“Everything is dangerous now.” There was no heat to her argument, which made it all the more effective. “I know it’s crazy, and it probably doesn’t make any sense to you.” Sighing, she eased back and lifted her head. “I don’t even know what I’m expecting to find. I just know that I have to try.”
The safe house was located on the edges of Demon Alley, a stretch of Deadlands from Missouri to Colorado controlled by werewolves. Being a werewolf herself should have afforded her indemnity, but even a shared species didn’t mean shit anymore. It sure as hell hadn’t done anything for Rhys or Deidra.
Rhys had been imprisoned by his own pack, and Cade wouldn’t wish the kind of torture they’d put the guy through on anyone. Deidra wasn’t one to wear her heart on her sleeve, but from the few things she’d let slip, he gleaned that she’d survived something similar, also at the hands of her own kind.
Past the border and into Nevada, they entered shifter territory. He knew nothing about the packs, tribes, or clans that roamed the western part of the country. Some had described them as more civilized than the werewolves, less vengeful. He hoped that was true, for all their sakes, but he wouldn’t stake his mate’s life on it.
“Mack, I get it. I do.” He’d go to the ends of the earth for the people he loved, but the chances of her friend still being alive, let alone still in Nevada, were practically nonexistent. “You can’t—”
“I’m not asking for permission.” The amber of her irises darkened to a deep whiskey, and her lower lip trembled. “I care about what you think, Cade, and I want you to come with me, but I’ll go without you if I have to.”
He believed her, and he also knew that if anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself. She knew the risks directly, yet she was willing to chance it all on the infinitesimal chance that she might find her friend.
He wasn’t sure if it was brave or stupid, but he did know he couldn’t let her do it alone. “If we do this, we’re going to be smart about it.”
A brilliant smile lit up her face as she nodded. “Of course.”
He’d clearly lost his mind. It was the only logical explanation for why he was even entertaining the idea. The female was going to be the fucking death of him.
“Come on.” He kissed her brow and sighed. “We need to talk to Roux.”
Chapter Eleven
Slumped back in the passenger seat of the SUV, Mackenna stared out the window at the familiar scenery as they crossed over the Nevada state line. They still had another forty miles of driving before they reached the small town she’d grown up in, but she already felt like she was home.
A part of her knew the excursion was pointless. Even if Jess had survived the virus, Raiders, the Coalition, and every other danger, she wouldn’t have stayed in Cuna Mundo. Mackenna didn’t know what she hoped to find, but she had to go. She had to see for herself and know that she’d done everything she could to find her friend.
Staring at the endless stretches of desert and mountains, she absently fingered the leather cord around her wrist. Attached to the loop was a simple, silver plate inscribed with her name, Cade’s, and a seven-digit number. She didn’t know exactly where Roux had procured the matching bracelets, but she was impressed with the female’s ingenuity, as well as Cade’s forethought.
By registering Cade as her “pet,” it offered them a measure of protection should they encounter Coalition guards. If anyone bothered to check, the records would show the registration had been completed in Colorado, but they had prepared for that as well. If asked, Mackenna was to offer a version of the truth. She was traveling to Nevada to visit a friend.
Keep it simple. Don’t offer details. Make sure no one tried to follow them.
“Shit,” Cade muttered, pulling her out of her thoughts.
“What?” Sitting up straighter, she scanned the sun-drenched sands on either side of the highway. “What is it?”
“Ravagers. Fuck.” Tightening his grip on the steering wheel, he pressed down on the accelerator, throwing Mackenna back against her seat. “Hold on.”
Now that she knew what she was looking for, it didn’t take her long to spot the pack running across the dunes toward the highway. Three males and four females, all of them with lean, sinewy builds, and each one stark naked.
“Surely they’re not going to—”
“They are,” Cade interrupted, his tone grim. “Get down.”
She inched farther down in her seat, but only a little. She couldn’t pry her eyes away from the werewolves. They might be crazed, but they weren’t unintelligent. They moved in a coordinated attack, two of the females sprinting ahead while the others fanned out in graduating increments.
The two out in front reached the highway ahead of the vehicle, forcing Cade to jerk the wheel to avoid hitting them. Tires squealed against the asphalt as the SUV fishtailed over the divider line, but somehow, he managed to maintain control. Still, the strategy had worked the way it had been intended, providing the distraction needed for the others to attack.
Mackenna screamed when one of the males threw himself at her door, leaping onto the running board and stabilizing himself by grabbing the luggage rack overhead. His companion, a wiry female with platinum hair, used his shoulders as a springboard to lift herself onto the top of the vehicle.
Twisting in her seat, Mackenna pressed her back against the console, putting as much distance between herself and the werewolf as she could. Loud, metallic clangs echoed throughout the cab as the female attempted to beat her way in from
