Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Eye roll. Considering it was now Wednesday, you would think that the woman had gotten over it by now. Particularly since … “I asked you and Adaline to come. You were both busy.”
“I know, but I feel left out.” Raya pouted. “And neglected.”
“I’ve already said that the three of us should go shopping together sometime soon. You sniffed and said, ‘No thank you.’”
“It’s not like I really meant it.”
Quinley sighed at her. “Can you not be happy for me that I’ve managed to make friends within my new pride?”
Raya lifted a finger. “Okay, first of all, it was inevitable that you’d make friends. You do that without trying. Like it’s your super power. Second of all, yes, I’m happy for you. It’s a huge relief to me that you’re settling in so fast so well.”
“But?”
“But I like to whine. It makes me feel alive. You know this already.”
Quinley plopped the scouring pad at the side of the bath, teasing, “And you wonder why Adaline loves me more.”
Raya gaped. “Hey!”
Quinley chuckled. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. You know I’m kidding. You’re just taking the opportunity to whine. Again.”
“Can’t help it.”
Wiping her hands on a small towel, Quinley said, “That’s me done for the day. My last client had to cancel.”
“She was also meant to have her hair and nails done, so we’re all finished. But Lori’s taking the opportunity to have her roots sorted while Adaline’s got time. You might as well head out, though. No point in you hanging around for no reason.”
“I can sweep and stuff.”
“Already done. I’d leave, too, if I wasn’t waiting for Lori.” Raya pushed away from the wall. “Now go. Shoo. Spend some quality time with your pallas cat.”
“He won’t be home yet, he works enforcer shifts. But I’m not going to fight leaving early. My cat could do with a run.”
So Quinley put on her coat, grabbed the snack that Isaiah had earlier slipped into her bag, and hooked the strap of said bag over her shoulder. Once she’d said her goodbyes, she headed out, biting into her candy bar as she did.
Crossing the road to head for her parked car, she noticed a group of males were hanging at the nearby corner of the road. They appeared to be merely talking among themselves, minding their own business … but something about their body language was a little too casual.
Her scalp prickled, and a sense of unease wrapped around her lungs. She didn’t tell herself she was being paranoid, she paid closer attention to the group. They seemed to be pointedly avoiding looking her way … as if they were trying not to set off her internal alarms.
As she reached the curb, one male edged to his left slightly and she got a clear view of another face. A face she recognized from the warning posters that had been passed around.
Her heart slammed against her ribs. Fuck. It was Sebastian Vercetti.
The pack must have somehow seen her with Isaiah and decided to target her in lieu of him, because it was just too damn coincidental that they were loitering near her place of work.
Her car was too far away, as was the salon. The guys would reach her and drag her into their vehicle before she could get to either. And if she did somehow make it to the salon, they’d only barge inside and potentially hurt her family. She couldn’t have that. So, as Sebastian’s attention locked on her, she did the only sensible thing.
She shifted.
Panicked, the little cat leaped out of the puddle of clothes and sprinted toward the parking area.
“Get her!”
She heard growls and snarls and the thundering of paws. Heard boots pounding and voices yelling. The cat kept running, too fast for them to catch.
But they kept coming.
She galloped passed the parked cars and sprinted down an alley. A chain-link fence waited there. A well-timed jump had her halfway up the fence. She scrambled up the rest of it and jumped down into a grassy area.
Curses and growls came from behind her as she darted across the stretch of land. She heard the fence rattling, heard boots thumping the ground, heard those same boots chasing after her again.
A crack of thunder split the air.
Bark flew off a tree.
Bullet.
The cat weaved through bushes and trees, making herself a difficult target as bullets showered the area.
Hot fire punched into her back leg. She staggered. Ignored the pain. Kept running. Sped her pace.
More fire whizzed across her ear.
With an inner hiss of fury, she sped her pace.
Badger hole.
The cat crossed to it fast and dived inside. The tunnel was narrow, but her small body easily made its way through the—
Thuds peppered the ground above the tunnel.
More bullets.
She hurried through the channel, confident the other shifters couldn’t fit into the slim passage but still not wanting to slow down.