“Oh, you poor dear.” He leaned close, breathing against my cheek. I shut my eyes and turned away. I could get through this. Whatever he planned, I could get through it.
His teeth rubbed against my jawline just before a fang dug in. It felt like a pinch.
I screamed, arching my back to thrash away, not caring about him or the s
ilver, just wanting to get away.
He held me too well, pinned against the length of the backseat, my arms immobile under me. I wasn’t getting away. He licked the wound he’d made. Then, laughing, he straightened.
“My, you are high-strung, aren’t you? Don’t worry, as much fun as it might be, this isn’t what the evening has in store for you.”
Howl, claw, bite, Change, run away . . .
No. Couldn’t let Wolf out, couldn’t let her panic overwhelm me. Keep it together, stay in my body, my human body. I didn’t doubt that Leo would kill me if I Changed.
That took all my strength. I didn’t have enough left over to even tell him to fuck off.
From his jacket pocket he took out a couple of handkerchiefs. I was breathing hard, whining with every breath, frozen with panic. Bradley’s face leaned against the seat, toward me, dead eyes staring at me. Dead, blank, gone. I should have seen it coming, he should have seen it coming, this shouldn’t be happening—
Leo jammed one scarf into my mouth, tying it behind my head. Another went around my eyes.
Breathe, steady, stay anchored. Keep it together, that was what T.J. always said. Good girl.
T.J. wasn’t around to rescue me this time.
Chapter 11
The car door opened, closed. Then another one opened and closed. My nose and ears worked overtime, compensating for the lack of sight. Leo had left the backseat and returned to the front seat. A weight shifted. He was shoving Bradley’s body out of the way.
The engine was still running. Bradley hadn’t shut it off, only shifted to park. Leo put the sedan in gear, and we drove away.
I didn’t count turns, knowing it wouldn’t do any good because I couldn’t judge the distance. We drove for what seemed a long time. We must have been leaving town. We could be going anywhere.
All I could do was keep breathing, and keep my hands still so the silver didn’t burn as much.
Finally, we stopped. Car doors opened, first the front, then the back.
“Sit up,” Leo said.
I couldn’t. My muscles were frozen. He grabbed my shoulder and hauled me up.
“Out.”
Again, I tried. Given enough time, I could have made the epic journey from the seat to outside the car on my own. But I was too slow for Leo. He dragged me out, and he was strong enough to keep me on my feet when all I wanted to do was collapse. He held me up with one hand on my arm. The other clamped on the back of my neck, guiding me.
“Walk,” he said.
I stumbled. He moved too quickly, but somehow I got my feet under me. We were outdoors, out of D.C. The air was a little fresher. Where were we? Given another moment I might have figured it out by the smell of the air, but Leo was in a hurry.
A door opened, then closed behind us. We’d entered a building. Here, the air smelled antiseptic, sickly, too much disinfectant and not enough life. The floor was tile.
I knew that smell. I’d been here before. This was the NIH Clinical Center.
We rode an elevator. I tried not to think, because thinking made me scared and angry. The more emotion I felt right now, the closer Wolf came to breaking free. The moon was so close right now.
I leaned away from Leo; his grip on my neck tightened. I had to breathe, calmly and coolly. My mouth was dry. I swallowed back screams.
The elevator opened into the basement. Leo pushed me forward again. I knew how many steps we’d go, I knew which door he guided me through. Without seeing, I could have made my way around the furniture in the office.