NOVEL NEXT Chapter 62: The Trap
Eva gripped the steering wheel tight as she drove through the dim streets.
She'd been trailing Jace and Hannah for blocks, keeping her distance, but somewhere along the way she lost them.
"Damn it," she muttered, slamming her palm against the wheel. She pulled the car over, stepped out, and leaned against the hood. Her eyes swept the street. Empty.
A faint sound broke the silence, movement, quick and sharp. Her body reacted before her mind did.
She raised her hand instinctively, palm open, ready to release a blast. Nothing came. Her stomach dropped.
"Right," she whispered bitterly. "No powers."
Her eyes darted to the back seat. She rushed to the car, yanking the door open and grabbing a metal rod she'd stashed there. The cold weight steadied her nerves.
But before she could turn fully, something yanked her sideways through the open window. Her back slammed against the pavement.
She blinked, disoriented, and then saw her attacker. Hannah's sister stood over her, eyes sharp, her expression cold.
"I was curious," the woman said, her tone flat, almost mocking. "Curious why my sister was slipping back into her old ways. Turns out she just wants to kill you."
Eva tried to push herself up, but two men appeared from the shadows. Their hands clamped down on her arms, forcing her against the ground. The rod clattered away into the street.
Her chest tightened, panic flaring. "Let me—"
Before she could finish, the sister's right hand shifted. Skin rippled, turning metallic, her fingers fusing into a heavy silver fist.
Eva's eyes widened.
The punch came fast, brutally fast.
White light exploded in her head, then nothing.
Eva went limp, unconscious in their grip.
The woman crouched beside Eva's limp body, studying her face with a faint curl of contempt.
"I wonder why she didn't fight back," she muttered. "Always was a bitch."
She stood and gestured to the men holding Eva down. "Take the car. Tie her up. Make sure her hands are secured. No mistakes."
One of them pulled rope from under his jacket, rough hemp already frayed at the edges.
They bound Eva's wrists tightly, looping the knots until her skin reddened. Another gagged her, shoving cloth between her lips before wrapping it firm behind her head.
"Good. Load her in."
They lifted her, carrying her like dead weight toward the car. The sister followed, her metallic hand flexing back to flesh as she moved.
She opened the back door, watching as the men shoved Eva inside, her head lolling against the seat.
The woman smirked. "Hannah will meet us at the warehouse. Once she's finished with this bitch's friend, I'm sure she'll want to do this herself."
The men nodded. The engine roared to life, headlights cutting through the darkness as the car pulled away from the street.
The night swallowed the sound quickly, leaving nothing but silence behind.
.
.
.
The haze lifted from Jace's head in a rush. His body jerked when he felt the light brush of fingers at his hand.
Instinct snapped through him, and he grabbed hard, twisting until the wrist bent.
A startled moan broke out above him.
His eyes snapped open. Hannah froze like a deer caught in headlights, her face pale. "H-how are you up?"
Before Jace could answer, Zin's voice chimed in his head, sounding almost smug.
[Good. You're awake. I was right, she was up to something. During sex she released something, a scent. It knocked you out. Luckily, thanks to your new ability, your system burned it off and healed you.]
A smirk tugged at Jace's lips. He shoved himself upright, stretched out his palm, and unleashed a blast.
Hannah screamed as her body slammed into the wall, rattling the cheap hotel frame.
"What the hell were you trying to do?" Jace's voice was sharp, controlled.
Her face twisted, not with fear, but hate. "You… you have the same powers as her…"
Jace's eyes narrowed as he stepped closer.
Her bravado broke quickly. "If you hurt me, you'll never see that bitch Eva again. I can take you to her. I can help you."
Jace paused, his jaw tight. "…Zin?"
[I can't track Eva's phone. Either it's broken or destroyed. That's a sign. Someone has her.]
Jace's glare never left Hannah. She extended her hand toward him, expecting him to take it, expecting mercy.
He grabbed it, then dragged her across the floor without a hint of care. She scrambled, and suddenly in a blur, she produced a sharp object from her sleeve, thrusting for his ribs.
Jace was faster. His hand snapped to catch hers mid-strike, twisting until the blade clattered away. With his other hand, he shoved her head hard into the wall.
Her body jolted, a strangled sound leaving her throat.
"Try something like that again," Jace said, his voice low, effortless, "and I'll snap your neck."
The weight in his tone made it clear, it wasn't a bluff.
He leaned in close enough that she could feel the heat of his breath. "Now get up. You're taking me to her."
Jace yanked her to her feet without ceremony, his grip bruising around her arm. She tried to twist free, but the glare in his eyes froze her halfway through the motion.
"You're going to take me to her," he said flatly. "And if you try anything else, you won't walk again."
Hannah's lips curled into a smirk, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Rougher than I thought."
Jace didn't answer. He marched her out of the room and down the hallway, ignoring her attempts at sarcasm. Every step was forced, his hand locked around her wrist like iron.
Once they hit the parking lot, the night air cooled the sweat on his skin. He shoved her toward her car, the tires crunching lightly over gravel. "Get in."
She hesitated, just enough to test him. Jace shoved her against the car door hard enough to make her gasp. "I said, get in."
Her smirk faltered. She climbed into the driver's seat, but Jace yanked her out by the collar before she could even touch the keys. "Wrong seat."
Dragging her around to the passenger side, he shoved her in. Hannah stumbled into the seat, cursing under her breath.
Jace popped the trunk of the car with one hand, rifled through until he found a set of jumper cables and a length of rope.
He tossed the rope inside with her, pulling it taut around her wrists and knotting it fast against the seatbelt bar. She struggled once, twice, then hissed as the rope cut into her skin.
"You don't trust me much, do you?" she muttered.