“It’s a long story,” I said. I reached up to brush a loose lock of hair out of his face, and he reached up to grab my hand. He pressed his lips against the soft skin of my palm, and I felt a shiver go through me, and I turned away to swipe the keycard at the door.
It opened up into a large room, like an airplane hangar, and it was no wonder. There were lots of cars in there tucked to the side, more cars than I could begin to count. There were at least three helicopters and two small planes, one of them a large 747. I stopped underneath, wishing that I could fly. That would be a perfect getaway. I shook my head and turned away.
“There they are!” Voices rang out across the vast room, echoing off the walls.
“Oh my god,” I said, immediately running toward one of the vehicles. “Let’s go.”
Shots rang out behind us, and I kept running, running faster than I ever had before. These were not Awakened. Awakened had to catch up to me in order to hurt me. These guys could hurt me from much further away.
Ash stumbled, rolling into a somersault and landing hard on his stomach. I skidded to a stop and reached for him, helping him to his feet. He gasped, his eyes squeezed shut in pain before he continued to run beside me. We ducked in between planes and helicopters, making our way over to the cars that lined the furthest wall.
Ash was right at my heels, and I could tell he was limping from his fall. We reached the cars, and I started counting, one, two, three, four. There was a small SUV there, the exact one that I was supposed to be looking for. I yanked the door open and threw myself into the driver’s seat. He fumbled, surprised, and moved to the passenger door and lifted himself into the seat.
“Why the hell are these open?” Ash said, gasping, immediately pushing the lock button on the door.
“Please save all questions for the end of the tour,” I said, reaching for the keys Tommy said would be tucked into the visor. Sure enough, there was a slick silver key, and I stuck it in the ignition and turned; the engine flared to life. I glanced over at Ash and saw that his eyes were wide.
“What the fuck?” he said. His words were coming out in gasps, and his hand was clutched tightly over his stomach. I felt my stomach drop, wondering if he had somehow hurt himself when he had fallen.
“They’re very trusting at Sekhmet, apparently,” I said, wryly. “Too trusting. It works for us though. Get the guns.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“Under the seat,” I said, reaching down to put the car in gear. I watched as Ash fumbled under the seat and pulled out two handguns. He handed one to me and jumped as he looked out the windshield.
The men had caught up with us, and there were at least six or seven more of them than there had been before. They were coming at us slowly, their guns raised, each step solid and sure as they approached the car.
“What are you waiting for?” Ash asked, the gun clenched tightly in his hand, his eyes trained on the men in front of us.
I tucked my own gun next to me, hoping that I wouldn’t have to use it. I had killed plenty of Awakened, but I had no desire to kill these men, even they had no qualms shooting at me. Tommy had assured me that the vehicles were bullet proof, but the delicate clear glass in front of me made me nervous.
“Zoey, go,” Ash urged, his fingers tapping nervously on his knees. His voice still sounded strained, and I shook my head. Just a few more steps, just a few more…
I slammed my foot on the gas, and we went spiraling out of the spot, heading toward the men. They shouted in surprise and went diving out of the way. The tires squealed as I gripped the steering wheel and tried to gain control of the car. I weaved in between planes and other vehicles that lined the hangar. I was so glad that Mom had taught me to drive. There was no reason to drive back in New York, but Mom had insisted, and I had never felt so grateful for it.
“Over there,” Ash wheezed, pointing toward the exit that I had seen just a beat after he’d pointed it out. I headed in that direction. I glanced at him and gasped.
“Oh, Ash, what happened?” The car wavered, as I looked him closer. There was blood covering his hand and I looked down at his stomach. There was a large, dark red stain spread there. “Ash!”
“Watch out!” he yelled, and I looked up, just in time to jerk the wheel, to avoid crashing into a helicopter. I felt the tears spring up in my eyes, wondering how on earth I had missed that Ash had been shot. “Just go. Just go.”
“Ash, Ash, Ash,” I whimpered, pressing my foot harder against the gas pedal. We were nearly at the exit, just nearly to the sunlight. It was streaming in through, and I ached for it, eager to feel the warmth on my skin. I heard Ash groan, and I felt myself slow down. Where were we going to go? Where was I going to take him?”