Page 11 of Dark Wolf Soul
“Don’t act so surprised,” I say mostly to rile him.
“How far out are you?” he asks.
“A few hours. I’ll text you when we get close.”
“Is she subdued?”
“She’s out,” I confirm. I don’t tell him she passed out from shock rather than the drugs he supplied.
“Good. Call me if there are any issues.”
“There won’t be.”
He grumbles at that, but I disconnect the call before he can keep going. Next thing, he’ll ask me to alert him every time I piss or breathe. Not for the first time since being summoned home, my chest aches with the sense of entrapment. My father expects me to pick up right where I left off—well, that and to act like he’s saved me from some horrible fate by forcing me back home. The asshole can’t imagine any life better than the one he’s provided me.
I don’t need to imagine. For the last few years, I lived it. A life where I didn’t answer to a cruel monster who cares only for himself and nothing for the people he hurts. A life where I got to decide what and who to fight for. For five years, I finally had my freedom. And the moment this mission is over, I plan to go right back to it again.
The highway traffic is light, thanks to the late hour. I opt for silence instead of music as my tires eat up the road. It’s almost peaceful out here—if you don’t count the felony I just committed or the war waiting for me back home.
Maybe my father’s right to be surprised I came through for him. I damn sure didn’t want to. But I’ll never be free of him if I keep running, which I can admit is what I’ve been doing for years. It’s time to stop running and face what I am. What I’m supposed to become. Even if it means doing something like this to someone like her.
My phone vibrates again, but this time when I see the caller, I answer it without the pit in my stomach.
“Dutch, what’s up?” I say.
“How’d it go, brother?”
“Fine. I’m on my way back now.”
“No hiccups.”
“Easy day,” I assure him.
“The old man must be pleased as punch.”
“He’s shocked I’m capable,” I say, and he chuckles darkly.
“I’ll bet. You’re bringing home the Ace this family’s needed in their hand.”
“She’s not a poker chip, Dutch. She’s a fucking person.”
He’s silent for a beat before he asks pointedly, “And is this person attractive?”
“Fuck you,” I grumble, and he chuckles, unbothered by my response.
“What? I saw the picture the old man gave you.”
“That was taken two years ago, wise-ass.”
“That’s why I’m asking for a status update.”
“Is there something else you needed?” I ask, though I know full well he’s not going to stop giving me a hard time about this. Dutch is my second cousin on my mom’s side, but he’s more like a brother at this point. He’d do anything for me—even help me leave the family in the dead of night so that I couldn’t be tracked down again for four full years.
My dad will never forgive him for helping me, which means his career in this family is fucked unless I come back to stay and help him move up the ranks again, which is the last thing I want to do. He doesn’t seem to care, though. Dutch is solid like that.
In fact, he’s already made it clear he’s loyal to me, no matter what my old man thinks. Starting with the fact that he’s reporting to me directly instead of my father with every order he’s been given since I stepped foot back inside the borders of Indigo Hills.
“We found the guy I told you about. The one feeding Franco intel.”
