way, we are better disguised. You have something against gingers?” He smirks. “Prefer the blond?”
“I actually prefer dark hair.” I shrug and then shake my head. “No, stop distracting me. Seriously, what the hell have you dragged me into? Why are they coming after us now?”
“They hate skinwalkers, it’s true, but I am…well, let’s say an enemy because of our history. If they are coming after you now, it means you have outlived your usefulness.”
I slump back, scrubbing my face. “So what now, genius?”
“Something is happening with them. If they are coming after us, we have no choice. We need to stop them.”
“Stop them?” I laugh bitterly. “You don’t stop the council. They are the law apart from the sleeping one…who, well, you don’t fucking mess with.”
“Laws are meant to be changed when they don’t work,” he snarls, moving closer, and those green eyes unnerve me for a moment. “I was gathering information on monsters working for him. The monsters doing the council’s dirty work? I stop them. But I need to do some research, and that means seeing an old friend. I need some of the information he has. That’s where we’re going next. I can stop them, overthrow them. I just need to double-check some wording on the bindings that put them into position… My memory isn’t as good as it once was.” The last part is muttered as he leans over and takes a sip of my tea.
“Fine.” I sigh, deciding to keep him close. When I have my first opportunity, I’ll give him to the council and hope they spare me. “Cut the green eye shit though, it’s weird.”
His eyebrow arches. “Really? It takes extra energy to keep them like this, but I figured I would blend in more.” He looks around before meeting my gaze with a smile. “But if you insist.” His eyes slowly fade to black, and for some reason, that settles me more than staring into those unfamiliar green orbs.
“Let’s go. I’m not saying I’m down with this plan, but we do need to get out of town before it’s flooded with hunters. I’ll let the heat die down, and then I can decide what I want to do. I might as well stick with you for that.”
He shrugs and gets to his feet, reaching as if to take my hand, but I snatch it away.
“Don’t touch me,” I snarl.
“You wanted me to earlier,” he teases, and I flash him the knife at my side, making him laugh, even as he backs off with his hands raised. Rolling my eyes, I start to follow him from the coffee shop when something catches my eye—a news report of an attack on a church, eight dead and four in critical condition. It mentions something about them coming from the graveyard and being dressed as zombies.
Seriously, what the fuck is this city coming to?
I drive, of course, as he directs me out of the city and onto the long, winding country roads. The day passes quickly. I only stop once for gas, and the ride is quiet. I’m debating how to get the truth out of him, who knows what he’s thinking.
After all, we are just strangers thrown together by chance.
When we’re back on the road, the late afternoon sun almost blinding me, I decide I’m sick of the silence. “Okay, so tell me everything.”
I feel him look at me. “What do you mean?”
“What do I need to know about you? You’re a skinwalker hunting killers. Why? How long? And is Khalid your real name?” I start, and he chuckles.
“You ask a lot of questions for a woman who wanted to kill me yesterday.”
“Yes, well, seems like I’m stuck with you for a while, so I may as well learn about the person I might get murdered over,” I mutter as I change lanes and pull down the visor so I can see.
“Why? Going to tell me about you?” he replies.
I snort, and he nudges me with his shoulder. “Not likely.”
“It goes both ways.” He sighs. “If you want to know about me, then you have to tell me about you.”
I go silent then, since I’m not the sharing type. Especially with someone I plan on betraying by giving over to the council to save my own life. He may say he’s hunting only ‘monsters,’ but I know nothing about this skinwalker, and I can’t be too careful around him. Just because he has abs and kisses like a porn star—fuck, I got distracted.
“So you’re