Page 113 of Stubborn as a Shadow

“Hurry. Get in,” he said. “Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“To get Violet.”

“You know where she is?” I glanced toward the restaurant. I didn’t see Nelson yet. He was probably still cleaning up. “We need to tell the police. What happened anyway?”

“I’ll explain on the way.”

“I need to tell Nelson where I’m going.”

“We can’t wait.”

“But…”

“He can’t fit in here anyway,” Gary said. His phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, then flashed it toward me. There was a picture of Violet. She was tied up. Tears streamed down her face. She looked furious. The message read “Every minute you delay, she’ll lose a finger. When those are gone, we’ll move to her toes.”

I was going to puke. Or pass out.

I still didn’t see Nelson, but I couldn’t wait. Violet was… Violet. She’d dropped everything to try to save me. Of course I’d do the same for her. It wasn’t even a question.

But what made me hop in the car was that everything Gary said was true. His words didn’t make my skin itch.

As soon as the door closed, Nelson rushed onto the street. He looked frantic.

“Wait… There’s Nelson. Let me…”

Gary gunned it down the street.

“Gary! Holy horseshoes! What are you doing?”

“What I have to,” Gary said.

Then a sharp pain stabbed my thigh.

“What the—" I turned around to see a needle sticking out of my leg.

A floaty, fuzzy sensation fluttered through me. I couldn’t feel my fingers and toes. Then my arms and legs. Then I felt nothing at all.

41

THE FRIEND OF MY ENEMY IS DEFINITELY MY ENEMY

NELSON

Gary, the dusk-damned asshole, had just kidnapped my mate. Why in the name of magic would Morgan have gotten in that car with him?

“Go!” Parker shouted. “I saw it all. Go after them. I’ll call the others.”

That shook me into action. Standing there in shock was doing nothing but letting Gary get further away.

My shift flashed over me in an instant. I didn’t care if every human in Willow Lake saw me change, I had more important things to worry about.

I’d never been so happy to be a shadow jumper because I could jump to any shadow within sight. And this morning, there were a lot of them. The sun was low in the clear sky still, so every little thing cast a long shadow. Perfect.

I jumped to one at the end of the street to get a better view of Gary’s car. Morgan slumped awkwardly in the seat. When Gary swung the car around a corner, Morgan’s head hit the window. He didn’t wince or cry out. He didn’t do anything at all.

That asshole had done something to my mate.