Chapter 731 Chapter 731
“Did they text anything else?” Zain’s heart was alternating between beating too fast to all-stop it felt like. Now was not the time to have an anxiety attack. He’d never had one, but it was never too late to start, and with his luck, it would be now. His mind was all over the place, and he needed to get it together. He checked the mirror again. They were still there. Honestly, did they think they were stupid? Not to notice the same car following them for this long? After stopping at the same place and not even pretending to get out of their vehicle.
“It just says what I told you. Keep driving. Once in town, go very slow until you see Niklaus.” She lowered the phone and looked over her shoulder. “Do you know Niklaus?”
Zain shook his head. “No, he’s one of Taggart’s men. The new international team.”
“How are you supposed to go until you see someone you’ve never seen?” She blew out a breath. “International? Where are they from?”
“All over Europe.” He checked the mirror again and then looked back to see a welcome sign. “Okay, we’re at the town.” He glanced over at her and to the phone she still held. When it rang, both of them jumped.
Oaklyn answered it, tapped the screen, and held it up.
“Zain?” A man with a thick accent asked.
“Niklaus?”
“Ya, it is I. Where is you?”
Zain glanced in the mirror to see the back of the sign. “We just drove into town.”
“This is good. Go to hockey place.”
He frowned. “Arena?”
“Ya, that. Drive to the back. You see me. Bye.”
Zain nodded. “Okay.” He looked at the streets they were approaching.
“That way.” Oaklyn pointed.
Zain puffed out his cheeks and then exhaled. There was one thing you could count on in small rural towns. They’d have an arena and lots of signs to show the away team how to get there.
“We just drive around the back?” Oaklyn reached down and got the tranq gun and held it in her lap.
“That’s what he said.”
“And then what?”
Zain glanced at her and then in the mirror. They were following a few streets back now. “I guess we’ll find out when we get there.” He looked at her again and at the tranq gun. Opening the console, he took out his gun and set it where he could reach it quickly.
When he saw the arena at the end of the street, his heart beat faster. “Are they still following us?” He didn’t want to look in the mirror, just focus on getting there.
“Yes. A little slower, but they are.” She shifted in her seat. “I think they’ll follow us behind the building.”
Zain nodded. “It would seem like a good opportunity to do whatever it is they’re supposed to be doing.” Niklaus was a smart man. It was hard for him to keep the speed steady. He just wanted to get there. Whatever happened after that, he didn’t know. He had a knot in the pit of his stomach and was almost positive that it had nothing to do with the fact that those men were after him. The reason for it was Oaklyn. He was putting her at risk and there was some part of the deeply ingrained makeup of mates that had him and his wolf tense because of it. When she was safe, he would deal with the rest. He wasn’t exactly a warrior and equipped to keep her safe, but Niklaus was. Maybe it made him a coward for counting on another male to keep his mate safe, but Zain didn’t care. Her health and safety overruled some caveman instinct.
When he was driving around the corner of the building, he held his breath. What if they didn’t follow them? “Watch in the mirror. Make sure they’re following us.” He slowed down and looked at the building. It had a few large sliding doors and one man sized door in what looked like a small kiosk. He wasn’t a hockey player, so he didn’t know anything about it.
“They’re still there,” Oaklyn whispered.
He could feel the tension coming off her, and it made his animal try to crawl out through his skin. He slowed and started to pull past the kiosk when a large man with black hair stepped in front of them. Zain stomped on the brakes and then leaned closer to the steering wheel to look at him. He was around the same size as Deacon, but he was no friendly lumberjack look alike as the Incursion team member was. He had a tattoo of some sort of intricate pattern above his left eye and down over his cheekbone.
“Well,” Oaklyn whispered.
He walked to the passenger side. Oaklyn put the window down, and the scary man smiled at her. “I am Niklaus.” He nodded. “You go now.” He motioned. “I see you for Christmas party, ya?” His smile faded when he looked behind them. Patting the hood, he stepped back.
Zain turned slowly back to look out the windshield and stepped on the gas.
“Christmas party? The Alliance has a Christmas party?”
Zain glanced in the mirror. “Not that I know of.”
“Oh. Maybe he’s mixed up.” She turned in her seat.
Zain reached the end of the building and looked in the mirror again. He tapped the brakes when he saw Niklaus reach into the window of the car and pull a man out through it.
“Sweet hell. Did you see that?”
Zain nodded and stepped on the gas again. “I did.”
“He just pulled that man out of the car like he was a soft dolly.” Oaklyn chuckled. “That was something to see.”
“Mmhmm.” Zain drove across the parking lot faster than he should have, but he needed to get them as far from here as he could before whatever was happening behind that building happened.