“Look for what?”The perfect car to hide my body in?
“A steering wheel.” He grinned, taking one of the lights and strapping it onto me, the light centered on my forehead. He stood up and moved to the side, then reached in and flicked on the lamp. A brilliant beam tunneled through the night.
Even with the brightness fighting shadows, I didn’t move.
“Let’s go, night’s a-waste’n.” Kane was almost bouncing with trapped energy.
I hadn’t been around him much since arriving, but his behavior didn’t seem in character. I didn’t know what he would do with this mania, and I didn’t want to find out. What if he pulled an Asher and… tried to turn me to ash?
I swung my legs out, deciding the salvage yard was better than pissing off a nutso Alpha. Sitting sideways on the seat, I peered around for a moment.I really did not want to go in there. It looked so freaking creepy.
The ground was a sea of sharp gravel. The junkyard would probably be worse terrain. And Kane didn’t care if I got hurt.
My bare feet dangled out of the truck, looking ghostly. Frowning down at them, I steeled myself for what was going to be, undoubtedly, a painful walk. But when I finally went to slip off the seat, Kane’s hands shot up, fingers wrapping around my waist and pushing me back.
“Wait a minute,” he said, voice barely pitched above a whisper. He sounded like he was going to do something he shouldn’t. I stiffened, waiting for some new degradation.
He darted to the bed of the truck, pulling down the tailgate. I heard scuffing and scraping, then the tailgate slamming back into place. When he came back into view, he held a giant pair of filthy boots. I think, once upon a time, they were black. Now they were a dusty, faded grey.
“They’re huge,” I said without thinking, accidentally glancing up at the perfect angle for the headlamp to shine in Kane’s eyes. He raised the boots, covering his face until I lowered my head.
“You’re more than welcome to walk barefoot around broken windshields and busted metal.” He offered sarcastically, blinking back residual brightness, as if he wasn’t the reason why I was out here without shoes to begin with.
“Thank you. I appreciate them,” I spoke in a rush, grabbing the boots before he could change his mind and take them away.
“Could have let your feet get tore up. And you complain about the size,” Kane grumbled, turning away from me to face the junkyard. He switched on his own headlamp, adjusting the fit before crossing his arms and waiting.
I made quick work of slipping into the oversized shoes. They were gritty on the inside, as if they’d never gotten clean after a beach trip. I laced them as tightly as I could and lowered myself to the ground. The shoes flopped around my too-small feet. I wasn’t sure if, in the end, the blisters I’d probably get from wearing them would be better than bloody soles from glass shards.
But Kane was already striding away from me, and I didn’t want to stay alone by the truck. In the dark. Next to a parts cemetery. With a strange man staring at us from a dimly lit trailer.
I moved after him awkwardly, trying to keep my feet inside the boots.
My eyes locked on Kane’s large back.
I really thought you might be different. I hate being wrong.
I hate that I didn’t listen to Doctor Swann.
44
KANE
Otto’s Salvage Yard.
I didn’t greetOtto as Lucy and I walked past him. I’d texted I was coming; he’d sent a thumbs up per usual. When we talked more than that, it was about a part I couldn’t dig out of his treasure trove of a junkyard myself. Though, when I got a part the easy way, it ended up gathering dust in the garage.
The tall gate leading into the back salvage yard hung ajar so I could come and go freely. The old hinges protested loudly as I pushed the chain link entrance fully inward.
The scent of old, road-worn oil and rubber filled my lungs as I inhaled deeply. Even when I felt like I was losing my mind, I could come here and feel better.Better enough not to do something drastic. Better enough not to let my darker thoughts come to life.Lately, I’d been either here at Otto’s or under a car back home tinkering away—usually making the problem worse.
I couldn’t pinpoint why I felt so restless tonight or why I needed Lucy here with me, but whatever crawled up my ass had bloated my body with manic energy. So, here I was—tiny Omega in tow—venturing into the twisted mess of rusted metal. I hadn’tplanned it; I’d just woken her up on a whim. Maybe it was the pressure from Nitro and Asher’s relentless ribbing about how I wasn’t living up to my reputation… no,our reputation. DemonX had a certain vibe, and mercy and avoidance didn’t make the cut.
“Stop being a pussy, Kane. Look at her. You could petrify her with your eyes closed.” Nitro punched my arm with one fist; the vodka held in his other hand sloshed over the rim.
“Don’t ask him to do the impossible.” Asher joined in, glancing up from where he was burning old mail in the fireplace.
“True—” Nitro took a large gulp of Vodka— “once a pussy, always a pussy.”
