“But you’re both okay?”
“Yeah, we’re on the road. Where should we pick you up?”
“We took one of their vehicles,” she said, glancing at me. “You two need to return to base. We’ll meet you there. I don’t want to say more because this channel might not be secure.”
“Understood.”
The comm went silent, and Jolyn ran a hand over her face, smearing her dark makeup until freckles poked through. “We’ve got to ditch this truck as soon as possible. If those were my brother’s guys, and that seems a certainty, it’ll have a tracker on it.”
“Yeah, okay. Makes sense.” My thumbs tapped the steering wheel in agitation.
“Let’s look for a Walmart, people always leave cars there. Or somewhere else we can change this for a different vehicle.”
As the road behind us remained clear, the tension in my body released little by little. I slowed and took a right, heading north, then accelerated again. Turning on the headlights, I kept my eye on the speedometer, trying to keep close to the speed limit. Now wouldn’t be the time to get stopped by cops.
I dug out my phone from my back pocket and passed it to her. “Tell me when we get service. I have to talk to Walker.” And my mom.
She nodded, turning it on. “Nothing yet.”
Rolling my shoulders, I removed my helmet and set it on the seat beside me. The wind from the back window chilled the sweat on my neck, but it felt good to be rid of the headgear. I glanced at Jolyn. She hadn’t relaxed, her eyes darting all around, into the ditches of the road where the headlights bounced off trees and bushes and beyond, then behind us every few seconds.
The reality of what we’d survived sank into my bones. The adrenaline rush gave way to shaking fingers. I tightened my hands on the wheel. My bear was surprisingly quiet, probably the result of being safe for now. There’d been moments where I thought he’d take over completely.
And wouldn’t that have been something—shifting into a grizzly while driving a truck. I couldn’t think of a worse way to tell Jolyn about the other side of me.
Focusing on something else was probably wise. I cleared my throat. “You admitted to having a crush on Kane, earlier.”
A huffy breath left her lips. “After what we went through you want to bring that up now?” She shook her head, like she wasn’t going to admit to it, then said, “Big time.”
I thought it was all she was going to say on it when she went on. “After he beat up Tom Akins for hitting me, I kind of idolized him.” Her posture stiffened. “Until I saw him transform that day.”
My stomach squeezed. This had been a bad question to ask. I wanted her to stop talking, but she kept going. “It’s kind of like a violent splash of freezing water straight in the face to see someone change into a bear.” She let out an awkward chuckle. “I never really understood it, how you could be friends with those who had the potential to rip out your throat in a heartbeat.”
The nausea in my stomach returned. She might be more receptive to knowing there were shifters in the world, but it didn’t mean she’d left all her prejudices behind.
“But now,” she added, “I don’t know how it’s any different than regular people. Emerson doesn’t blink when he hurts someone. Your friends probably aren’t even close to the same as him.”
“They aren’t psychopaths, no.” I couldn’t say more, my throat too tight. No matter how much I cared about Jolyn, I realized I could never be completely honest with her about who I was. I tried not to think about what that meant.
My heart aching, I pressed my lips together and took another right, hoping we’d see that Walmart. The sooner we got rid of this truck, the better. And we needed to make those calls.
Movement in the rearview mirror caught my attention. I stiffened, shifting my eyes again.Bloody hell.“I don’t think we’ll need to ditch the truck.”
Jolyn turned to me. “Why is that?”
“There’s someone following us.”
17
JOLYN
“You’ve finished your degree,now’s the time to find a job.”
“But at Urick Enterprises? It makes no sense. He’ll know I’m there for you. He’ll see right through me.”
“Then it’s your job to convince him otherwise.” Emerson gripped my jaw between two fingers, forcing me to meet his eyes. “We need to learn how much he knows about these freaks. There will be something there, either in his personal or business life, for you to find. Keep your eyes and ears open.”
I ripped my chin from his grasp. “I’m telling you, he won’t hire me.”
