Rogue Angel - Footprints Part 59

Joey nodded. "You were beyond exhausted. Your physical body had been taxed to its limits and your spirit took over to protect you. Very interesting."

Jenny frowned. "I thought we'd lost you, Annja."

"I didn't do it deliberately, Jenny." She looked around. "Where are we?"

"Still on the trail behind the hotel," Joey said. "You want some water?"

Annja nodded. "That would be great." Joey offered her a small cup of water and she drank it down, tasting the cold against the back of her throat. She gulped a few sips and then paused. "Thanks."

Joey glanced at his watch. "We should get going."

"How long was I out?"

"A few minutes."

Annja stretched. She felt as if she'd spent a long day napping in her apartment in Brooklyn, surrounded by a plush comforter and the throw pillows she liked to keep on her couch. A yawn welled up from within her and she let it out, stretching as she did so. Small pops sounded in her back.

Joey eyed her. "You look...rested."

Annja nodded. "I actually feel pretty amazing."

Jenny frowned. "Nice you could take a nap and all. I'm certainly tired, too, but you don't see me lying down on the job."

"Well, after I had to save your b.u.t.t from certain death, I figured I deserved it," Annja said. "Help me up, will you?"

Jenny pulled her to her feet and Annja brushed her pants off. "Thanks."

Jenny smiled. "Glad you're okay."

"You and me both. For a while there, I didn't know what was happening to me."

"Where were you?"

Annja shook her head. "It was completely and utterly black. I couldn't see anything. Couldn't feel anything, either. It wasn't until I heard you shouting that I suddenly felt something snap me back to life."

"Yeah," Joey said, "Jenny slapped you across the face pretty hard."

Annja put a hand to her face and felt the tender area by her cheek. "Hey."

Jenny held up her hands. "I was worried. And besides, you know you would have done the exact same thing to me if you were in my position."

"I don't know," Annja said. "Let's test that theory out, shall we?"

"Ladies," Joey said. "Can we just get to the hotel? The sooner we hook up with Sheila, the better."

Annja eyed Jenny. "I'm not forgetting about that, slap happy."

Jenny tried to grin. "Yeah, I know you won't."

Joey led them closer to the hotel. Annja felt much stronger. Her muscles responded well. She could feel the energy coursing through her veins now like liquid heat.

Joey paused. "This is it. We follow this path up and there's a back door we can access that leads right into the kitchen. If Tom's in there, we can get his attention and he'll bring Sheila to us."

Annja nodded. "Okay. Let's do it."

Jenny followed Joey up the slope and Annja came next. As she scampered up the slope, she glanced left and then right but their approach was well concealed. She smiled. Joey would never have used a trail that would potentially expose them to observers. That would betray everything his grandfather had taught him over the years.

They scurried up to the back door and then paused. Jenny was out of breath but Annja felt fine. Joey looked at them. "Give me a second to get in there and check things out."

"How are you going to do that without Tom seeing you?" Jenny asked.

Joey smirked. "Jenny, no one sees me if I don't want them to. Tom won't notice me until I'm ready."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." Joey nodded at Annja and then eased himself through the screened back door. It opened without a sound and Joey vanished inside.

Jenny glanced at Annja. "What do you think?"

Annja shrugged. "He'll do fine."

"Not that, about you? Are you really okay now? You don't have to be brave in front of me. Just tell me the truth."

Annja smiled. Despite their differences and the confusion of this entire trip, Jenny was still a friend. "I'm actually feeling great. Wherever I was, it really gave me some of my strength back."

Jenny slumped against her. "Thank G.o.d for that. The way things are going, we're going to need it."

"I'm going to need it," Annja said. "If things go bad, you take care of Joey and let me handle the bad guys, okay?"

"You won't get an argument from me on that one," Jenny said with a grin. "I don't know the first thing about fighting, anyway."

"Unfortunately, I do," Annja said. "Sometimes I wish I didn't, but there you go."

Jenny watched the back door. "What's taking him so long?"

Annja looked up. "He's probably just checking things out, is all. Give him another minute and then we'll take a closer look."

"I don't like it. What if David was in there and grabbed him? They could be waiting for us right now. Or they could be coming around the back here."

"Calm down. There's no way Joey would give us up."

"Unless he happened to be one of them." Jenny frowned. "I mean, we have to consider it, right?"

"No," Annja said. "We don't. Joey's not with anyone but himself. And maybe the forest."

The screen door slid open and Joey's face appeared. He came down the steps and squatted next to them. "Tom's in the kitchen, but just as I was going to say something to him, someone came in. I waited but didn't get a chance."

Annja frowned. "So what now?"