Page 75 of A Wolf's Wound
I look around and sure enough, the sidewalk is empty.I glance across the street and find the park empty too.
“Don’t test me,” I say tightly.
But instead of looking alarmed, this man looks amused.“By the way, this thing that Ryder started?”he says.“Soon, it’ll be finished.”
The blood in my veins turns to ice as I stare at him.“What?What do you mean, finish what Ryder started?”
“You’re a smart girl, Dr.Kelly,” he says.
I realize that this wasn’t just a random encounter.This man knows who I am and approached me deliberately.“I’m sure you can figure it out.”
Instinctively, I back away, realizing too late that I’m backing toward the wall of a building.The man advances toward me.
Then Shadow leaps up, throwing himself on the man’s chest.“What the hell!”he yells, throwing Shadow to the ground and kicking him away.
“Shadow!”I cry.My raccoon lies in a heap on the sidewalk a few feet away.I start to go toward him when the man grabs my arms.
“You have bigger things to worry about then your little pet,” he hisses.
I try to remember the moves that Ryder showed me.They seemed so straightforward when we were practicing.Why can’t I remember what to do now?
Panicking, I bring my knee up and try to hit the man in the groin.He sees what I’m doing and sidesteps my leg, but that loosens his grip on my arms.I whirl around so he’s the one with his back to the wall.
“You don’t want to do this,” he warns.
“Neither do you,” I spit back, balling my hands into fists.“Get the hell away from me and Shadow.”
“Oh, Hannah, the time for that has long passed,” he taunts me.“I don’t plan on going anywhere.Well, not alone,” he says with a dark chuckle.
I back up, running my eyes over him as I do.He’s taller than I am and definitely stronger.But I’m quick and determined.That has to mean something.Right?
Still, I know it’s not enough.I have one, maybe two chances to get in a good hit.Then it’s all over.Now would be a perfect time for Ryder to show up because while I don’t know where he fits into the rest of my life, I know he can at least take down an assailant.
Then the man lunges at me.
Chapter 43
Ryder
“Whatisit?”Gavinasks, noticing that I’ve stopped moving.
“The scent,” I say.“Don’t you smell it?”
“No,” he says, looking concerned.“Where’s it coming from?”
“I don’t know.”I spin around a few times, looking all around us.“I think it’s coming from Stonehaven.”
“That’s miles away,” Gavin protests, but I’m already running back toward the boundary line.“Ryder!”
“Hannah’s in trouble,” I call back, as certain as I was that first night I met her.I increase my speed, running flat-out over the ground, leaping over fallen logs and tree roots.
At the car I wrench the door open and jam the key in the ignition.I speed through the compound, ignoring the messages lighting up my phone.On the road back to Stonehaven I push the car about one hundred miles an hour, afraid that I might be too late.
The scent grows stronger the closer I get to the city center.I pull the car to the curb and get out, following the scent down one street.Before I get to the end of the block, I hear Hannah scream.
I run in the direction of her voice, my heart feeling like it’s about to burst out of my throat.I turn the corner and see her and Shadow halfway down the block.“Hannah!”I yell, running toward her.
“Ryder,” she cries from where she’s kneeling on the ground.Shadow runs to me, and I scoop him up, feeling how hard he’s trembling.
