Page 52 of Howling
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
FRANKIE
“You mean if we don’t all kill each other first?” I nearly laugh at the absurdity of working with any of them, especially an Orion, but I can’t deny the truth of his words. The Orion are closing in on me faster than I had hoped.
I wanted to create a power base before they caught up with me, learn more about my abilities to give myself a fighting chance to stay out of their clutches.
Everything is happening too fast, and I have less time than I thought…unless I take the guys up on their offer.
I snort, calling myself an idiot for even contemplating working with the enemy…then I pause when a new thought occurs to me. Casting the man in question a dubious look, I purse my lips. “You go from wanting me dead to offering to help. Give me one reason I should trust you?”
“Givvens trained me,” he responds immediately, a vulnerable look darkening his silver eyes. “I think it was always his intention that I protect you.”
My breath catches at the possibility, my throat tightening painfully at the mention of Gramps. I yank my eyes away from him and focus on driving, struggling to think logically without emotions clogging my head. “You’re an Orion. How are you going to resist their programming? You can’t…”
As I turn to gesture toward his necklace, my voice trails off, and I do a double take when I see the collar is gone.
“The road!” Tyler lunges forward and grabs the wheel. I startle, jerking back when he invades my space, and I instinctively slam on the brakes seconds before the car would have careened off the sharp corner.
Momentum nearly sends Tyler toppling into the front seat. Shoving himself upright, he presses his shoulder against mine, and his breath catches when the vehicle rocks to a stop a few feet short of plummeting over the steep edge. When I glance at him, I find him way too close for comfort, his face mere inches from mine. I brace myself for his anger, but his green eyes gentle with concern.
“Are you okay?” he murmurs, his voice deceptively soft.
“I’m fine.” I’m definitely not fine. There is something extremely intimate about being so close to another person, sharing the same breath. Not used to the unsettling sensation, I clear my throat awkwardly. “Thanks.”
A lopsided smile kicks up the corner of his mouth, and heat fills my cheeks. “My pleasure, Frankie.”
He drops back into his seat, leaving me flustered and uncomfortable. I scratch my brow, struggling to force my unruly body into submission. I’m not a virgin, I understand sexual attraction, but the intense magnetic pull I feel for the guys is something I’ve never encountered.
I’m not sure I like it.
Exhaling loudly, I throw the car into park, then twist to face the others. “You think staying with me will keep you safe, butthe opposite is true. I’m being hunted by people so ruthless, they won’t stop until they get what they want. When they do catch up with me, they will be unforgiving. If you are in my company, they won’t hesitate to execute you and consider it collateral damage.”
The guys don’t even blink, completely unfazed by my warning, and I barely resist reaching over the seats and smacking the idiots.
“We’re dead anyway.” Garth doesn’t bother looking at the other two before he volunteers them for certain death. “At least together, we can help each other stay alive and maybe find a way out of this mess.”
I wait for the others to protest, but the stubborn nitwits just nod in agreement, their obstinate expressions warning they won’t be persuaded otherwise.
“I’m with you until the end,” the Orion vows, drawing my attention, and I raise an eyebrow at the asshat who started this whole mess. Before I can reject his offer, he continues with a negligible shrug. “I’m Orion. I’m expendable. It’s a foregone conclusion that I will die in the commission of my job. I would prefer to do something good before that happens. Don’t take away my last shot at redemption.”
“I don’t understand.” I’m at a loss as to why he would throw away everything he’s worked toward his whole life. “Why?”
“They killed Givvens,” he says, a snarl of hatred twisting his expression. “If you reject me, I’ll seek vengeance and do my best to destroy those responsible. He deserves that much.”
“That’s a suicide mission,” I whisper, my insides hurting at the thought of him taking on the council by himself, because he will die. He can’t take on an army alone and survive.
He only shrugs, like it’s not a fucking big deal. “Then work with me. Our best chance of survival is together…even if the chance is slim.”
My gaze drops to his bare neck, and I hastily glance away, running my tongue along my teeth as I debate my options. It’s not really a choice. I suspect that if I ditch them, they will just follow me anyway, much like kamikaze ducklings.
Before I can come to a decision, a phone rings in the silence. I glance at the back seat, only to see the guys peering around in confusion. It’s Tyler who holds up my backpack, a question in his eyes. “I think it’s yours?”
Only two people have my number.
If either of them is calling, it means trouble.
I snatch the bag with a huff, digging through it until my fingers brush plastic. Pulling out the phone, I glance at the screen, then grimace. Before I can smash the button to accept the call, Dante snatches the phone from my hand and places it on speaker.
