“My life span is much longer than yours. Rest assured I’m old enough to be his mother.”
“Life span? No voices have ever spoken as crazy as you.” He laughed without humor. “That means you must be real.”
“I am.”
They drove in silence. A few times, Gray pried his gaze away from the window and glanced at her. Whenever his eyes landed on her, a warm glow spread through her body. It had to be the aftereffects of the adrenaline.
She was a widow and a mother. That had been her identity for so long, she didn’t know anything different.
She glanced in the rearview mirror. Well, damn. They had company.
Chapter Two
Gray swallowed hard. The woman next to him clenched her hand around the steering wheel, and the corners of her eyes pinched as she squinted into the rearview mirror.
He ducked his head to peek into the side mirror. It wasn’t long before he picked out two dark vehicles weaving through traffic to stay behind them.
“We’re being followed.” He didn’t have to ask. The behavior of the cars was so obvious that he didn’t question what he was seeing.
He should be questioning much more about the night, but it all seemed too real. The sights, the smells, the striking beauty of the woman next to him, it was all unlike any hallucination he’d experienced before. And, he feared, that was because it was reality.
Cassie was in danger.
He wanted to demand answers from Jace’s mom, but she was right. He would have a hard time believing anything she said. When it came from Cassie’s mouth, he’d be able to believe.
He might need to schedule another session with his doc, though.
“The people who are after you are certainly determined.” She increased her speed and took the next two sharp rights. If it weren’t for the tightness in her jaw, and the white knuckles around the steering wheel, he wouldn’t have known she was concerned. She drove steadily and kept her actions from drawing attention.
“Just tell me one thing. Is Cassie safe with Jace?” Because none of the rest mattered—the hallucinations, the voices, the man busting into his house, none of it. His main priority would always be his daughter’s safety.
Sometimes his disease fooled him about whether her life was truly in danger. The worst was after Lillian had died and he’d thought the government was spying on him. He’d uprooted her and they’d lived off the grid. A young girl missing school because her dad was delusional. Her safety was paramount, but he had to distinguish between real danger and his disease.
Jace’s mom pinned him with her vivid blue gaze. It was clear where her son had gotten his icy-blue eyes. “My boy would give his life for her. But he shouldn’t need to, because he’s one of the most excellent fighters I’ve ever known. He got that from his father,” she murmured.
According to Cassie, Jace had lost his dad and brother years ago. But pain still rang in this woman’s voice. It must be how he sounded when he mentioned his late wife.
“I never did get your name,” he said. “I’m Gray Stockwell.”
The corner of her mouth worked. “Armana Troye—Miller. Well, my real last name is Troye, but I’ve been going by Miller since I lost my ma—husband.”
Was it his imagination or did a fleeting look of guilt cross her face? “It sounds like there’s a story there, too.”
“We all have stories. Not all of us get happy endings, but oh, do we have stories. It’s the life of my kind, I guess.”
“Is your kind different from that man that broke into my house?” The direction of this conversation was surreal. He should be questioning himself more than he was. He should already have his doctor’s number dialed and the phone to his ear.
Her mouth flattened in a hard line. “Unfortunately, we are the same.”
Gray went back to staring out the window and peering into the side mirror. A black sedan was still on their tail.
“I see it,” Armana said. “If I can’t lose him, we may be forced to choose a different route back to Cassie.”
“Which would be?” All he knew was that Cassie lived outside of West Creek. What other route could they take to her? Boat? She hadn’t mentioned living that close to the river.
“On foot through the woods, and with you that would be a serious disadvantage.”
He tensed and squeezed his eyes shut. Running for his life through the woods only brought back unhappy memories. For years he’d clung to the time he got to spend with Cassie before she was taken away, but he’d never forgotten the reason they were out there in the first place. He did his best to avoid remembering, lest he return to that dark mental place he’d been in after Lillian had died.
“What’s wrong?” Armana asked sharply. “Can you run? Are you afraid of the woods?”
“No, I’m much too comfortable there.” The call to live off the grid had been like a siren song. It was hard to think of a wilderness hike and not worry his paranoia would return. His tendency toward isolation was bad enough.
He’d never made friends easily. The nature of his disease made it hard for him to trust. After Cassie had been put into foster care, he’d concentrated on healing himself to get her back. By the time that had happened, she’d been an adult and his priority had been building a relationship with her. Now she lived out of town, and they only got together a few times a month, nothing more than an hour or two for lunch or dinner.
The extent of his life was work and home. To break things up, he had a gym membership and went for runs—within city limits. He kept his coworkers at arm’s length because he didn’t want to share any of his past with them. It was refreshing to be thought of as just a normal guy.
“You make it sound bad,” Armana said. “But I assure you, any advantage you can give us will help us reach Cassie alive.”
“Perhaps I should’ve pressed for more of the story,” he muttered. Still didn’t matter, though. He had his medication, Armana said Cassie was safe for the moment, and he could do nothing about his past. All he needed to concentrate on was getting to Cassie without leading these people to her doorstep.
Dammit. He hadn’t grabbed his phone as he was running out. He should call Cassie to verify that Armana was who she said she was.
“Do you have a phone?” he asked.
She shot him another stare that rivaled her son’s glacial gaze. “Why?”
He went with honesty. “I should verify who you are.”
She tapped the console but kept her eyes on the road. That boded well, but at the same time it didn’t make him feel better. Part of him hoped he was the only one wrapped up in a situation of his mind’s making. But that she was willing to let him call Cassie meant that his daughter was embroiled in this as well.
He dug out her phone and dialed Cassie’s number. When she answered he couldn’t find words or think of what he should say.
Armana plucked the phone out of his hand. “Yes, Cassie. Your father wasn’t hallucinating. We are on our way but we’re being followed.” She paused. “Shifter. No. You stay right where you’re at. It won’t do either of us any good if he has to worry about you. Can you reassure him about who I am?” Armana handed the phone back.
He stared at it for a heartbeat before putting it to his ear. “Peanut?”
“I’m really sorry, Dad.” His daughter’s voice was a relief. “I can explain everything when you get here, but I need you to listen to Armana and get here safely.”
“You know who these people following us are?” It would make him feel better to know their identity. He had no weapons—he was lucky he’d left the house with his shoes on—and this wasn’t his vehicle. Information was his best advantage.
“They aren’t like you and I. They’re like Jace and his mom, and all the people Jace works with. Most of them, anyway. Can you do what Armana says?”
Meaning could he hold it together and not run away, thinking the government was after him? He took a quick inventory of himself. Despite the uncertainty of the last few days when h
e’d been plagued with anxiety about a relapse, he felt complete, whole. Healthy inside and out.
“Yes, but only for you,” he said.
“Dad…you’re going to find out things that will blow your mind but hang in there. Please.” The worry that infused that last word broke his heart. He’d caused that.
“Can these people get to you where you’re at?”
Cassie’s hard laugh was one he hadn’t heard from her before. “One, they’d sorely regret it if they tried. Two, I suspect they’re after you because they can’t get to me here, or get to Jace anywhere.”
Armana held her hand out and waggled her fingers. Gray frowned at them, but she lifted her chin toward the phone. Oh.
“Love you to the moon and back, peanut. Armana needs to talk to you again.”
Armana took the phone. “Have you talked to Jace?” Pause. “I will talk to him first. Any details I can find out, the better.” She handed the phone back to him. “Look for Jace in my contacts and call him.”
She steered over the bridge into West Creek. If they were going to have to make a run for it, she’d be stopping soon. Gray slowly inhaled, counted to four, held it for a second, and released while counting to four again. He found Jace’s name and hit dial. Armana snatched it out of his hand and put it to her ear.
He switched his concentration to their surroundings. Back into the woods. A place he had avoided. They were still inside city limits, but he dreaded the moment he was surrounded by trees again. What if they were a trigger for him and brought back the voices telling him he needed to run, to save himself and his daughter? In this situation, it’d hit too close to the truth.
Armana’s lilting words invaded his thoughts. She had a nice voice, strong and confident. He shook his head. This wasn’t the time to notice such things.
She rattled off what had happened, from Cassie’s anxiety after their talk to the man in his house to where they were now. She said the word shifter again. What did that mean?
“Any ideas who they are and what we’re up against?” Her gaze flicked from the rearview mirror to the road stretching in front of them. Just when he thought she’d keep going straight out of town, she took a right. Their pursuers hung back. They had to know they’d been spotted. Were they trying to avoid being seen, or were they messing with his and Armana’s minds?
Armana ended the call and tucked the phone into her pants pocket. Her black jeans molded themselves to every curve; it was a marvel that her phone could fit.
“Did Jace have any information?” And how are you old enough to be his mother? Not one line marked her face, but there were hints around her eyes that if she smiled they would crease as her eyes twinkled.
He’d love to see her smile.
No. He swiveled his gaze back out the passenger window. He missed his wife and he was lonely, but that was no excuse for dwelling on how beautiful Armana was. His daughter was married to her son.
“Jace is like a police officer for our people.” Armana took a left and then another quick left. He doubted it would help. Before her first left, he spotted the car. “He said he’s been working on a case involving human trafficking. The males involved are especially crafty and brutal. And greedy.” She glanced at him. “There’s a lot of money in the flesh trade.”
“And he’s getting too close, so the guys he’s after want to steal his woman?”
Armana nodded, her features tight. “An eye for an eye. He stole product from them, so they’ll steal what they can back.”
Jace is like a police officer. Cassie had described his profession in a similar way but more like security. “If Jace isn’t a police officer, then what is he? Is he a federal agent, is that why you’re all secretive?” Is that what they meant by our kind?
“He is all of them rolled into one. We aren’t like you. We can’t be policed in the way humans are.”
“You keep referring to humans. What are you?” He couldn’t hide the rise of his temper; it lashed out with his words.
She blew out a gusty breath. “Fine. We’re shifters.”
“Shifters of what?”
“Into a wolf.” She yanked the wheel to the right and he had to grab the oh shit handle before he slammed into the door.
“Shift…into a wolf?” It didn’t make sense.
“You’ll see soon enough.” She stomped on the gas. Residential buildings turned into blue-collar businesses. Service centers. Storage units. Fly-by-night auto sales. They were heading out of town. “Our life spans are longer, much longer. That’s why I don’t look much older than Jace, but I am. We are also wilder, more savage. No matter how civilized the rest of the world gets, we can’t outrun our nature. We live in hiding as much as possible, and people like Jace protect us from humans, humans from us, and us from each other.”
She didn’t sound crazy, and Cassie wasn’t the type to reside with people who lived in a delusion. He tried to buy into it, but he couldn’t.
“How much longer do you live?” It seemed like the simplest question he could ask.
“Centuries.”
Well, that was hard to believe. “So you’re saying that Jace will outlive Cassie by centuries?”
“No, their souls are linked together. When one dies, the other dies.”
“Bullshit.” On top of worrying about Cassie, he couldn’t worry about Jace and that his death would steal Cassie away. What she described wasn’t possible.
Their speed crept higher. Trees were closing in around them on either side of the road. His lungs constricted and he squeezed his fists.
It was just a drive; it didn’t mean he was going back in time.
“Not that I wouldn’t be working to keep Cassie safe, but you can imagine that getting to her would solve the traffickers’ problems with Jace several ways.”
“And these people after us are shifters?”
“Some of the nastiest. And that’s saying a lot.”
“Is there anyone else they can go after?” If he bought their story, it would make sense that Cassie was a target. But why him? Whatever the reason, he was oddly grateful. Because that meant they couldn’t get to his daughter.
“Shifters don’t mate with humans very often. We prefer to live in villages, surrounded by our own kind. But because of our past, Jace was raised in the human world.” She lifted her shoulder. “Which turned out well I guess, since his mate is human. But he is a Guardian and those he’s after will target any weak points. Cassie would be his weakness, but she’s surrounded by other Guardians, so that leaves you.”
If all this was true, the way Cassie had been acting since she had met Jace made sense. How could it be true? It was absurd.
Absurd or not, he was on the run and he couldn’t lead them back to Cassie. He glared at the trees around him. He was not his past self. He was strong, and he was as mentally sound as he could get. The woods would not trigger him.
Cassie’s lying to you.
He squeezed his eyes shut for a heartbeat and opened them. He had reconciled that he was fully immersed in reality, but now the voices taunted him. Was his indecision prompting them?
Did it matter? He had to get to Cassie. He’d deal with the rest later.
Chapter Three
Armana had taken the highway out of town on the opposite end of West Creek from where the Guardian lodge was. She’d needed time to formulate a plan. She had to shed her clothes, shift, and keep Gray from losing his shit when he saw her turn into a wolf. That would be hard for any human to take, much less one with his history.
Gray was handling all of this quite well. She’d love to listen to his thoughts. Was he still deciding whether he should believe her or not? Was he planning to bolt as soon as she stopped the car? Because that would endanger both of them if she had to chase after him while evading the shifters following them.
She might as well ask him and sniff out whether he was lying or not. Then she’d know if she had to prepare to chase after him. “You’re handling this quite well.”
“
There is no other way to handle this. I have to get to Cassie. I’ve seen the evidence myself that someone’s after me, and you seem like the best way to keep danger from her doorstep.”
He smelled sincere. His scent was fresh and clean, like the first few minutes after a summer rain. She missed those times when she’d frolic in the meadow after a thunderstorm. Once the kids had come along, she and Bane hadn’t had many opportunities, but when they’d run together, they’d made those moments count.
Being chased wasn’t the time to remember the good times, the carefree moments in the years before death knocked on her door. And doing so after admiring how good Gray looked and smelled seemed inappropriate. The word “sexy” hovered on the edge of her mind and she had no business thinking about Gray like that.
Gray sounded calm and collected now, but what would he do when she sprouted fur?
She turned off the highway onto a dirt road and floored it. Rocks sprayed up from the rear wheels. The dust cloud wouldn’t hide them, but she had to make her way as close to Guardian land as she could get. The shorter the distance Gray had to run, the better their chances.
Gray gripped the dashboard and clenched a fist around the handle attached to the roof as she stomped on the brakes to turn and then sped up again. During her downtimes, she’d had nothing to do but run these woods, but she hadn’t gone out as often as she should’ve. By now, she should’ve known this land just as well as she had known her old village.
She couldn’t see the car behind her anymore, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there. It also didn’t mean that he hadn’t called in reinforcements.
She turned onto a county maintenance road that was nothing more than two parallel lines worn in the grass that wound between the trees. The car bumped along and the pills clattered in Gray’s bottles. He released the dash to scoop up the meds and hug them to his chest.
The trees were getting closer together and the foliage thicker. She found a spot where the underbrush grew high but where she could wedge the car between a couple trees and still be able to open the doors.
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