Page 21 of Bad Wolf

“It won’t be easy. He’s stubborn and he’s gonna hate me for this, for giving you this chance, but I think he needs it and so do you.”

I gulp. Frozen in ninety-five-degree heat. Casey wants to help me? Me?

The most devoted, loyal brother ever…wants to help me?

“Why?” It’s a whisper more than anything. My mind races, this is too good to be true.

He clears his throat. This is hard for him. Like the pros outweigh the cons, but he still feels like he’s betraying Knox.

“He’s my little brother and I know he’s struggling. Has been struggling. I couldn’t be there for him like I wanted when he moved to college. It was my rookie year. I was self-involved and my schedule was insane, but I can help him now. If this was Anna, my wife. If she left with things unsaid. If I never heard her out and knew she wasn’t living the life she was always supposed to, I’d, I’d never be able to move on.”

“You’re a good brother, Casey. And a good husband. I can already tell.”

“Well, I’ve got a lifetime to prove you right.”

“And you will.”

He chuckles and then blows out a breath.

“So, here goes, Wren. Knox has finally acquired a Dodge Charger SRT—”

“Demon,” I finish for him. I know exactly which car Knox would have had his eye on. The rarest of all Dodges—the loudest, the fastest.

The special edition.

It’s a few years old and they only made about three thousand of them.

As unpredictable as Knox Madden can be, there are only two or three cars he’ll have been searching for. When that model came out, it would have been bumped to the top of the list.

“I’ve called the collector Knox is buying it from and they’re delivering the Demon to the club on Thursday night. Your job will be to drive it up to New York. Then you can talk to Knox, tell him everything, get back together, move here permanently and you’re done. Home and dry before Monday rolls around.”

Has he lost his mind?

“Have you lost your mind, Casey? You wantmeto be the first person to drive his pride and joy? You wantmeto put over thirteen hundred miles on the clock before he’s even sat in it?”

“Yeah, Wren, that’s exactly what I want you to do.”

“How many pucks have you taken to the head, huh? You can’t be serious.”

“The miles,” he blows out another breath, “yes, it’s a problem, but with our schedule, Knox doesn’t have time to collect himself. He could have had it flown up here but that, erm, fell through and now there is an issue with the truck company because we may or may not have sabotaged both. He’s willing to take the hit on the mileage just to get his hands on it.”

“Fucking hell Casey, this is not going to end well for any of us.” How has he even managed to coordinate this whole thing?

“Only if you wreck it, scratch it, or dent it. So don’t do any of those things,” he laughs, and I take a minute to process.

I squeeze my eyes shut.Shit, I’m just going along with this? Mind made up without even properly thinking this through?

Before I can even voice any of this, Casey is talking again.

“Now how do I get the gas and hotel money to you? Shall I just transfer it? PayPal, Venmo—”

“You left a thousand dollars on my dresser Casey, I think I can pay for gas.”

He sighs, “Well okay then, if you’re sure?”

“I’m sure…so…are we really doing this?”

“We’re really doing this.” I hear clapping in the background. Casey bids me farewell and tells me he’ll call me on Wednesday with all the information I’ll need—mainly where Knox will be when I finally arrive.

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