Page 26 of Never Tamed
Dax pauses and growls, baring his teeth. “Shit.” He breathes out the curse where he crouches near the door. He angles his head to peer through the thin slat of warped steel, breath fogging in the cold. “We’ve got company.”
Noble’s already on his feet, grimacing as his joints pop and protest. “How many?”
“Half a dozen, maybe more,” Dax mutters, pulling back from the slit. He cracks his knuckles, rolls his shoulders like he’s already gearing up for a fight. “More are definitely coming. Should be easy.”
Ren and Torin slip through the doorway and she pauses, out of breath, one hand braced against the wall and a groan clanging through her. Moving too fast, I’d say. “Should be easy? For what?”
“To pick off,” Dax says, flashing a grin that’s all teeth, all animal.
Her spine stiffens. “You can’t kill them. They’re just—people. Innocent. They don’t know what’s going on.”
Fuck, I barely know what’s going on. I only know we’ve run out of time in our sanctuary and it’s time to get the hell out of here.
Dax opens his mouth—probably to argue with whatever twisted logic is rattling in his skull—but I cut in before he can dig a hole any deeper.
I lift a hand. “No hunting this morning, Dax. We sneak out without drawing attention. No bodies. No blood.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Mathis is right,” Torin interjects, brushing dirt from his sweatpants. “Any commotion and Andras will know exactly where we are. We have to keep a low profile.”
Ren snorts softly. “Wow. You two agreeing? Hell has frozen over. As if I had any doubts.”
Dax mutters something too low to catch and the tension in his shoulders eases. A little. Enough.
“We have to get out of here,” Noble says, voice taut. “Now.”
Across from me, he shifts with a pained breath, bracing himself on the corrugated wall to push upright. He swallows a grimace but I catch it, that flicker of agony, the way his recently healed leg wobbles slightly before locking.
It’s progress. Just too slow. We’re all wrecked and barely standing and we shouldn’t be moving out this soon.
Is there a choice?
I swallow hard, my throat dry. Unfamiliar anxiety bites at my insides until I want to howl and lash out with it.
Is this how Dax feels constantly? Struggling to keep a tight leash on himself? I fucking hate it.
Ren steps toward Noble and he waves away her offer of help. She bites her lower lip. “You can barely stand. How the hell are we going to make it all the way back to the pack?”
“We don’t have to walk,” he mutters. He jerks his nose in my direction. “We have technology. I can call us a cab.”
There are still cabs, right?
“Why can’t we call a chauffeur service? Something more…clean.” Torin gestures toward his lower half.
Looks like with some things, Torin will never change. He seems like he’d rather die than put on the sweatpants.
What a priss.
“I don’t like cars…” Dax grumbles, his arms crossed over his chest. “Too confining.”
“Oh, we know, Evil Knievel,” Noble says with a chuckle.
“What you call me?”
Noble ignores him and turns to Torin again. “If Andras had access to our security system, then my guess is that they would have all our contacts too. Including any car services we’ve used before. It’s best if we stay under his radar and ghost this place before the workers start poking around. They’re sure to have a fit if they see us.”
“And go where?” Dax asks, brows drawn low. “Hmm? You think about that?”
“Anywhere. Guam, maybe. Warm beaches. Sunshine. Umbrella drinks.”
