbed and she was yanked backward. She looked over in time to see him smiling triumphantly. As she watched, his face changed into something that was a mix of canine and human, showing off viciously sharp teeth in a half snout. The next moment, he lunged forward and sank them into her calf.

Quinn screamed out in agony. Fire seemed to spread from the bite into her veins and for a moment, she could only focus on the pain. She could hear panicked shouting around her. And then the van suddenly veered sharply.