I straightened up and eyed my car in dismay. The dilapidated rusty-red Ford Contour. I purchased it solely for its ability to get from A to B without drawing attention.
Hah! Good luck with that now.
It reeked of wolves and bums—not the Gluteus Maximus kind of bum, the homeless kind. They’d smashed all the windows save the front windshield and the trunk hung open at a weird angle. Multiple tickets caked the wipers and the one intact piece of glass. They flapped in the wind in greeting. Smells of urine, garbage and dirty sex radiated from the interior. A miracle my A to B car hadn’t been towed.
The metal emitted a loud, nail-grating sound as I pried the trunk open farther. I peered inside. And groaned.
Tipping my head back to look at the sky, I tried to calm down. Everything was gone, including my emergency clothes. They were probably outfitting one of downtown’s homeless right now. The instinctive predatory urge to track them down hit me. My cat hissed, clawing to get out. Settle down. They’re just clothes.
Mine, she said.
Ignoring the cat and her territorial issues, I ran through my options. I’d have to drive out of here naked as the day I entered life. When I opened the front door, I saw shards of glass scattered on the driver seat. Fuck.
After brushing the majority of the glass off, I sat down. Despite being tempered, the curdled pieces dug into my ass, promising an extremely uncomfortable drive.
I reached under the wheel and ripped the panel off. My spare set of keys fell out. If someone was motivated enough to get the panel off and hotwire my car, they may as well have the keys, because they were going to drive off with it anyway. At least this way there’d be less damage to the car if I ever recovered it. I looked around the interior of my molested car and sighed.
A to B started right away, which surprised me. I patted the dash and thanked her, before reaching over to close the empty glove box. I didn’t want to listen to the door bouncing around.
As soon as I drove over the first speed bump, the glove box flopped open. It swung back and forth, held in place by one hinge. I went over another speed bump. Swish, swish, swish. I ripped the glove box door off and flung it into the backseat.
Too risky to go to my house. My insurance papers had the address on them and I assumed the wolves knew it. Too bad. I loved that place. Instead, I would drive as far as the gas in my tank would take me toward my safe house before I shifted to my falcon.
I would have gone straight there after escaping from Wick’s stronghold, but my wing started to ache. I desperately hoped they’d missed my car, but Wick’s pack was thorough.
The light turned red and I slowed to a stop. Maybe a thief had my insurance papers. My fingers drummed on the steering wheel while the wheels in my head turned over and over. I eyed the wires that stuck out from the centre console where my radio had once been. No music on this road trip.
By now, Wick knew I escaped and would search for me with the rest of his pack. They’d check the parking lot.
I made a decision and flicked on my left turn signal. Some of the cars behind me honked in outrage. It pissed me off when people signalled late as well. Instead of flipping them off, I owned it and waved. Sorry.
My house was too good to not try first. A drive by with the window down would be all I needed to sniff the air and figure out if the wolves had been there. I glanced at my broken windows and smirked. No need to roll them down.
Chapter Eleven
Attachment to anything or anyone was a professional error. I would leave this place if I had to, but it didn’t mean I had to like it.
The block my house sat on was deserted. The work day had yet to end. Living in a neighbourhood full of professionals certainly had its advantages. Only a few had kids and I was thankful for that. I didn’t dislike children, but they were too curious for their own good. I would move before I took out a child for seeing something not fit for young eyes. And I hated moving.
My home was a two bedroom, two bathroom condo. Well, one and a half bathrooms if you’re a realtor. The dark blue siding contrasted with the crisp white trim. Inside, the open concept made a bright spacious area. The main selling feature was the master bedroom, with a walk-in closet and a gorgeous ensuite featuring a deep soaker tub. But I liked the bay windows with seating the best. There’d been countless mornings where I dragged my sorry self out of bed to sit wrapped up in a warm blanket against the windows. I’d sip my coffee and watch other people battle the elements for their morning exercise. I didn’t need to run in the rain. My Shifter metabolism and martial arts training kept me svelte enough.
I made two laps around the block—once in each direction. Time and daylight slipped away with each full roll of my tires. Once night fell I’d have to contend with a horde of Vampires as well as the pack. A faint smell of wolf lingered in certain nooks, but nothing fresh. They’d been here.