“I’m—”
“Isabelle,” he said, stopping another apology.
I narrowed my eyes at him, and he completely ignored it to jerk a thumb over his shoulder.
“Get your butt to the car before tall and half-naked goes caveman on you and drags you there by your hair.”
I snorted at Ethan’s description of Carlos.
The car was quiet. Now that my nose wasn’t pouring blood and my head felt less like a drum, I looked around at what we passed—fields, open plains, and occasional wooded areas.
“I apologize,” the woman said suddenly.
I glanced forward and caught her gaze in the mirror. “For what?”
“For preventing Carlos from helping you.”
Carlos hadn’t wanted to help. He’d wanted to hurt Ethan. But I didn’t point that out.
“So, what exactly are you guys?”
She grinned slightly.
“I think you know. My name is Winifred Lewis, by the way.”
“I’m Isabelle.”
I felt Ethan’s humor a moment before he closed himself off again. His control was impressing me. It had been too long since we’d last seen each other.
“Why did you come for me?” I asked.
“Bethi can probably explain better than I can. However, according to what she has told us, you are one of six women with special abilities. There is a group—Bethi called them Urbat—that is trying to find you all. Their leader held Michelle, one of the young women riding in the car behind us, for a time. And, according to Bethi, he has the last one of you with him.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t really answer my question. Why did you come for me?”
“Bethi said we needed to protect you.”
I watched Winifred in the mirror and felt a wisp of some emotion from her. It was sour like regret and anger.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“We need your help.”
My help? I was a bruised and beaten mess. Ethan, my best friend, was more so. How did they think I could help them?
Ethan’s fingers threaded through mine.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“A friend has a place about an hour from here. Gabby had been watching the area and thought we should be okay there for a few hours. Bethi will want to talk to you,” she said, looking at me.
I nodded and glanced at Ethan. We shared a look, and I wondered if he was hearing the faint chords of dueling banjos like I was. They wanted to take us to a remote place to tell us why they needed me. The words of the letter continued to play in my mind. Were these the people the letter tried to warn me about?
I curled my right hand into a fist and winced. My sliced palm hurt. So did my wrist. Ethan, still watching me, looked down at my hand. He picked it up and started probing the wrist, somehow knowing the cut wasn’t the issue.
“Did anyone happen to grab our bags from the other car?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, no,” Winifred said.
The bags probably had my spare gloves and some wraps. Without the gloves, I’d continue to hurt my wrist. He and I both knew that taking a break from fighting wasn’t an option. I’d just need to change my style. Ethan hated kicking.
I saw the barn as soon as we pulled up.
“Oh, yeah,” I said under my breath. Ethan and I had a new hang out.
As soon as the car stopped, I had my door open.
“I’ll be in the barn for an hour,” I said over my shoulder.
“We need to talk first,” Winifred said.
I stopped and turned back to her. Carlos was already standing beside the car, his gaze focused on me.
“No. There’s no way I can sit in a room with a bunch of people right now.”
The second vehicle pulled in and parked. The door immediately opened, and the dark-haired girl jumped out.
“It’s okay, Winifred. Let her go.”
I didn’t wait for Winifred’s permission but continued toward the barn. Ethan was right behind me. The structure was built into a hill, and we were at the top. I pushed one of the double doors open and stepped into an empty hayloft.
The floorboards held firm as I walked several feet in. Ethan’s steps scuffed behind me.
“Shirt off, handsome,” I said, turning on him.
His brows rose.
“I’m not lifting a fist until I see what I did to you the last time.”
He hesitated a moment then pulled his shirt over his head, using just his left arm. That alone told me how badly I’d hurt him. The blue covering his right shoulder said the rest. I looked down at the floor for several minutes. Ethan moved close with a sigh and gently touched the bruise on my cheek.
“It’s the price we pay. You know that.”
“No, it’s the price I should pay. Not you.” I met his gaze, feeling pity for both of us.
“None of that.” He took a step back and brought both hands up. “Let’s go.”
Shirtless, I could at least see if I did him any more damage.
“Fine.”
We started out with a slow rhythm. It only lasted a minute.
“Ethan, this isn’t working. You’re blocking too slow.”
Ethan dropped his arms and rolled his shoulders. A blast of frustration hit me. He quickly stifled it.