Rourke. If I wanted to die, I could’ve just stayed and fought!”
He wrenched the bike hard to the right, all his muscles contracting at once underneath his jacket. Power emanated from him as his boot came off the pedal, stabilizing us, sending sparks up from his skid pads. When we were finally fully upright he called over his shoulder, “We’re not dead yet, sweetheart.”
“Smartass,” I yelled back. Over my shoulder, two wolves, still in human form, were scrambling onto the tracks. A third made his way down the embankment behind them. Relief flooded through me, because if they were after me, that meant they’d abandoned Tyler. “Rourke, they’re coming after us. I hope you have a plan.”
I reached out to my brother. Ty, are you okay? Can you hear me?
There was a familiar brush. Jess … fighting … can’t hear you. Be safe … The connection died.
We must not be able to hold a conversation and fight at the same time. It made sense, because fighting used a lot of brain-power. My father hadn’t reached out to me either, which meant he must be equally engaged. Maybe that was the reason I’d been able to cut them off when I was fighting. I couldn’t manage both at the same time.
The wolves behind us dropped to the ground to shift. Once they were finished they’d be crazy fast. And they’d have our fresh scent.
“They’re changing on the tracks,” I yelled to Rourke. “This place is going to be full of wolves in about three minutes.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’re getting off here,” Rourke shouted back as he turned the handlebars hard, tearing up a small grassy hill. The sides of the culvert had tapered off along the way, making it possible to escape. The bike bounded over the top, crashing through another fence, and then we were back on the road, the tires squealing as Rourke twisted us in front of a highway underpass. One more quick turn and we were wheeling up a ramp.
Three wolves in their true form, two in the front and one trailing, ran behind us full tilt, but they’d have to abandon the chase at the highway. Wolves on the road wouldn’t work. But it didn’t matter. They had our scents. Their buddies in the U-Haul would pick them up in a few minutes.
Unless Rourke had an unbelievable plan, we would be running from them indefinitely. A weirdly pungent female and a one-of-a-kind cat on the back of an open motorcycle meant we were going to be easy to track.
I relaxed my death grip on Rourke as we flattened out on the freeway. I likely wouldn’t die if I was tossed from the bike. I was used to being human and it was going to take me some time to stop reacting like one.
Rourke had no such issues, clearly.
My hand dipped into my suit jacket pocket as Rourke weaved expertly in and out of traffic. The smooth panic button brushed against my fingertips. I rubbed it a few times for luck. Then I depressed it. It wasn’t going to help me now, but it felt good to hold it in my hand. “Nick, I’m going to need a pickup soon,” I said into the open air as it blasted by my helmetless face.
“What?” Rourke called over his shoulder.
“Nothing,” I muttered. “Just praying you have a decent plan.”
18
“This is your brilliant plan?” I stood knee-high in the middle of a swift current, my lovely pantsuit swirling around my legs. “You know, man-eating werewolves aren’t afraid to go swimming. If our trail leads to a river, they won’t hesitate to get in.”
“Don’t worry, they aren’t following where we’re going,” Rourke said from behind me. “At least for right now.”
“How can you be so sure?” I glanced over my shoulder in time to see him step into the stream. I forgot my question for a second because he was bare-chested, his shirt and boots wrapped in his leather jacket, which was tucked safely under his bulging and ridiculously muscular arm. He had to be bigger than any wolf by a few good inches and a lot of mass. The man was a beast.
All my things were wrapped in my blazer jacket too, only I wasn’t naked from the waist up.
Thank the good heavens above I’d worn the damn camisole.
The fact that it was white hadn’t escaped me, and if Danny could see me now he’d be laughing his ass off. I’d drawn the line at dropping my pants, and Rourke had kept his on without question. It would’ve been a lie to say I hadn’t been a tiny bit interested in seeing what he had underneath his jeans—or more accurately, my wolf had been extremely interested in what was there, but I was ignoring her.
We had far more important things to worry about.
Somewhere along the line, after trying to fight it repeatedly, I’d realized my father’s command for me to Go had been a strong one—too strong. I wasn’t going to shed it easily. It wrapped around me even now, compelling me to stay with protection and not turn back. The blood I’d taken from him during the oath had bonded us in a strange way. I had no idea if it had done the same for him—if he could feel my emotions or not. I couldn’t read all the notes and emotions clearly just yet, but I knew without a doubt that if he had died, the new things I felt inside me would stop. I prayed everyone was okay and safe. I hated not being there.
My wolf gave me an irritated snap, directing me back to her thoughts.
I’m sorry, but you’re not getting your way. We’re not lifting tail for every good-looking guy we come across. Plus, this one happens to be a highly trained mercenary. Remember? We are here against our will. Don’t forget it.
It was safe to say my wolf and I were still coming down from a major adrenaline rush, and knowing how the last one had ended, I was being extremely careful to keep my lusty thoughts in check.
Instead I’d plied myself with a bucket of beef jerky I’d bought at our last stop. Too bad I didn’t have any left. It wasn’t a comparable substitute for sex, but I’d had to work with what was available.
I watched the water tease the legs of Rourke’s well-worn jeans as he waded deeper into the stream. I tore my gaze from his completely defined stomach as he hoisted his clothes higher in the air. As his arms went above his head, I noticed two tattoos flowing along the inside of each forearm. They were geometric, and beautifully drawn in a deep black ink. My wolf licked her lips. I did love tattoos. Damn.
He stalked, he didn’t walk. And honestly, if I hadn’t been raised around supernaturals, and hadn’t just become one myself, his presence would’ve been almost too intense.
“Up ahead about ten miles”—Rourke gestured—“is a sulfur stream, and about a mile beyond is a small cabin. The only way to get there is to climb straight up. It’ll take the wolves some time to pick up our scent again after the stream, but by the time they arrive, we’ll be long gone.”
We were currently somewhere in the foothills of the Ozarks, according to Rourke. Nothing looked familiar. Day had broken around us and the morning light seeped between the trees. My guess was it was around seven- thirty or eight in the morning. Rourke had taken a series of back roads, trying to throw any pursuers off our scent, but we both knew it was only a matter of time before the big bad wolves caught up to us.
“Did you just say ten actual miles?”
Rourke chuckled. “Yes, and the last one is straight uphill.” He sloshed over to me. “Here, hand me your jacket.”
I unrolled my shoes, gun, and dirk, and handed the jacket to him without question. He took it and passed me, continuing up the bank on the other side. “And don’t worry, I have a feeling you can handle the climb just fine. I’ll be right back. I’m going to lay a scent trail on the other side to buy us more time.”
I watched his powerful body run up the short grassy hill, my jacket dangling from his right hand as he disappeared into the dense forest along the edge of the embankment.
The cold water lapped at my ruined clothing as I stood in the stream for another few minutes waiting for him to return. At this point, what else was I going to do? His bike was stashed a few miles behind us in a shallow cave, and for the last half hour we’d trudged through thick forest to this riverbank. There was no going back now.
It was way too late for that.
I shifted in the water, wading a little closer to the shoreline. I glanced up and down the river. There was dense tree growth running along both sides as far as I could see. Some large rocks dotted the creek bed, but
