Of course, he was a bit horned up right now on account of the Immortal version of Spanish fly, Inez reminded herself. Still, that didn't mean he had to jump her.
"Look, love, while its fascinating sitting here watching you nod and talk to yourself under your breath it might be more fun if you talked to us," the blonde said, forcing himself into her recollection again. "We'll buy you that drink and you talk to us, right?"
Knowing it wasn't advisable to be rude to sotted men, Inez was just opening her mouth to ask them politely to leave her alone when Thomas was suddenly there, looming beside her. She peered up at his face, surprised to see that his features were rigid and his eyes glowing silver. She'd seen his eyes turn that way before, both times when he'd kissed her, but somehow she didn't think it was passion making them silver right now.
"She said 'no, thank you,'" Thomas said coldly and Inez bit her lip, her gaze sliding worriedly between the men. She'd lived in Britain for almost eight years and knew the last thing you did was piss off a drunken Brit. They were considered all stiff upper lip and conservative by the world at large, and they were that, but she'd also never seen a group more likely to start swinging their fists than Brits when drinking. She suspected it had something to do with that very conservativeness that they were known for. All those emotions they bottled up so much of the time, had to come out at some point and when they were drinking seemed to be the point. She couldn't recall an evening out with Lisa and Sherry where a fight or absolute brawl hadn't broken out at the end of the night.
Inez knew Thomas wasn't your average guy, that he was faster, stronger, and could control minds, but she wasn't sure he could control three at once, or how much stronger and faster he actually was. Slinging her purse strap over her shoulder, she stood and murmured, "Thomas, I think we should move on and call Herb for another set of coord-"
"No, no, love. Sit down. We want to buy you a drink." The words were accompanied by a sudden sharp tug on her hand that sent her dropping back into her seat. Her eyes shot to the first man as he turned his attention to Thomas and said with a shrug, "I don't see a ring on her finger. She's free to sit with us."
Inez never saw Thomas move, but suddenly the blonde was dangling in the air, held there by Thomas's hand at his throat.
"Thomas," she said anxiously, standing up and catching his free arm with her hand. He jerked as if she branded him, his head whipping around, eyes blazing silver fire. Inez caught her breath and stared back for a moment and then glanced around sharply and cried out with surprise as she saw the brunette approaching Thomas from behind. Her warning came too late, even as the sound slipped from her lips, the man flicked open a knife and plunged it into Thomas's lower back.
He stiffened, his back arching slightly, then dropped the blonde and whirled on his attacker, baring his teeth and hissing. Inez saw the brunette's eyes widen incredulously as he shrank back, but she was already stepping between the two men.
"Thomas," she said in low warning.
For a minute, Inez thought he'd knock her aside and go after the brown-haired Brit, but a shout and the sound of pounding feet made them both glance around to see two uniformed members of the Amsterdam police force rushing toward them. Thomas growled at the sight of them, and then Inez suddenly found herself caught under one arm like a football as he charged up the walkway away from the police.
Inez was aware of their passing from light to darkness to light once more, and thought they were on the main street again. She heard people gasping and exclaiming in surprise as he whizzed up the street, dodging the crowds of pedestrians and knew this couldn't be a good thing. That was when Inez realized just how much the Sweet Ecstasy was affecting Thomas. She'd assumed that the concentrate would just affect his body, but now she knew it had to be affecting his mind as well. He'd bared his teeth in public, for heaven's sake and now was drawing attention to them with this superhuman rush up the road.
The good thing was that at the speed he was moving, it was doubtful anyone was getting enough of a look at either of them to be able to describe them later. Still, staying hidden was a creed among his people. They spent most of their lives trying not to draw attention to themselves. She knew he shouldn't be doing this. Inez had barely realized this when Thomas turned a corner and slowed so abruptly her stomach lurched. In the next moment she found herself upright and able to breathe again as he set her on her feet.
Inez stumbled, her legs not quite ready to support her, but Thomas simply held her upright with a hand under her arm and urged her forward, and into a building. They were halfway across the lobby before she realized they were back at the hotel. Inez supposed she shouldn't be so surprised, he'd certainly moved faster than the tram and it really hadn't been that long a ride on the tram in the first place.
They were on the elevator and the doors were closing before she glanced out and noticed the startled looks the few people in the lobby were giving them. Frowning, she glanced to Thomas, afraid he was still flashing his teeth, but he wasn't and then she glanced down and noticed the knife still sticking out of his lower back.
"Oh God," she breathed, feeling the blood rush out of her head.
Thomas didn't even look her way. His eyes remained fixed on the lighted numbers over the elevator doors. Biting her lip, Inez reached toward the knife, thinking to pull it out without warning so that it would-hopefully-hurt less, but let her hand fall back before she touched the handle. She simply couldn't bring herself to do it and didn't think she'd be able to do it even with his knowing.
The elevator dinged as it came to a halt, and she glanced around as the doors opened, then followed quickly when Thomas stepped out and started up the hall. She was so distracted staring at the knife sticking out of his back that Inez didn't notice that his steps were unsteady until they'd nearly reached their suite.
"Are you all right?" she asked anxiously, moving up to his side to peer at his face. Her alarm only increased when she saw how pale he was. "Thomas?"
"No, Inez, I'm not all right. I have a knife in my back. Unlock the door, please. I can't reach into my back pocket to get my card key."
"Oh." Realizing it would probably cause him excruciating pain to even attempt to retrieve the card key, Inez quickly dug hers out of her purse and unlocked the door, then rushed in and held it open for him, her concern deepening as he lurched through the door. She pushed the door closed and slid the chain on so they wouldn't be disturbed, and then turned in time to see Thomas sink to his knees and then fall flat on his face.
"Thomas!" she cried, hurrying to his side and dropping to her knees to peer at his face. He was as white as a sheet and unconscious.
Inez sat back on her heels, her gaze sliding reluctantly to his back and the knife protruding there. He had said that the nanos repaired all injuries, but supposed they couldn't do that while the knife was still in him. She'd have to remove it. The very idea made her groan and close her eyes, but they popped open again when a muffled chirping sound caught her ear.
In the state she was in, it took Inez a moment to realize that it was his cell phone. She glanced at the back pockets of Thomas's jeans, but while his wallet was in one and the map was in the other, there was no sign of the phone. The fact that the sound was muffled and very faint told her that Thomas must have put it in his front pocket since the last time she'd seen him use it.
There was no way she was going to turn him over to answer it, the man had a knife in his back. Obviously, she had to get it out. Ignoring the constant buzz of his phone, she considered the knife, noting now that his T-shirt was glistening with blood and that it had made a large, dark patch starting at his waist directly below the wound and spreading out and down to almost his knees. He'd lost a lot of blood.