CAPTURED: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys(124)

Jack looked at her and smiled softly, and despite how messed up  everything was, it was a bright smile. He seemed so happy that her hand  was in his, and love swelled up inside of her. She squeezed his hand  tightly, and any jealousy she'd had for what he and Jessica might've had  completely vanished, even when he leaned down to the driver's side to  speak with her.

"You sure you're going to be okay?" he asked.

Jessica wasn't looking at him, though, in fact she shushed him as she stared at the radio, then turned it up.

Cindy could hear the monotone voices of the newscasters, but from her  place behind Jack she couldn't exactly hear what was being said.         

     



 

Jack and Jessica, however, both went pale in the face. Jessica more so,  and she leaned on the steering wheel and let out a long, pained sigh.

"What? What just happened?" Cindy asked.

Jessica punched the steering wheel. Then punched it again.

Jack was the one who answered her. "One of the men she knocked out  must've woken up. She's listed as a possible paranormal now. The  collectors aren't just after us anymore. They want her brought in for  questioning."

Cindy's entire body froze up, and she looked down at the woman who helped her and Jack to escape. "What do we do?"

Jessica was having trouble looking at the both of them. "It's dangerous  to be traveling together. I'll try and get out of town on my own."

"You're going to have to ditch your car, and soon," Jack said.

Jessica was reaching into her glove compartment and pulling out several  papers. She even had a Taser, though Cindy wasn't sure what she would  need it for, considering her natural powers. She put it all into her  purse.

"I know," Jessica said. "Hopefully our friendly guard up front doesn't listen to the news."

"Doesn't seem like the type," Jack said. "I'm pretty sure I saw him playing video games when we pulled up."

Jessica was still pale in the face, but she nodded and shrugged. "Maybe."

"Wait one second," Jack said, and then he let go of Cindy's hand, pulled  out a set of keys and hurried to unlock his storage unit. He was still  cradling his injured arm and mostly using his good arm to lift up the  metal sliding door that opened like a garage, but thankfully they were  able to confirm on the ride here that it wasn't broken. That was a good  thing. Cindy knew how hard it was being on the run when in need of  medical attention.

It only took Jack ten seconds to find what he was looking for and then come back out.

It was an old brown shoe box, but when he opened it up, there were  stacks of hundred dollar bills inside. Cindy's eyes widened. "Do you not  believe in banks?"

"You should be glad that I don't," Jack said, and then he pulled out some of the bound stacks and handed them to Jessica.

She looked up at him and then waved them away. "You're not the only one who has an escape plan," she said.

"Take them anyway, just in case you can't get to yours. I doubt you're keeping your money in that car."

Jessica's lips thinned, and then she reached out and took the money.

"It's about five grand," Jack said. "We'll be fine without it."

Cindy noted how Jack didn't tell Jessica exactly where they were going, despite offering her so much money.

"Thank you," Jessica said. "I should try and find my brother. Ethan  always knew this was going to happen. He's going to want to help."

"Really? He won't turn you in?" Cindy asked.

Jessica shook her head. "We're the only family we've got. He won't turn  me in. He might not even get a notice that I'm wanted for questioning,  considering we're related. Head Office will have to know that he's been  helping to hide me, or at least they'll suspect it."

"You said he's chasing down a paranormal right now, right? That means  he's in the city. You should stay away from there. Do you have a meeting  place?"

"Her brother's chasing a paranormal in the city?" Cindy asked, and  though there had to be a lot of paranormals in the city, a tingling  sensation spidered up her spine.

"Someone with electric powers. Apparently he's been causing problems,  but if I call him then he should drop it and come to help me out."

"No, don't call him," Jack said. "If you're suspected of being a  paranormal then his calls are going to be monitored for a while, at  least until Head Office is sure that you're not going to run to him.  They'll probably wait a few days before telling him what happened."

Even though Cindy owed Jessica her life, she couldn't help but latch  onto that one piece of information about the electric paranormal that  Jessica's hunter brother was chasing after. "Wait a minute, Jamie is a  paranormal who controls electricity. I told you that, Jack!"

Jack looked right at her, his brows raised high. "Yeah but...what are  the odds it's the same guy? There's lots of other paranormals with  powers similar to each other."

Cindy's hands reached up to grab at her hair, just because she needed  something to grip onto before she flew off the handle. "It's him, Jack!  It has to be him!"

"I guess this paranormal's a friend of yours?" Jessica asked. "You said his name was Jamie?"

Cindy nodded. "You're both hunters, can either of you check and see if he's on your wanted list?"

"All paranormals are on the wanted list," Jack said, though not  unkindly. "We don't have our computers with us, and it wouldn't be smart  to access the database until we can get to a tablet or phone, something  that can't be traced. I can't just sign in with my name and password  after what I did," Jack said.

"If my brother's after your friend, then I'm sorry but your friend is  going to be picked up," Jessica said. "He's good at tracking people  down."

"Can't you ask him to stop?" Cindy demanded, staring at Jessica. "If you  can get word to him, call him somehow without being traced-"

"Jack just said that his phone is likely already tapped," Jessica said.  "I can't just call him and ask for a favor like that. He'll go to  prison."

Jack touched Cindy's arm, and though his touch was welcome, and a little  soothing, it did nothing to calm the fires that were burning brighter  inside of her.

"Cindy, you're glowing," Jack said. "I'm sorry, I really am, but please."

Cindy took in a deep breath, and the fire went out a little. When she looked down at her hands, the glow vanished.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Jessica said, and she put her car into  drive. "but you both need to get out of here now. Get as far away from  the city as you can. Go on up to Canada if you want. I hear they're a  lot less strict with paranormals so long as they're escorted by, you  know, normal people."

The way Jessica said normal people, as if she was apologizing to Cindy,  was almost laughable considering they were in the same boat.

Either way, Cindy didn't like it. "We can't just let her brother pick him up, Jack. He saved my life."

"That was years ago," Jack said, and then quickly continued on when  Cindy felt her body start to glow with heat again. "Sweetheart, I'm  sorry. I don't want to do this anymore than you do. This sucks, a lot. I  get it, but paranormals usually go off on their own anyway. You don't  owe him because he did you a favor way back then."

"He's been my best friend ever since," Cindy said. "He was who I was going to meet when you picked me up."

"I shouldn't be hearing anymore of this," Jessica said quickly. "This is  too much for me to know already in case I get picked up."

Jack nodded to her. "Take care of yourself," he said, stepping back from  the car and putting his good arm out, making sure Cindy was at a safe  distance as well.

Jessica nodded. "You too," she said, and then slowly pulled out of the lot.

Cindy didn't hear tires squealing or shouts for her to stop when she  drove back to the gate. The man watching the property let her out as if  nothing was out of the ordinary.

"We don't have a lot of time here," Jack said as he took Cindy by the  hand and brought her into the storage shed. He yanked a big white cover  off of what turned out to be a motorcycle. Cindy didn't know enough  about them to know what kind it was, or what year. It looked a few years  older, but still in good shape. It was black, the type of bike she  would have seen in a racing movie, or something. There were also two  helmets.

"Jack," Cindy asked, watching as he packed up a small bag of things. He  looked up at her. "Seriously, why have all this stuff? Why prepare to  leave? You're normal, you have no reason to run."

Jack looked down at the backpack in his hands, and Cindy noticed how his  knuckles as had turned white as he gripped it. Then he sighed. "I  guess...at first I was telling myself it was in case there was another  accident. This would be to make sure I wouldn't have to start from  scratch again."

"You have two helmets with your bike," Cindy said.