Page 32 of The Dire Legacy

I’m in love. Totally worth crashing the plane.

“You’re so darn cute!” My fingers find its ears and my forehead feels amazing rubbing against it as it nuzzles playfully into my neck.

“Sleep okay?” Michael’s voice rumbles from behind me.

I’m halfway through turning around before I remember I’m supposed to be hurting.

“Yea, just a little stiff.” Slow down, don’t move too quickly.

Kicking the blanket off, I stand up slowly and make an exaggerated show of stretching my back and groaning.

My snuggle buddy jumps up and bounds away. When I see him again, he’s chewing on a long bone with a small wag in his tail.

A thigh from one of the guards.

Huh. It doesn’t even weird me out. The asshole deserved it. They all do.

I wonder how many furry friends I can talk into coming with me to Chicago to tear all of those old geezers apart. They’re the ones who kept me drained. I doubt any of my blood left that building, but went right into the arms of those rich fucks who liked to beat their meat while watching me get sliced and diced.

Being thousands of miles away doesn’t offer the comfort I was hoping it would.

“Heya, Mikey?” I saunter behind him and try not to let too much of a bounce in my step escape.

When he turns to look at me I almost stop in my tracks as the gray storm clouds of his eyes meet mine.

“Are you hungry? I was going to make some tea and biscuits.” He flashes me a grin, the white of his canines catching the sun.

A laugh leaves my lips of its own accord. “You sound like you should be British from one of the old Sherlock movies. No coffee?”

“I don’t even remember what coffee tastes like. I’d rather have bacon and pancakes, but we’re lacking on both at the moment.” He turns up his gloved palms and shrugs before resuming his digging into the cart. “There is more freeze dried stuff. I haven’t looked through all of it, so there might be a hidden gem or two.”

When he bends over, the back of his jeans tighten around his butt and thighs. It’s quite an impressive view.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt this giddy little flutter in my belly before. All of the people I’ve been surrounded by have wanted to use me.

Trying to seduce someone to kill them is a whole different feeling.

“You don’t know what’s there? Who packed it?” Duffel bags and plastic totes are stacked in neat rows. Unzipping one reveals a spill of plastic pouches like the ones we had last night.

“They did.” His forehead tips in the direction of a couple of the dogs sleeping in a pile near the back of the plane.

“That’s handy. I never knew some of them could talk.” Is that what I think it is? Perfect. “I found some! Want some of the nectar of the gods?” I wave around two small packages of freeze dried coffee while dancing in a circle.

His laughter is like dark chocolate, rich and layered. “They’re pretty amazing at finding things.” The veins on his forearms push through his tanned skin when he leans against the rails of the trailer.

“That reminds me.” I can feel my eyebrows drop with my mood. “Do planes still have those tracker boxes?”

This taste of freedom could come to a cutting halt if the Institute comes looking for me.

Screeching metal and a banging sound erupt from the cockpit.

Alpha emerges from the darkened hollow of the plane with a black box in one giant hand. “It did.” His teeth bare in a sinistersmile as he tosses the crumpled container to the ground with a flip of his paw.

“Holy crap.” How thick were the walls of that thing for him to rip right through it?

I’m glad he’s on my side.

“I was military once.” His growling voice feels like it changes the rhythm of my heart beat, it’s so deep.

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