“What do we do, boss?” Sprig asked Bear. His voice wavered in the wind.
“The only thing we can,” Bear replied.
He rummaged in one of his saddle bags before pulling out a grenade. He threw it behind them. Layla watched as it landed on the road and rolled towards the oncoming SUVs. As the first drove over it, the grenade exploded in a burst of electric blue light.
Bits of metal flew through the air. The other SUVs swerved around the wreckage as they continued to pursue them.
Bear pressed a button on the instrument panel, smoke and fire puffed from the tailpipe as his speed increased. Layla’s chest tightened as the others wordlessly fell behind them. The rest of gang formed a solid line across the highway. She saw Rene take out a long, slender rod from his jacket pocket and point it at the oncoming cars.
“What are you doing?” Layla asked. “Why are we leaving them behind!”
Bear didn’t respond, but she could see the tension in his shoulders as neck as increased their speed.
The last thing Layla saw was a man hanging from the window of the second car, a grenade launcher on his shoulder.
“We have to turn back! We have to help them!” she shrieked.
Bear kept his gaze pointed steadfastly forward.
“Please!” she begged. “Please turn back.”
“They’re buying us time!” he hollered at her. “Our top priority is keeping you safe, okay? They knew what was at risk when they agreed to help me.”
He groped in his jacket pocket. “I’m sorry,” he murmured as he threw his hand towards her. Silver dust formed a cloud that wafted over her. She sneezed as she inhaled the powder. Her eyes watered and her head became heavy.
“What’s happening?” she asked Penny, unable to open her mouth. “Why am I…”
She trailed off as she fell asleep.
Chapter Four
Layla’s eyes fluttered open as the roar of the motorbike stopped. Bear stared down at her, a concerned expression on his face. He handed her a bottle of water. Her throat felt scratchy and dry. She chugged the entire bottle, but it did little to alleviate the pounding in her head.
Glaring up at him, she rasped, “What did you draking do to me!” She climbed out of the sidecar, her legs wobbling as she moved.
“We’re better off without him,” Penny murmured at the back of her mind.
Layla dismissed her PEA’s comment. She spread her feet wider apart and stood straighter as she stared him down. “I think I deserve an answer.”
Bear sighed. He hung his head and shuffled his feet. Layla stomped her foot. The motion made her sway and almost topple to the ground, but she steadied herself by grasping the motorbike.
“Look, if you don’t want to tell me, I can just go. I don’t need your help if you’re going to drug me, kidnap me, and lie to me.”
He met her gaze. “You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said. “I used a sleeping spell on you.”
“You what!”
He held up his hands, placatingly. “I just needed time to think so that I could come up with a plan to keep you safe.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “And what, you just decided that you could make decisions for me without my input? Classic.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“I think it’s exactly like that,” Layla said. She began to regain sensation in her body’s extremities. Her headache lessened as her heartrate increased.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
She almost believed him. But there was a nagging part of her that couldn’t.
She glanced at their surroundings. All around them were trees. A lone mansion stood before them. The balcony attached to the second floor was crumbling. Mildew had turned the bottom perimeter of the stone a puke green color. Boards covered the windows. Vines wound their way up the sides of the house, nearly covering it. What stones weren’t covered with the creepers were tagged with graffiti.
“Where are we?” she asked in a disgusted voice. She hadn’t forgiven him for drugging her yet, but until she got more answers, there was nothing else for her to do but talk.
“On the outskirts of Estrellala.” He motioned towards the mansion. “This used to be one of the fae royal’s homes before they were assassinated.”
Layla’s hands turned clammy as she stared at the mansion again. This is what twenty years of neglect could do. “Why did you bring me here?” she asked.
“No one comes here anymore except for the FGs. We’ve been using this as a party pad for about five years now.” He crinkled his nose, his eyes squinting and said, “make that six years.”
“That doesn’t tell me why you brought me here,” she replied. There was something about this place that felt wrong, although she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“We placed hundreds of wards on this mansion to turn it into a safe house. Since I’m a member of the FGs, I can invite you in. Once you’re in, you’ll be safe.”
She stared at him, her jaw dropping. “You can’t be serious,” she said. “You want me to what, hang out here like a sitting duck until that man finds me?” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
Bear mirrored her body language, his eyes narrowing at her as he sucked in a long breath.
“Sure,” she said, “have a tantrum. It doesn’t change the fact that you put a sleeping curse on me, brought me here against my will, and you’re still lying to me. How do you expect me to trust you when you can’t even give me a straight answer?”
“They think—we all think—you’re the lost princess,” he said softly. “Is that what you wanted to hear?” He stepped towards her, his expression softening. “The test you were given doesn’t prove it definitively, but there’s enough evidence to suggest that it’s possible.”
He clapped his hands on her shoulders and tugged her closer to him. His warmth enveloped her, leaving her senses tingling and relaxed.
“You’re wrong,” she murmured. “I can’t be the lost princess.”
The rumble of his chest told her he was chuckling at her words.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“You,” he replied gently. “Why is it so difficult for you to entertain the idea that you could be the one we’ve been looking for?”
She paused. Closing her eyes, she tried to process the emotions racing through her. Her thoughts kept landing on the image of her parents’ faces. Despite their faults, they had loved her. But if she believed what the FGs were saying, it meant that they had lied to her every single day of her life. If that were true, how could she trust anything they told her? She shook her head and shoved him away from her.
“You don’t know me,” she said, her voice trembling. “You don’t know what I’ve lived through.” Tears streamed from her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that night. She hated crying but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
“Layla, I’m sorry,” Bear said, reaching out for her.
She swatted his hand away. “Would you just listen to me?” she yelled. “I’m trying to tell you why I can’t—” her voice broke as she spoke. She clenched her hands, determined to get the words out. “If I believe you that means I think my parents were liars. And I can’t do that to them. They might have been draking terrible parents, but they were still mine.”