Green - a werewolf story

35. Heart to Heart

It almost caused her physical pain to watch her car disappear into the darkness. Knowing that her laptop was following it down hurt worse.

"We'll get you a new one," Green said, putting his arm around her.

"Yeah," Vanessa said and took a step back when the ball of fire from the exploded cars reached them. "I still don't understand why she couldn't explode the White Wolf encampment instead."

"We've been over this," came Letitia's voice from her phone. "It's bad mojo to kill someone using magic, even crazy people, unless it's self-defense and even then..."

"But it's not bad mojo to explode someone's car?"

"Not when it's a shitty car and you're saving that person's life."

"And the other car full of bodies?" Vanessa asked.

"I said a prayer first. Cremation is a very old and respectable funeral rite."

"Mm."

"And we agreed we couldn't let them find and read your computer," Letitia continued.

"Mm."

"Stop sulking! You both need to get going," Letitia said. "Do you remember your instructions?"

"Go wolf, head east until we reach a lake, swim across lake, head north until we reach a yellow, wooden house where we'll be safe," Green and Vanessa intoned.

"Precisely and then you'll call me first thing tomorrow so I'll know you're okay."

"Why? I thought you were psychic now?" Vanessa snapped.

"I am. Which is how I know I shouldn't be tuning into you until tomorrow afternoon."

"Why not?" Green asked, but Letitia didn't answer.

"Bye for now, you're welcome for having your lives saved, talk tomorrow and I look forward to seeing you at my engagement party."

"Bye," Vanessa muttered to the dial tone.

"That's your best friend?" Green asked.

"Yeah."

"I see."

"What?" Vanessa asked, eager to vent her frustration for losing most of her worldly possessions on someone who wouldn't hex the hair from her head for complaining.

"It's interesting that you would choose to hang out with someone as dominating as that. Not that I'm not grateful for her saving our lives, but I'd have thought you'd have friends who are less... managing."

"Yes," Vanessa agreed. "Sometimes I'm not sure I did choose her, to be honest. Letitia's hard to shake."

Green laughed. "Like anyone could force you to spend time with them."

"You did."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Vanessa straightened up. She didn't want to talk about her choice to let Green tag along. In fact, there were a whole lot of things she didn't want to discuss right now. Her past and the car following them being two of them.

"Letitia is right," she said and stripped out of her jeans for the second time that night. This time she was going to carry her clothes in her mouth with her cellphone. "We need to go."

"You're going to have to talk to me at some point," Green muttered as he stripped next to her.

"Not if we get killed, I don't," Vanessa muttered back.

That was the one upside of being hunted by people intent on killing her and she concentrated on that as she pulled off the rest of her clothes and tied them around her phone. Hopefully it would keep her from panicking.