Page 161 of Bones
I knew he had more ammo in his jacket, but I wasn’t sure if he could reach it. I seized the reins. The turn for the bridge appeared, and I started pulling to the side, hoping the horse would understand that I wanted her to turn. She seemed to get the idea and began to turn toward the bridge, but then she stumbled. For a second, I thought she would be able to right herself and keep going, but then we were falling.
Trey grabbed me around the waist and for a sickening moment, we were both airborne before the ground slammed into us hard. The horse screamed, a horrible cry of fear and pain, and I knew without looking that we'd lost her. Trey recovered before I did, hauling me to my feet, but a blur of grey fur crashed into him and knocked him back to the ground. The gun clattered across the ground, and I screamed in terror. Trey grappled on the ground with a wolf that was attempting to rip his throat out. He'd managed to get an arm up so the wolf's jaw crushed his forearm instead of his neck, but blood sprayed, and I couldhearthe cracking of bone as he screamed. Still, he fought back, attempting to wrestle the wolf to the ground and get the upper hand.
I started to run for the gun but then remembered it was empty. After a frantic glance around me, I grabbed some of the large rocks that littered the ground and threw them at the wolf as hard as I could, screaming. After a few misses, I managed to get the wolf squarely in the jaw, and it released Trey’s arm, turning toward me with a snarl. Trey gasped on the ground, his face pale and his arm a bloody, gory mess. The wolf stalked toward me, its muzzle covered in Trey’s blood, and I clutched the rock in my hand tighter as I raised my arm.
“Get out of here!” I screamed at the wolf. “Get out!”
The wolf didn’t stop and as Trey cried my name and the horse’s screams faded, I knew we were about to die. The smell of blood filled the air along with the awful sound of the wolves beginning to tear into the horse’s flesh.
The wolf lunged at me, and I threw the rock as hard as I could at its head with a scream of helpless fury.
A gunshot rang out and the wolf twisted in the air, the fierce light abruptly extinguished from its eyes. I gasped in a breath and then it hit me, knocking me off my feet and pinning me to the ground. As I struggled to escape from under the dead wolf, more bullets whistled around us. I managed to shove it off and spared a glance at the dam to see a group of people in dark tactical gear approaching as they fired, picking off the wolves, but then I crashed down on my knees at Trey’s side.
His eyes met mine, full of fear and pain. His arm wasshredded, and I didn’t waste any time. I ripped my gloves off and wrapped my hands around his arm, the warmth of my healing powers rushing down my arms and into him. I gasped in panicked sobs as I watched the broken bone, ruptured muscles, and torn tendons and ligaments slowly mend.
His good hand suddenly gripped my arm, squeezing, and I looked up at his face.
“S’alright darlin’,” he whispered, which only made me cry harder. ”Bones, it’s alright.”
The wound finally closed into an enormous, jagged scar, but I didn’t let go, running my fingers around it and moving his arm so I could see for sure that it healed.
“Are you hurt?” Trey asked, letting me examine him as his eyes scanned my body.
“No,” I sobbed.
“I’m ok, Bones.” He pulled his arm free from my grip and sat up so he could wrap his arms around me. “I’m ok.”
I clung to him, shaking. I could hear boots on the pavement, and I knew whoever had saved us was approaching, but I didn’t look up. Trey was ok. He was ok. We were alive.
“Don’t make any sudden moves,” Trey whispered urgently in my ear.
I raised my head in alarm. A dozen armed people surrounded us, and while they weren’t pointing gunsatus, they also hadn’t holstered their weapons. I scanned their faces, but I didn’t recognize any of them. Their grim expressions made my stomach flip with anxiety but theyhadsaved our lives.
"Thanks for the assist," Trey said carefully.
They just stared at us, and then a familiar voice rang out.
“Angel.”
I twisted in panic, hoping I heard wrong, but the circle of armed men parted and Vulture stepped into view.
He looked the same, but somehow different at the same time. He’d always been wiry, but he seemed thinner than I remembered. His dark blond hair hung long, covering his ears, and his narrow face was still good-looking, but it had a harder edge to it now. His eyes looked almostblack.They’d been blue before, hadn’t they?
I stared at him, my heart pounding with fear. This wasn’t possible. I had to be hallucinating. He couldn’t be here, how the fuck was hehere?Trey's arms had tightened around me, both of us silent and tense. Vulture stepped closer, crouching an arm's length away so he could peer into my eyes.
“Not expectin’ to see me, were you?” Vulture drawled. “Guess you were probably expectin’ me to be as dead as Juck, huh?”
I couldn’t look past his dark eyes. I expected them to be full of fury and vengeance, but they were strangely empty. It wasn’t reassuring though. It made my skin crawl.
“When I saw the bounty out on your head, I jumped at the chance to track you down,” he said. He glanced at Trey andthere,some emotion flashed through those dark eyes.
“Vulture—” I tried, my voice shaking, but he held up a hand, stopping me.
“Nah, I’m not interested in your lies, Angel.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered anyway.
He stared at me for a few breaths. “Which part are you sorry for? For all the lies or for leavin’ me to die?”
