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into Shifters and ruining their lives.
    Jace’s arms around Deni, his warm body at her back, reminded her of their wild coupling, beautiful for all its brutality. Jace had a tall, strong body, one Deni would be willing to climb again. And again. Deni wished she and Jace could be truly alone, racing down the road, nothing on their minds but the wind, stars, and what they’d do together at the journey’s end.
    They reached the highway, the traffic sparse. Deni swung the bike to the right, heading for the lights of civilization. Austin glowed on the horizon, the city beckoning.
    Deni had grown to love Austin and its quirkiness—the music, Sixth Street on a Saturday night, bars that ranged from upscale to shabby honky-tonks, the bats emerging every sunset from the Congress Avenue Bridge, the town’s sense of being different from everyplace else in the world, even from the rest of Texas. Deni had found something like happiness settling here, with her brother, Ellison, and her sons, Will and Jackson. Not the greatest existence, living in Shiftertown, but at least they were together.
    And then the bastard human, who’d been involved in some nasty business regarding Shifters that Ellison and Deni had helped clear up, had deliberately run down Deni on her motorcycle, robbing her of control and any sense of tranquility. Tonight, coupling with Jace and now having him hold on to her was the closest she’d come to finding peace again.
    Deni turned onto the 183 and headed north. She was sure Jace would tell her to pull over any minute so he could take over the driving, but he didn’t. Jace kept his arms around her, his body leaning with hers as she made the turn and joined traffic.
    Deni started to shake again as traffic thickened, cars and trucks surging around them to head for Austin from points east of San Antonio. Jace’s warm hands moved on Deni’s belly, as though he knew she needed his reassuring touch. Deni felt a little better, but when they reached Lockhart, she pulled off to a gas station.
    “You can take over now,” she said, sliding off the helmet.
    Jace didn’t dismount. “You’re doing fine. Keep going.”
    “Jace, come on. I’m scared. The wreck really messed me up. The guy who did it was trying to grab me—he was kidnapping Shifters.”
    Jace’s eyes narrowed. “I heard about him. He didn’t get you though, right?”
    “Only because there were too many other people around. He nearly killed me.”
    “But he’s dead now.” Jace spoke with conviction. Dylan must have told him some of that story.
    “Yes.” Deni swallowed, her mouth dry. She wondered if Dylan had told Jace exactly how the man had died, and Deni’s part in it. “My mind knows that I’m safe, but my instincts don’t. The wolf inside me hasn’t fully processed it yet, I guess.”
    Jace kept frowning. “I see that. But I’m right here with you. Show yourself you can do it. Don’t let him win.”
    Deni wanted to—she truly did. Her brother had given her similar advice:
Don’t let the asshole take everything away from you
.
    Wise words, but still, it was hard. “What if I black out?”
    Jace shot her a grin. “I’ll wake you up.”
    “Jace, I
can’t.
”
    “You’re wrong. You can.”
    Deni grasped the handlebars. She used to love to ride, she and Ellison going all out on the back roads, side by side, racing. She missed it.
    She gave Jace a challenging look. “What if I get off right here and refuse to ride?”
    Jace shrugged. “Then I take the bike back to Liam and send you a cab. Or you can shift to wolf and go cross-country.”
    “Oh, thanks.”
    The grin returned. “Or, you can drive.”
    He was a shithead. A sexy one. Damn it.
    Everything in Deni wanted to do this. Waiting at this gas station for a cab certainly didn’t appeal to her, especially not with the few good old boys starting to eye them. Humans and Shifters weren’t supposed to tangle, but out in farm and ranch country, in the middle of the night, rules