Hot Blooded (Wolf Springs Chronicles) - By Nancy Holder Page 0,18
you’ll be useful after all.” He held up a warning finger. “You don’t say a word about any of this to your grandpa. Your training. Us. Not one word.”
“I haven’t and I won’t.” She tried to keep her voice steady. As he glared at her, she lowered her head to show respect . . . and so that he couldn’t see her clamped jaw. He was a tyrant, and she hated him as much as she feared him.
“Now get her home,” he ordered, and sauntered off in the direction of the house.
Avoiding Justin’s gaze as well, Katelyn headed for the motorcycle. But Justin gently brushed her forearm with his fingertips. It was a soft, kind gesture.
“We’ll take the truck,” he said. “You’re too tired to hang onto me for that long.”
“I, um, lost my cell phone,” she said. She didn’t want to tell him, but neither did she want him finding it and investigating it too closely.
“No, you didn’t,” he said, pulling it out of his pocket and handing it to her.
She stared at him as she wrapped her hand around it. How had he gotten hold of it? Had he found something on there that would get her in trouble, like a new message from Cordelia? As much as she wanted to check the phone, she kept her attention riveted on his face.
“How?” she asked.
“Werewolves can move very fast, Kat. You’re not used to it yet, but you’ll get there. I programmed my number in,” he added.
“Not cool,” she said. And then before he could tell her to act more respectfully, she lowered her head.
He didn’t respond, just headed for the truck, forcing her to follow. As they climbed into the vehicle, every one of Katelyn’s senses went on alert and she moved as far away from him as she could, gripping the armrest. Then Mr. Fenner appeared at Katelyn’s window, rapping lightly at it. Startled, she fumbled for the button to unroll it, but Justin hadn’t turned the key yet and the electric function didn’t work. She opened the door.
“Tell your mother to get home,” he said. “It’s going to rain.”
Katelyn was stunned. He was talking to her as though she was Cordelia. She slid a glance at Justin, who cleared his throat and started the engine.
“Sure will, Uncle Lee,” he said. “We’ll go tell her right now.”
“Good. Good.” Mr. Fenner nodded and stepped away from the truck. Katelyn shut the door and sat unmoving as Justin headed for the main road.
“He’s stressed,” Justin said. “You know Cordelia was his favorite.” He glanced at her as he turned to the left. “You haven’t heard from her, have you?”
Was he testing her? Did he already know the answer? Had Cordelia texted her again, and he’d seen it? She itched to check out her phone.
“I won’t give up on finding her,” Justin said, as if he could read her mind. “I’ll make sure she’s safe. I promise you, Kat.”
She heard the caring in his voice, the concern, and tried to say thank you, but she was too upset. She leaned her head against the window, then thought of all that had happened and pulled away, half imagining that the Hellhound would hurtle itself at the window and crash through the glass.
“He thought I was her,” she said, deliberately not answering his question. “And that Cordelia’s mother — his wife — was still alive . . . I didn’t know what to do.”
“You did fine,” he assured her. “Best thing to do is just say and do as little as possible.”
“Why?”
He chewed the inside of his cheek as if considering his words very carefully. “Uncle Lee has always been a very dangerous man. His condition — this dementia — now makes him unpredictable as well as dangerous.”
She swallowed. “All that talk of killing . . . it’s not just talk, is it?”
Justin focused his sea-blue eyes on her. He looked so serious, dead sober. “No. He really is willing to kill you, and your grandfather. The secret has to be protected, and that’s just him doing his job.”
She shivered. She had known that was the answer, and she could tell that Justin was being completely honest. “Has he ever had to kill before?” she asked.
Justin was silent for a long time. “There have been challenges,” he said softly at last.
The hair stood up on her arms. Challenges. Fights to the death. It was so awful and barbaric. So totally unbelievable.
“But, family, it’s so important to him,” she said.