Tish POV
I am browsing the airline's website, as Cedric told me to, looking for the fastest and cheapest flight out of here. All of them are out of my price range, and I slam the laptop shut. I will have to find another way out of Texas, but first, I will need to figure out where to go.
Chewing on the end of the pen, I look up as Cedric comes barreling through the door to the back room. Sweat is running down his face, and he looks to be in a hurry. He pushes me out of my chair and opens the laptop.
"You didn't buy a ticket?" He is angry.
"It's too expensive," I remind him. "I will find another way out of here."
"There is no time," Cedric tells me. "Alpha Kieran is here and my informants tell me he is on his way here now."
"Why do you have informants inside the South Pack?" I ask.
"That's not important," he snaps at me. "Where are you going? North or South."
"Uhh," I pause. Something stirs in my gut, telling me that I shouldn't leave. "Maybe I should just hide out here."
"Alpha Kieran is on his way to collect you," Cedric reminds me. "The twins have no claim to you because they have yet to mark and mate you. In the eyes of the werewolf world, you are nothing more than a familiar."
Familiar. I hate that word. It makes vomit rise in my throat. I crossed the wrong man at the wrong time, and now I am some sort of pet to supernatural creatures. I cross my arms and pout as I look at the computer screen. I could go South, but I don't have a passport. I will have to hide within the States until I can get my affairs in order.
"I guess send me back to the North Pack," I sigh. "I will warn Mae and the Luna Queen about what I know and disappear again."
Sadness is filling Cedric's eyes. "You could go back with Alpha Kieran," he says softly. "I am sure he would keep you safe. It is his Luna's wishes."
"Absolutely fucking not," I laugh. "I would end up dead on the side of the road."
Cedric books the ticket and calls me an Uber. Everything feels like it is moving so fast, but that is how my life has always been. For as long as I can remember, I picked up and moved at the very last minute, searching for enough change to get my next meal. Why would I think that things would be any different now?
Cedric shoves something into my pocket as he waits with me out back. I pull it out and find a wad of cash. My eyes widen, and my mouth goes dry.
"I can't accept this," I whisper.
"You can and you will," he tells me. "You are the only true friend I have had in a really long time, and I am going to miss you."
I may not have known Cedric long but I know the signs of heartbreak when I see them. Cedric is alone, but not by choice, and I wish I had time to ask him all the questions I have about his life. Instead, I just focus on the main one.
"What happened between you and your mate?" I ask him.
"It was a long time ago. A different time," Cedric sighs. "You don't need to hear my sob story."
"I've got time," I say, nudging him with my elbow.
"He didn't want me," Cedric chuckles. "He didn't want to be outed. So, he picked a widow to be his mate and rejected me. I just wanted him to be happy, so I accepted his rejection. They marked each other and had children, but I could never move on."
Tears are glistening in his eyes. I get the feeling there is more to his story, but he's not ready to tell me the rest, so I let it go. Wrapping my arms around his chest, I hug him tightly. "Thank you," I whisper.
"For what?" He says, hugging me back.
"Loving me," I mutter.
A dark car pulls up with the Uber light in the window. The driver rolls the window down and shouts loudly, "Which one of you is Tish?"
Cedric kisses me on top of the head and opens the back of the car for me. I hand him my phone and smile weakly. He looks down at the phone and crushes it in his hands.
"Now they can't find me," I sniff. "Don't worry, I wrote your number down."
"You've got to hurry," Cedric says. "Alpha Kieran will be here shortly."
Pressing one last kiss to his cheek, I get into the car, and the driver immediately takes off. I settle into the back seat and buckle my seatbelt. I try to keep my eyes forward, but I can't help but glance behind me. I get the weird feeling that we are being followed.
"I'm Robbie," the driver says, drawing my attention back to the front of the car.
"Tish," I reply.
"I know," he smiles in the rearview. "Your name was on the app."
"Right," I say, rolling my eyes. It would be my luck that I get a driver who wants to hold a conversation with me.
"Why are you leaving Texas?" He asks curiously.
I snort. "Why would I stay? This place isn't my home."
"Oh," he sounds excited. "I've never been out of Texas."
"That's a shame," I tell him.
"Where are you going?" He asks.
"You have a lot of questions for an Uber driver," I snap at him.
"It's a long drive," Robbie responds. "Just trying to get to know you."
"No offense, but I am not looking for new friends," I clip. "I just want to get to the airport."
"That's really a pity," he sighs.
"Why is that?" I ask.
"Because you are going to need all the friends you can get where you are going," he says with a smirk.
A car behind us flashes its lights at us, and it makes me turn around. Glancing out of the back of the Uber, I see a large SUV riding our bumper. Sweat begins to form on my temples, and my nerves spike. Something is wrong.
Robbie slows down, and I wait for the SUV to pass us, but it doesn't. Leaning forward, I tap Robbie on the shoulder. "I think they want you to speed up."
"Nah," he replies. "That is my security detail."
My heart drops and all of the hairs on the back of my neck raise. I should have waited for Alpha Kieran. I should have known that the recusants would hunt me down. Why am I always making mistakes?
"Did Cedric know?" I ask. I need to know that the one person I trusted was genuine.
Robbie chokes back laughter. "Cedric is an old fool. He thinks he is too good for this world."
I let out a sigh of relief. "Eventually, someone will come looking for me," I tell Robbie.
"Maybe," he shrugs as he pulls off to the side of the highway. "Or maybe you are just another familiar that got caught up with the wrong crowd. Never to be seen again."
Robbie stops the car on a secluded stretch of highway. As soon as the car stops, I try to open the doors. I know I can't outrun them, but I have to try. Tugging on the handles, I realize they are locked, and Robbie is chuckling in the front seat.
"What's great about these newer model cars is the child-proof locks. No one can get out unless I want them to," he says as he glances over his shoulder.
I am so focused on him that I don't see the two men approaching the car until it is too late. My door opens, and I am met with a smiling face. If my life wasn't in danger, I might have noticed how attractive he was. His long blonde hair is pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck, and his muscles flex as he reaches into the car for me.
I try to scramble away from him, but another man is waiting on the other side. I am trapped. The blonde guy grabs my feet and drags me across the backseat. I scream loudly in hopes that someone will hear me.
The blonde pulls me from the car and holds me close to his chest with his hand over my mouth. I bite down on his fingers, but it doesn't deter him. His fingernails puncture my skin as he holds me tighter. I am not giving up without a fight. Kicking my feet, I try to make contact with any body part of my captor that I can, but I am failing miserably.
"She is feisty," my captor says as he drags me toward the SUV. "Help me out, will you?"
Robbie gets out of the car with a gun in his hand. His brown eyes are crazed as he holds the barrel to my temple. "You can go quietly, or you can die," he snarls. "Pick one."
"Stop scaring her," my captor replies. "Just knock her out."
Robbie frowns. Twisting the gun in his hand, he slams the butt against my temple. A groan escapes my lips, and my eyelids begin to flutter shut. I am trying my best to stay awake, but the headache coursing through my mind is making it difficult.
As stars burst behind eyelids, I can hear Robbie arguing with the other two men, but their voices are muffled. I can no longer fight the darkness threatening to overtake me, and everything goes dark.