“He . . . bringing her?” Hayden rasped.
Rafe slammed his foot on the gas and the jeep lunged forward. He glanced to the right and saw that blood had trickled from Hayden’s nose. “He’ll bring her.” It wouldn’t really be the wolf’s choice. The deal hadn’t been for Lucas. It had been for Sarah.
Because he knew all of her weak points, too. Knew them very, very well. Deep inside, Sarah was soft. Pity. If she’d been harder . . .
But, no, she’d showed her true colors. “Sarah won’t leave Dane to die.” Even if Lucas would. “She’ll come with him or she’ll sneak away and come on her own. Either way . . .” His fingers tightened around the wheel. She’d let him f**k her. “Either way, we’ll have her.”
“And Lucas?”
His claws burst through his fingertips. “I’ve been waiting years for that bastard to beg.” The time for waiting was over. “Simone and his brother—and any wolf who stands with him—will die.” He’d make sure that death was as painful as possible. After all, that’s just what Lucas had done to his father, he’d made sure Kaber suffered.
Blood for blood.
Get ready to beg, Simone.
“Are you going to trade her?” Sarah held her breath when she heard Caleb’s voice. She couldn’t see the wolves, but—
“Hell, no,” came Lucas’s instant response. His feet thudded on the floor. “How’s Jordan?”
“Still out.” A sigh. Had to be from Caleb. “He’s gonna be all right, though. Dane’s the one we need to worry about. We can’t just leave him. You know what happened before—”
“I know.” Growled.
Sarah turned away from the room and tried to creep quietly away. Probably didn’t matter how quiet she was, though, the wolves would know she was in the hall. She’d just wanted to peek at Jordan before she left, but there was no chance for that now.
He’d almost died for her. When she’d first planned to come after Lucas, she hadn’t thought about the risks she’d bring to his pack. She’d just thought—
Hell. About myself.
Jordan had nearly died, and if she didn’t do something, Dane would die.
The weight of her knife seemed to burn her ankle. She’d taken the liberty of retrieving her knife from Lucas’s room moments before. She’d changed her clothes, tried to ignore the imprint of Lucas’s body on hers, and gotten her weapon back. Because there was no way she’d face Rafe unarmed.
And I am facing him.
Too many bodies were piling up. If Lucas wouldn’t make the trade, she’d make it herself.
Sarah slipped through the open front door, and ran for the SUV. No wolves were out there, and no one called out to stop her.
Fate was finally on her side. The keys were still inside the vehicle. The wolves must have been too distracted when they pulled up, and they’d forgotten to take the keys out. Their mistake.
She hopped inside. She’d heard enough from the coyote during that brutal pre-death interrogation. She knew where to go. And if she could just get close enough to Rafe . . .
This time, I won’t miss your heart.
Lucas’s head snapped toward the window when he heard the growl of the engine. Piers wouldn’t go to the meeting without him—
He lunged for the window, saw the flash of red tail-lights, and knew. “Sarah!”
Going after the bastard.
Lucas spun around and almost slammed into Caleb.
“Wait, Lucas, what’s—”
“Rafe.” He didn’t need to say more. Lucas shoved past the other shifter and bounded down the stairs. She’d left. Gone out on her own.
“Dammit, I’m comin’ with you!” Caleb yelled.
Piers stepped from the kitchen, blocking his way. “So am I.”
Lucas didn’t slow down, he just pushed the wolf out of his way. “Why the f**k didn’t you stop her?” Piers had been downstairs. He would have caught her scent, heard Sarah as she fled.
“Because someone needed to make the trade.”
Lucas froze and fired a deadly stare over his shoulder. “That’s not your call to make.”
Piers swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “It was hers. She made the call. I just . . .”
“Let her walk to her own death.” He wanted to rip Piers apart. Piers had been his friend for years, but right then, he wanted to hurt the bastard. “If she dies . . .” So do you. The words wanted to come, but he bit them back.
Piers’s lips parted in surprise. Yeah, the wolf understood.
Wasting time. He whirled around and raced for the other SUV. Sarah must have overheard the location of the drop site. He’d been aware of her while he questioned the coyote. Her scent had been strong, too strong—because she was close.
He jumped into the SUV and gunned the engine. Piers and Caleb were right with him.
“Michael will guard Jordan,” Caleb told him. “He saw us go, he—”
Lucas spun out of the graveled drive. She came to me for help, so why is she running back to the bastard now?
“What’s the plan?” Caleb asked from the backseat. “I mean, our first priority is Dane, right? He’s pack, he’s—”
Lucas spared him a glance in the rearview mirror. “The plan is that we get Dane back, we get Sarah, and we kill Rafe.” Simple enough to him.
“We should bring more men,” Piers growled.
“The deal was I bring two men.” His fingers whitened around the wheel. “I bring two men. He gets Sarah, I get Dane.” Only Lucas planned to get them both. “If he catches the scent of more than two . . .” The bastard might kill Dane.
Silence. They all knew what could happen.
The SUV hit one hundred and ten miles per hour as it flew down the winding road.
“Do you really trust her?” Caleb asked quietly. “What if this is just part of a setup?”
Lucas didn’t answer him.
But Caleb kept pushing. “If you find out that she’s tricking you, what will you—”
“Lucas would do anything to protect the pack,” Piers snapped, voice gruff. “You know that.”
Would he? He’d spent so many years fighting for the pack—maybe it was time he got something for himself. Someone. Sarah.
If Rafe had touched her, he’d tear the bastard’s fingers right off his hand.
The warehouse was boarded up, the windows covered, the main entrance blocked with a thick chain. Sarah climbed out of the vehicle, her movements slow, too stiff. She could feel eyes on her, watching her every move. She lifted her hands up high. “I’m not armed!” She could lie, too.