“Okay, well we need to get the fuck out of here,” he replied, casual as anything like he didn’t just execute an unarmed man minutes ago. “Come on. I need to get back in cell range to call this in.”
He offered his hand, and I took it without even thinking about what I was doing, allowing him to pull me to my feet. Myknees wobbled dangerously, though, as I took a few steps toward the car.
“Call it in?” I repeated, shivering. “To the police?”
Connor didn’t reply as he opened the passenger side door and gently pushed me into the seat. The car was all black leather and smelled like cigarette smoke. Disgusting. My teeth chattered as Connor buckled my seat belt for me like I was a helpless child, then firmly closed my door.
He circled around to the driver's side and slid inside.
“Evelyn?” he said after a moment of silence. I hugged myself tighter, trying to control my shivers as I stared out into the woods. Connor gave a frustrated sigh. “Brat, snap out of it. You’re in shock.”
I swallowed hard. Shock? No shit. He’d just killed a guy in cold blood.
“I know,” I whispered, keeping the snark inside my head simply because I lacked the energy to unleash.
Connor grumbled something under his breath, then jerked off his black hoodie and tossed it over to me. “Use this as a blanket. You’ll be fine once we get some distance.” He didn’t wait for me to do what I was told, just started the car up and sped away from the crime scene with dust flying from the tires.
Numb and sluggish, I snuggled into the warm fabric of his sweatshirt as he tapped the climate control to turn up the heating. It took maybe ten minutes, but eventually my trembles did subside just like he’d said.
But in the absence of shock, logic crept its way back in.
“You murdered that man,” I said out loud, turning my face to stare at Connor in disbelief. “You shot him. In the head. He was unarmed and?—”
“And he deserved it,” Connor replied, utterly unrepentant. “Don’t cry over spilled milk. He’s done worse to plenty of better people.”
I had nothing to say to that. Absolutely nothing. I justhuddled lower in the seat of the stolen car and stared out the window blankly. Trees after trees passed the window, none of it looking familiar in the least. Or all of it. We could be in the next state or just down the road for all I knew of the area.
“Didn’t you need to call the police?” I reminded him after some time driving.
Connor glanced over at me, his gaze dark before flicking his eyes back to the road. “No. But I do need to makeacall. Can you keep your mouth shut or do I need to wait until we’re back at school?”
My lips parted in outrage. “I’m not a child, Connor. How far are we from Meadowridge anyway?”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug, checking the time on his watch. “Five or so hours.” He seemed to debate his options for a moment, then sighed for what felt like the thousandth time. “Just stay quiet, alright? No talking, no noises, nothing. Am I clear?”
I scowled and folded my arms beneath his hoodie. “Crystal.”
“Fine,” he growled, then brought up the Bluetooth phone display on the car’s dash. Using the steering wheel controls, he cycled through to the most recent phone number and clicked redial. It rang for just a few moments before it was answered.
“You get it done?” The voice was vaguely familiar, and it only took me a moment to place it as the tatted guy in the woods. Elijah. I stifled a small gasp, realizing that Connor wasn’t calling forhelp; he was calling to gloat.
His sharp glare told me even that was too much noise, and I covered my mouth with my own hand to prevent it happening again.
“You could say that,” Connor replied with a dark chuckle. “Sorry about your man, Elijah. He seemed dispensable, though, or you wouldn’t have sent him alone.”
A short silence filled the phone line, then a muttered curse. “You motherfucker. He wasn’t going to kill you, just?—”
“I know,” Connor cut him off. “Doesn’t change how dead he is now, though, does it? I’ve warned you once before, Elijah, you’re getting too big for your boots. It’s time you remember your place in the pecking order. One. Dead. Man. At a time.”
Holyshit, he sounded like an actual honest-to-god psychopath.
“Listen…Connor…we fucked up, all right? I can see that now. Between you and me, we got hired for a job at your fancy school and just needed you out of the way for a couple of days. It was harmless, right? Just drop you off across state lines and leave you to walk home. You didn’t need to go killing anyone.” Elijah sounded like he was on the ground, rolled over to expose his belly to the alpha wolf. Submissive and whining.
Connor’s hands flexed on the steering wheel, his knuckles white as he strangled the leather. “What. Job?”
“Nothing to do with you, Connor, I swear. It’s just a little harmless kidnap-ransom shit. Some chick. We just didn’t want you messing up the payday, you know? It’s just business.” More whining. Fucking hell, this was the guy who’d stuffed us in a trunk at gunpoint?
Connor’s jaw clenched so hard, I could hear his teeth grinding and I reached out to touch his arm without really thinking about what I was doing. The touch startled him and his death grip on the steering wheel instantly loosened as he shot me a confused glance.
