Page 75 of The Tracker's Revenge

Jake took a step forward, but I grabbed him by the wrist. “No, don’t go.”

“I can’t hide. He might hurt those people.”

“He’ll hurtyou.”

He shrugged as if that didn’t matter.

A single shot rang out, followed by a heart-wrenching scream.

“NOO!”

“I will kill these people one by one until you show yourself, Jake,” Stephen growled.

I let go of Jake’s wrist, understanding all too well that there was no other choice. He had to go. Well, he wouldn’t be going alone. He started to walk, and I followed. Noticing me, he stopped and shook his head.

“I’m with you. Always,” I said.

“Aw, how admirable,” Allison put in.

I ignored her, expecting Jake to argue, but he simply nodded and let me follow. As we stepped around the building, we laid eyes on the armed people and wolves that stood by the entrance. They noticed us immediately and aimed their weapons and sharp teeth in our direction. A large Escalade SUV sat atop a flowerbed, door thrown open, engine still running.

Jake put his hands up, and I did likewise.

“I’m Jacob Knight,” he said, loudly enough to be heard inside, werewolf hearing or not.

“He’s out here,” one of the armed men called out, taking a step in front of the others, asserting himself as one of their leaders.

I directed all my anger in his direction, glowering and doing my best to communicate exactly how I felt, though without using my alpha skills to push the thought into his head.

I hope you die, and Satan himself feeds you your balls for breakfast every morning for the rest of eternity.

It seemed he got the silent message loud and clear because he looked me up and down, bared his teeth, and pointed his gun inmydirection, while everyone else focused on Jake.

A moment later, Stephen walked out to meet us, stopping about ten feet away, an automatic gun in his grip. He seemed to be on his own with no signs of Bernadetta or her vamps.

“I was starting to think you didn’t care about your guests,” he said, his red hair gleaming in the sunlight.

“What are you doing here? Have you no respect for anything?!” Jake demanded.

Stephen ignored his question and slid his gaze in my direction. “Toni, I thought I might see you here.”

There was a certain ring of regret in his tone. He had wanted me by his side, going along with his deranged scheme for the sake of power. And maybe he hadn’t entirely given up hope yet. Clearly, he had absolutely no idea how much I’d grown to hate him and how quickly I would slit his throat given the chance.

I had no words for him. All I could offer him was death, and my fingers twitched with eagerness to impart it.

He blew air through his nose, trying to appear indifferent, but I knew him well enough. He’d seen me as some sort of prize, and he hated the fact that he’d lost me. I had no doubt that, if given the chance, he would attempt to make me his slave again. He’d had no qualms about feeding me tainted blood from the Unholy Vessel before. Whether or not I followed him willingly, it made no difference to him.

But I would die first, and I would do my best to take him down with me.

He turned to Jake and belatedly answered his question. “You know why I’m here. Give it to me.”

I frowned.

Give what to him? What was Stephen talking about?

Out of the corner of my eye, I tried to judge Jake’s reaction, but he showed none. My brain started whirling at twice its normal speed, trying to figure out what was going on.

“This is not the place for any of this,” Jake said. “You murdered my grandfather, then you come here and dothis? You’re a fucking bastard.”