Return (Awakened Fate Book 3) Read Online Free Page B
disguise.
Another wave of dizziness rolled through me and I rested my head against the cold glass of the window, waiting for it to pass. That psycho had given us something, and that something was taking a damnably long time to wear off.
“You okay?” Chloe asked over the roar of the rain.
I looked over. In brief twitches, she pulled her gaze from the road to glance at me worriedly. With effort, I buried a grimace. “Yeah,” I replied, straightening again. “You?”
She nodded. Her hands adjusted their death grip on the steering wheel while she returned her focus to the track ahead. The twin lights of the truck illuminated the narrow gravel path, though the night swallowed the forest on every other side. With an emerald sheen, her green eyes glowed, obviously compensating for the darkness.
I watched her, not believing the silent answer for a moment.
But from the way she shuddered every few seconds, I also got the feeling that pushing her was a really bad idea right now.
The track widened and the truck bounced over holes in the gravel surface. The line of trees pulled farther back, giving the rain more opportunity to pound down and turn the grassy ditches on either side of the road to deep water and mud. In misleading curves that felt more maliciously random than anything, the road twisted, heading first away from the ocean and then gradually toward it again.
But no signs appeared. Nothing showed where we were, not even the invisible stars overhead.
Lights glared as a maroon SUV raced around the turn ahead. Chloe hissed with pain, wincing while she quickly adjusted her eyes back to normal human sight. The SUV flew by, passing only inches from the truck’s side.
Red light flashed behind us. I twisted in the seat in time to see the vehicle come to a sharp stop.
Chloe muttered a desperate curse.
“What?” I asked.
“When I woke up, I heard Earl calling someone. They sounded like they might be the same as him.”
Trying not to swear as well, I looked back at the SUV. It was turning around. Inside, I could see the shadowy forms of five people so big, it was hard to believe they’d fit in the vehicle.
And then the SUV’s rear tires hit the side of the road. Hit the mud and the water, and the vehicle lurched down. For a heartbeat, the SUV stopped, and then the other tires spun on the slick gravel and the vehicle rocked, as though trying to drag itself from the mud.
“They’re stuck,” I told her. “Go!”
The truck accelerated as Chloe pushed the pedal farther toward the floor. A curve in the road swallowed my view of the SUV.
Chloe kept going. Small sounds escaped her while the tires slid, barely keeping to the wet road. A triangular sign bearing the word ‘yield’ flashed past as the road curved again and joined a broader strip of concrete. With a quick glance over her shoulder, Chloe raced the truck through the turn, sending it skidding onto the highway ahead of a semi.
Angry honking followed us as we sped away.
“Anything?” Chloe asked.
I looked back. “No.”
A breath left her. On the wheel, her hands shook and she adjusted her grip distractedly.
“Chloe,” I tried.
She didn’t respond. Breathing hard, she tossed short glances to the mirror, checking the road, and then steered the truck around another semi in our path.
I returned my gaze to the highway. I wanted to reach out and take her hand. I wanted to do something, anything to calm her. But I wasn’t sure it’d be welcome. In fact, I was pretty certain it wouldn’t, given how tense things had been between us for the past day. At best, I’d just upset her more. At worst, I’d startle her enough to accidentally send the truck careening from the road.
And so I did nothing and hated myself for it.
Life had never been as complicated as it had become in the past few weeks. Hell, the past few days alone were more complicated than anything else combined. We’d managed to survive that behemoth, and an attack by mercenaries before
Another wave of dizziness rolled through me and I rested my head against the cold glass of the window, waiting for it to pass. That psycho had given us something, and that something was taking a damnably long time to wear off.
“You okay?” Chloe asked over the roar of the rain.
I looked over. In brief twitches, she pulled her gaze from the road to glance at me worriedly. With effort, I buried a grimace. “Yeah,” I replied, straightening again. “You?”
She nodded. Her hands adjusted their death grip on the steering wheel while she returned her focus to the track ahead. The twin lights of the truck illuminated the narrow gravel path, though the night swallowed the forest on every other side. With an emerald sheen, her green eyes glowed, obviously compensating for the darkness.
I watched her, not believing the silent answer for a moment.
But from the way she shuddered every few seconds, I also got the feeling that pushing her was a really bad idea right now.
The track widened and the truck bounced over holes in the gravel surface. The line of trees pulled farther back, giving the rain more opportunity to pound down and turn the grassy ditches on either side of the road to deep water and mud. In misleading curves that felt more maliciously random than anything, the road twisted, heading first away from the ocean and then gradually toward it again.
But no signs appeared. Nothing showed where we were, not even the invisible stars overhead.
Lights glared as a maroon SUV raced around the turn ahead. Chloe hissed with pain, wincing while she quickly adjusted her eyes back to normal human sight. The SUV flew by, passing only inches from the truck’s side.
Red light flashed behind us. I twisted in the seat in time to see the vehicle come to a sharp stop.
Chloe muttered a desperate curse.
“What?” I asked.
“When I woke up, I heard Earl calling someone. They sounded like they might be the same as him.”
Trying not to swear as well, I looked back at the SUV. It was turning around. Inside, I could see the shadowy forms of five people so big, it was hard to believe they’d fit in the vehicle.
And then the SUV’s rear tires hit the side of the road. Hit the mud and the water, and the vehicle lurched down. For a heartbeat, the SUV stopped, and then the other tires spun on the slick gravel and the vehicle rocked, as though trying to drag itself from the mud.
“They’re stuck,” I told her. “Go!”
The truck accelerated as Chloe pushed the pedal farther toward the floor. A curve in the road swallowed my view of the SUV.
Chloe kept going. Small sounds escaped her while the tires slid, barely keeping to the wet road. A triangular sign bearing the word ‘yield’ flashed past as the road curved again and joined a broader strip of concrete. With a quick glance over her shoulder, Chloe raced the truck through the turn, sending it skidding onto the highway ahead of a semi.
Angry honking followed us as we sped away.
“Anything?” Chloe asked.
I looked back. “No.”
A breath left her. On the wheel, her hands shook and she adjusted her grip distractedly.
“Chloe,” I tried.
She didn’t respond. Breathing hard, she tossed short glances to the mirror, checking the road, and then steered the truck around another semi in our path.
I returned my gaze to the highway. I wanted to reach out and take her hand. I wanted to do something, anything to calm her. But I wasn’t sure it’d be welcome. In fact, I was pretty certain it wouldn’t, given how tense things had been between us for the past day. At best, I’d just upset her more. At worst, I’d startle her enough to accidentally send the truck careening from the road.
And so I did nothing and hated myself for it.
Life had never been as complicated as it had become in the past few weeks. Hell, the past few days alone were more complicated than anything else combined. We’d managed to survive that behemoth, and an attack by mercenaries before
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