bsp; Panicked, Sookie told Ethan, “They are gaining on us.”
“Hmm? Not for long,” he said. He didn’t seem to worry at all.
He began weaving between cars and semis like a renegade missile. Many times she thought her heart had stopped working. Ethan had blown the speed limit for the highway and they were basically like a speeding bullet. To make matters worse, one of the riders started shooting at them. Stray bullets hit the car behind them and caused a highway pileup in a matter of seconds.
“Ethaaaan!”
He reached for a gun from his jacket and casually fired two rounds without even looking. There was a loud screech from the motorcycle that ended in a spectacular, booming crash.
One down. The other gained on them.
The bastard also started shooting.
Bullets whizzed around them like super-charged bees on steroids. It was a miracle that any of those bullets hadn’t killed them. Sookie prayed harder to every deity she knew.
The highway was practically empty at this point. Ethan slowed the bike unexpectedly, allowing their chaser to level with their speed. Ethan glanced at him and fired once. It hit the rider’s hand. The guy screamed as his gun fell. He lost control of his motorcycle, thrashing wildly before it hit the concrete barrier between lanes. The rider was thrown off his bike, slamming into the asphalt, and rolling a few times before he was completely still.
Ethan made a sharp U-turn and approached the fallen rider. He put the Kawasaki stand on without turning off the engine. Sookie started to dismount but with a quick flick of his wrist, he motioned her to stay on the bike. He pulled off his helmet.
Sookie also removed her own helmet. The fresh air was a welcome luxury. She couldn’t really breathe with the helmet on.
Ethan circled the fallen rider like a beast cornered his prey.
The rider on the ground was badly injured. Ethan crouched and yanked off the rider’s helmet from his head. Despite wearing his helmet, the guy’s mouth was bleeding from the impact of his fall. He spat a tooth out before cursing nastily at Ethan.
“Hey, I know you. You’re McAllister’s little whelp. He put you up to this, huh?” asked Ethan casually as if they were two acquaintances meeting at a party.
The rider spewed more colorful profanities that guaranteed to offend every god and deity in every religion.
Ethan’s expression didn’t change. “Young people these days don’t have manners.” He flicked his wrist and suddenly, his fingers transformed and elongated into sharp claws. The fallen rider’s expression quickly changed. Pure terror haunted his youthful face. That rider couldn’t be more than nineteen years old. Ethan dragged his claws over the rider’s face. There were manic gleams in the alpha’s eyes.
Ethan had proven himself as a great lover and a gentle soul to her but seeing him like this, Sookie couldn’t help being terrified. How could she have forgotten that Ethan was a dangerous man?
“I assume you know what it means if I taint you with my blood, right? One drop of my pure direwolf blood in your mutt body will make you wish your daddy had pulled out sooner.” Ethan ended his sentence with a big smile that made even Sookie long to scramble away to safety, far, far away from the big, bad wolf named Ethan Hunter.
Now, the young rider trembled in fear. “Please don’t…”
“Too bad, whelp. I’m not feeling so charitable today.” With a swift, graceful swipe, Ethan slashed the rider across his chest, cutting the leather jacket like a hot knife on butter.
The rider let out an agonizing howl. He clutched his chest as if something had burned him. Sookie could see the rising smoke from where Ethan had clawed him. The bloody gash teemed with white billowing plumes. He screamed and screamed, body contorted at weird angles because of muscle spasms, and his voice became raw before he finally quieted, shivering. Sweat plastered his hair. His skin turned waxy pale. Amid all that, Ethan stood calmly with his half-transformed hand at his side. Unusually dark-colored blood dripped from the edge of his razor-sharp claws.
Sookie instinctively clutched the front of her jacket. Is Ethan’s blood poisonous to common werewolves? How about to humans?
Ethan flicked his wrist again and his claws returned to normal. He pulled a black handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his bloodied hand. “You have exactly one hour to live. Enjoy.”
The young rider howled his rage and pain but was unable to do anything. As a few cars started passing them, Ethan mounted the bike. One of the cars stopped at the shoulder, the driver stepping out and asking if the rider needed help.
“Put your helmet on.” Ethan’s voice was gruff. “This is going to be a circus.” He then donned his own helmet.
Sookie quickly followed suit. She barely snapped the chinstrap when Ethan revved the engine and took off. She held onto him tightly. “Where we going now?”
Ethan’s voice seeped from the intercom. “We’ll tail the young wolf.”
“What do you mean?”
“A dying man that has been given limited time to live will naturally seek help. This blood poisoning isn’t something that human medicine can solve. He’d go to their den. He’ll lead us to his boss in no time. Hopefully, Cain.”
Sookie must admit that Ethan was very resourceful. A thousand questions popped in her head but now wasn’t the right time to ask any of them. Ethan coasted to the nearest exit and blew through the toll gate. The flimsy barrier wasn’t a match for a heavy motorcycle that barreled down fast. Sookie shut her eyes as they sped through a narrow street. Great, she thought, my list of crimes keep adding up. On top of the grave robbery, fraud, blackmail, accessory to murder, now she was guilty of road rage and vandalism. When this ended, she’d have a rap sheet a mile long like career criminals. Great. Just great.