Bastian watched from the shadows, keeping his arms crossed. Few of the patrons on the balcony noticed him, and when they did, they gave him a wide-eyed look and scurried away. He'd managed to stay out of sight of Eaden's people—thank fuck for that. His eyes tracked the head of cotton candy pink hair, the color of spun sugar, as it bobbed through the crowd, gold top glinting in the mass of darkness. In the crowd of bodies, her pert little ass was no longer visible, but he'd certainly gotten a distracting eyeful while she was dancing.
He didn't mix work and play, but fuck, he was starting to rethink that rule, considering the exceptions that might be made.
She reached the far end of the club, disappearing through a security door. He held his position a few minutes longer, waiting for her to reemerge. Her shift was meant to last another two hours. He hadn't expected to see her in the cage, dancing. That had been an unforeseen surprise. An inconvenient one, since he'd hoped to intercept her while she was serving drinks on the floor.
He inhaled, letting his chest rise and fall, remaining alert. Eleanor Rose Kennedy. She'd been a complete wild card. He hadn't expected a bold female with intelligent eyes and pink hair. Pink, fucking cotton candy hair. And yet, the longer he'd watched her, the more it grew on him.
The alias she used, Candy, amused the shit out of him. In hindsight, it was so...predictable. He'd rolled his eyes when he first heard it, but then he'd seen her in the coffee shop. It all made sense.
It also created more questions. Most of the females in Vortex used their real names. Not Eleanor. He'd struggled to track her down, which meant she didn't want to be found, for one reason or another. Using an alias further reinforced that theory. Why? What was she hiding?
He shifted, running a hand over the shaved side of his scalp, angling his body to better see the club. The minutes ticked by. No head of pink hair emerged.
Closing his eyes, he burrowed into his magic, letting his sense of metals take over. He'd already attuned himself to hers earlier. It was simply a matter of locating the gold at her neck, which had been a lucky fucking find. A flare of recognition kissed him. She was still in the room behind the door, but moving around, almost erratically, and then moving towards the back of the club. He frowned.
She'd appeared agitated earlier. He glanced over at the other balcony box where the human had been. He had caught the male watching her earlier. Had noticed the way she'd seen him and blanched. He hadn't missed the signs, though she'd covered them well enough. Something about the male had set her off, raised her hackles. In a way it concerned him, but mostly, it left him...curious.
His eyes tracked over the balcony box. It was nearly empty. The male was gone.
His senses tingled. Not good. The glint of gold around her neck stopped moving. Tunneling deeper, becoming one with the metal, he focused on its surroundings. He felt the brush of skin against it—her skin. Fighting the urge, he ignored the warmth of it, the distracting softness of her chest where the pendent rested. Then he felt something else, something kissing the other side of the necklace. Cool, night air.
"Fuck," he muttered.
He was moving before he realized, descending the stairs, striding through the club, through the front door. He was out onto the street in seconds. A quick wave of his hand and his street bike appeared. There were people gathered in small clusters along the curb, chatting, laughing, waiting for ride shares. Not a single one noticed his presence, the appearance of his bike. Most were supernaturals, but a few were humans. Goblin glamor was some of the best in the supernatural world. With it, eyes had a way of...sliding right past him.
It'd been a surprise when Eleanor's gaze had pinned him into place, earlier in that coffee shop. She'd stared him down with a boldness he wasn't used to, a heat that made the goblin side of him rage to the surface. Purr with smugness. She wanted him, and that did something to his insides. But it was her defiant eyes he couldn't stop thinking about, the way she'd blatantly studied every inch of him without restraint.
And then she'd blinked and ripped that gaze away, suddenly dismissing him, like she'd figured out what he was. That, alone, shouldn't have been possible. He had it on good authority that she was human, through and through. And yet...
He felt for the gold again, using his goblin senses, his affinity for metals, to pinpoint her location. His helmet materialized in hand. He shoved it over his head, climbed onto his bike, revving it to life, and set off in search of his quarry.
He ignored the coldness in his fingertips, the sense of rising worry. This was the middle of Walton. Not necessarily the largest city, but one with a higher-than-normal presence of supernaturals. This particular sector, Midtown, held far too many dangers for someone like her to be outside in the middle of the night. Especially in a fucking gold top that shone like a beacon.
She was nothing to him. Nothing but a potential lead. And yet, his fingers grew colder, urging him to hurry.
In all his years, he'd never failed on a job. It had earned him a reputation among supernaturals. Not that he cared about reputations. He didn't give a flying fuck what other people thought about him. But he did like getting paid. Gold, preferably.
What they said about goblins was mostly true. His sub-race was a greedy lot of fuckers. He was no exception, probably worse than most, even if he was technically a half breed. He liked his treasure. He liked hoarding. He'd done it for a very long time.
Rounding the corner, he put on a burst of speed, searching for Eleanor. She was drawing closer; he felt the gold at her neck. It was time to make his move. He had a job to do, and he'd be damned if he let this little human slip through his fingers.
***
"Luke, please," I gasped, my eyes watering from the hand tangled in my hair, sending pain along my scalp. It fell away, wrapping me in a choke hold. I kept my movements small, slipping my phone into my back pocket. My heart hammered, roaring over the sounds around me.
I stayed frozen in panic. The old me would have done whatever necessary to placate him. Years of Luke's abuses had twisted my mind. But I wasn't that girl anymore. Elle had changed...hadn't she?
Several more bodies materialized, keeping their distance, watching. Breathing hard, my eyes darted around. I needed to get back into the club, but Luke stood between me and the door.
If you don't get away now, you'll never escape.
"How'd you find me?" I managed, trying to distract him.
Luke huffed. "Tony, you got the car ready? Let's get her out of here before anyone notices." He dragged me away from the door.
Acid bubbled up into my throat. My jaw clenched. I pressed my chin into his forearm, keeping ahold of it with both hands, then I stepped forward, pulling and shifting our weight. I kicked the heel of my foot up, hitting him in the groin.
Luke grunted and flinched, bending forward. I broke free, trying to get around him towards the door. "What the fuck?!" he hissed, darting forward. He grabbed my wrist and jerked me off balance. A snapping crack reverberated through my hand. First, there was a moment of nothing, then searing fire shot up my arm. I screamed, stunned.
A loud roar filled my ears. A blur of movement and then a motorcycle skidded to a stop beside us. The rider removed a helmet, giving me an eyeful of black hair, piercings, and tattoos. Our eyes locked; it felt like a million years passed in a single heartbeat. "Get on!" the goblin growled. A dagger appeared in his hand. Luke grunted as it sank into his chest, stumbling back, releasing me. I gaped, blinking, then rushed forward, swinging my leg over the back of bike. We were moving before I could fully position myself. All I could do was cry out and cling to him.
Gunshots rang out from both ends of the alley. The goblin lifted a hand, waving it through the air. Bullets around us exploded into dust. We skidded out onto the main drag. I screeched, wrapping both arms around his chest, holding on tight enough to suffocate. The pain in my left wrist sent knives up my arm and I started trembling, clenching my teeth to keep them from chattering.
The goblin slowed, coming to a stop at the nearest streetlight, blending in with the rest of the traffic. "Put this on," he shouted over the roar of his bike. A sleek helmet appeared in his hand, over his left shoulder. He shook it to get my attention. I released my good arm and grabbed it, shoving it over my head. A perfect fit.
"That's better," came the purring voice in my ear. I yelped and jerked against him, careful to keep hold of his hard body. "Mind telling me what the fuck that was?" he snapped, voice morphing. "What the fuck were you doing back there, in the middle of the night, dressed like that?!"
I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. Dressed like...what? I choked, heat searing my cheeks.
I was too shocked to respond. My overwhelming emotions caught up with me. Tears filled my eyes, blurring my surroundings. I took in a gulp of air. Then another. And another. How had Luke found me? It had been years. Years! But he'd found me. First in the club, and then in the alley, like he'd been waiting for me, like he'd planned it. My mind rushed over the events from earlier. The phone call. Had that been his plan all along? A ploy to get me outside?
"You gunna speak up, Sugar?" came the impatient voice in my ear. "Or should I ask again?"
I exhaled, momentarily fogging the visor. Get yourself under control, Elle! You cannot do this right now. You cannot have a mental break down on the back of a motorcycle, clinging to a freaking asshole goblin.
I took a deep breath and held it in, counting to five. Then I released it and did it all over again. My breathing evened out and my tears cleared. The relief at seeing the goblin should have worried me. For all I knew, they were working together, this goblin and Luke. Maybe this was a ploy to make me trust him. And yet...I wasn't afraid of him.
As if you're the best judge?! came a snarky voice in the back of my mind, one I was getting better at ignoring.
"Fine, keep your silence," came the goblin's biting response. The light turned green and he gunned it, lurching us forward. Buildings and streetlights streaked past. I blinked, then glanced around. We were speeding through the city, weaving in and out of cars at a breakneck pace. The bike handled the curves with ease, as did the goblin I was practically wrapped around. I felt the bunch of his muscles as his body responded, leaning into each one.
I licked my lips. "We have to go back," I said, finding my voice at last. My entire plan hinged on Eaden. I needed to get back to Vortex, tell him what had happened. My only hope was that he might protect me from Luke...somehow.
"Is that so?" came the goblin's response, his tone amused.
I gritted my teeth. "Please," I added. "I need to go back."
"I don't think so, Sugar."
"My name's Candy," I bit out.
"Oh, I know what your name is." We took a sharp turn, and I tightened my grip around him. Pain shot up my arm and I whimpered. His muscles tensed. "Are you hurt?" His voice softened.
"My... my wrist. I think it might be broken. Where are you taking me?"
A hesitation and then, "Somewhere safe. We'll be there soon enough, then we can see to your wrist." He revved the engine and we jumped forward, accelerating, as if my admission of pain spurred him on.
I was stuck on this bike until we got wherever we were going.