“This pull won’t go away, will it?”
“No.”
I nodded slowly.
“I don’t do relationships,” I said softly. “It’s not just to protect the guy, you know. It’s to protect me, too. I don’t want to spend my life hitting the people who mean something to me.”
“Maybe you’ll feel differently when you learn how to release what you pull in.”
I finished my sandwich in silence then turned in my seat to study him. He really wouldn’t give up. For some reason, the idea didn’t annoy me as much as it probably should have.
“And maybe I’ll be so overcome by my awesome new skill that I’ll bite you.”
His hand tightened fractionally on the steering wheel. The bite thing was really messing with him.
I smirked when he cleared his throat lightly before speaking.
“Michelle found a place in New York already,” he said. “Three apartments in a secured building. Bethi is arguing that you need better isolation.”
“It’s New York. How isolated does she think she can get me? Tell her to stop worrying.”
“Will it be too much?” He glanced at me.
“It will be what it will be. We need to expose the Urbat, and everyone agreed New York is the place to do it. So, we have to go there. But, this side trip will be helpful. If I can master pushing out the emotions, pulling won’t be an issue anymore.”
We drove west for almost an hour before we pulled over again.
I got out and stretched. I was tired of all these car rides and just wanted to get where we needed to be already.
“He’s about a mile up the road,” Gabby said as she walked toward me.
“He?”
“Just a guess,” Gabby said. “They’ve all been men so far. I figured the Urbat are just as hard up for females as these guys are. I’ll keep an eye on things from here and report any movement to Sam. Sam will keep Grey and Carlos informed.”
I nodded.
“Ready for a country stroll?” I said, looking at Grey and Carlos.
“Lead the way,” Grey said.
My palms started to sweat as I walked away from the group.
“I want you to stay as far back as possible, Grey.”
“You have my word,” he said. Yet, Grey’s worry drifted on the wind.
I didn’t bother trying to reason with Carlos, who strode beside me. I doubted he’d listen.
The sound of the idling engines faded as we walked. Ahead, in the road, I spotted a little figure.
“Gabby says there’s movement north and south. Reinforcements,” Grey said. “We’ll only have a few minutes.”
We picked up our pace, and I watched the distant figure rapidly grow. Whoever it was approached us, too.
When I could make out the worn pants and stained shirt of the man, he stopped advancing. So did Grey. Carlos and I kept going.
“I won’t let you pass,” the man called.
I could see the superior smirk. Oh, how I wanted to wipe that look from his face. His people had killed Ethan.
“I’m not here to try to get past you,” I said. I kept walking until I felt his disdain. Then I stopped. I couldn’t feel Grey or Carlos so I began pulling a little.
“Here for some more fun, human-lover?”
My nervousness fled at the rise of my fury. He knew about Ethan? How could he know when I’d killed them all? Could they do that mind thing, too?
“No. I’m here to see how many more of you I can kill before I die.”
His humor faded, and I waited for his reaction.
“The others are turning back,” Carlos said. Grey was obviously feeding him information.
“Your friends don’t want to come and play?” It didn’t surprise me. “Why not? What are you and your kind afraid of?”
His anger washed over me. I pulled some of that into me as well. My skin tingled but didn’t feel tight.
“Nothing. Certainly not a little bitch like you.”
I laughed, pulled hard on an inhale, and pushed it all back at him on the exhale. The man fell to his knees, holding his head. His nose bled.
“Tell Blake I’m coming for him.”
“He’s counting on it.” The man spat red.
“I doubt he’s counting on what I’m going to do to him.”
His twisted, feral smile made me itch to do worse to him.
“Blake’s got far worse planned for you,” his gaze flicked to Carlos, “and a few others in your group.”
I tried to step forward, but Carlos’ hand on my shoulder stopped me.
“You know what you need?” I said to the man, ignoring Carlos. “Obedience training. When I’m finished with you, you’ll be fetching my paper.”
I pulled hard again. The man grunted and wavered.
“Do you like how that feels? Mmm, your fear is delicious. I like the taste of coward.”
His anger spiked, and I pulled it all. The man slumped to the ground. Though his face rested against the asphalt, his eyes tracked my progress when Carlos finally released me. I squatted beside the man and poked his forehead.
“Don’t threaten what’s mine.”
“When we’re done with you,” the man slurred, “you’ll have nothing.” He started to laugh.
I wanted to push out the anger I still held, but I didn’t. I couldn’t kill him. Even though it seemed like a really awesome idea now, I’d regret it later.
“Night,” I said standing. Then I kicked him in the head.
His eyes rolled back and closed.
I stood and stayed there, staring down at him for a moment.
“Isabelle?”
Turning, I glanced at Carlos. I felt twitchy with the unspent energy still crawling through me. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. But it made me frown at him irritably.
“Get rid of it,” Carlos said.
I started walking. Grey was a good distance away, and I waved him to move further. When I was an equal distance between the fallen man and Grey, I glanced at Carlos.
“Do it,” he said.
His dark gaze held mine. What if I hurt him? I swallowed my fear and pushed. This time, it worked. Carlos didn’t stagger or fall, but I did see his fingers twitch.
“Did you feel that?”
“No. There are others coming this way. We need to run.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. He and I ran back to the vehicles. It was obvious he was holding back so he kept pace with me. All the engines were running. Winifred was at the wheel of our vehicle.
“Kicked the hornet’s nest, did I?” I said as I slid into the backseat. To my surprise, Carlos joined me.
“Not too badly. There are only a few headed this way,” she said as she turned the car around. We followed the other cars back the way we’d come.
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine. Let Bethi know it worked.”
Winifred nodded.
* * * *
We drove forever. My butt went numb, and my patience wore thin. The clock on the dash flashed two a.m. Sure we’d stopped for bathroom breaks, practice, and slowed down for a fast food dinner, but we still continued to push further north as if trying to make up for the westward detour.
The Urbat alley remained a beehive of activity with many leaving their posts to follow us north. Though Bethi felt more assured by the response to our test, no one else did.
“Seriously, are we there yet?” I asked, letting my head fall back against the seat.
“Almost,” Winifred said.
Thankfully, she wasn’t sugarcoating it. We pulled into a motel parking lot a few minutes later. The neon light flickered like a horror movie, and the burned-out bulb of the yard light cast shadows on the long, narrow building. The weathered exterior doors to each room needed new paint—at least, on the bottom half.
“I changed my mind,” I said, looking out the window. “Let’s drive all night.”