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"Which is the only reason I’ head against the seat "You can’t kick rin, Arel shoved the truck in gear and took off like a bat out of hell "Hold on"

"Shit" Niko braced his hands against the glove co his teeth as the truck swerved around a corner and bounced across a shallow ditch to head straight across an e with the road?"

"Shut up," Arelbetween the dark field and thehis eyes so he could try and concentrate on recuperating his strength Dylan had clearly gone over the edge There was no reasoning, no hope of coht to the death

He h a fence at a hundred miles an hour and nearly sent theet to Angela No one But he was just beginning to shake off the effects of the shockwave He couldn’t afford to be injured before he even reached Dylan

"I could drive," he rasped

Arel slowed as they neared the signal still blinking on the GPS

"Has anyone told you that you have control issues?"

Always

"Never," he lied as Arel pulled the truck to a halt just outside a trailer park

"Dylan’s close," Arel e and huaze to search the heavy shadows that shrouded the park, briefly puzzled by the tug of awareness that flowed through him

Was this a new trick of Dylan’s?

Then, as the sensation settled deep in his heart, he realized this was no trick

And it had nothing to do with Dylan

"Niko?"

Belatedly realizing that Arel was studying hirie she would want to be isolated frohbors"

"True" Arel pointed across the narrow parking lot "There’s her car Stay here and I’ll find out which trailer she’s in"

"No need" Niko nodded toward the trailer set a short distance from the others "It’s that one"

Arel turned to frown at him "How can you be sure?"

Niko pressed a hand to the center of his chest "I can feel Angela"

Arel’s golden eyes widened in shock

On very rare occasions a high-blood could be so deeply connected to another that they formed a bond that could be felt on a physical level

Niko had always pitied the poor schmucks who allowed themselves to be melded Why would anyone want to be leashed for their entire lives?

It wasabnor

This wasn’t a leash, and it certainly wasn’t abnorela completed him

Yeah, yeah It was sappy But that’s exactly how he felt

"It’s gone that far?" Arel growled, not nearly as pleased as Niko by the unexpected gift

Niko s open the door of the truck so he could jump out to stand on the dirt path

"So it would see to stand at Niko’s side "You still need to stay here while I scout out the best way to stage an attack"

"There’s no strategy" His gaze searched the trailer for any hidden traps "I’ll go in the front door and while Dylan is distracted you’ll go in froela"

In less than a heartbeat Arel was standing directly in front of him, his hands planted on his hips and his expression set in stubborn lines

"No"

Niko narrowed his gaze "I don’t want to pull rank, but I will"

"You’re no longer in charge of this mission," Arel re back co clearly"

Niko refused to back down "I’ to kill that bitch"