Page 20 of The Tracker's Revenge

“Shit!” Eric exclaimed, sending my heart into a frenzy. A crash followed his exclamation, and he stepped on the gas, propelling us forward at breakneck speed.

“What?!” Both Jake and I turned in our seats to glance through the back window. One of the sedans with Ulfen’s men, our bodyguards, was turned around, its front facing the wrong way, its back bumper and trunk smashed in.

An SUV with its own front ruined came to a screeching halt next to it, and two men with large automatic weapons jumped out and started shooting at the sedan, riddling its side with holes.

“Fucking bastards!” Jake exclaimed.

A second SUV accelerated, trying to overtake the remaining sedan that followed us, but our bodyguards cut the wheel sharply and blocked its path. The sound of crumpling metal reached us even inside of our luxurious, noise-dampened interior, even as Eric propelled us forward.

Our bodyguards came shooting out of the sedan, loyal Erickson pack members, willing to risk their lives for their alpha’s cause. I hoped they knew it was also therightcause. We couldn’t let our enemies get hold of the dagger. If they did, it could mean the end of our city, of our way of life.

Hugging the backrest, I craned my neck to see if they would escape unscathed, but we veered from the highway, taking a sharp right, buildings and lampposts blurring past as Eric tried to push the odometer’s needle into the red zone.

I held my breath, constantly looking back over my shoulder. Jake’s arm rested along the top of the back seat as he, too, eyed the road behind us.

“No sign of them,” he said after a few minutes of tense silence. “I think we lost them.”

“I hope Ulfen is all right,” I said, wondering if his group had also been attacked.

At an underground parking lot in an area of town I wasn’t familiar with, Eric parked next to a large delivery van and ordered us to get out.

“What? Here?” I glanced around confused.

Eric slammed the door shut without an answer, a set of keys jingling in his hand.

Jake and I exchanged a confused glance, then followed Eric out of the Mercedes.

Eric used the new set of keys to open the double back doors of the delivery van.

“Get in,” he said, pointing to the windowless, dark interior.

Jake’s eyes narrowed with distrust. “What is this about?”

“It’s part of keeping the Pack Rule’s location a secret.”

“My grandfather didn’t mention any of this.”

Eric shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “He probably forgot. I’m sure his mental capabilities aren’t what they used to be.”

An unspoken question flashed in Jake’s eyes as he glanced back in my direction.Do you trust him?

Clearly, Jake didn’t.

He didn’t want to get in the van, and I didn’t blame him. I didn’t want to get in either. But what else were we going to do? Run from Eric with the dagger in tow. No. That wasn’t an option. I wanted to be rid of the thing. Besides, Ididtrust Eric.

So with a single nod at Jake, I climbed inside the van and sat on one of the benches that lined either side. Jake stood huffing outside for a few beats, shuffling from foot to foot with indecision. At last, he exhaled in resignation, climbed in, and sat across from me on the other bench.

The doors slammed shut with a clank that reverberated inside my head and plunged us into total darkness. A chill ran over my arms, reminding me of how this all had begun. Me, tracking Stephen at Jake’s request and finding him in the utter darkness of a van very much like this one.

“I hope you’re right about Cross,” Jake’s voice echoed inside our confined space.

“If he wanted the dagger, he could have taken it already.”

“Well, his plan could be to kill us, take the dagger, then tell the Pack Rule that we ran away with it.”

The van’s engine came to life, and an annoyingbeep, beep, beepsounded as we backed out of the parking space. Then we lurched forward, and we were on our way.

“Wow, you can certainly come up with pretty diabolical plans,” I said. “I think Bernadetta should putyouin charge instead of Stephen.”