17
Savannah
Three hours later, the moon was high, and we were on our way to play grand theft auto in real life. We drove the long way out of LaSalle territory to make sure we weren’t followed by any of Jaxson’s goons waiting to stalk me at the border. Eventually, we parked Casey’s RAV-4 a few blocks off the Midway, and my adrenaline was humming.
Stealing my car was an insane idea. I knew that.
Old Savannah wouldn’t have done anything of the sort. But Old Savannah hadn’t been attacked by werewolves, didn’t know her parents had hidden her magic and family from her, and hadn’t had her car essentially stolen by a mob boss who was using her as a pawn.
New Savannah was kinda having her teeth kicked in and needed a win. Also, I needed to teach Jaxson a lesson. Thus, I was going to break into his auto body shop and steal my car back.
What could go wrong?
Our plan involved three conspirators—Casey, me, and Zara, who owned a truck with a dolly trailer to tow my car. She looked almost normal, if not for the horns and the purple streaks in her dark hair.
“What are you looking at?” she snapped.
“Your horns.” I was past caring at that point. This place was so weird, and it needed to accept the fact that I thought so. “They’re cute,” I quickly added, because she was also driving the truck that would be towing my car to freedom, and I didn’t want to start off on a bad foot.
Zara shrugged and leaned back against the pickup with a nonchalance that shouted outward confidence but whispered, I’m ready to bolt the moment the cops show up.
I turned to Casey. “So, what’s the plan? There is one, right?”
He waved a hand dismissively. “Pretty simple. We all hop in Zara’s truck, then we break in, grab the car, load it on the dolly, and escape. The whole thing should take five to ten minutes.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You seem to be skipping important details. How do we get in? How do we not trip alarms? And crucially, how do we not get caught?”
“Don’t worry, cousin. I’ve got this handled.”
I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m worried.”
“Fine. First step, we climb in the car. Second step, Zara turns the ignition. Third—”
That was just too much lip, so I kicked him in the shin. “Real details.”
Casey winced and rubbed his leg. “Jeez! I was teasing!”
“We’ll go through the back,” said Zara. “Casey will disable the alarm spells, and I’ll unlock the door. You find your keys in the office while he opens the garage bay door and I pull up out front. We’ll all push your car onto the dolly and drive away. Simple.”
“And if wolves show up?”
Casey shrugged. “We won’t trip any alarms, so they won’t. But if they do, we get in the truck and go. There’s no way to outrun them on foot.”
“Won’t they just chase down our car? The wolves that attacked me caught up with me on the open road.”
Casey’s eyes got big. “Really? Shit. I didn’t think they could run that fast. I haven’t seen them do that around here, but maybe they’re holding back. They don’t like us to know much about them. Still, that’s freaky fast. Let’s not get caught.”
“Watertight plan, Case.” I sighed.
“Also, if they catch you, no lethal force.” Casey fixed Zara with a stern look, then turned to me. “This is Magic Side, not Chicago. There are rules of engagement. That’s why I’m giving you this.” He pressed a little bottle into my hand. “I know you can’t control your magic worth crap, so if someone looks like they’re going to eat you, just point this at them, close your eyes, and spray.”
“Yeah. I’m familiar with the application.”
He shook his head. “No, you’re not. Only use this in dire emergencies. The wolves will try to scare you because they think it’s fun. They might rough you up. Roll with the punches and get them back later. Only use this if you’re staring down a wolf, it’s out of its mind, and it’s getting ready to bite. That’s some serious weapons-grade shit in your hand.”
I swallowed hard. None of these scenarios sounded great.
Casey paused as he opened the truck door and glanced between Zara and me. “And, uh, don’t tell anyone where you got that if they ask.”