“Yes,” Bethi said when Winifred wouldn’t.
Winifred gave her a look.
“What? He nearly tore down Ethan’s bar when that guy hit her. What else could it be?”
“That’s why he came at the cage?” I asked.
Bethi, still turned in her seat, grinned at me.
“Werewolves are protective.”
“Okay. Fine. So I get that he wants me to bite him—not going to happen by the way—but why did he want me to run?”
Shock hit me.
“I beg your pardon?” Winifred said.
“Last night, after I blasted all you guys. Carlos took me into the woods and told me to run. I blame my agreement on the alcohol.”
“What happened?” Bethi’s rabid curiosity coated my skin like lotion.
“I ended up on the ground with a growling fur-beast straddling me,” I said.
“Did he hurt you?” Winifred asked.
“He thanked me and helped me to my feet. So, can you tell me why he wanted me to run?”
Winifred’s sudden need to watch the road had me curious. That she took a moment to answer had me planning all the ways I’d make Carlos pay if he’d talked me into doing something bad. Gradually, Winifred’s shock died down.
“It hasn’t been long since we shed our fur as daily wear and started to wear clothes. At heart, we’re still animals,” she said. “And a chase still gives us a thrill.” She glanced at me in the mirror.
“Wait. You’re saying he wanted me to run because it turned him on?”
“I’m totally going to get Luke to chase me,” Bethi said with a grin.
I ignored her.
“And the shaking?” I asked.
“Struggling for control over the change,” Winifred said. “When we’re emotionally—”
“I get it. Do I have a choice? Am I going to be forced to pair up with Carlos?”
“No one will force you,” she said. “You will always have a choice.”
“Good,” I said with a long exhale. “I didn’t sign on to be a new candidate in this werewolf dating service you all seem to have going on. Now, for some serious business,” I said, ready to change the subject.
“I thought that was serious,” Bethi said.
“When I tried to push out the sludge inside me just a little while ago, it didn’t work. Carlos thinks it’s because I’m too worried about hurting the people around me. He might be right. But, I need to figure out how this thing works.”
Bethi was already nodding.
“Yep. I agree.”
“Okay. So, pushing with everyone around is out. But I thought of something else. Gabby said the Urbat are spread out. I want to see if we can isolate one or two, so I can use them as practice.”
I could already see the rejection in Winifred’s gaze. Bethi, on the other hand, thought it was a great idea by her excitement.
“Yes,” she said. “That would be perfect. We can hang back, and you can easily take on one or two. As long as Gabby’s watching, they can’t really go anywhere with you if it doesn’t work.
“We don’t think this is a sound plan,” Winifred said. She opened her mouth to say more, but Bethi turned on her.
“Did you see what happened to her when Ethan died? Her skin split. From the inside. Her eyes were seconds from hemorrhaging, based on how they looked just after. She’s lucky she didn’t liquefy her liver. If she doesn’t learn how to push out the excess emotion the next time something bad happens, she won’t have an out. Denying her isn’t an option.”
Bethi’s angry waves of frustration made me twitch. I needed to call my attack Chihuahua off.
“Down girl. You’re back on my sleepover list,” I said, nudging her with a finger. “Just cut back on the overload, okay?”
She took a breath and muted some of what she felt.
“Can we pull over to talk about it? After that, I think I need to drive with Carlos again.
“Sorry,” Bethi mumbled.
“Don’t worry about it.” As I spoke, the lead vehicle put on its blinker and braked.
When Winifred came to a stop on the shoulder, I breathed a sigh of relief and climbed out. Carlos was already out of his seat and walking toward us. His gaze swept over me. He’d been worried. I couldn’t feel it or see it in his gaze, yet I knew and felt a flutter in my middle because of it.
“I’m fine,” I said when he walked up to me.
“Why did we stop?”
Winifred indirectly answered his question as she spoke to Sam and Grey while everyone else joined us.
“Isabelle wants to find a lone Urbat. She needs to figure out how she released her emotions yesterday and can’t do it with us around.”
“Alone?” Sam said.
Carlos studied me.
“Isolated. Not alone,” I said.
“It’s not up for debate,” Bethi said. “If she doesn’t learn how to do this, the next time she overloads, she could kill herself.”
Carlos’ hands, which had hung loosely at his side, curled into fists.
“How does the route look?” Sam asked Gabby.
“Clear. It’s been clear since we left. Although, one of them came near the hotel last night then left again. Since then, none of them have moved.”
“It’s bugging me that they’ve backed off like that,” Bethi said. “They don’t back off. They fight.”
“Maybe what Isabelle did scared them,” Winifred said.
Bethi seemed to consider it, then slowly shook her head.
“I think there’s something more to their actions.”
“We need to find out what,” I said, agreeing with her. “Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, looking at me.
“They are obviously trying to steer us north, right? So let’s go west and see what happens. As soon as we find an Urbat, we’ll stop and I’ll say hi. Maybe the lucky guy will be able to shed some light on why they want us to go north. If not, I’ll still get my chance at figuring out my newest trick.”
“What exactly do you mean by isolated?” Grey asked.
“You just need to be far enough away that when I pull or push emotions, you won’t be in the blast zone.”
He nodded and looked at Winifred and Sam.
“If the rest of you stay back by the vehicles, Carlos and I can walk Isabelle as close as possible. Then, she can go the rest of the way on her own. Gabby and Sam can keep Carlos and me informed of any movement. We’ll be close enough to protect her if need be, and the rest of you will be far enough away to stay safe.”
They debated it for a while, then finally agreed. Gabby would take us to a thin spot. Not too close. Within a mile. Then Carlos, Grey, and I would walk the rest of the way.
Before we got back into the cars, we practiced again. Emmitt was getting better at trusting the circle to protect Michelle and his mom. The three in the middle were working together seamlessly to announce the fight. Our weakness would be in the numbers. There was no way we would survive without casualties if we were attacked again like we had been. We needed to get to New York.
* * * *
I sat in the front again, enjoying the emotional silence as Carlos drove. My stomach rumbled, and I unbuckled to reach back for the sandwich I’d forgotten.
“Isabelle, that’s not safe.”
“Not feeding me isn’t safe. I’d hate for you to lose an arm because I’m hungry.”
I settled back into my seat and set the box in my lap before I buckled again.
“See, nothing to it.”
He didn’t comment.
With a grin, I opened the box and saw a whole sandwich inside. It wasn’t the toasted BLT I’d half eaten. I lifted the top and saw peanut butter and grape jelly. I’d mentioned I’d wanted one, and he’d gotten it for me. It wasn’t the first thing he’d quietly done for me. He’d been taking care of me since Ethan had died. And how had I treated him? Like a pariah.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
“You’re welcome, Isabelle.”
My stomach dipped and danced at his use of my name. I had a feeling he knew exactly what he did to me when he said it, too. Thoughtfully, I lifted the sandwich and took a bite. Ethan had been right; the big guy did want me. But watching my back wasn’t going to be enough because Carlos wasn’t attacking. He was worming his way in.