Page 28 of Pack Owned
The forest closes in, branches reaching out like the fingers of our enemies, but we push through. My breaths come in ragged gasps, and I can fucking feel them getting closer. We have to get Kayla out of here.
“Keep going!” Ryker’s voice cuts through the tension, a reminder that hesitation equals death.
We’re running, a blur of motion and desperation. Away from the cabin, away from danger, straight to my Jeep about a hundred yards away.
They’re not taking Kayla. Not today, not ever.
CHAPTER 9
KAYLA
Panic claws at my chest as we tear through the tangled forest. Ryker leads the way, a blur of tense muscle. Liam keeps pace beside me while Dale brings up the rear. I trip over a gnarled tree root, but Liam catches me before I faceplant.
“Thanks,” I gasp, scrambling upright.
“You got this, Kayla!” Ryker says.
My focus narrows to the camo Jeep parked haphazardly near an oak tree. It looks like a beast of a machine, with scars of mud and use etched into its frame.
Angry shouts echo behind us. Could it be Nexus? The thought sends shivers through me. Once, I’d have run toward their uniforms for safety, but that was before I saw the truth in a spark of electricity and a scream from my friend’s lips.
At the Jeep, Ryker rips open the passenger door. “Get in!”
I scramble into the Jeep. The leather seat is cold against my thighs. Dale slides in after me, and Liam on the other.
Ryker takes the wheel, starting the engine.
“Buckle up,” Liam says.
My pulse skips and stutters in response. Nexus or not, men are coming for us, and the instinct to survive screams louder than any rational thought.
“Are they…” My voice trembles. “Are they Nexus?”
“Doesn’t matter who they are right now,” Ryker shoots back, his gaze holding mine in the rearview mirror. “We need to get out of here. Now.”
The Jeep’s engine roars to life. As the shouts swell into a frenzy just beyond our rapidly disappearing view, Ryker floors the accelerator, and we lurch forward.
Bullets ping off the metal hull.
“Fuck! Get down.” Dale pushes me down.
From the corner of my eye, I see him pull out a gun from one of the bags he packed, and he starts returning gunfire through the open window. My breath stutters in my chest as the Jeep jostles with every twist and turn as Ryker drives.
“Keep your head down,” Liam mutters from beside me, his hand on my shoulder pressing me lower. The danger isn’t a distant echo anymore; it’s here, now, and terrifyingly real.
The zing of a bullet sounds. Beside me, Dale grunts—a sound that slices through the noise, and my head snaps up. Blood blooms on his shoulder, stark against the black of his shirt.
“Bastard,” Dale shouts and fires his gun over and over. When I glance up, I see blood blooming across his sleeve, and my stomach rolls.
“Shit, Dane!” Liam twists in the seat on my other side. “You’re hit?”
“Scratch,” Dane reloads with a wince. His eyes lock with mine for a split second, and there’s a silent promise in their depths—I will keep you safe.
Then I shake my head because he’s just doing what any Alpha would do in this situation.
“Where are we go—” Another sharp turn slams me against Liam, cutting off my question while Liam grunts.
“Somewhere safe,” Ryker snaps, his focus never wavering from the road ahead. There’s no comfort in his words, only the unspoken promise that we’re far from any semblance of safety.
