Janelle
watched the play of emotions on his face. First, disbelief, then denial, then
after he looked again at the fingermarks on his wrist, a slow acceptance. She
felt her face pale at his stare and
swallowed. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave, now.”
He
reached to catch her arm, but when she frowned, he stopped just before he
touched her and raised both hands, palms toward her. “Wait.” He cleared his
throat. “I don’t understand. What do you mean, ‘not human?’”
She
glanced around and saw some officers watching. “Please put your hands down,”
she murmured.
Nodding,
he lowered his hands to the steering wheel. His right thumb began to tap a
rapid beat before he suddenly stilled it. “Okay. I’m calm.” He swallowed again,
then rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t understand. Please explain what you
mean.”
Janelle
ran both hands, fingers splayed, through her hair, and twisted it up off her
neck. She wished she had something to secure it. The heat was almost
unbearable. Right hand still holding her hair up, she sighed. “If you’ll drive
me somewhere else, I’ll try to answer your questions. But,” she stopped and
gave him a warning look, “if you’re caught with me, they will try to kill you.
And likely succeed.”
He
met her gaze for a long moment, then nodded. Turning the ignition key, he
backed out of the parking space, and then drove to the exit. Stopping at the
stop sign, he glanced at her. “Mind telling me where we’re going?”
“I
don’t know,” she said, then shrugged. “Turn left and go to the Interstate. Some
of my people are in Oklahoma. They may take me in.”
“Oklahoma?
That’s at least six hours from here.”
She
nodded, and let her hair drop. “They’re the closest. The next closest are in
Arkansas or Colorado. You can drop me off, any time you’re ready to go back.
I’ll find my way.”
Even
with her Lycan hearing, she couldn’t
quite catch the words he mumbled under his breath. “What?”
“I
said, I’m not letting you go until I know you’re safe.” The belligerent tilt of
his chin told her that was not what he said.
She
felt a grin start to form on her lips and forced her lips into a straight line.
Yup, both insolence, and concern.
Two
hours later, the hum of the motor stopped, and she woke with a start when the
detective touched her hand. “We’re in Georgetown. I thought you might be
hungry.”
Blinking
rapidly in the afternoon sun that streamed through her window, she sat up
straight and looked around. He pulled into a sandwich shop and parked on the back side, where they couldn’t be seen from
the Interstate.
“I
didn’t intend to go to sleep.”
He
nodded, a frown furrowing his forehead, as well as turning the corners of his
mouth down. “How long have you been running from these, uh...hunters?”
Tears
filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Looking at her hands, she
swallowed. “I’m not sure. A day...maybe two.” She took a deep breath and
squared her shoulders. “I’m okay. Did you say something about eating? I don’t
have any money, and they are tracking my accounts. That’s how they found me,
this time.”
“Okay.
I’ll buy, and you can owe me one, later.” He unbuckled
and started to get out.
“We
can’t stay here. They’ll find us.”
“We
can stay long enough to take a bathroom break and grab some food. Let’s go.”
“You
don’t understand. There’re children in there. If they find us here, some will
be hurt, or even killed.” She swallowed again, a vision of pack children torn
limb from limb, their hearts torn from
their chests. Shuddering, she shook her head and pushed the memories away.
“Bathroom break, and then I’m gone. If you want to stay, I’ll understand.”
Janelle
opened the SUV door and strode toward the restaurant door. She ignored him when
he caught up with her and opened the door
for her. Once inside, she took a right down the hall to the restroom. After
freshening up a bit, she splashed water on her face. “I won’t cry, again,” she
told herself sternly. “I won’t. They’re gone, and there’s nothing I can do
about it.” After a few ragged breaths, she snatched a paper towel from the
dispenser and wiped the water from her face.
Determined,
she turned toward the door. She found the detective waiting for her. When she
started to step around him, he gently caught her left arm. “You’re exhausted,
and probably starving. Let’s get something to go, and you can eat in the car.”
Janelle
started to shake her head, then gave him a rueful grin when her stomach decided
to growl. “I guess it won’t hurt to get something to eat.”
He
nodded and led her to the counter. Both ordered sandwiches, chips, and sodas to
go. He paid with cash, and they left.
After
taking a sip of his soda, he glanced at her. “Will they know you are going to
Oklahoma?”
Janelle
nodded. “They know where the closest pack is and that I will not be safe until
I reach them.”
“So,
they’ll be looking for you on I-35. I think we’ll go a more circuitous route,
then.” Outside of Georgetown, he took the exit for Florence and drove over the
bridge. “There’s a little church house out here in the middle of nowhere. We
can stop there to eat.”
“You’ve
been here before.”
“Yes.
I have family in the area.” He turned right off the highway, drove another
seven miles, and pulled into the parking lot of the small, run-down church
building. Again, he drove to the back of the property, to ensure passersby
wouldn’t notice them.
After
turning off the engine, he opened the food sack and handed her a sandwich and a
small bag of chips. “I hope you don’t mind the calories. You look like you
could use some food, so...” He shrugged.
Janelle
grinned. “Not human, remember. My metabolism is so fast I actually need the
extra calories.”
Unwrapping
her sandwich, she took a bite and enjoyed the melding flavors of the cheeses
and sandwich meats. For several minutes, there was no discussion. When she
reached the bottom of her soda, slurping the last bit through the straw, she
heard him clear his throat. She looked up to find his gaze on her.
“Okay,
now that you are awake and not starving, it’s time to tell me what is going on.
If not...I’m driving to the nearest PD for help.”
She
rattled the ice in her soda cup, set it in the console cup holder, and turned
to face him. His left thumb started thumping the steering wheel again. With a
pointed look at his hand, she sighed. “Please don’t do that. It distracts me.”
His
hand stilled, and he raised his right eyebrow. “Okay. I stopped. Now, talk. Who
were those two men? Why are they hunting you? Why don’t you want to go to the
police for protection?”
“They
are ancient enemies of my people. Usually, they are no threat to us, but,” she
caught her breath, and forcibly controlled the tears that again threatened
“They, their people, drugged my pack.
While they were incapacitated, they killed them. All of them.” She swallowed and felt as if she was swallowing
glass. “All of them,” she whispered, her throat tight. “Even the children.”
The
frown that creased his forehead was back. He pursed his lips as if he wasn’t
sure he believed her. “So, how did you get away?”
“I
wasn’t there.” Straightening an imaginary crease in her jeans, she swallowed
again. “My Alpha, I mean, my brother gave me permission to go to school. He
thought it would help us if one of us had more knowledge of finance and
business. I was at school when they attacked. Otherwise, I would be dead, too.”
Unbidden, the tears she fought for so long started trickling down her face.
“All of them. Limbs torn off, hearts ripped out...all dead. Even the
children...” She couldn’t talk anymore. For the first time since she returned
to the ranch and found her family destroyed, she sobbed, shoulders heaving,
face in her hands.
.
