Liam reached one of the ubiquitous black Escalade’s his people always seemed to drive around in. He lowered me to the ground and leaned me against the side.
“Why are all your cars black?” I asked, frowning at the car. “It wouldn’t kill you to add a pop of color every now and then.”
I blinked as Brax and Caroline joined us.
“Did you want a ride?” Liam asked.
“Please,” Brax said.
“Or gray,” I said suddenly. “Gray would be different. Well, most people have gray or silver, but for you lot it would be practically rebellious.”
Liam opened the door and helped me inside.
“I always wanted a car that was candy apple red,” Caroline said.
I nodded at her. “I could totally see you in something like that. I always thought I’d get a car that was burnt orange. Something stylish but fast.”
“You have a car,” Liam said as he slid in beside me.
Nathan got in the driver’s seat. Brax joined him up front.
I blew a raspberry at the vampire by my side. “That’s not a car; it’s a leash with wheels. Besides, it’s pretty much useless when you can’t afford to fill it with gas.”
Liam gave me a thoughtful look, grabbing me when I lunged forward with the intent to turn on the music.
“Stop that,” he ordered.
“It’s boring driving in silence. At least turn on the music,” I whined.
“Yeah,” Caroline echoed.
Nathan’s shoulders shook as Liam gave a long-suffering sigh.
Brax reached forward and flipped the radio on, turning it to a pop rock station. Caroline and I let out twin cheers, dancing along with the music as Nathan turned down a side street, winding his way in the same direction I’d come earlier in the night.
I bounced to the music, watching the neighborhood outside Liam’s window as I wondered why we’d taken this way. We reached a part of the song that I loved and I forgot about my question, belting out the lyrics with Caroline matching me word for word.
We’d just hit the final chorus when there was a whoosh of sound. Glass shattered and the Escalade flipped.
Caroline screamed, a short burst of sound as we went weightless for a stomach-churning moment. Then we hit, the side of the Escalade crunching. We went airborne again, landing on the roof.
Liam grabbed me, his arms hard bands around my chest and waist as he tried to keep me from careening all over the car.
My arm flew up, hitting the roof. Something snapped in the wrist, a brief spot of pain that stole my voice.
Several seconds of terror and confusion later, the Escalade slid to a stop on its roof, the metal screeching in protest.
I lay there stunned, thanking my lucky stars I was a vampire and that Liam was there to keep me from breaking my neck. Had I been human, the crash might have been the end of me.
Caroline flipped herself upright, her eyes flashing amber as her wolf pressed close to the surface. I stilled, remembering when Caroline’s wolf had tried to kill me.
She had a lot more control over her other side now, but while hurt and in pain, there was no telling what the wolf might do.
Caroline reached out and touched my hand, the wolf receding as concern appeared. “Aileen, are you okay?”
“Think so,” I said, wiggling in Liam’s arms. “Liam? You still breathing?”
His eyes flashed open, power giving them a slight glow as he looked me over. For a moment, I froze, painfully aware I was in the presence of an apex predator, one that was as deadly as it was unpredictable.
