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in to her
panic. Not yet. Not until she’d gotten Jamie out of there alive and away from
the monsters.
    As Aiden braced himself in the open window and fired
the gun, she knew why he’d instructed Jamie to cover her ears. The blast was
painfully loud, making her flinch. The car swerved, and Aiden slammed into the
window frame, a coarse four-letter word jerking from his throat.
    “Sorry!” she shouted.
    “Don’t worry about it,” he grunted, resettling himself
in the open window. “You’re doing great.”
    It all happened so fast after that, the details were
like a blur. Olivia fought to keep the car steady while the other Casus
attacked, jumping onto the roof…the hood. Each time she thought they were going
to die, Aiden would unload a round of bullets, and even with her untrained eye
she knew his aim was lethally accurate. Only one of the vile creatures managed
to get too close, its razorlike claws just missing his chest as it fought for
purchase on the roof of the car. Before it could swipe at him a second time,
Aiden reached out with his left hand, caught its arm and cracked the bone in
half while bringing his gun arm around and nailing the bastard right between
its pale, ice-blue eyes. Olivia struggled not to gag as its heavy body rolled
down the windshield, leaving a bloody streak across the glass as another Casus
launched itself toward the car, only to be jerked off its feet as Aiden drilled
it with a bullet that tore right through the center of its leathery forehead.
    “Don’t freak out,” she whispered to herself, her hands
curled in a death grip around the wheel. “Just focus…and keep breathing, and
whatever you do, don’t pass out.”
    One minute the car seemed to be buried in the bowels
of hell, and in the next, it was over and they were speeding down the winding
road all alone, with nothing but the moonlight and the surrounding forest for
company. “Is Jamie okay?” she shouted the second Aiden had slipped back into
his seat and rolled up the window.
    Sensing her panic, he quickly turned and leaned into
the backseat, pulling the blanket and pillow off Jamie’s little body. “She’s
fine. A little pale, but she isn’t even crying.” To Jamie, he said, “You were
so brave, sweetheart. It’s all over now, but I want you to keep the cross for
me. Can you do that?”
    In the rearview mirror Olivia could see Jamie nod her
head, but it was difficult to make out her expression in the shadowed interior.
She took a deep breath, trying to sound as normal as possible as she said, “I
love you, Jamie.”
    “Love you, too, Livie,” Jamie called back. From the
sound of her voice, you’d never have guessed the child had just gone through a
living nightmare, and it made Olivia’s insides clench with worry, the fear
taking hold of the back of her neck with a cold, clammy clasp. It had a
different flavor than the terror that had been riding her during the
attack—this one slower, digging down deeper, rooting its way into her heart.
    Settling back into his seat, Aiden quietly asked, “Is,
uh, that normal?”
    Olivia knew he meant Jamie’s reaction—or lack of
one—and she shook her head. “I don’t know. She’s been really closed down
lately.” She swallowed, trying hard to keep it together. Softly she said, “I’d
be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about her.”
    She flinched as he reached out and settled his large
hand on her forearm, its startling heat sinking into her flesh. “You can slow
down now, Liv. Just pull over here on the shoulder for a minute and get your
breath back.”
    She hadn’t realized she was still driving at top speed
until he pointed it out, and she immediately did as he said. The night seemed
unusually silent without the engine roaring, and as the car came to a slow
stop, she pressed her forehead to the steering wheel, her chest hurting from the
ragged force of her breathing. “They’re going to keep coming for her, aren’t
they?” she whispered, wondering if