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“I’m sorry, Stephanie.”
“For what? Driving my truck like there’s no such thing as an insurance deductible?” she snapped.
She’d always been a bit sassy. Bennett had always liked that about her, and now he was finding he still did. “Hey, this old thing handles pretty well, actually.”
“I guess if we’re still alive, that’s something.”
Bennett made another quick right and then watched the rearview. No one was behind them now, and he hadn’t seen any sign that they were being followed. They’d gotten away for now, but that had been far too close of a call. If Stephanie didn’t like his driving, she really wasn’t going to like what he had to say next.
“We’re alive,” he agreed, “for the moment. But our lives are still in danger.”
She was watching the mirrors just as vigilantly as he was, but she snapped her head around to look at him. “Why, though? I know you’ve already had to explain some pretty major things, like your existence, but you’re going to have to lay this all out for me, Bennett. I’m not sure how much more I can take.”
“Well, that’s what I was apologizing for.” He readjusted his grip on the wheel and worked his way toward the edge of town. “They’ve seen you with me, and that means you’re associated with me. You have to come with me to my place.”
“No.” She shook her head and dug her nails into the upholstery. “I just want to go home. If you need the truck to get to wherever you’re going, fine, but drop me off first. I’ll give you the address.”
“I can’t do that, Stephanie.” He pulled out onto the highway and accelerated smoothly. “Just because we didn’t see them follow us doesn’t mean they aren’t aware of our location. If we go to your place, they’ll know exactly where you live. You’d be taken out in no time. My place is secure enough that they’ll never get to you.”
“But who are they?” she demanded, her pitch rising as tears glimmered in her eyes. “I’ve got to know what’s going on, Bennett. I’m a logical, rational person, and I’m desperately hoping that a good explanation will help it all make sense. And maybe I won’t feel like I’m living in a horror movie.”
Bennett could pretty much guarantee that wouldn’t be the outcome, but she did deserve an explanation. “Okay, first of all, not all shifters are on good terms with each other. It’s not like all humans are friends, so I think that’s pretty easy to understand. Right?”
She swallowed. “Right.”
“We have different factions. They’re usually based at least loosely around a family unit, and we call them packs.” He was moving slowly through this, feeling like he was trudging through mud. He didn’t want to get to the part she really had to know now, though.
“Just like a wolf pack,” she affirmed, still obviously trying to get a hold of herself.
“Some of them get along. Some of them even have alliances. Other times, we’re nothing but enemies. Those guys you just saw back there are part of the Silvergrove pack. More specifically, they’re the Bloodmoon Crew. Basically, they’re a group within the Silvergroves who are running a crime organization.”
She stared at him for a long moment, her head bobbing slightly with the movement of the truck. “Shifters…and the mob?”
“Basically.” Bennett ran his hand across his chin, hating himself for the whole thing. He’d never meant to get anyone else involved. His line of work meant he operated alone, and there was good reason for it. Most people couldn’t handle this. Stephanie looked like she might evaporate if he turned the heater up too high, so she clearly wasn’t handling it at all. “They might be shifters, but they’re just like any other crime organization you’ve ever heard of. They want to gain power, and they’ll do it by whatever means necessary. It doesn’t matter who or what stands in their way.”
“Holy shit.” She sank into her seat, rested her elbow on the door, and tented her hand over her eyes. “Here I was thinking this was just a normal day. I just went out for a walk with Annie and the dogs. Simple enough. Now I’m in trouble with the werewolf mob. Fantastic.”
Bennett was acutely aware that it wasn’t just the mob part that was making her upset. He’d dealt her one hell of a blow by revealing himself as a shifter, and there’d been no choice but to explain the truth about that. It was a hell of a lot to lay on her, especially in one day. “I was hired to take the Bloodmoon Crew down.”
“Which explains why there are bitemarks in my truck and fur in my grill,” she retorted. Her brows knotted together and she sat up straight. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait.”
“What?” Bennett kept his foot pressed firmly on the accelerator. Whatever reservations she had wouldn’t stop him from getting as far away from the Bloodmoon Crew as he could.
“You were hired to take them down?” She was staring at him hard now, her eyes boring into his cheek.
“That’s right.” His job wasn’t an easy one to explain, but he rarely ever found himself in a position of having to do so. “My first attempt didn’t go very well. It turns out they’re much stronger than they were the last time I ran into them, but that was personal.”
He kept his gaze hard on the road as they flew along the highway, the dark shadows of the trees thickening on either side of them. Bennett had first come to know the Bloodmoon Crew a long time ago, and he’d been more than eager for this chance to get the revenge he craved. He’d underestimated them, though.
Bennett was living in the past, but Stephanie was still very much in the present moment. “So what are you? Some sort of vigilante or something?”
“It’s not exactly how I refer to myself, but the job descriptions line up.” He knew how it sounded, and she’d certainly gotten a good sense of how his life looked. He wasn’t just some innocent kid with a secret, not anymore. He had a lot of secrets, and most of them weren’t the kind anyone liked to hear. Bennett swore he felt her pulling back from him, and the wolf inside him howled in protest. He’d finally found his mate again. Sure, Bennett had known she was around somewhere, but he’d stopped looking a long time ago. Then fate had tossed them back together, and it was hard not to think there was a good reason for it.
“I thought vigilantes were only in movies,” she muttered.
“Kind of like people who turn into wolves?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Her smile was sad, and she once again looked on the verge of tears. “Just like that.”
