Page 35 of Corbin (Wild Wolf Pack from the world of Gallize Shifters #2)

That he might even be paying off cops.

Leaving South Carolina for Georgia could be a giant mistake, but if Leszek knew he was with Eirene, then her trustee likely knew about Adrian, who had a direct line to his badass boss.

Riding to the compound would put Jaz and the others at risk.

With them as far from him as possible, he was willing to stake his life for Eirene’s protection, but he would not impose that fate on anyone else.

Not even Adrian. He’d call Adrian as soon as they stopped for fuel to let him know what was going on, and that while his boss carried weight with a lot of people, Corbin’s actions with Eirene could put a target on his entire organization.

No alpha wanted that kind of trouble and certainly not from someone with Corbin’s past with the Romanian.

Could Vlad be involved in any of this or working with Leszek?

That made no sense. Why would Leszek put Eirene in jeopardy if she were his golden goose, as she’d put it?

Still, Corbin could have been tracked if someone tagged his motorcycle.

Based on things Adrian had said about using special phones his organization used, he doubted that someone could track his phone.

Since Adrian’s people possessed highly sophisticated equipment for hunting criminals and finding their people, SCIS might have an equally advanced level of electronics to support their jackal shifters.

But how had Leszek figured out Eirene was with him or where her secret apartment was located?

Corbin tried to fit it all together, but he kept finding holes in his theory.

If Leszek knew about Eirene’s warehouse, why hadn’t he simply sent his security team to pick her up before now? That would mean she’d done a great job of keeping her rescue work away from him.

If that was the case, where had those two freak jackal shifters come from? Would they be working with SCIS when other shifters could smell the difference and see it when they shifted?

That didn’t hold water, which would mean someone else sent those two jackals.

His head hurt from trying to sort out so many things at once while lacking the necessary information.

His fuel tank would be on fumes soon. Watching for an exit, he pulled off on Highway 17 for Lavonia, Georgia, and easily located a place to gas up.

Pulling in under the fuel station canopy, he cut the motor and let Eirene step off first. With the bike on the stand, he turned to see how she was doing.

She pulled the helmet off then started fussing with her helmet hair. “I need a cap. I hate what that does to my hair.”

He chuckled and kept his voice soft for her ears only. “We do a mad dash from police and SCIS, plus get shot at again, and you’re worried about how you look?”

She pushed her nose up at him. “I do not want to die looking like a crazy woman.”

Reaching out, he brushed a hand over her hair. “No matter the condition of your hair, you will always look adorable.”

She gave him a smile that melted his heart. How had he lived all those years without her? He leaned down to kiss her sweet lips, intending to simply let her know how glad he was to have her.

Eirene, he was starting to realize, went all in when she wanted something.

She pushed up on her toes, deepening the kiss and waking every part of his body. He lifted her up, finished the kiss, then eased her back. “Keep that up and we’ll be here awhile making a public exhibition.”

“Don’t threaten me with having my way with a hot male.”

“You’ll be the death of me, and I’m gonna love every minute, but we can’t stop until we find a safe spot.” Placing her back on her feet, he said, “Hungry?”

“Starving. I’ve got some cash in my bag, but not much. I gave the sisters all but fifty dollars thinking I’d run by the bank today.”

“We’re good. I’ve got some money.” Not enough for him to run for long, but after thinking about who had sent the jackals, he’d decided to locate a safe place for her.

Then he’d lead those monsters away from her.

He assumed they’d keep sending monster jackals after them.

Maybe he could keep one alive long enough to find out who had sent them and how they’d found him.

SCIS would be his first guess for who held the leash on those jackals, but ... it could be the Romanian.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” she announced, pulling the denim bag strap onto her shoulder.

He dug out a fifty-dollar bill. “Would you give this to the cashier with our pump number?” While Corbin filled the bike tank, he came up with what he’d tell Adrian. It might sever his last tie with a man Corbin held in high regard, but he would never harm anyone when he could avoid it.

Eirene came hurrying back to him as he hung up the nozzle. Why was she rushing? His heart went into overdrive. How could he have let her go in there alone?

He looked around for the threat.

“Crap. Look what I found in the bag.” Out of breath as she stopped, she lifted two mobile phones. Both had chunks missing. “Had to be that SCIS shooter in the car. I didn’t know where that second rifle shot went, but I guess we do now.”

Ah hell. He took both phones. “The good news is no one can trace your phone, but I only had one way to contact my people.”

“No one could trace my phone. It was not on any network. Like some people call a burner phone.”

He considered that. He could grab one of those phones that were not on a network, but he had no idea what numbers had been programmed into his.

“Mine could not be tracked directly to me. It had some kind of relay or such that sent a tracer to my people’s headquarters.

They had their own way to find my phone. ”

His stomach growled. Much as he wanted to take off again, he had to be more careful now. The jackals and Leszek might not be able to track them, but they had far more resources at their fingertips than he and Eirene.

They loaded up, and he rode a half mile to a steak restaurant with plenty of business an hour before noon. He and Eirene should blend in with T-shirts and jeans. Seats at the bar were available, which meant faster service in his book.

Eirene gave polite smiles to the perky red-haired female bartender with heavily made-up green eyes, but he could tell his woman worked to hide her nerves. He reached under the counter and squeezed Eirene’s thigh lightly.

She turned an electric smile his way. That was her truly happy smile.

They ordered the largest steaks offered, baked potatoes, broccoli, corn, and bread. Shifters burned calories easily. Shifters on the run ran through huge amounts of calories. He hoped to find food again without having to send their wolves hunting.

While chowing down quickly but not so much to draw anyone’s attention, Corbin noticed Eirene had been staring at the end of the bar where a waiter and two waitresses were huddled. They talked excitedly as if sharing juicy gossip on someone major.

He ate the last of his potato and pushed the plate away, downed his iced tea, and asked Eirene, “Did you eat enough?”

She tore her gaze from the gossip corner and nodded. “I’m good. Considering the condition of our phones, I’m happy to report the energy bars I’d packed made it through.”

He grinned at her attempt to find humor in the loss. “Good news as this may be the last normal meal for a while.”

When the bartender called to one of the females talking at the end of the bar, that waitress hurried down to pick up her drink order on this end. The bartender reached out and stopped the waitress with a touch of her hand. She asked, “What’s going on?”

Glancing at the two she’d walked away from, the waitress said, “Ernie’s brother-in-law is a highway patrolman. He says between here and the next exit heading west, they’re setting up a roadblock on the interstate.”

“That’s nuts. They’ll back up traffic for miles.”

The waitress nodded. “I think that’s the plan. They’ll close all our exits here coming and going. They’re hunting ...” She leaned in and whispered, “Dangerous shifters.”

The red-haired bartender stood up quickly. Her face turned chalky white.

Nodding to show she agreed, the waitress lifted her tray of drinks and walked away.

Eirene turned a grim face to Corbin. He placed more than enough cash for the food and tip on the counter. “Let’s go.”

Hooking her hand on his arm, Eirene stared straight ahead as they calmly left the restaurant. He strapped her helmet on and tucked the denim bag into a saddle bag, then stood up the bike for her to climb on.

With each little action, he struggled to decide where to head then started the bike.

Eirene leaned close to his ear. “I looked at a map inside the gas station store. If this bike is as good off-road as you showed me earlier, and we’re looking for a remote location, we should take 17 north. That might offer better escape routes.”

“You may be right.” His gut twisted at what he had to ask her. “I think these people could be after me more than you. Whether it’s SCIS or the Romanian, we have to expect more dangerous jackals coming after us. If you called Leszek and said you were coming back, would you be safer in Spartanburg?”

She gripped his shoulder and pulled him around.

“No. I believe Leszek killed my father to take over as trustee of my life and finances. Someone has been killing security guards. I can’t finger anyone who would do that, not even him.

But he’s the only person I fear in all this.

He might try to force me into his mental hospital involuntarily to make me sign a form making him my permanent guardian.

I’m done running scared. My vulnerable shifter females are safe. I’m staying with you.”

He had no idea how much she’d shouldered on her own. Wrapping his fingers around her small fist clutching his shirt, he held them and swore, “I will not let that bastard near you.”

Her fingers relaxed. “We’ll fight him together.”

“Don’t ever tell me you’re not dominant. It only takes something you want to fight for to draw out your alpha side.”

“That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me about being a shifter.” She blinked her watery eyes.

He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I need you to listen to me even if I tell you to run or hide. Staying safe is the greatest thing you can do to help me.”

“I don’t want to agree to that.” She struggled to continue but said, “I will do as you ask and not let you down.”

“Thank you. Let’s hit the road.”

He kept the speed even on Highway 17 as they cruised by the gas station they’d stopped at earlier. When he rode north across the interstate overpass, he could feel Eirene tense.

On the interstate west of the exit, law enforcement vehicles, including a SWAT van, had already restricted all but one lane of traffic in each direction.

Personal passenger four-wheel vehicles and over-the-road trucks were allowed to keep traveling on the one open lane closest to the median. He spotted a police officer approaching a pair of motorcycles caught up in the stopped lanes.

Corbin looked forward.

He’d been on the run before with fewer resources and knew what to do, but he’d been alone. His plan to keep Eirene safe by hiding her crumbled under her last admission.

When running from predators before, his only goal had been to escape or die trying. Now he had to focus entirely on survival.

Could he keep the two of them alive?