Page 45 of Dominion

“You think she’s dead?” Mark asked.

He met Mark’s eyes, his stomach knotting for Ashley. “Seems like it,” he said heavily. How in the hell was he going to tell her that? Red-hot anger on her behalf flooded him. “I’m going to kill every last one of them,” he growled.

The way the two men looked at him told him they had his back. He experienced a rush of gratitude for their help that nearly choked him. He wasn’t used to relying on others, or caring for anyone but himself. Rather than a burden of responsibility, the honor of their allegiance struck him hard. He needed them and they gave themselves freely, trusted his lead.

He grasped each man by the nape, bowing his head. “Thank you, brothers,” he said gruffly. Unable to say more, he released them and cleared his throat.

“Did they get the laptop?” Zolla asked.

“Yes,” he said. “Can you protect the data? I should’ve brought a decoy instead.”

“No, this will provide the information we’ll need. I’ll track who uses your passwords and find their location. If the girl is still alive, we can get her. And If it’s Jack, you’ll know it and can take appropriate measures,” Zolla said.

“All right, let’s get back so you can start tracking. I’ll meet you at your place. Ashley should be there already.” He shifted back to wolf form and started running, relishing the feel of the run, the air in his fur cooling the heat of his murderous instincts.

9

Ashley swung onto the corner of Platte and 15th, the address her sister gave her and pulled over, peering into the shadows. She saw movement and Melissa came bursting out from behind the building, trailed by a young man. She threw open the car door and rushed to meet her sister, the two of them falling into each other’s arms.

“Oh, my God, Melissa. Thank God. Thank God you’re all right. Oh, my God,” she said, hot tears spilling down her cheeks as she rocked her sister, not willing to release her from the hug.

“Come on,” Melissa said, “let’s get out of here.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, stepping back to look at her. Melissa looked pale and tired; a yellow bruise stood out on her cheekbone and her lip was cut and swollen.

“I’ll be a lot better when we get to your place.”

“Who’s this?” she asked, turning her attention to the man.

Melissa grabbed her sleeve and urged her toward the car, obviously nervous. “Jeremy. He helped me escape. Come on, let’s go.”

They piled in the car and Ashley took off for Zolla’s. “So tell me what happened.”

Melissa drew a breath, then closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “I’ll tell you everything, but can it wait? I just want to get somewhere I can breathe.”

Ashley reached over and squeezed her sister’s hand. “I can’t believe you got away. I was so afraid I’d never see you again,” she said, tears popping into her eyes again.

Melissa returned the squeeze, twisting to look over her shoulder, as if fearful they were being followed. Jeremy, who had climbed in the back seat, reached forward and put his hand on her sister’s shoulder.

Ashley drove as fast as she could without attracting attention to Zolla’s house, entering with the code to the garage door Ben had given her. “Come in, this place is safe. Ben should be back soon.” She spoke with confidence, but a twinge of fear gripped her stomach as she remembered the sound of animals yelping every time a shot had been fired into one of the shifters. Were they invincible? Or could they be killed if they were shot enough or in the right places? No, she couldn’t think that way. Ben would come.

She led them inside and showed Melissa to the bathroom where she could get cleaned up. She brought her sister some ice for her bruise. “This is for your face.”

Her sister touched her swollen cheek. “I don’t think it will do any good at this point. This is from Friday.”

Ashley lifted her own shirt to inspect where the bullet had hit the vest. A huge bruise had already appeared, the surface puffy and tender to the touch.

Melissa stared at it with wide eyes. “What’s that from?”

“A bullet. But I was wearing a bulletproof vest.”

“Thank God,” Melissa breathed.

She threw her arms around her sister’s neck and clung to her for a moment. “Mel… I thought you might be dead.”

Melissa hugged her tightly. “I know,” she said, her voice choked. “It was awful. Thank God for Jeremy or I might be.”

She gave her sister a kiss on the cheek and left her to finish cleaning up. Jeremy stood in the living room, looking uncomfortable.