wrists and ankles was anything to go by, those chains were silver. I couldn’t claim my wolf form until they were off
In the front of the van, the man stirred. I held still, waiting, until the squeaking of the seat indicated he had gone back to whatever he was doing. Slowly, carefully, I undid the buttons on my coat, then pulled up my sweater. Once my breasts were free, I flicked off the foul-smelling blanket and rolled onto my back. I kept my eyes closed, my breathing slow and even, as if I were still out of it
The seat squeaked again, then came a sharp intake of breath. Desire surged around me, a hunger as sharp as any wolf’s
For several seconds, nothing happened. Then the van lurched as the man moved into the back with me. The scent of mint and death became so strong my nose twitched. Only with those scents came a feeling of wrongness. This man wasn’t human, wasn’t wolf, wasn’t even a shapeshifter or vampire. He was something else, something I’d never come across before
And whatever he was, he was dying
The heat of him caressed my skin. His breathing was short, sharp, the smell of his desire so strong it stirred the moon fever in me
He stopped. I cracked open an eye, watching as he reached for me. His eyes were a muddy brown and filled with hungry intentness. Around his neck was a thin piece of wire—the psychic shield. Get that off, and his mind was mine
His fingers ran across my breasts, his touch hot and somehow foul. Bile rose in my throat, but I resisted the urge to move. He smiled, revealing teeth that were as pointed as any vampire’s but stained black and rotten
It took me a moment longer to realize those teeth were actually extending. He was going to feed… on my breasts
I lurched up, chopping a hand across the windpipe with as much force as I could muster. He made a gargling sound, his eyes wide as he struggled to breathe
I gave him no time to think, no time to react, just ripped the wire from his throat, almost garroting him in the process. With the wire gone, I lowered my shields and surged into his mind, swiftly taking control
I thrust him back against the wall of the van. Pain burned up my wounded arm, and sweat broke out across my brow. There wasn’t a lot of strength in my grip, and I was forced to switch hands. The chains chimed, jarring against the sound of the stranger’s harsh breathing
Using my free hand, ignoring the increasing pain, I gripped his face and forced him to look at me. “Where has the other man gone?”
His voice was as flat and as lifeless as his eyes when he answered. “For a crap.”
So I had maybe five minutes more, at best. “Where is the key for the chains?”
“He has them.”
I swore softly. “Where are we?”
“In a rest stop near Seymour.”
Which was only about forty-five miles out of Melbourne. Obviously, not enough of the elephant juice had gotten into my system, because I’d slept little under an hour. “Where are the keys for the van?”
“In the ignition.”
“Move into the passenger seat.”
He obeyed. I wiped the sweat from my eyes and knew from the pounding ache beginning behind my eyes that I couldn’t hold that depth of control for much longer
I threw off the blanket and looked down at the chains. They were definitely silver, not metal, but luckily, they weren’t tethered to anything in the van. They’d wanted to restrict my movements, but hadn’t expected me to wake before they’d reached their destination. I pulled down my sweater, climbed into the front of the van, and started the engine
“Where were you taking me?”
“Genoveve, then Libraska.”
The first name rang a distant bell. I’d heard it somewhere before. But at present, I didn’t have the time to worry about it or to question him any further. I had to escape before the second man came out because I very much doubted if I’d have the strength to battle two of them
“If you’ve got a phone, give it to me.”
He did
“Has the man in the toilet got one?”
He nodded. I swore softly. The minute I took off in this van, they’d be ringing their superiors to report the fact—and there wasn’t one thing I could do to prevent it. There were limits to my mind control and I wasn’t about to hang around just to destroy that second phone. It wasn’t worth the risk
“Climb out and go to the toilet.”
Again he obeyed. I leaned across the seat, locked the door, and threw the van into reverse. The tires squealed against the bitumen, and out of the corner of my eye I saw someone running out of the men’s toilet, pants flapping around his knees
Smiling grimly, I shoved the van into gear and sped off. The control I had on the second man snapped, and the pain of it rebounded through me, as sharp as glass. I glanced in the rearview mirror and, through the blur of tears, saw the second man running after me. He was fast. Vampire fast
I flattened my foot. The old van shuddered and began to pick up speed, blowing smoke as I sped out of the rest stop and headed for the free-flowing traffic on the Hume Highway
A quick glance in the mirror told me the second guard was almost close enough to open the back doors. I didn’t think I could eke any more speed out of the van, so I did the next best thing—cut from the merge lane into the left lane, right in front of a car. Tires squealed behind me. I looked up to see a Ford slither sideways, clipping the rear of the van and throwing me forward. As I battled to keep the van straight, the Ford spun into the path of the guard, throwing him up and over the hood. He landed on the strip between the merge lane and the left lane, and didn’t move
I sped on. I’d escaped. Now I just had to get back to my brother. One thing was certain—I couldn’t do it in the van. It was too hot—because of the accident, and because my escape was undoubtedly being reported back to those behind the kidnapping attempt
I took the off-ramp to Seymour and eased up on the accelerator. The last thing I needed was to be picked up by the cops. I cruised through town, turning into a side street near the outskirts. This I followed until I came to a crossroad. After looking both ways, I headed right, simply because it was a dirt track that disappeared into trees
When I was deep within shadows, I pulled off the road and stopped. It was then that reaction set in. For several seconds, I didn’t move, simply sat there, sucking in breath and swallowing bile, my whole body trembling
Eventually, I found the strength to move. I grabbed the phone, then opened my door. The chains on my legs weren’t long, forcing me to jump down rather than climb
Evening was coming on, painting the patches of sky visible through the gums with red. The air was cool, filled with the scents of eucalyptus and grass. In the distance, cows mooed, and, beyond that, water rustled
I shoved the phone in my pocket and headed that way. I needed a drink more than I needed anything else. Besides, I had to put distance between me and the van
But walking through scrub isn’t easy, particularly when chained. By the time I had reached the river, my throat was parched, my head pounded, my muscles were protesting every step, and the trees were doing a mad dance around me
I dropped to my knees on the muddy riverbank, and greedily scooped up some water. It tasted of dirt, but it was wet and cold, and that was all that mattered. I splashed some over my face and neck, then washed the blood from my left hand
Kookaburras laughed in the distance. I would have laughed with them, had I the energy. What a mess. So much for Jack’s thinking I’d make a good guardian
With a sigh, I stripped off my coat, then tore off the sleeve of my sweater to reveal the wound. It was another mess—swollen, red, with a hole as big as my fist. It had scabbed over, and was no longer bleeding, but it didn’t look good. I needed to change to my wolf shape, needed to let my natural healing capabilities do their stuff.
