Scanning the dark street, he said, “I’m aware.”
I started to look for my keys halfway to the car, so we could get away quickly, but of course my bulbous keychain chose that moment to play hide-and-seek.
Because I wasn’t watching where I was going, my boot caught on a mound of snow. I gasped as gravity slurped me up and then I gasped again as a hand cinched my bicep, keeping me from faceplanting.
In spite of the strain around Liam’s mouth, a faint smile appeared. “Tell me you’re steadier on four paws?” A cloud drifted over the stars, painting the man still holding me in shades of silvery grays and glittery blacks. “Nikki?”
I snapped out of my trance and slid my arm from his grip. “Um. Yeah.” That didnotsound convincing. I dropped my gaze to my bag just as a phone beam sliced across the inside. “Good thinking.” The light caught on my cherry key-charm. I hooked it, then led Liam to where I’d parked in front of Hair of the Wolf.
As I stuck the key inside the handle and twisted, Liam asked, “Key fob not working?”
“Not since Niall rolled over it. But it wasn’t working all too well when Nash and Nolan inherited the car from Nate.” I clicked the doors open. Before climbing in, I said, “You’re man enough to be driven, right?”
His lips quirked again. “Depends. Do you drive better than you walk?”
I smiled. “Yes.”
He held my car door open. “Actually, how many drinks did you have?”
I bit my lip. Even with my wolf metabolism, I probably shouldn’t have been driving. Not with snow on the ground and very little food in my stomach. I slapped the furry cherry into his palm and circled the front bumper.
As I strapped myself in and Liam started the car, I asked, “Wasn’t there someone guarding the cells?”
He pulled out of the parking spot, gaze taped to the road.
“Liam?”
The dashboard illuminated his profile, highlighted his prominent Adam’s apple.
Goosebumps rose in waves across my skin. “Wasn’t it Niall’s shift?”
Liam’s eyes flicked to me, then back to the road. “He’s the one who called. He’s fine. Your parents are with him.”
“Why are my parents . . .?” I couldn’t even finish the sentence, because there was only one reason they’d be with my brother. “What happened to him?”
“The coroner pretended to go into cardiac arrest. Niall went in and got caught unawares. The man shut him inside and then freed his wife. To get out, Niall had tohandlethe silver lock.”
My fingers wrapped around my seat belt, strangled it. “He wasn’t bitten or anything?”
“No.”
The breaths, which had jammed in my chest, all escaped at the very same time. “Is he still at the bunker?”
“No, he’s at the compound clinic.” Liam turned the car without putting on his blinkers and raced too fast up the plowed driveway.
Like last time, the gate was already sliding open when we reached it.
“So, what’s the plan?”
Liam cocked a brow. “The plan?”
“The coroner and his wife are on the loose. Even if they’re back in skin, I imagine you don’t want them roaming around Beaver Creek.”
“I’ve got five trackers canvasing the woods. As soon as I drop you off, there’ll be six.”
“Seven.”
“Nikki . . .” There was a growl in his voice.
