I looked at Jake. “Are you missing any warriors?”
“Not that I know of.”
A sudden thought hit me. “Do you think the accident victim is Cantor? The crash site isn’t far from here.”
“It’s a possibility, but the question is: why was he driving when he could teleport?”
“Cantor spent almost five hundred years in prison, I can’t imagine he came out unscathed,” I replied.
Jake turned to Officer Yellowhorse. “Can you find out which hospital he was transported to?”
Yellowhorse tapped his comm-link. “Four Corners Regional Health Center. He’s listed in critical condition. Need a lift?”
Jake shook his head. “Thanks, but I can get us there faster.”
“I’ll go check on Lily.” Officer Yellowhorse drove off.
“Four Corners Health is over eighty miles from here,” I advised.
Jake slid an arm around my waist. “I’m a warlord, buttercup.” There was a flash of black and poof. We were standing outside the emergency room entrance.
“Wheeee! Fun. Do again.” Perched on my nose, Oola peered up at Jake. “Do again?”
“Later, little one.”
“I wanna go now.”
Bey barked, “Enough Oola.”
“You mean.”
I blew Bey’s hair out of my eyes. “Can I lose the fur hat?”
Jake grinned. “C’mon Bey. You can ride with me.”
“Your female is a chaos creator like Kaylee.” Bey hopped over to Jake’s back.
I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t until Jake came into my life. I think he’s the problem, not me. Oh yeah, I want my weapons back, all of them. Like you promised.” I removed Oola from my nose and placed her back on my head. “Stay.”
“Buttercup, you are a weapon,” Jake replied.
“You better believe I am, but I still want them back. Does Bey know the Navajo people consider Spider Woman to be a good spirit and he needs to act appropriately.”
“I am not a female.”
“They don’t know that unless you plan on flashing them.” I strode through the automatic doors and headed for the nurses’ station.
Chuckling, Jake followed me.
I smiled at the plump Navajo woman sitting behind the counter. “Hey Emily, I’m doing a follow-up on an accident patient that just came in.”
Emily eyed me. “Get caught in a sandstorm and when did you start wearing armor?”
“I did.” I brushed a twig off my armor. “I’ve had the misfortune of crossing paths with a bunch of aliens lately.”
Jake gave Emily a big smile, exposing his fangs.
Her eyes widened. “Is he?”
“Yes, he’s a Coletti warlord. Emily, this is Jake Jones, my mate.”
Emily’s jaw dropped. “You married him?”
“Kinda.”
Jake extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am.”
“Well, at least you picked a cute one.” Emily shook his hand, then jumped out of her chair when Bey crawled over Jake’s shoulder. “A holy one!”
“His name is Bey, he’s a Tabor, and a guardian of his people,” Jake explained.
She swallowed hard. “One of those aliens you were talking about, CeeCee?”
“Exactly.”
“Your accident victim is in room 12 and he’s listed as a John Doe.”
“Thanks.” I started down the hallway.
Jake tapped his bracelet and scanned room 12. “He’s Coletti.” He handed me his spare laser pistol. “Just in case.”
“You think he’ll heal that quickly?” I slid the pistol in my holster.
“Yes.”
“I want my stun gun back too.”
“Uncle Saul has it.”
I took a cautious peek into the room. A very large male filled the bed. His face was a battered mess. “Are you going to alert the General and Zarek?”
“I am.”
Beep. Beep. Beep. I glanced at the monitor. His heart rate and blood pressure were spiking. “He’s awake.”
Jake pulled his sword.
Cantor vanished.
Oh crap. Not good. Before I could react, Cantor grabbed me in a chokehold and teleported. There was a flash of black and we appeared in the parking lot.
Jake popped in ten seconds later. “Let her go or die.”
“Follow me and I will break her neck,” Cantor warned, tightening his grip.
Black spots danced in my vision and breathing was damn difficult.
“First chance you get, zap him,” Jake commanded on our private link.
“You betcha.” Poof! Cantor teleported again and we were standing on a highway with a semi-truck barreling toward us. “Shit!”
Cantor swayed unsteadily and for a moment his grip loosened.
I slipped out of his hold and ran for it.
The idiot tackled me.
Slamming on the brakes, the semi-truck driver laid on the horn. Smoke billowed from the tires as the truck slid sideways down the roadway.
“Wanna go home,” Oola cried.
“Truck!” I hollered mentally as Cantor yanked me to my feet. “Teleport dammit. He can’t stop in time.”
“Me bite.”
Cantor teleported us an instant before we could become roadkill.
My heart pounding in my chest and my breath coming in shuddering gasps, I glanced around. We were back in Monument Valley. Go figure. “You gotta a death wish, or what?”
“Many have tried to kill me. I cannot die.”
And the sad thing was he believed it. “I hate to shatter your illusion but you’re a dead man walking. Look, I’m a police officer and for your own safety I’m placing you under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
“I do not answer to your laws.”
Yep. I didn’t think so, but I had to try. “Surrender or die.”
“Never. I am the most powerful Coletti ever born and the rightful Overlord of the Coletti clans.”
I peered over my shoulder at the idiot who had made no attempt to take my laser pistol. “Really? Wow. Does Zarek know that?”
“I will challenge him when the time is right.”
“And when will that be?” Call me curious.
Cantor bared his broken fangs at me. “Soon.”
“You’re a liar and a fucking coward. You have no intention of fighting Zarek. You’re too damned scared of him.”
Cantor laughed like a demented hyena. “I fear nothing,”
“Oh puhleese. Instead of challenging my father and me to a fair fight, you tried to kill us long distance. But your plan failed. The alien Chupacabras are dead. The Red Kings have been arrested. You’re injured, alone and wearing nothing but a hospital gown.” I pressed my hands against Cantor’s arms and zapped him.
With a bellow of pain,
