Forever (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 5)

“I’m trying,” he said between clenched teeth.

The keys fell on the floor, and Brody bent down, feeling for them on the floor mat.

Another howl filled the air.

He stilled. “What in the world is that?”

He slowly straightened to look over the dashboard. “That dog is huge! But where’s the Reaper?”

Mina glanced back. Nothing. “I think the dog is the Reaper. Can you still see it?”

Her hand snaked forward along the arm rest until her fingers found the switch. A soft click sounded in the car as the doors locked. Childish, but she was out of options.

Crash!

“Whoa!” Brody shouted.

Mina heard claws scraping and digging at the glass. But she couldn’t see anything out there. “Is it heavy enough to break through the windshield?”

Brody shifted the car into reverse and sped backwards, spinning the wheel and executing a turnaround worthy of a stunt driver. The black beast’s claws clicked and screeched across the hood as it tried to stay on, but Brody’s driving threw him off. They heard a thud as it slammed against the side of the car. Brody hit the gas, flying up the road.

Thirty, forty, fifty, on up to eighty miles per hour Brody sped. Mina couldn’t make herself open her eyes until about thirty seconds had passed. She tried to look at her passenger mirror, but all she saw were trees whizzing by.

Brody slowed only enough to turn onto the on ramp. When they were safely speeding down the highway among other cars, he looked over to her. “That’s a Reaper… as in death?”

“I think so,” Mina craned her head to look between the seats. “They’re the hunters and assassins, but they’ve been known to go rogue.”

“And that beast dog is one?” Brody continued driving and cast a quick look over to her. “I’ve never seen anything that big.”

Mina studied his profile. He didn’t look scared at the prospect of being hunted—he looked angry. His sun-kissed blond hair accented the deep blue of his eyes, and his strong hands gripped the steering wheel with determination.

>“I hate you,” she seethed.

“Wrong.” He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. “I know how you feel about me.” The corner of his mouth crooked up. “Or at least a part of me. You were in love with me.”

He tapped his head. “I have his memories.”

“Then you know how he felt about me?” Her voice rose in hope.

“Pity.” Teague said, sending her moment of hope crashing to the ground. “He pitied you.”

It was a jab in the heart. She couldn’t deny that his words hurt, but Teague was a liar, and she couldn’t trust anything he said.

“Mina.”

She lifted her head up to look at him.

“It seems you need a lesson in obedience.” Something suddenly drew his attention past her, across the river, to the woods. Mina heard a thin, eerie whistle, and she looked at Teague.

His face took on an expression of contempt. “It seems you have company. I warned you I would take away your friends one by one. You like games? Well, so do I. But I’ll wait my turn. Someone has a message for you.”

He turned to glance back and pointed his finger across the river to the distant woods, far behind the wreckage. “I’d get moving if I were you. And fast.”

“What did you do?” She turned to watch Teague disappear into the woods. Then she looked back in worry at the forest and the remains below.

There was still a single safety worker down there. She watched in trepidation, but nothing happened. The man was satisfied with his work and threw his tools into the back of the white city truck. A few minutes later, he was gone, driving away.

The wind changed course and blew in her direction, sending the smell of burnt wood, oil, and fumes over her. She ducked to avoid the onslaught of the aroma and caught a glimpse of something moving in the woods. Across the river, on the south side, there appeared to be a large black dog the size of a German shepherd, but with huge ears and paws.