Page 77 of New Blood

“Danielle would have still been on the flat part when realizing the brakes were dead, and would have had the chance to stop just by heading for the bushes. That alone would have stopped the car at that low a speed.”

“Parker is right,” Heath added. “Whoever did this was counting on the car losing its braking power when it was past the gate and going downhill.”

“Fuck!” Jude cursed. “Somebody wanted to kill Danielle. They couldn’t have known that I would be in the car with her.”

“Lucky for her,” Austin said. “If you hadn’t used the handbrake and steered her toward the pond, she’d be dead.”

Fury charged through him. He knew exactly who had done this.

“That fucking bastard. I’ll have his hide now. He’s gonna pay for this!”

Nobody hurt Danielle and got away with it. He should have expected this, should have realized that one beating wasn’t enough for the hotheaded pup who thought the world danced to his tune.

Jude marched back to the house and entered it via the back door that led through the mud room. It was empty. He walked into the hallway and reached the door to the kitchen. Lunch time was long over, and Priscilla had already cleaned up, and the dishwasher was running. But that wasn’t the only scent he picked up. He inhaled, and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. He stepped into the kitchen and saw that only one person was present: the person he needed to deal with.

Byron tossed a raw egg into a blender, which was already filled with other food items. Jude charged toward him, just as Byron looked over his shoulder, alerted by the loud footsteps on the tile floor.

Byron’s eyes widened.

“You fucking jerk! You tried to kill Danielle! I’m gonna make mincemeat out of you.”

Jude landed his fist smack-dab in the middle of Byron’s face. The hotheaded spoiled wolf-pup hadn’t even seen it coming.

The scent of blood instantly filled the kitchen, while Byron, still clearly dumbfounded at having been found out so quickly, raised his arms to shield himself from more punches.

“What the fuck!?” Byron cried out, giving him his best attempt at looking confused and innocent. Well, it didn’t cut it. Not by a long shot.

“You cut the brake line in Danielle’s car. You nearly killed her!”

Jude landed another punch, this time an uppercut, which Byron didn’t get a chance to block.

“I didn’t do anything!”

Byron was able to block the next punch, but it didn’t matter. He wanted the asshole to fight back.

“You sabotaged her car! You fucking bastard! I’ll show you what happens to people who hurt the ones I love.”

He swung again, but this time, his fist didn’t connect with Byron’s face, because somebody from behind him had snatched his arm, jerking him back.

Furious, Jude whirled around, ready to beat whichever relative was defending Byron. To his utter surprise, it was Wendell who was stopping him from beating Byron to a pulp.

“What the fuck, Wendell? Let go of me, or you’re next.” With his other hand, he pointed back to Byron. “He cut the brake line in Danielle’s car to kill her!”

“Stop, Jude! Listen!” Wendell demanded.

“Damn it.” Jude jerked his wrist from Wendell’s grip, then glared back at Byron, ready to continue pummeling him.

“He sabotaged Danielle’s car last night after he found out that I’m mated to her.”

“That’s not possible,” Wendell protested.

“He did it.”

“I didn’t!” Byron piped up, puffing his chest out now.

“He’s telling the truth,” Wendell added.

“You believe him?” Jude asked in shock. “He’s lying!”