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I gave him a perplexed look. “We’ve got to be going.”
“Not until we say you are,” he said.
We reached the door but he followed us out.
Aiden stood with the door open on the driver’s side, his hand braced on the top of the car and his eyes watchful. I didn’t breathe until I saw Dylan’s head in the back seat.
I was starting to say something conciliatory, trying to keep everything amiable until we could reach the car.
Rose suddenly stepped between me and the men. “Remember the contract about neutral territory.”
What was she doing? A new level of anxiety spiked through me, and I’d already thought I was pretty much maxed out on worry.
“We’re not violating the contract,” one of the men said. “We’re having a conversation.”
The other man said to him, in a thoughtful way, “Although if wewereviolating anything, we could feed her to the vamps after we were done with her. She’s got that unearthly beauty they pay well for…”
He tilted his head to one side, staring, totally focused on me even though Rose stood between us.
“Time to go,” I said urgently, swinging open the back door for Rose at the same time as I opened the passenger door. I didn’t like to be in a different seat than Dylan, not right now when I felt nervous, but the back seat was closest to her and I wanted her to make a run for it. “The pack will be waiting for us.”
She suddenly turned and bolted for the car. Aiden already had the engine running. I waited until she was diving into the back seat to throw myself in and slam the door shut.
As we burned out of there, the wolves were behind us in the parking lot. I caught a glimpse behind me of a blur of laughing faces. It was great someone was having a good time with all of this, because we certainly weren’t.
“What were you thinking?” I demanded.
“I was distracting them so you could get away! You’re the one they wanted.”
I tucked my hair behind my ear with trembling fingers. “Believe me, I’m aware. We need to figure out what they were talking about… about the vamps.”
“I still want that cake,” Dylan said mournfully, apparently having realized we were going to survive for him to complain.
I sealed my lips shut, despite the shuddering impulse in my chest to know,now,what the hell they were talking about. But I didn’t know where to begin.
“Here buddy, try not to spill it in the car. And you’ve got to share.” Rose handed him a white takeout container and a plastic fork.
That was why my sister had been loitering at the table.
“You’re spoiling him,” I said. “And we’re going to need all the money we have to start a new life.”
Her eyes flashed. “There’s nothing I can do to make you happy, is there?”
“There’s a lot you can do to make me happy! Telling me the truth. Not trying to sacrifice yourself. Not spoiling my son when he already had a giant temper tantrum.”
“It wasn’t that giant,” Aiden volunteered helpfully. “I remember when Rose was a toddler and it was a lot worse…”
He trailed off as we both glared at him, the temperature in the car feeling rather icy.
Rose’s lower lip trembled. “You’re never going to forgive me, are you?”
I couldn’t answer that yet.
“I just want you to be safe,” I said, more softly. “I just want all of us to be safe.”
Now that we were out on the open road, away from the King pack, and I finally had what I wanted… I didn’t know how I would ever feel safe.
In a soft voice, Rose said, “I took your future away from you. I don’t know how I'll ever make up for that.”
