“Hello, Sara.”
“Hi, you treacherous bitch.” The woman looked like a refuge from an apocalyptic movie—torn clothing, pierced face, stupid haircut. A smirk creased her ugly expression as she jabbed something hard against Roxie’s side. Heat exploded in her rib cage, and then it felt like she was being burned from the inside out. Her entire body seized—and then the world went dark.
* * *
“ROXIE? ROX! HONEY, wake up.”
Roxie’s eyes fluttered open. Pain pulsed in her ribs. “Ouch,” she said. She shifted, and the slight movement sent spiky waves of agony rolling through her. That’s when she noticed her wrists and ankles were tightly bound with ropes. She grimaced. “God, even my teeth hurt.”
“Sara loves her toys.”
Roxie followed the voice to the battered face of her friend, Lara. She sat on the opposite of the small room, her hands and feet bound, too. Fresh bruises bloomed around her cheeks and mouth, and her neck was red and raw. The room smelled musty, disused. The only scent Roxie caught was the metallic scent of the blood seeping from her friend’s wounds. She’d been through the ringer.
Anger surged. “Did Crawl do that to you?”
“Believe it or not, I still freak him out. This is the work of his Number One Crazy.”
“Sara.”
“Like I said, Rox. She loves her toys.”
“I’m going to kill her.”
“Get in line,” said Lara. She offered a smile, which wasn’t so much reassuring as grim. “How the hell did they get you? I thought you’d be in Oregon by now with the hot husbands.”
“I couldn’t leave you.”
Lara’s blue eyes widened. “Oh, Rox. Please tell me you didn’t give up your freedom for me.”
“Not just you,” said Roxie. “Crawl is unstable. The Blood Pack has never been awesome, but with him in charge, it’ll be a disaster.”
“I know,” said Lara. “Psychic, remember?” She laughed, but it was a hollow sound. “Some psychic I am—I sure as hell didn’t see this coming.”
“Crawl is an unpredictable bastard.” Roxie examined the small room. Four smooth walls, one large, metal door. Shit. “Where are we?”
“Apparently Crawl had a bunker built somewhere in the desert.”
“We’re underground?”
“Yeah. Us and about a hundred Blood Pack members.”
“That’s more than half the pack—all his supporters, right?”
“Afraid so. I’m the only pro-Roxie werewolf here,” said Lara. “Crawl wants to make sure there are enough Bloods to witness his victory.”
Even though she felt sick to the pit of her stomach, Roxie felt some relief in knowing that Grant, Jack, and the Pearsons would find them soon. She hoped. If the microchip in her neck even worked underground and led her mates and the bears to her, how would four big men with weapons sneak inside Crawl’s hideaway?
“We gotta hang tight, Lara. Help is on the way.”
Her friend blanched.
“What?” asked Roxie. Foreboding sliced through her. “What?”
“There’s not going to be a rescue.” Lara shook her head, her eyes sad.
“You’ve had a vision?”
Lara nodded, misery etched on her face. “You and Crawl fight. There’s a lot of blood. A lot of … pain. And … and there’s an explosion. I think this place is gonna be destroyed by fire.”
Roxie couldn’t bear her friend’s look of devastation. Had Lara seen their deaths at the hands of Crawl? “Screw that. The future’s not written—you told me that.” She blew out a breath. “I’m not dying today. You’re not dying, either. I don’t care what your fucking vision shows you—my mates will come for us.”
Lara nodded, but looked unconvinced. Roxie had to believe that Grant and Jack would find her. But what if the tracking device didn’t work? What if they didn’t find her and Lara in time?
The metal door rattled then swung open. Sara stood in the doorway, looking like a punk rock reject in her torn jeans, leather jacket, and pierced face. “Who’s ready to get fucked-up?”
11
CRAWL’S SECRET BUNKER had all the amenities that Blood Pack members adored: unlimited beer, loud metal music, and primo brawling space. The large cage a la Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was large enough to accommodate a whole pack of fighters. Truth be told, more fights would probably happen outside the cage than inside.
Sara shoved her in and then slammed the gate shut. “Have fun.”