and scrapes.
She held her bound wrists at him. “Can you cut me free?”
He blinked. “He tied you up that fast?”
“He had rope in the glove box.” She swallowed hard. “Maybe left over from what he used on my mother. She was right there, in the trunk. I almost had her.”
“The fastest way to cut the rope is to use my claw.” He was warning her, giving her time to look away.
“Do it.”
She neither watched nor turned, seeing a black paw in her peripheral vision. With a deft flick of his wrist, he cut the rope without ever touching her. The rope fell away. He pulled her hand toward him, his eyes narrowing as he took in the bloody scratch. His fingers tightened on her.
“Bastard,” he spat.
She stared at the cut, too, remembering how visceral the beast looked, how real it felt. “You’re a wolf.” The word came out a whisper. It seemed a bizarre statement now, because he was entirely human.
He let go of her hand and continued driving, watching. “You choose the kind of creature you want to Become when you start working with Darkness. Otherwise you end up like that Bengle guy, sort of a hybrid. But you can use it in other ways.”
“Like you did during your act. And Elgin, he used it that way, too. He turned off the car with a stream of it.” She tried not to sound afraid. The effort strained her voice, giving it a sense of falseness. “We have to find her. Or I have to find her.”
“What, you don’t want my help now that you saw me Become?”
“No, it’s not that. Tucker, you don’t owe me risking your life to find her.”
“It’s way beyond that now, Del. These guys are after me, and the D’Rats.”
“The D’Rats?”
“Desert Rats. They’re my sort of family. I’m going to take those two out before they take us out.”
He said it so casually, so coldly, she again remembered his words about not knowing him at all.
“How did it feel to see him? To finally face him?”
“It was strange, looking into my own eyes. But I felt nothing more than that. I’m a loose end, a problem. That’s nothing new, but I sure as hell am not going to let him wipe me out because of it.”
She was shaking now, feeling cold even though heat came out of the vents. Tucker was back on the highway, heading south. She saw him again, in her mind, Becoming wolf as he soared through the air. Graceful. Fast. Terrifying. He fought like a vicious animal. Even as he’d held her hand and looked at her scratch, she’d felt his anger over it.
“You’re afraid of me now,” he said, and she realized he’d been watching her ruminations.
She let out a long breath. “I’ve always been afraid of you, Tucker.”
When he was a child, she was afraid they’d do something that would make him run away. Later, she was afraid to give into the longings of her developing body, afraid to love a boy who might not be able to love her back. Afraid of how he’d insinuated himself into the cells of her body, scared she’d never get him out. And after he’d gone, scared he was dead or in prison or even that he’d moved on and forgotten all about her.
He regarded her but didn’t push her to reveal any of the reasons. “That’s probably a good thing,” he said at last. “Because we’re going to be stuck together until we get rid of these two.”
“Stuck?” That word shot comfort and something she didn’t want to explore into her.
“I’m taking you to my place. You’re staying there until we figure out what to do next.”
Chapter Eight
F ORTY MINUTES LATER, Del and Tucker pulled onto a street that seemed to be at the southern edge of nowhere in Hendersonville. She’d never ventured this far south in the Las Vegas Valley. There were a couple of short, paved streets off the main road, each with one or two homes on it. All around them were miles of scrubland and low mountains in the distance.
He swung the car into the driveway of a two-story hacienda-style home that looked well kept—pretty, even.
She held her bound wrists at him. “Can you cut me free?”
He blinked. “He tied you up that fast?”
“He had rope in the glove box.” She swallowed hard. “Maybe left over from what he used on my mother. She was right there, in the trunk. I almost had her.”
“The fastest way to cut the rope is to use my claw.” He was warning her, giving her time to look away.
“Do it.”
She neither watched nor turned, seeing a black paw in her peripheral vision. With a deft flick of his wrist, he cut the rope without ever touching her. The rope fell away. He pulled her hand toward him, his eyes narrowing as he took in the bloody scratch. His fingers tightened on her.
“Bastard,” he spat.
She stared at the cut, too, remembering how visceral the beast looked, how real it felt. “You’re a wolf.” The word came out a whisper. It seemed a bizarre statement now, because he was entirely human.
He let go of her hand and continued driving, watching. “You choose the kind of creature you want to Become when you start working with Darkness. Otherwise you end up like that Bengle guy, sort of a hybrid. But you can use it in other ways.”
“Like you did during your act. And Elgin, he used it that way, too. He turned off the car with a stream of it.” She tried not to sound afraid. The effort strained her voice, giving it a sense of falseness. “We have to find her. Or I have to find her.”
“What, you don’t want my help now that you saw me Become?”
“No, it’s not that. Tucker, you don’t owe me risking your life to find her.”
“It’s way beyond that now, Del. These guys are after me, and the D’Rats.”
“The D’Rats?”
“Desert Rats. They’re my sort of family. I’m going to take those two out before they take us out.”
He said it so casually, so coldly, she again remembered his words about not knowing him at all.
“How did it feel to see him? To finally face him?”
“It was strange, looking into my own eyes. But I felt nothing more than that. I’m a loose end, a problem. That’s nothing new, but I sure as hell am not going to let him wipe me out because of it.”
She was shaking now, feeling cold even though heat came out of the vents. Tucker was back on the highway, heading south. She saw him again, in her mind, Becoming wolf as he soared through the air. Graceful. Fast. Terrifying. He fought like a vicious animal. Even as he’d held her hand and looked at her scratch, she’d felt his anger over it.
“You’re afraid of me now,” he said, and she realized he’d been watching her ruminations.
She let out a long breath. “I’ve always been afraid of you, Tucker.”
When he was a child, she was afraid they’d do something that would make him run away. Later, she was afraid to give into the longings of her developing body, afraid to love a boy who might not be able to love her back. Afraid of how he’d insinuated himself into the cells of her body, scared she’d never get him out. And after he’d gone, scared he was dead or in prison or even that he’d moved on and forgotten all about her.
He regarded her but didn’t push her to reveal any of the reasons. “That’s probably a good thing,” he said at last. “Because we’re going to be stuck together until we get rid of these two.”
“Stuck?” That word shot comfort and something she didn’t want to explore into her.
“I’m taking you to my place. You’re staying there until we figure out what to do next.”
Chapter Eight
F ORTY MINUTES LATER, Del and Tucker pulled onto a street that seemed to be at the southern edge of nowhere in Hendersonville. She’d never ventured this far south in the Las Vegas Valley. There were a couple of short, paved streets off the main road, each with one or two homes on it. All around them were miles of scrubland and low mountains in the distance.
He swung the car into the driveway of a two-story hacienda-style home that looked well kept—pretty, even.
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