Jess grinned sheepishly. "Andy's doing, not mine. Don't ask, 'cause it's just obscene. And no, with the exception of the black Bronco, nothing in here belongs to me. Since Andy lives in the apartment over the garage, this is his domain."
"And how big is Mr. Andy's apartment?"
He actually blushed. "Sixty-two hundred square feet, and I'm pretty sure it's why he picked out this house. Though he denies it."
Holy snikes ... Well, that explained the huge feel of the place. Her house was one quarter of the size of Andy's apartment.
"And why's your Bronco in here?"
Jess continued on through the huge place toward his truck. "He was hauling tack earlier, and he didn't want to risk dinging or scraping one of his darlings. Since I don't drive it all that much, he left it over here."
She was strangely amused as she counted Andy's impressive super car collection. "If he has sixteen cars, why does he care about the Audi so?"
He opened the door for the Bronco and passed her a defiant grin that set fire to her blood. Oh, to have five minutes to nibble those lips. "That's his newest, and honestly, I think the boy just wants something to moan about. Pay him no heed."
Abigail climbed into the backseat, leaving Choo Co La Tah to sit up front with Jess while Sasha climbed in beside her.
Jess adjusted the seat and mirrors to accommodate his size. Before he started it, he pinned a meaningful glare at Sasha through the rearview mirror. "Everyone buckled in?"
Sasha snorted, then gaped as he realized Jess wasn't joking about it. "Really? Is there anyone here one hundred percent human? No. I think dying from an unbuckled belt is the least of our concerns right now."
"And I don't put it in drive until everyone's secure. That means you, wolfboy."
Sasha's exasperated expression was priceless. "Un-frakkin'-believable. I'm in hell. With a lunatic. Might as well have stayed with Zarek. Next thing you know, you'll be drowning pancakes with syrup, too." He made a grand showing of buckling himself in. "Hope you get fleas," he mumbled under his breath.
"Thank you." Jess pulled out of the garage.
She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at them. No doubt they'd take turns beating her if she did.
Curling his lip, Sasha sarcastically mocked his words in silence. "By the way, cowboy, you do know that if we were to wreck, I can teleport out of this thing. Right?"
"Is Scooby still bitching?" Jess asked Choo Co La Tah. "Remind me to check his vet record when we get back. I think he might have distemper or rabies or something."
Choo Co La Tah laughed.
Abigail shook her head at their antics. She wasn't used to people so at ease with danger. They were either the bravest creatures ever born ...
Or the most reckless.
And as they headed back out into the darkness, she felt a chill run down her arm. I'm being watched.
It's Ren. Don't worry about it.
Maybe, but it didn't feel like Ren.
It felt like evil.
* * *
Coyote felt the fire in front of him flare as he walked with his mind through the realm of shadows to spy on his enemies. Even with his eyes closed, he could see himself in the cavern. The fire licked against the logs in front of him, casting eerie shadows from the stalagmites and stalactites onto the rock walls around him.
But that wasn't what held his focus. His enemies did.
They were together, and that made him seethe so deep inside, he was sure it burned a groove into his soul. "Why won't you die," he snarled. "All of you."
How many times did he have to kill Buffalo before he stayed dead?
As for Ren ...
"What's happening?"
He opened his eyes to find Snake walking toward him from the dark opening that let out onto the hills he'd called home for centuries. "They're heading to the Valley."
Snake cursed. "We have to stop them."
Like he didn't know that? "Why are you panicking when I'm the one who has everything to lose?"
"You're not the only one, Coyote. I don't want to retire any more than you do."
But this wasn't about retirement. It was about payback. A betrayal so foul that no amount of time had lessened the burn of it.
How could I have been so stupid?
The First Guardian was still tormenting him. He could feel it. Why else would he have made the mistake he made all those years ago?
I killed the wrong one. Only the First Guardian could have pulled off that deception and protected the girl from him after he killed her mother.
And he needed that key. It was the only way to have his vengeance. The only way to survive this.
I will not fail. Not this time. He'd waited for centuries, and it was the season for his patience to be rewarded.
He rose to his feet and started for the entrance.
Snake caught him and held him by his side. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going after them."
"You can't. Outside of the Valley, we're like gods."
Inside, they weren't. It still mystified Coyote that the woman had been able to kill Old Bear. Something that should have been impossible even for her.
And if she could kill a Guardian outside of the Valley, then Buffalo most likely could do it, too. "I have to stop them."
"Then stop them, my brother ... with others."
Coyote shook his head. "I've unleashed my plagues."
"Then I will unleash mine." Snake placed his hand on Coyote's shoulder in brotherly solidarity. "We are in this to the end."
Snake for the power.
Coyote for blood.
He nodded to the South Guardian. "At dawn we will feast on the hearts of our enemies."
"And bathe in their blood."
A warrior's bond.
Snake tightened the grip on his shoulder before he released him. "I will summon the bounty hunters." He started away.
"Wait." Coyote hesitated to say more. He didn't want to show his weakness to anyone. Ever. But he had no choice. "Tell them not to harm the woman. I want her brought back to me."
"Intact?"
"Preferably."
"May I ask why?"
The answer smoldered inside him like a pressure cooker that was about to explode. "It's personal."
Confusion marred his brow, but Snake didn't pursue it. "I'll make sure it's done."
Good. Coyote watched Snake make his exit while his emotions churned inside him. But it was his rage that flared brightest. "You owe me!" he shouted, his voice ringing through the cavern. And this time, he would collect on that balance.
Jess Brady would die, and he would finally have the reward he'd been promised.