The Vow (Black Arrowhead #1) - Dannika Dark Page 0,95

that around here?”

He laughed. “Half the damn town? Most of the cars around here were built and repaired from scraps in the junkyard.”

“Crow. What does Crow drive? He’s got black hair—”

“I know who he is.” Kaota wiped his mouth and then hooked his arm outside the door. “An old green car. Big one. I never paid attention to the model. His is the last turnoff before you reach our territory.”

“Tell the Council I’m heading out to his place.” Lakota slammed his foot on the gas and weaved around an oncoming car that was trying to pass Kaota.

“Dammit!” When he got his hands on Crow, he was going to rip him apart, with or without evidence.

This time, it was personal.

Chapter 20

Dizzy. I’m so dizzy. I reached up, barely comprehending that I was in the trunk of a car. It was tight—no room to move. When I brought my hand around to the back of my head, warm liquid wet my fingertips. Oh God. What if my skull is fractured?

Without a second thought, I shifted to wolf form and then back. Quick shifts were a surefire way to piss off my animal, but better that than dying from a hematoma. I shifted once more and back again. This time, the pain was gone and the wound healed.

The car hit a hard bump, and my body slid around as the vehicle turned sharply.

“Think, think,” I whispered.

I felt around the floor for a makeshift weapon like a tire iron or a conveniently placed rifle. Instead, the only things I found were clothes and a spare tire behind me. I could probably bust out a taillight with my hand, but that wouldn’t do me any good. The human police likely didn’t come out this way except to go to a crime scene.

My head knocked against the trunk lid when we drove over a deep pothole. Since we were no longer on a paved road, we must have been nearing our destination. I scrambled into action, pulling the clothes over my body and hiding beneath. It was a risky move, but my wolf knew we were in danger. Whether she decided to run or attack was up to her, but I was going to pull off a move that Crow would least expect.

If that bastard thought I was just some frail girl who would beg for her life, then he’d never met a Cole. He’d struck me hard enough to knock me out, so maybe he didn’t expect me to be conscious.

When he opened the trunk and stared at the pile of clothes, a wolf was going to be waiting beneath. Crow obviously wasn’t a wolf—that much I could tell. A man gave away a lot about his animal in the way he moved and behaved around others. Crow was confident, observant, and crafty but definitely not a wolf.

“I miss you,” I whispered, thinking about my family. I was moments away from fighting for my life, and I had no idea how it would end. “I love you.”

That last one was for Lakota. Any attachment he might have felt would soon fade once he realized that sex wasn’t love. But I loved him. What I felt for him was bone-deep, and it had all started the night he found me in a snowstorm.

I often dreamed about that night, and in my dream, Lakota was always there in the end. No matter how frightened or alone I was, no matter how hopeless it seemed, Lakota always managed to find me. But not this time. There were no tracks to follow, and I was alone.

When the car squealed to a stop, I readied myself to shift. The car door slammed, and my throat dried up. Crow’s footsteps were heavy and slow, like he was taking his time while he jingled the keys around his finger.

He was whistling the theme song to a TV show I couldn’t place, and for some reason, his carefree approach made me even more nervous. As soon as the key slid into the lock, I shifted. My wolf crouched low against the floorboard, a narrow gap between garments allowing her to see. I conveyed to her what was happening and that our lives were in danger. The link between us was more of a series of images and emotions that helped us communicate right after a shift. My wolf had total control, and I was more of a passenger along for the ride, but I could see, smell, hear, and feel everything through her