Page 40
Story: Quest of the Wolf
She did before my words got out. Her aim was accurate, and the grenade struck the windshield of our pursuer.
I was afraid it would bounce off, but it exploded right after hitting. White light flared, far brighter than their headlamps, and I squinted, barely keeping from driving off the road. As close as our two vehicles were, the shockwave struck us, my truck shuddering violently.
Broken branches pelted us. Something clattered and flew away, hitting a tree. Part of their vehicle? Part of mine?
Since theirs was armored, I feared the latter, but the truck kept running, taking us down the road. More headlights flashed through the trees. Yes, that was the highway.
“That was fun,” Jasmine announced and grabbed another grenade.
Blinking and trying to clear my eyes, I peered into the rearview mirror. The brilliant light had faded, but their headlamps were still visible. The driver had slowed down after the explosion, and I hadn’t, so there was more space between us, but they were still coming. If their windshield was cracked, I couldn’t tell.
“Who the hell has anarmoredSUV?” I demanded.
“Bad guys, Luna. Duh.”
“Can they order that out of acatalog?”
“Thebad guycatalog.”
I gave her an exasperated look, but she was leaning out the window again, another grenade in hand.
“Don’t,” I warned. “That hurt us more than it hurt them.”
If we could just make it to the highway…
“They’re picking up speed again,” Jasmine said. “I have to?—”
We passed a huge cedar, moss blanketing its bark, and an idea popped into my mind.
“Aim for some of those big trees. Or even the ground. To make a pit they won’t be able to drive out of.”
Jasmine issued a skeptical noise—understandable, since thatbeast of an SUV could probably navigate out of a ten-foot-deep crater—but she did throw the second grenade toward the trees.
Fingers tight on the wheel, I was ready this time and squinted to protect my eyesight. Fortunately, the grenade landed farther back, and the shockwave didn’t affect the truck as badly. A thunderous crack came from behind, followed by a chain of snaps, then a thud that made the earth tremble.
Before going around a bend, I glanced in the rearview mirror. A huge tree had fallen across the road, branches and trunk blocking the way.
The tank-SUV came to a halt, and a broken branch from above landed on its hood. It didn’t damage the armored vehicle any more than the first grenade had, but it didn’t matter. For the moment, the driver couldn’t continue down the road. It would take some time for them to navigate around the downed tree.
The rifleman in the passenger seat leaned out the window again. He fired at us, but we were already tearing around the bend.
Ahead, the dark pavement of the highway came into view. Bullets slammed into trees behind us. I accelerated, peeling onto the highway and heading south toward home.
Something clattered behind us. My fender falling off?
I sighed, glad we’d escaped but lamenting the repair bill for my truck.
“That was handy,” Jasmine said.
“What’s that?”
“You’re my only relative who keeps grenades in the glove compartment.”
“Are you sure that’s true? You’re a werewolf, and we have a big pack full of belligerent members.” I wouldn’t have been surprised if Augustus had kept explosives in his vehicle. After all, he’d had a suit of armor holding apoisonedswordin his living room.
“Some of them have guns.You’rethe only one with grenades. I’m positive.” Jasmine beamed an approving smile at me.
I didn’t mention that Duncan must have stashed them there for me. As a gift. Normally, I would prefer fine dark chocolate, but, in this case, the explosives had been handy.
Table of Contents
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