War of Hearts (True Immortality) - S Young Page 0,20

enough to convince her she could trust Conall the werewolf. Ashforth was right. Conall had gotten the better of her. She’d been unbeatable for six years. Until the Scot.

Consternated and irritated by his defeat of her, Thea scowled.

Not defeat.

Defeat meant the battle was over.

This battle was definitely not over.

Not too long later (thankfully, because the guy drove in total mind-numbing silence), Thea sensed the car slow, turning off what she assumed was a freeway heading toward Germany.

Her pulse raced as she readied herself to put an escape into motion. Anticipation thrummed in her blood, but she had to stay relaxed, lolling in the back like a drugged-out woman.

Finally, the car came to a complete halt and the gentle vibration of the engine stopped.

The familiar burning sensation on her cheek followed a creak of leather; she knew he was looking at her.

After what felt like an interminably long time, Thea heard the driver’s door open. The car rose beneath her with relief from the wolf’s impressive weight, and then the door shut. She held her breath, waiting as she heard his footsteps move around the car. Something rattled, hissed, and then glugged.

They were at a gas station, she realized.

Pulse increasing by the second, it took everything within Thea to hold still, not to just push open the door and run. But she still wasn’t at full strength and he’d catch her.

So she waited. Heard the glugging stop, the hissing and the gentle rattle of the gas cap closing.

Then the sweet sound she’d been waiting for.

Conall’s heavy footsteps moving farther and farther away.

Without a second to lose, Thea sat up, head low, and spied the tall, imposing figure of the Scot striding toward the gas station to pay. She gently opened the car door facing toward the freeway, and slipped out, keeping her body hidden behind the car.

Thea looked around, taking in the fast-moving traffic beyond, her eyes searching the signs. She couldn’t figure out from here where she was, and she had no time. To the left of the gas station was a shopping center. Beyond that, IKEA. Behind the gas station was a KFC and a furniture store and on the other side of the freeway, another shopping center.

All of that told Thea she was near a town. Possibly one large enough to hide in.

Decision made, Thea took off. She wasn’t as fast as she would be at full strength, but she was still faster than a human. Fast enough to run across a freeway without getting hit.

If a human-shaped blur streaking across the road astonished the humans, Thea couldn’t give a shit. Her priority was to get out of sight. Pronto.

Safely across, she jumped off the freeway, running across a field of grass toward the huge parking lot of the shopping arcade. Her limbs burned with exhaustion, her body still weak from fighting off the drug, but she persevered forward. Diving behind the first car she saw, Thea peered over the hood. The gas station was no longer visible and there was no sign of the werewolf.

Not yet anyway.

The car she was hiding behind was too nice, too new. Not inconspicuous enough. It was broad daylight, midday on a workday, and the parking lot wasn’t very busy. In the far corner, however, there was an old Ford, a little rusty, more than a little uncared for.

After checking to make sure there were no witnesses, Thea yanked on the door handle, breaking the lock. Her limbs trembled as she scrambled to get in the driver’s seat. When she was younger, Thea tended to fry things like engines when her emotions were high.

But that was years ago.

She’d learned a lot of control since then.

Placing her hand over the empty ignition, she sent what was left of her depleted energy into the car. It started abruptly.

Satisfied, Thea tore out of the parking lot, searching the roads for signs of where she was.

Wrocław. They were near Wrocław. Thea hadn’t visited the city, but it should be big enough to hide in until she got her strength back. If Conall was determined to hunt her, she needed to be strong enough to either fight or throw him off her scent entirely.

Following the signs into the city, Thea reached into the glove box and searched. A cheap pair of sunglasses, a map, and some old mints. Sighing in frustration, she flipped up the armrest and relief moved through her.

There was two fifty zloty banknotes and a handful of coins. That was nothing. About twenty-five dollars.