Page 71 of Wolf's Fate

“Don’t be testy,” I scolded. “How much further?” I asked, forcing myself to shake free the sleep that lingered in my brain.

“A few hours. Sleep some more,” he encouraged. When he saw me sitting up straighter, I saw his jaw clench, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

“Do you have any idea who broke into my house?” I asked him suddenly. It wasn’t something we had spoken about. Actually, most of what we spoke about wasn’t about anything at all. Who would have thought Caleb was so good at small talk withoutactuallybeing good at small talk?

He looked over at me, his look questioning. “Diversion tactics?”

His bemusement made me laugh out loud. “What? Hardly.” The look he gave me made me lose my smile. “I thought you may have found something out by now.” His frown deepened and I looked away. “Or not, it’s okay, sorry I asked.”

“Hey.” His hand landed on my thigh. “Don’t do that.Ithought perhaps Cannon or Ned would have told you, that’s all.”

“Told me what?”

Caleb shrugged. “I killed two of the ones who ran you off the road. I left the bodies behind. Ned and whoever—I don’t keep count of the names.” His eyes flicked to mine, almost apologetically. “There’s always another one,” he added slightly defensively, and I hid my smile before he saw it and stopped talking.

“You killed two men, right?” I suddenly realized the seriousness of it, and I lost any humor I had.

Caleb sniffed derisively. “Shifters. I killed two shifters who would have killed me.” His look was hard when he glanced at me. “Whotriedto kill you.”

“Yeah, I know, you told me before, but I don’t think they wanted to kill me.” I spoke without thinking and should have been prepared for the sharp jerk of the car as Caleb pulled over. “Caleb!” Trying to soothe my rapidly beating heart, I glared at him. “I wasjustin a car crash.”

“I’m not Doc.” He shrugged off my concerns easily, his tone dismissive but his eyes sharp, focusing on me with that penetrating gaze of his, making me feel like there was nowhere to hide. “What do you mean you don’t think they wanted to kill you? What have you seen?”

There was so much I wanted to say to him, but his hard,demanding,expectantstare made me blurt out the truth. “Nothing.”

He waited and when it was clear I wasn’t going to say anything else, he widened his eyes slightly, urging me to speak.

I hesitated, my mind replaying the images that had haunted me since the break-in. “It’s kind of hard to explain.” I saw his carry-on motion and wanted to kick him. “They came in when they knew I wasn’t there—I mean the store—they did that in the time it took me to walk home and see what they’d done to the house.”

“It’s not something to praise them for,” he growled.

“Will you quit it?” I snipped at him. “What I mean is they had the chance to hurt me, if they wanted. Probably more than once, if you think about it. And they didn’t. So…”

“So?” His voice was gruff and hard, and I felt like I did when I used to go to confession. Guilty but no idea why.

“So…doesn’t it feel more like a test?”

“A test?” His voice was flat. Unimpressed.

“Yeah, like they did what they did, the break-ins and that, and then kind of sat back to see what would happen. Like they were testing the waters.”

His brow furrowed, his teeth grinding as he stared off into the distance. “Testing?” His hands tightened on the steering wheel, although we were stationary. “That’s a hell of a jump to make, Willow. People like that don’t waste their timetesting. They go in, get what they need, and leave.”

“But they didn’t get what they needed,” I said, ignoring his piercing stare. I pressed on, desperate to get it out now without any more interruptions. “I don’t know how to describe how I know, but…but I don’t think it was me they were trying to get the attention of.” Clearing my throat, I looked away. “It felt too…”

“Calculated.”

We shared a look, and Caleb ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he considered my argument. “They broke into your home, they wrecked your store, they basically destroyed your life, and you’re telling me that it wasn’t about you?” I nodded. He sucked his teeth. “So what then? They didn’t run you off the road to kill you? Is that what you’re saying?”

His presence could be very overwhelming in a small space, and I pressed the switch to lower the power window so I could breathe, ignoring the chill from the morning air.

But I’d never been a quitter, so I met his gaze, refusing to be silent. He asked, I was talking. “I’m saying, I don’t think they came tokillme specifically. I don’t know what they wanted, but I don’t think it was my life. I think—Ifeel,” I corrected myself quickly, “I feel like it was a test to see what happened.”

“Are you serious?”

Could he sound any flatter? “Yes.”

His eyes flashed with something I couldn’t place—fear, anger, maybe both, maybe neither.