In no time at all, they reached the dark stretch of empty road—further up from where Kyle had hit the ditch. Parked in the center of the highway was a different truck. A darker, familiar one reeking of pine. Once McGoven settled her on the passenger’s seat, he moved to close the door.
“Stay here,” he commanded. Then he reached over her to wrench open the glove compartment. Unlike Kyle’s,hisheld something a little more useful than a cheap flashlight—a gun, glinting lethally in the moonlight.
“Stay inside,” he reiterated gruffly. “Lock the doors. If anyone comes close who isn’t me, use it.”
He shoved the weapon onto her lap and turned, loping easily up the road. He was back before Loren had the chance to feel uneasy. What seemed like seconds later, he appeared by the driver’s side, wrenching open the door the moment she unlocked it.
More blood dripped down his leg but, rather than pain, a satisfied gleam glinted in his eyes. Something told Loren that the other two men hadn’t made it very far.
Without saying as much, McGoven pulled on a pair of sweatpants snatched from the back bench and climbed into the driver’s seat barefoot. It was only when he jammed his foot on the gas and drove straight down the winding road that some of the tension coiled in his muscles finally eased.
Some of it.
“Where is Kyle?” The question seemed deliberately spoken as if it had taken every bit of energy he had in him just to keep from shouting. Yelling. Breaking glass.
Loren shook her head. “I don’t know. H-he and Micha left to—”
“They left you alone?”
She recoiled against her seat, eyeing him fearfully. When he spoke again, his tone was a fraction softer. “Did they?”
She nodded, and he swore, smashing a fist into the steering wheel. His jaw was clenched so tightly that a muscle in his cheek jerked. It was only when he attempted to ask another question that she understood the source of his anger. “Did those bastards in the clearing…did they—”
She shook her head, and he sighed. He didn’t say anything after that, not that he had to. His body language spoke for him loud and clear.
She had never seen anyone so furious. Not her father. Not even McGoven himself when she took off on his horse. Loren was afraid that he might rip the steering wheel from the socket if he happened to turn it hard enough.
“How…how did you find me?” Her throat ached. She wasn’t sure what made her speak at all. It probably wasn’t a good idea. Her stomach lurched as he swiveled his head toward her, eyes like molten silver.
“I followed you,” he said.
Oh. He made it sound so natural.I followed you.I breathed. I blinked.The next second, his gaze was back on the road, and overwhelmed, Loren slumped into her seat.
“I wanted to make sure,” he added, through clenched teeth. “But I never thought that asshole would be stupid enough to cut throughEislanderterritory. What the hell was he thinking?”
Loren didn’t have an answer right away. With shaking fingers, she gingerly lifted the gun from her lap and returned it to the glove compartment. Only then could she recall what Kyle himself had said.
“He said that a road was blocked—”
“Bullshit!” McGoven’s voice bordered on a growl. “There is a protocol you follow. You don’t trespass without permission. Not here. He shouldknowbetter. And to leave you alone? To let them touch you—” He inhaled raggedly and became rigid. A heartbeat later, he had all the windows down to let in the freezing night air. “Four men. I could sense their intentions. All of them. Those sick bastards.”
Loren swallowed hard, suddenly cold. He could tell that via smell? Though, this wasn’t the first time. He once claimed to know the number of bruises on her body from their scent alone.
She wanted to ask him, make him talk. Something warned her not to. For the first time, that plaintive inner voice was muted around him.He’s angry,it whispered.Wait.
Angrywas an understatement. He glowered, his teeth bared. The muscles in his legs bulged as he slammed on the gas until the gauge on the dashboard ticked closer and closer toward the maximum. It wasn’t until they were on the highway, far from the dark woods, that he finally slowed to a speed closer to the legal limit.
It was nearly eleven, she realized, glancing at the dash—almost five hours after she left with Kyle. That dangerous stretch of Eislander territory must have been close to Black Mountain, which explained why Micha seemed to have no problem running off on foot.
Was it just on two?a part of her wondered. Apparently, the men around here seemed to shift into four-legged animals at will. She inspected McGoven from the corner of her eye, watching the muscles of his shoulders ripple as he drove. Or, maybe they just did that constantly? Roiling with tension.
Some subconscious part of her knew that she should have been afraid. It flinched in fear as she pictured that same body, hunched in the middle of the field, dripping blood. But locked inside the cabin of the truck with him, breathing in that wild scent of pine…
She just couldn’t find the energy. Though, she might as well conserve her strength for when he left her for good. They had to be close to Black Mountain by now—she was sure of it. Tense with anticipation, she stared from the window, straining to catch a glimpse of her new home.
An hour later, and she started to note familiar landmarks she’d already glimpsed on the ride with Kyle. Rather than north, McGoven was heading straight toward New Walsh.
With every mile gained, the air became thinner, flooded with pine. Her body lost that crippling anxiety, and her head began to loll with every motion of the vehicle.