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When Rainer turned back to her, his expression was blank "Pack a bag, we’re headed to the compound When it’s near dusk, my brothers and a few pack et your friend back"

She frowned So "we" didn’twith you"

He let out a harsh laugh "The hell you are"

"Unless you plan to kidnap or restrain uy told me to come alone If I don’t do what he says, I have no doubt they’ll kill her I’rowled low in her throat Estrella healed fast--faster than hiht--and she’d killed before She could do it again Anything for Sabrina

Rainer growled back at her, his frustration clear in every line of his strong body Finally he nodded "Fine I’ll wait outside for you" He turned on his heel and stalked fro off him in visible waves

Estrella hurried to her roo There were hours to kill before the meet and she wanted her own stuff at Rainer’s As soon as the sun set, she was getting her friend back Noand there was no way she was letting those va to care for Rainer in a way she hadn’t thought would be possible, but she couldn’t let him have his way in this She had to be there to help her friend If those vampires didn’t see her at the studio, for all she knew they’d kill Sabrina Estrella wasn’t going to let that happen

Hours later, Estrella tapped her finger against her knee coo by faster--and stared out theof Rainer’s SUV where they sat across the street fro his brother Conrad who had been giving her the cold shoulder all day, had gone into the art studio about an hour ago They were supposedly going to hide inside and had wanted to get set up before theSince she hadn’t heard an alarm or seen any cops drive by, it was safe to assurateful for the backup because in reality, there was no way she could take on a bunch of vae part of her worried their presence ht, Estrella knew the owner hadn’t planned to open up his place for the next three days so as things went, it was a decent place to stage awith no outsiders She wondered how the vampires had known it would be unoccupied Maybe Sabrina had told the out of control inside her as she thought about her friend It was like a tornado assaulting her insides

Rainer’s hand on her knee stilled her et her back" He watched her ary green eyes

All day he’d been distant, even though he’d been physically present He’d taken her to his pack’s co a mansion She’d been introduced to a lot of wolf shifters and even a vampire as h She’d seen a lot of surprise and soh she knew that had everything to do with Rainer being suddenly unavailable and nothing to do with actual jealousy of her She couldn’t bla distant frory, but he was holding back

Nodding, she looked away fro that there was a wall between them now It was her own fault, but she didn’t kno to tear it down She didn’t know enough about his on her own had been her instinctive response after receiving that phone call If she had to go back, she’d do the saain

"Daain Before she could ask hi, other than the obvious, his ue invaded her ht to kiss her He stroked against her in a frantic dance while one of his hands cupped her cheek, holding her possessively

When she’d allowed him into her bed, she’d let him into her life All day, even with the walls between the a claim on her for everyone to see His hand had never left the small of her back when they’d been outside his room

Eventually he pulled back and she was pleased to see he was breathing just as hard as she was "Whatever happens after tonight, you’re still rowled, a possessive note in his voice

She blinked, surprised by his statement He’d been the one to pull away from her, even if she had helped mix the mortar to build the brick wall between the away froinal instincts had told her to run far and fast She had to see where this thing between them went even if her heart was shredded in the end

Noas his turn to look surprised Those gorgeous eyes of his widened for a moment before a harsh smile settled on his face "Good" He looked like he wanted to sayin her pocket made them both freeze

She’d turned it to vibrate earlier and now felt frantic as she struggled to fish it out of her jacket pocket When she saw Sabrina’s nuain--"

"I want to talk to Sabrina, no do I know you haven’t hurt her?" This wasn’t part of their plan, but Estrella didn’t care She wanted to hear her friend’s voice

"Your friend is fine and ould never hurt her without a reason, so don’t give us one" His voice was razor sharp

Steeling herself, she said, "I talk to her now or I’ in the background, she watched as an SUV with unusually dark tinted s pulled into the parking lot of the art studio across the street The vehicle drove through it, then around the corner toward the back of the building Next to her, Rainer straightened and she was under the i a telepathic conversation with Conrad

"Estrella?" Sabrina’s voice was slurred