“Isabelle, stop,” Winifred said.
“Make one move to stop me, and you all fall down,” I said without pausing my progress.
I opened the door to the SUV and looked at Gabby.
“Call me and direct me.”
I closed the door as I started the engine; then I wheeled the big boat of a vehicle around to the direction they’d been looking. Gravel flew, and the tires squealed when I hit the blacktop. A car honked at me because of my wide swing, but I ignored it and accelerated. Seconds later, the phone rang. I put it on speaker.
“Where?” I said, talking loudly so she would hear me over the roar of the engine.
“Keep going. I don’t have a map, so I don’t know how close they are to the road you’re on.”
I went from zero to one hundred in no time and kept it floored.
“You’re almost to Grey,” she said after a few moments of silence. “And they’ve reached Carlos.”
“Where, Gabby?” Carlos is strong and fast, I thought to myself. He’ll be fine. He isn’t Ethan.
“You’re halfway there.”
My foot was already pressing the pedal to the floor. Ahead, I saw a bend in the road.
“The road’s curving left,” I said.
“No...that will take you further...”
I eased off the gas.
“Jim’s got a map up on his phone. Keep following the road. After the curve, there’s a road to the right. I think you’ll want to take that. I won’t know until you’re closer.”
I took the curve going sixty.
“Keep talking, Gabby.”
“The right should be coming up.”
I flew past the faded marker on a gravel road and slammed on the brakes. The tires made a god-awful noise. Thankfully, there was no one behind me. I’d barely come to a jolting stop when I slammed the SUV into reverse and added to the blue smoke hovering in the air.
“Got it,” I said as I cranked the wheel.
“Go, Isabelle,” Gabby said. “Grey’s almost there, too.”
I gunned it down the road. Something ahead and to the left caught my attention. Not far into the trees, men and wolves fought, a sphere of piled, thrashing bodies. I could guess who was at the center.
“Slow down,” Gabby said. “To your left.”
“Got it.”
I skidded to a stop, threw the SUV into park, and shoved open the door. All movement stopped as both wolves and men turned to watch my approach. Carlos roared from somewhere under the pile of bodies. A wolf flew. Then another.
The rest backed away before Carlos could touch them. One wolf remained, his teeth sunk deeply into the spot where Carlos’ neck met his shoulder. Carlos, on his hands and knees, tried to lift his head.
One of the men moved toward me as if to intercept me.
I held up a hand.
“Stop.”
Whether because of my impatient tone or my angry glare at Carlos, the man halted.
One of the wolves transformed from wolf to man. He stood with his legs braced apart and crossed his arms as he smirked at me.
“Go ahead and pull a stunt like you did on the road. He’ll die.”
After giving the man the briefest of glances, I returned to glaring at Carlos.
“You read fiction and go for a run the morning after I pissed off Doofenshmirtz here? How did you not see this coming?” I asked, waving a hand at the seven men around him.
Carlos said nothing. I felt only a small twinge of pity for him at the moment. I was too full of the group’s anger and aggression that I’d been slowly siphoning since I’d stopped the car.
“Fine,” I said between clenched teeth. I stalked toward Carlos.
“Isabelle, go,” he said with his head still hanging low.
“I don’t think so. I have something to say.”
I reached him and bent, gently touching his cheek.
“You promised.”
Growls sounded behind me as the men realized I wasn’t angry with Carlos. I grinned, then twisted to come up swinging.
Something flew through the trees and crashed into three of the wolves coming at me. The new wolf tore into those Urbat while I tore into the four who were trying to rip into Carlos.
My knuckles cracked and bled with each furious swing. I kicked out and solidly found my mark. The half-formed man bent as if in slow motion then collapsed to the ground, wheezing. Behind me, I heard Carlos move.
“Stay...” I ducked under a man’s swing.
“out of...” I came back up with a jab to his throat.
“my...” Swinging wide, I caught another in his ribs as he tried to feint around me.
“way, Carlos.”
The half-formed man fell. Suddenly, everything was quiet.
“Wouldn’t dream of interfering,” Carlos said softly behind me.
I looked around and found all the men on the ground. Grey was still in his fur, standing over one. Blood covered his muzzle.
“Thanks, Grey.”
“He wants to know if you’re all right,” Carlos said. He reached around me and touched my fisted hand. I hadn’t realized I was still clenching them. His fingers skimmed over the skin just below my bloody knuckles.