“Where is he?” Mom asked, a hint of worry showing on her brow.
Dad looked up from the banister, the string of lights still tangled in his hands. “He’s probably dragging his feet. I’ll go find him.”
He’d just slipped one arm into his coat when the side door slammed open hard enough to rattle the frame.
Blake stood in the doorway, wild-eyed, with a gun pressed to Kyle’s temple. His grip was tight, his knuckles pale, and his veins strained against the skin of his neck.
Everything stopped, and all I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears.
I couldn’t move. My legs felt rooted to the floor, my fingers frozen around the piece of popcorn. Pete was already on his feet, stepping in front of me. Dad dropped the coat and reached for his phone.
“Don’t,” Blake barked. “Nobody calls anyone, or he gets it.”
Dad put his hands up.
Blake turned his focus on me. “You. You made me do this. I was willing to forgive you. I told you we could ignore what the judge said and go back to the way we were.”
The way we were. Yeah, right. But he looked trigger-happy right now, and I needed to calm him, even if I had to lie. Then I had to separate him from Kyle. This was my problem, and I wasn’t going to let my family get hurt.
“If you let him go,” I said, “we can still do that.”
“No. We can’t. It’s too late. You ruined everything.” His whole body shook with rage. “Everything!”
I didn’t know what to say. I mean, what the hell did one say to a crazy, gun-wielding werewolf shifter ex?
It didn’t matter though, because he continued his rant. “I would’ve forgiven you. Taken you back. And we could be together again. I even came here and risked facing the pack. All for you! But you. You had to go play house with a fucking squatch.”
“My car broke down. I was just waiting out the blizzard with him. Nothing happened.”
Fuck. I sure hoped he couldn’t detect my lies.
Blake’s grip on Kyle didn’t loosen, and the gun stayed pressed to my brother’s temple. “He fought for you!”
I kept my tone soft. “He’s a ranger. That’s his job.” I didn’t know if that was true, but it sounded believable enough. “I didn’t evenknow what he was until you did.” That part was a lie, but I needed him to believe it.
That seemed to have him thinking.
“Let’s leave Kyle out of this,” I said. “You came for me. So let’s talk. Alone.”
Dad shifted, trying to block my path. “Ella, you—”
“It’s okay. We’re just going to talk outside.” I angled my body so Blake couldn’t see my face, then moved my eyes down to the phone in Dad’s pocket, then back up to his face, hoping that he caught my drift.
If I distracted Blake, they could call for help.
“You step outside first,” Blake said. “Walk to the car. Then I’ll release him.”
So he did drive here. He must’ve parked in Darlington and changed to wolf form to hunt me down earlier in the forest.
I turned, grabbed my coat, slipped on my boots, then shoved my trembling hands into my pockets before Blake could see them.
The walk to the car felt like an eternity. He didn’t release Kyle until I stood next to it. I sighed when he finally let him go, and the door closed. But I knew it was only a matter of time now until he got to me. I had to survive as long as I could and keep him here until help could arrive.
One thing was for sure: I wasn’t going to get in his car unless I absolutely had to.
Blake moved toward me, his face a twisted version of someone I once loved. “Get in the car.”
Shit. I’d known that was coming, but I didn’t know how to delay the inevitable without angering him even more. He was still armed, and I needed to diffuse the situation.
