Page 85 of The Tracker's Revenge

Eric made a face, and I was afraid he would say no, but he nodded. “Whatever it is, just make it quick.”

“It’ll be quick.”

Jake followed. His coat was matted with blood, but he’d completely healed. We walked together back to the training room, shifted, retrieved our duffel bags, and dressed without looking at each other. When I was done, I turned to face him. He was standing, unmoving, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Dry blood stained his abdomen. A black T-shirt was gripped in his hand.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

His silver gaze traveled slowly to meet mine. He nodded once. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You look, I don’t know...”

“I almost had him.” The latent anger in his voice stripped me raw, and right away, I knew exactly how he felt.

Stephen should’ve been dead tonight, but once more, he had escaped.

I approached, letting my eyes travel over the expanse of his muscular chest and stomach, making sure he was all right. A dusting of brown hair traveled between his large pecs, stopped short, then began again below his navel. The sight of the blood made me shudder. Angrily, I pushed away the negative thoughts that tried to take over my mind. So much could have gone wrong tonight, but we’d escaped with our lives.

Gently, I laid a hand on his heart. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

He captured my fingers in his and pressed them tightly to his chest. I felt his heartbeat, pounding strongly, and I could be nothing but grateful for his strength, for his healing abilities.

“You shouldn’t have come,” he said reproachfully.

I opened my mouth to protest, then realized that he’d only gotten injured because Ihadcome.

“I’m sorry,” I said, tears pricked in the back of my eyes.

He shook his head and pressed a finger to my lips. “Shh. You don’t need to apologize. Of course, you came. I would’ve come after you, too. No matter what.” Wearing a sad but understanding smile, he leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead with immense tenderness. “Nothing could ever keep me away from you. I would fight a thousand hybrids to be with you.”

A tear slid down my cheek. I swallowed the lump in my throat to hold back the onslaught, then wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my cheek on his bare chest.

“I’m glad we understand each other,” I joked.

He blew air through his nose, amused.

“You two ready?” Eric called from the door.

Reluctantly, we broke apart and followed him. On the way, I called my mom and sisters and explained what had happened. Blake had attacked Mom, and I wasn’t taking any chances this time. Reluctantly, they had agreed to stay in a hotel for a few days and to keep a low profile. For once, I was glad that my brother wasn’t around.

When we reached the garage, Eric pointed towards his dark sedan. “I’ve thrown a few things in there, stuff that might come in handy. Here.” He pressed a piece of paper into my hand.

“What is this?” I asked, unfolding it.

“It’s a map and an address.”

“Everyone, leave your phones there,” he pointed toward a shelf on the wall. “We can’t take any risks. They could use them to track us.”

I hated to part with my phone, but I did as he said.

“I’ll pick up some burner ones on my way. You go by your agency and we’ll meet you at that address. Sounds good?”

I nodded.

We got in the Camaro, with me back at the wheel. We tore out of there, the heavy silence returning as we headed toward The Hill. Jake, sitting next to me, looked over the map Eric had given us and marked it with a pen, tracing a route.

“I don’t know how people used to get around without GPS. I already miss my phone,” Rosalina said behind us, trying to make light conversation.

“Me too,” I said. “I don’t think I could get us there with that thing. Glad you’re good for something, Jake.”