Page 112 of How to Flirt with a Witch

But we’re losing. The iron fence is already at my shoulder, and something hits the back of my thighs. I fall, my elbows landing on hard rubber mats in the back of an SUV. It’s positioned right outside the open gate, the rear door swung wide—ready for me. God, did they do this the second we parked?

The Shadows sprint toward us, Natalie in the lead. A rock fires at us like a bullet, rebounding off the vehicle with acrack!

The tiniest spark of hope flares inside me. If I can just fightFreddie off for long enough…

“Assholes.” Freddie’s hands close over my ankles, and I roar in pain as he shoves me in.

I kick him in the gut. “Let—me—go!”

Come on, stumble. Anything!

He grunts and steps back, then hisses as a second rock slams into him from behind.

My heart in my throat, I seize my chance and launch myself out—but he catches me around the waist, throwing me back in like a sack of potatoes. My head hits the back seat, and bright lights pop in my vision.

A rattling thump reverberates through my bones.

I sit up, disoriented in the sudden dimness.

He’s slammed the rear door.

“No!” I kick the door and turn upright, shrieking in frustration.

Behind me, a grate separates the SUV’s front and back seats. I’m trapped.

A choked sob escapes, panic closing my throat. This is the same FJ Cruiser Oaklyn tried to shove me into at UBC—and this time, Natalie is too far away to come to the rescue.

Chapter 27

The Method to the Madsens’ Madness

The tires spin asFreddie stomps the gas pedal, and I grab the back seat to steady myself. The smell of wet dog and old rubber fills the back of the vehicle, nauseating.

“You think you can just force me to work for you?” I spit out. “What are you going to do, put me on a leash and take me out curse-hunting?”

“I’m not kidnapping you. I just want to talk.” Through the grate, Freddie’s blue eyes flick to me in the rearview mirror. His cheeks are rosy from the struggle, his breaths coming fast.

I let out a bitter laugh, feeling for a way to open the rear door from the inside. “Nothing saysfriendly chatlike stuffing someone into the back of an SUV.”

“I had to get you alone. Those freaks never let you out of their sight—shit!” A log slams into the passenger side, branches scraping the windows, and the vehicle wobbles.

A deep rumble fills the air, the road splitting beneath us. A bubble of hope inflates in me. Maybe they can still stop the car.

“Those witches don’t know when to quit.” Freddie accelerates, driving over the cracks and bumps, using the car’s four-wheel drive to get through every obstacle the Shadows put in our way.

We skid around a corner into a residential area, and the car steadies. The ground has stopped shaking.

“God dammit!” I punch the wall in frustration. Why couldn’t he be a terrible driver in a terrible car? The earthquake should’ve been enough to stop us.

There’s a dent in the hard plastic where my fist hit the wall.

Wait, what?

I stare at the gauntlet on my wrist.

Another punch for good measure.

It dents the wall again.