My heart might have just had a small stroke with how loud it banged, knowing that I should have run and hidden under the tarp earlier. Then he abruptly turned back to the open doors and yelled something. I wasn’t paying attention, I was trying to breathe.
Just then, soft voices came from behind me. The guards… it had to be them.
Shit!
My stomach turned. I glanced over my shoulder to see two figures strolling up the path, closing the distance to me.
I had to do this now.
I slipped around the corner and crouched low, then I darted through the shadows. The pallet was directly in my path. I didn’t even let myself think about it too much. As the man walked into the open garage where he’d been collecting the boxes, I threw myself forward. And I scrambled right under the tarp, where I huddled in the corner underneath, feeling more like a mouse at that moment.
It reeked in there like old socks and rat droppings. Eek.
Not a sound. I covered my mouth and nose, sitting impossibly still.
The man’s voice bellowed, and he sounded angry at whoever he talked to. Suddenly, the engine croaked like it might die… That would just be my luck.
But we were moving soon enough, the pallet jolting beneath me, the boxes swaying. Sweat poured down my back and face. It was crazy hot underneath, but I didn’t dare move.
Not yet.
Holding still, I thought of all the times I’d dreamed of running away from Brayden, imagining going anywhere but being with him. Except for the small problem of the bands he’d placed on my wrist, suppressing my wolf, keeping me prisoner. He kept telling me only he could remove it…and I foolishly believed him. Sure, Hendrix said he’d get a witch to help me, but after what I’d witnessed tonight, there was no way I could remain here.
I’d find another way to remove the bands. I had to… but my priority right now was surviving.
We came to a sudden halt, and I lurched sideways into a box. I grabbed hold of it to stop myself from toppling over.
The grunt of the engine faded, and my ears perked for any sounds. He was driving away, and I was no longer jostling about.
My pulse bounced beneath the surface of my skin, and only when the sound silence, did I dare peel back a corner of the tarp. The fresh air that found me was like heaven.
The gate to the compound had been shut, and the two guards were chatting on the inside of the compound with their backs to me.
As silently as possible, I crept out from under the tarp and then sprinted to a cluster of palm trees on the beach. I hid in their shadows while trying to catch my breath. Remembering the house boat I’d spotted on the shoreline, I started making my way in that direction.
Waves crashed to shore, and with the sickle moon hanging low, I might have actually enjoyed the scene. The air smelled of salt, and I never had the chance to visit the ocean, yet here I was trying to escape—that was the story of my life.
I looked up toward the wall, not spotting any of the guards, so I darted quietly from one palm tree to another, using their shadows to conceal myself.
My plan was to get onto that houseboat, then hide and wait until someone took it out. Unless I found the keys onboard... I mean, how hard was it to drive a boat? The main thing was just getting out of the compound and praying Hendrix and his men didn’t search for me on the boats.
I had no doubt that for too long I had been naive about the world. I trusted the wrong people. But since arriving on this island, I'd seen things that terrified me. And I was completely committed to not being anyone’s puppet any longer.
Up ahead, the small dock stretched out away from the shore… two wooden docks with yachts, speed boats, and the boathouse. They all rocked on the pitch-black sea.
I glanced up ahead to where the entrance gate stood. No guards… maybe they were midway through a shift change. And that meant I had to move.
Shaking, I wouldn’t chicken out. Not when I’d come this far. With one final look over to the gate and walls, I jolted forward. Darkness chased after me with a ravenous terror.
My legs pumped as I crossed the white sand and darted onto the wooden dock. The houseboat was in sight. Night shrouded it, but it looked large enough for me to hide in so no one found me.
Fragments of the gardener's death sat heavy with me, and I couldn’t shake them from my mind.
Without pausing, I lunged from the dock and toward the boat.
Instantly, an arm wrapped around my middle as I jumped.
A startled cry flew from my lips, and I swung my head around to come eye to eye with Hendrix. He had me in his arms, wrenching me away from the boat.
A scream scratched the back of my throat, and I writhed against him.
His growl rumbled in his chest. “What’s your plan, little wolf? Stowaway with the houseboat? You think I wouldn’t find you?” The brutal sound of his words flooded me. The heady whiskey scent on his breath….was he celebrating Joe’s death?
Anger flared over.
“Are you going to kill me too?” My heart slammed against my rib cage.
His face suddenly twisted with pain as if I’d insulted him. “What are you talking about?” He set me on my feet, forcing me to face him.
Except, I was crying and inconsolable, throwing my fists at his chest. Plus, I was still furious at him about his rejected mate.
His hands grasped my arms, staring at me with a blazing glare. “Syn, enough. Why would you say that? Because you tried to run? I’m pissed because I told you already you’re mine. But I wouldn’t kill you for it.”
My mouth fell open right then. “B-but River killed Joe, and h-he…I saw it all happen.” I choked on my breath. “The gardener was so nice to me. Why did you have him killed?” A tear threaded down my cheek, and Hendrix caught it as it dripped from my jawline, then tender fingers brushed my cheek.
“Little wolf, you’ve got yourself all worked up. When you have a problem, even if it’s with me, talk to me first.”
I swallowed hard, my entire body tense as I pulled myself from his grasp. “That doesn’t change what you did,” I hissed.
Standing in front of him, his scent overwhelmed me, and I hated that he had me drooling when I wanted to punch him in that perfect face. To make him hurt for hiding the truth from me, for having Joe killed.
His gaze dragged from my face to Mateo, who stood to the side of us. His right-hand man. When he looked back at me, his expression tightened. “Let me show you what kind of man I am, sweetheart.” There was a twitch at the corner of Hendrix’s eye, and he held onto my arm, harder than normal.
“W-what does that mean?”