Page 4 of Beyond the Darkness

Beckett raised an eyebrow. “This year? Um, is it going to be a small affair?”

“Hell no. It’s going to betheevent of the year. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a kid.”

“Well then, I guess it’s a good thing Hudson has lots of people working for him, because it’s going to take an act of the Dragon gods to pull a huge wedding off that fast. Throwing money at things helps too.”

Kit rubbed his forehead. He tried not to think about how wealthy his mates were because it made him uncomfortable, but maybe this one time he was lucky they were stupidly rich. Because Beckett was right, it was going take an act of God to pull this off and lots of money to grease palms.

Kit started joking about dragons and their wealth when he noticed Beckett staring at the rearview mirror, frowning. “Okay, what?”

“Huh?” Beckett glanced quickly at Kit.

“Don’t give me that look. And how can you be as old as you are and manage to look so innocent?” Kit waved his hand like he was shooing away the question. “Anyway, you’re frowning. Is something going on?”

“Just keeping an eye on traffic.”

Kit huffed. They were not going to do this. “Beckett.”

“Okay, okay, I thought I saw a white Chevy truck a ways back, but I couldn’t get a good look at it to see if it had front-end damage.”

Whatever joy Kit had talking about the wedding fled. Recently, he, Hudson, and Connie were involved in a wreck on the interstate. Kit had been pretty sure he’d seen his ex-boyfriend, Don, and possibly his vehicle, which had sustained damage. But Kit wasn’t sure.

“Shit. Should I call Hudson or Connie?”

“Yes.”

Kit had been expecting Beckett to play it off, so when he said yes, dread climbed up Kit’s back. “Shit. Okay.”

“It’s just a safety precaution. That’s all, Kit.”

Kit’s fingers fumbled over the smooth surface of his phone, the screen lighting up under his touch. He pressed his shaking finger against the dial pad, his heart racing with anxiety. He was so,sotired of this roller coaster of emotions they’d been on lately thanks to Lennox.

“Tell your mates we’re coming up on our exit in about two minutes. It’ll be another twenty to thirty minutes before we reach Hudson’s territory after that. If we’re being followed, whoever it is will most likely make their move once we pass Wrightwood. There’s nothing past that town.”

“Gotcha.” Kit quickly repeated what he was told as soon as Hudson answered the phone.

“Do exactly what Beckett tells you, babe,” Hudson demanded. “We’re on our way. Beckett?”

Paranormal hearing was definitely a thing.

Beckett didn’t take his eyes off the road as he answered. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

The formal title brought home the seriousness of the situation.

“Protect him at all costs.”

“Of course, Sire.”

The call ended, and Kit slipped his phone back into his pocket. Then he checked to make sure his seat belt was fastened. After that, he stared into the passenger-side mirror, trying to see if there was a white truck somewhere behind them. So far, he hadn’t seen anything.

“Surely Don wouldn’t be stupid enough to do something like this,” Kit said quietly.

“Most likely not, but I would prefer to be safe than sorry.”

“I completely agree.” Nerves danced up Kit’s spine.

Beckett waited until the last second, then took their exit, no blinker or anything as a warning. They merged into trafficonce they exited the interstate. Kit kept an eye on the vehicles behind them. So far there were no white trucks, but they made a right not long after they exited.

The little town of Wrightwood was at the outermost edge of Hudson’s territory. Once they passed that, there was nothing but woods.

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