'No reason to want to escape, darling. You're in for a treat.' Maintaining a grip under her arms, he stood to shaky legs and began dragging her to the dungeon.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THAT BITCH! was the first thought to hit Scarlet as she awoke. Fuming, she bolted upright. Rhea had finally whisked her out of Budapest and into the heavens. Where she'd seen her naked mother straddling her naked boyfriend. Then Rhea had tossed her somewhere sunny. Where, Scarlet didn't know. All she'd known was that the abrupt switch from dark to light had utterly confused her demon. Unlike the ambrosia field, time did exist between the two locations.
She'd gotten the barest glimpse of speeding cars and towering buildings before her eyes had shut of their own accord and her mind had sunk into a deep, undisturbed sleep.
Now she was in a freaking hospital, she realized as her gaze circled her surroundings. She must have passed out on a busy sidewalk, no one had been able to revive her, and so they'd taken her in for medical care. Shit!
A heart monitor beeped beside her. Electrodes were attached to her chest, and an IV protruded from her arm. The medical staff had replaced her clothes with a paper-thin gown and removed her weapons. Local police would most likely come around to talk to her about that, too, and damn it, she didn't need that right now.
Damn it, she thought again. Motions clipped, she jerked out the needle, blood seeping from inside her elbow, and ripped away the cords. The monitor went crazy, shouting loud and long as she threw her legs over the side of the gurney.
Footsteps pounded, and then a short, plump female was rounding the corner and flying into Scarlet's room. When she spotted Scarlet sitting up, about to stand, the tension left her features, but she extended her arms to push Scarlet back down.
'Ma'am, ma'am, you need to be careful.' She spoke in English, no hint of an accent. I'm in the States, Scarlet realized. 'We don't yet know what was wrong with you and—'
'I'm fine, and I'm leaving.' Determined, she brushed the woman aside and stood. Her knees were weak and almost buckled, but she pressed her weight into her heels and steadied herself, even as a wave of dizziness hit her.
What the hell had they been pumping into her vein?
Strong hands settled on her shoulders and applied pressure. Having none of that, Scarlet again knocked the woman's arms aside. 'Where are my clothes?' Her butterfly necklace was in the pocket of her pants, and she wanted it back.
The human clearly wasn't used to being challenged; she paled as she backed away, palms raised and out. 'Your clothes are with your arsenal.'
Yep. Those weapons had gotten her into trouble. 'And where's my arsenal?'
Eyes of light brown narrowed. 'With the police.' Hard, firm tone. 'There's an officer here who's been waiting to talk with you, so I suggest you lie back down. You shouldn't be up and around. We're still running tests, trying to figure out what's wrong with you.'
Shit, she thought again. If her clothes were locked away in some police station, getting them back would take a lot of time and effort. Time and effort she didn't have. 'Look, nothing's wrong with me except my clothes and belongings have been stolen. Now where the hell am I?'
'Northwestern Memorial.'
'No. What city?'
The nurse blinked at her. 'Chicago.'
Why the hell had her mother sent her here?
'I'm just going to get your doctor and let her know you're ready to be discharged,' the nurse said. Of course, Scarlet knew she was lying. Thanks to Gideon, she considered herself a living lie detector now. The nurse was going to summon the officer.
Scarlet allowed the woman to leave the room without protest. The moment she was alone, she kicked the shadows out of her head. They wrapped around her, cuddling her close, enveloping her with impenetrable darkness. Well, impenetrable for everyone else. No one would be able to see her, but she could absolutely see everyone and everything.
Rather than leave, however, she pressed against the wall, right by the doorway. Just in time, too. The officer, who was in his early twenties, physically fit and determined, came barreling down the hall, coffee in hand. He haphazardly slapped that coffee on the counter of the nurses' station without slowing his step, his other hand remaining on his gun handle.
Scarlet gasped in horrified realization. He was a Hunter. The tattoo on his wrist, a symbol of infinity, wasn't just for decoration. It was his mark, his vow to kill those who were demon-possessed.
That's why her mother had flashed her here. There was probably a contingent of Hunters based here.
Her stomach twisted. At least Rhea hadn't flashed her into the middle of that contingent. Which had to mean, on some level, that Rhea held her in some affection.
Wishful thinking, and you know it. Most likely, Rhea had just misjudged the distance.
When the man reached Scarlet's room, he flew past the door, just as Nurse Tattletale had, his expression resolved. He stopped and growled when he realized he was alone.
'Where'd she go?' he demanded.
None of the nurses were willing to approach and respond.
Had Rhea had time to tell him who Scarlet was? What Scarlet was? Probably not. Otherwise, there would have been more than one Hunter waiting for her to awaken, and this one wouldn't have left her. Even for a second. So why was he here?
There had probably been a report about her appearing out of nowhere, she realized, and he probably wanted to know how she'd done it.
Renewed anger sparked in her chest, easing the sting in her stomach. She'd fallen asleep in front of humans who could have done anything they wanted to her, and she wouldn't have been able to defend herself. Yet another sin to punish her heartless mother for.
As the officer radioed for assistance, then shouted orders to the hospital staff to lock all the building's doors, Scarlet slipped into the hallway, doing her best to remain in the shadows so that her shadows blended in.
Making her way outside proved uneventful. There was simply no way to lock the E.R. exits, since wreck victims were being wheeled in. Sunlight waned, creating a purple sky, the evening fragrant with summer blooms. Crickets chirped, and cars zoomed on the nearby road. An ambulance was blaring its sirens as it pulled into the parking lot.
Scarlet headed toward that lot with every intention of stealing a car. But where should she go? Her aunt was too weak to find her now. She couldn't get to the heavens to slap her mother around, couldn't block her location from the gods, so she could be found by any of them at any time and tossed into another Hunters' den.
Gideon wasn't home, so he couldn't—
Gideon. Her hands fisted. Did his friends know where he was? And who he'd been doing? Her nail sharpened, cutting into her palms. Slow down. Are you sure he was having sex with your mother? He didn't look like a man lost in pleasure.
Scarlet thought back and frowned. Sure, both Gideon and her mother had been naked. And sure, her mother had been straddling his waist. And okay, yeah, there'd been no promises between her and Gideon. She'd told him things were over, finished. In his mind, he'd been free to do whatever or whoever he wanted. But there'd been panic in his eyes. Panic and pain and fury.
What if he hadn't been there of his own free will?
She gulped, afraid to hope. And she hated herself for even wanting to. He could be in serious trouble.
But his reaction would explain why her mother had flashed Scarlet there to witness the deed and then shooed her away before Gideon could say anything. What better way to hurt her than to 'steal' her man?
The very hope she feared suddenly grew wings and fluttered through her. If she was wrong about what had happened and he truly did want Rhea, she would...what? Kill them both? Try and remind him how good it had been
