Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
He knew he couldn’t fully trust the vampire, which meant getting this ridiculous attraction to her under bloody control.
A panic Echo couldn’t rein in, the panic of an animal in survival mode, had begun to rise within her as the small plane descended onto a private airstrip on the edge of Heathrow Airport. The sun would dawn soon, and she needed to get somewhere safe.
Her contact, a wealthy London financier she’d found on the shadow web who wanted to be turned into a vampire, had arranged a vehicle for them upon landing. She’d paid for the flight, of course, but the real reason the billionaire helped her was because he assumed that she’d bite him soon.
Echo had no intention of turning anyone into a vampire, ever. But she’d find someone who’d do it for a price. Eventually. Until he was no longer useful.
They disembarked and followed the pilot’s direction to the car. It was parked on a private road a five-minute walk from the strip. Elijah moved with fae speed to keep up.
Skidding to a halt at the sight of the Range Rover, Echo found the key on top of the rear left wheel and beeped open the back. It lifted automatically. There was a retractable security cargo cover.
Perfect.
And it was a big space. Thank God.
“You’re sure about this?” Elijah frowned. “Stuck in the boot of a car for an hour can’t be fun. And will it completely shade you?”
Echo grabbed the large blanket that had been left per her instructions in the back and wrapped it around her body and head.
The fae smirked. “You look like ET.”
“Shut up.” She slapped the keys into his palm. “And drive.” She rolled into the SUV until she was pressed up against the passenger seats. “Pull the shade cover over.”
Sighing, Elijah did just that and then the trunk closed.
Darkness surrounded her.
As she listened to Elijah get in and start the engine, Echo took calming breaths. Her body was in survival mode, her heart racing, her nerve endings snapping so she was jittery and too full of adrenaline. The sun was rising.
Before the plane had landed, she and Elijah had gone over their plan for arriving in Peckham at his parents’ house. On the off chance that William, having lost contact with Echo and most likely having already tracked Jack’s and Sajid’s phones to their bodies, was watching the Webbs’ home, they had to go in as discreetly as possible.
It was a test of Elijah’s abilities. While he could make himself appear nondescript and unrecognizable with a hazy energy spell, he’d never tried affecting someone else before. He’d have to carry Echo in a wrapped-up bundle into the house and make it look like he was carrying a rucksack, not a vampire.
Echo couldn’t say she was looking forward to it all that much. If the blanket slipped at any point, she’d be toast.
Elijah had assured her with his usual cocky confidence that he could get her safely inside.
Trying to distract herself from her concerns, she thought of Odette.
Odette who had no idea what William had done to her.
But Echo could prove it, if she had to.
It was then she allowed something to infiltrate her mind. Something she’d steadfastly ignored when she realized Elijah’s parents would need to be protected before she could ask for his help.
She was in London.
Echo was now in the same city as Margaret Lancaster.
And she couldn’t go anywhere near her because William had Margaret under constant surveillance.
Twisted, psychotic fuck! Enraged tears filled her eyes.
“Uh, are you all right back there, love?” Elijah called.
Echo stiffened. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I’m getting serious fury vibes from you right now.”
“What do you mean? Can you … can you sense my emotions?”
Like how she could feel his urgency to get to his parents?
“Uh … yeah, I can a bit. It’s new. But I suppose it’s just another of my fae abilities kicking in, right?”
“Right,” she answered, but her mind whirled with the possibilities.
“You don’t sound so sure about that. Something I should know?”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, you’re like a chatty cab driver. Just shut up and drive,” she snapped.
“I think you might be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever disliked,” he replied almost cheerfully.
“Could you sound like any more of a rock star prick?”
“Yes, actually, I could.”
Echo’s lips twitched, and she stifled a snort of laughter.
“Ah … I felt a twinge of amusement there,” he said smugly.
“Get out of my emotions,” she huffed.
“Then stop advertising them so loudly. Also, you are a very complicated woman. You veer from one emotion to the next so swiftly, it’s almost hard to keep up.”
“Guess what emotion I’m experiencing now?” she growled.
The bastard chuckled. “All right. Shutting up.”
The jittery feeling within her increased suddenly. It was almost sunrise. Taking a deep breath in and exhaling slowly, Echo did this over and over as Elijah drove them through the early-morning London traffic. Traffic she could only hear.