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"Don't count on it," Jake said. He waited until Cooper slipped into the passenger seat before he gunned the engine and followed the other cars out towards the highway. "But you led us to Ivory, and for that I will be eternally grateful."
"But you still don't trust me?" Hutton said.
"That depends what information you found," Jake said. "Let's just say the jury is still out."
Hutton grunted under his breath.
"Jake will come around," Cooper said confidently. "You did almost get eaten by wolves."
I should probably step in and say something, or tell them to shut up, but all I wanted to do right now was lean against Ben, close my eyes and pretend the last couple of weeks never happened. Paxton's blunt tone, although clearly not intended to be hurtful, cut me right down to the bone. Somehow it made everything seem so much more painfully real.
"I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but you're going to be okay," Ben whispered in my ear. "You're the strongest person I know."
"I'm not sure about that," I said. "If it wasn't for you being there with me, I probably would have unravelled."
"No you wouldn't," he said. "You're Ivory. You wouldn't have let Dagen win. You still won't. If I was him, I would be shaking in my shoes."
"There is no way you would ever be him," I said firmly.
He put an arm around me and pulled me to his chest.
Cooper twisted around in his seat. "So, are you two a thing too?"
Jake turned his head just enough to hear without taking his eyes off the road.
I glanced over my shoulder at Ben. "We’ll see." Honestly, right now I could barely think straight, much less make any kind of promises. There was still the chance the closeness was only because of what we endured. Once we got back to our lives, we might go back to boss and bodyguard. That might be all Ben wanted.
All of this was a conversation for later.
"You and I could be a thing if you give me a chance." Hutton gave me a cheeky grin.
"Like I said, we'll see," I said. "Can a girl rest for a while first?”
“Of course, take all the time you need,” he replied easily. “Just don’t take too long.”
I managed a weary smile, but that was the best I could do right now.
Apparently not quite ready to let the matter lie, Jake said, "I don’t know about the Hutton thing, but I trust Ben almost as much as I trust myself. Now I think about it, I'm not sure what took you two so long. I'm pretty sure Ben has been hot for you since he met you."
Ben chuckled. "He's not wrong." He didn't elaborate. Evidently he was willing to let the matter lie for a while. Or physical attraction was as far as it went, and this was his way of pulling back.
I looked out the window in silence and wondered what would have happened if I'd gone with Dagen. Could I somehow have stopped him from getting on that helicopter? Or better yet, thrown him off it? Or would he be taking all of his frustration out on me right now? It was probably just as well I would never know the answer to that. He would never have the opportunity again. If Jake had to handcuff me to him, he would never let me out of his sight again. That would chafe eventually, but I didn't want him out of my sight either. Any of the guys.
I cracked my eyes open. "What happened to Toby?" I asked Hutton.
"They were about to kill him when a guy in a leather jacket said he would deal with him," Hutton said. "He said he was part of the Onyx Ridge pack. Dagen's men seemed to know who he was. They handed him over."
I nodded. Luca Fisher, I presumed. That might mean there was hope for Toby yet. Or Luca had some agenda of his own. I had no doubt he did. Everyone had an agenda.
We reached the highway and headed south, a convoy of SUVs and other vehicles. Wolf shifters with black wolf blood on them, or their own blood. People like me, slightly charred and tainted with ash. But alive. The scratches and scrapes, bruises and dirt were nothing.
It was the internal shit that weighed heavily on my mind. I felt as though at some point, I was going to lose my shit completely. Unravel. Cry for a week or two. I didn't know when or where, I just knew it would happen.
I needed to hold it together as best I could in the meantime.
And make a plan.
Alistair Dagen would pay dearly for what he did to me.
