Page 111 of Blood and Trouble

I hummed in subtle agreement, but his gaze caught on my wedding ring and he furrowed his brow.

“You got married?” He jerked his head back and looked at Lycan, who put a protective arm around me and flashed a smug smile.

“You made a mistake, letting this one go,” Lycan said, his tone dripping with territorial possessiveness. “Good to see you again, Fitzgerald.”

“We’ll be in touch.” I gave Scott one last nod and headed toward the door. Poe trailed behind us and fell in next to me in the elevator. He waited until the doors closed before turning toward me and scooping me into a hug.

“That was fucking amazing,” he said, kissing my cheek. “You’re terrifying.”

“Thank you for being here,” I said. “Thank you both for helping me with this.”

Lycan laughed. “You live up to your name, Trouble. The Earl didn’t know what to do with you.”

I let the excitement of our victory wash over me. Guin would have the term sheet before she was out of bed. The underwriters would have it shortly after that. Nobody would put a sign on our field.

Then I sank back to reality. Yes, I’d secured the deal. Yes, I’d gotten it for less than we’d budgeted. But the real threat still lingered in my periphery. Evelyn hadn’t shown herself on our way here. The pack had escorted us to the meeting and waited outside while we handled our business, but we still had the trip back to the townhouse and the plane ride home to consider. We weren’t out of the woods yet.

Perhaps sensing my anxiety, Poe pressed his lips to my forehead. “We’ll be okay, baby.”

I wanted to believe him. We marched through the lobby, met up with Orion and the rest of the pack outside, and climbed into the Range Rover that would take us back to the townhome.

“Keep your eyes open,” Orion said to Locust in the driver’s seat. “If anything smells rotten, peel off. Your priority is getting them out. Let us handle the rest.”

Locust started the vehicle, but I didn’t like the idea of leaving the rest of the pack behind to save myself. Orion and Mill were my brothers-in-law. If I came back without them, Sol and Maeve would be devastated. Despite arguing that they should be allowed to come, my sisters stayed back. The Bastards said they wouldn’t be nearly as effective if they were worried about their mates the entire time. I thought that was some misogynistic bullshit, but I didn’t want them in danger, either.

Evelyn wanted me. So let her have me to save them.

The first ten minutes of the drive passed without issue. We hit traffic getting out of the Square Mile, but nothing substantial. I almost loosened the tight knot in my gut, the one telling me the other shoe was about to drop. It would take us thirty minutes to get to the base, so I pulled out my phone to text my sisters the good news about Fitz.

“I can’t wait to get back to the States,” Locust groaned. “I’ve had enough Europe to last me a lifetime.”

“What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get home?” I asked with a smile, typing out a message.

“Eat a fucking hot dog,” he said.

Lycan laughed. “There are hot dogs here.”

“A sausage is not a hot dog, you fucking swine.” Locust rolled his eyes.

My husband scoffed. “Don’t tell me you’re in your snob era. You’ve been spending too much time with Trouble.”

“Hey!” I swatted Lycan on the chest, who caught my hand and pressed a kiss to my palm.

Lycan opened his mouth to respond, but my focus caught on the sight behind him. A huge Escalade barreled toward us, and before I could shout at Locust to move, it rammed into the side at full speed.

CHAPTER 25

Poe

Ava’s sickening panic speared through me in the split second before the Escalade slammed into the Range Rover, launching me to the side. Crunching metal deafened the world. The seatbelt locked, and my head bounced off the popped airbag, sending dust into the cabin that stuck to the back of my throat as I struggled for air. Just when it seemed we’d stopped, another crash came from the driver’s side, whipping the front to the right.

My vision shimmered, blacking in and out, and tinnitus rang in my eardrums, the high-pitched squeal of shock and confusion. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was. I thought about letting the daze have me, about sinking into unconsciousness and giving up on reality.

Snap out of it!

My wolf growled and bucked in my mind. He snarled until I listened to him, my senses jolting back online.

“Ava!” I shouted, immediately looking for my mate. She was knocked out next to me, her head limp on her shoulders.