A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

Where were we going? Why wasn’t Clare riding
with us? What’d happen and why did we need the Shadows? I took a deep breath
and pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind, but the more I tried, the more
popped up. Eventually, Aidan squeezed onto the front seat and Kieran sped off,
tailing Cass’s SUV.
    He did drive like a maniac, too close, foot on the gas pedal like he couldn’t wait to
get to his destination fast enough. My hands clutched the leather tight,
holding on for dear life. His reflexes might be supernatural, but I didn’t
trust them one bit.
    From my seat, I watched the brothers exchanging
meaningful glances a few times. Okay, if they weren’t going to talk, neither
would I. Who needed conversation anyway? Leaning back, I closed my eyes and let
my mind drift to my post-Aidan time. He had ignored me as though nothing
happened between us the night before, so there was no doubt he saw no future.
While his silence drove me ballistic and made me insecure, it also put things
into perspective. I had a knack for commitment phobes . No, scratch that. The women’s
magazines I read were right. Guys just didn’t want relationships anymore. Mom
would tell me to suck it up and keep searching, but Mom had been married for
the past thirty years and to the same man—a phenomenon that probably died
down with the perm.
    Half an hour later, Kieran pushed the brake
briskly, and I lurched forward between the front seats, knocking my head in the
process. Two pairs of eyes turned to regard me, like I was some sort of freak.
Dallas would’ve cracked up with laughter. I could certainly deal with someone
laughing in my face. But Aidan and Kieran just gawked, no doubt ready to guffaw
behind my back.
    I straightened and raised my chin a notch,
avoiding their gazes, my face burning. As I opened the car door and stepped
out, my foot caught in a loose branch and I toppled forward. Talk about keeping
it graceful for the guy I loved. Aidan wrapped his arm around my waist,
catching my fall. I murmured a thank-you and yanked my hand out of his grip. He
didn’t respond, but his palm lingered on the small of my back a little too long,
as he gazed down on me in the darkness.
    “We’ll be walking the rest of the way.”
Devon’s voice startled me, breaking my magical moment, and I jumped a step
back.
    “Are you okay to walk?” Aidan whispered.
    The cold wind blew my hair in my face,
chilling me to the bone. I tested my leg. My thigh felt sore, my toes were
already frozen in my leather boots, but I gathered I’d rather be in pain than
let him carry me and risk standing out like a sore thumb among the rich,
athletic kids, so I nodded. Frowning, Aidan turned away.
    “Do you have a flashlight?” Cass asked.
    Kieran snorted. “You can’t see in the dark?
What sort of immortal are you?”
    “Why would I want to see in the night? That’s
the time when normal people sleep.” Cass flicked out her phone and started
punching. A moment later, a legion of fireflies appeared over our head,
flickering like a dying flashlight. Their light barely penetrated the thick
bushes, but at least it cast a dim glow on our path, warning me of impending
danger in the form of stones, loose branches, and what else not.
    “A bunch of insects? Seriously, that’s all
you could come up with?” Kieran said.
    Aidan frowned. “Come on, guys. Shut it for
a change. Amber has a task to finish. Your banter’s not exactly helping ease
her nerves.”
    I threw him a grateful look. The longer we
stood here, the more I felt like going home. No idea how these people could
just stand here in the middle of nowhere, dressed in clothes befitting a
Californian barbecue evening, and continue chatting while I froze my butt off
in my summer coat, denims and boots.
    Cass appeared beside Aidan and pointed at
the winding path stretching through the trees. “Wait, we’re going up there?” When
he nodded, she groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding. Had I known my job duties
involved climbing Mount Everest, I’d have reconsidered my career choices.”
    “This is hardly Mount Everest,” Kieran
said.
    Cass glared at him, her eyes burning bright
in the semi-darkness. “What, you’ve been there too, moron? You don’t strike me
as the outdoorsy type. More like getting your Boy Scouts medal from watching
the Discovery channel.”
    “And you strike me as a girl I’d want to
throw into the nearest volcano,” Kieran said. “You know, it’d be like giving
you a lift back