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“I don’t know. Something’s not right.”
He saw Gavin in the SUV behind him and thought maybe all the talk about their pasts and the danger that still surrounded Ashley had made him more paranoid than usual, but then a horn honked, and something crashed into their vehicle on his side, sending it careening from one side of the road to the other. They went airborne and Ashley screamed his name. The truck slammed into the ground and rolled down an embankment.
His tiger roared in his head, but everything went dark.
The last thing he heard was the screech of metal and Ashley calling his name.
ChapterNineteen
Ashley came to and the first thing she saw was darkness. Her body jolted and something creaked, a spill of light casting a sickly yellow tint to the room.
“She’s awake.”
She blinked rapidly and her vision cleared, allowing her to see that she was in a small room without windows or furniture other than the chair she was sitting on.
“Brent?”
He arched a brow. “Did hitting your head on the dashboard knock something loose? Yes, it’s me. The question is, who the hell are you?”
She frowned. “What? It’s me, Ashley.”
Buck strode into the room and handed Brent her purse. “I can’t find her phone.”
Brent rifled through her bag. “She probably got rid of it. Left it someplace innocuous so we wouldn’t get suspicious. But that’s okay, I’m plenty suspicious.”
“Brent, why am I tied up?” Her mind raced, but her aching head made it difficult to think straight. What had happened? Was Romeo okay? Would the tigers following them help him?
“You know why.” Brent dumped out the contents of her purse, her necessities scattering and bouncing on the tile floor. “You were being followed in the tiger town, then to the lab, after which you were taken. I assume you were heading to the rental house to grab your things and ghost me. You just didn’t think to check to see if your boyfriend’s vehicle had a tracker on it. Because it did.”
Her stomach felt like it was filled with lead. She’d told Romeo she was worried Brent would come after her. She just hadn’t realized he already had.
Quickly she said, “You told me to figure out how to infiltrate the ambush, so I did. I seduced one of the king’s guards.”
“You mean his number two? Yes, I know all about Romeo. What a stupid name for an idiot. However, I know you weren’t faking it. When you seduced that wolf leader, you were still firmly on my side. How you’re behaving now? It reeks of a woman whose loyalties have been tainted. You’re not on my side anymore, Ashley. That’s very clear.”
Buck took a step toward her, his face a mask of hatred. “Let me just kill her.”
Brent put his hand on Buck’s chest and stopped him. “That won’t work. We need to lure as many tigers here as possible, and she needs to be alive for that to happen.”
“Brent, please,” she said. “You know me. I’m still loyal to you.”
He marched to her and showed her his phone, with picture after picture of her and Romeo embracing outside Midas’s home and pictures of them inside his home making out.
It was a good thing his bedroom window blinds had been closed. She didnotwant images of her having sex on Brent’s phone. Or anywhere.
“So I think you’re not loyal to me, but that’s okay. You’ll still be useful.” He walked out of the room, calling to Buck, “Get her ready for her debut.”
* * *
“Wake up, damn it!”
Someone slapped Romeo hard enough to rattle his teeth. He snarled and reached out to punch whoever it was when his arm hurt and he froze.
What the hell?
He opened his eyes and saw the sky, wincing as icy snowflakes fell on his cheeks. He…wasn’t in the truck?
Ashley!
