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swiveled to look at her. Mel's eyes were full of compassion. Her full lips curved into a comforting smile. Something in Ree's chest gave a lurch when she saw the intimacy in that look. Was there something going on between Melanie and Paden? She bit her lip and tried to quell the anger the thought brought her. Melanie was a wonderful person. There wasn't anyone more thoughtful and fun to be around. Everyone loved Mel. She was beautiful in that natural way, without any makeup or effort. Her hazel eyes were always open and understanding. It would make perfect sense for Paden to like someone along those lines. They would fit well together. That thought didn't do much to calm the anger, but it did smother some of the flames in disappointment.
    Melanie looked away from Paden when she noticed Ree was staring at her. Her eyes shifted, obviously registering something in Ree's expression. Suddenly, her lips curved into a smile and she sat back, amused. She looked from Ree to Paden and raised an eyebrow. Ree just looked at her blankly, not sure what she was trying to convey.
    “You missed the turn.” Paden pointed toward the street sign that said Waters Avenue.
    “No, I didn't. I decided to not take it,” Bryce said, his tone distracted. Ree noticed that he kept checking his mirrors.
    “Okay, does this mean you have a quicker way to get to Shipyard Road?” Paden said icily.
    “No. It means I'm trying to lose the car that’s following us,” Bryce said as he whipped onto another road, the tires making a noise a lot like they did in the movies. Everyone in the back braced themselves as the SUV leaned far to the right.
    “Following us!” Juliette squealed.
    Everyone in the car but the driver turned to look out of the rear windshield. Sure enough, a red sports car ran a red light and swerved into place behind them. That horrible cold sensation crawled across Ree’s shoulders as the car came closer to their bumper. She looked down at the floorboard, willing herself to stay calm as she felt that answering burn in the pit of her stomach.
    “Who do we know that has a red car?” Melanie asked. She looked back up front, her eyes wide.
    “It’s Michael and his friends,” Paden said from up front. Ree raised her head to look at Paden’s profile. He had spoken very slowly and carefully. It sounded like he was trying to talk around the fangs he had developed earlier. He must have been responding to the presence in the red car as well. He looked at her for just a moment, his eyes worried, before looking back at the road.
    “Uh, we might need to go faster if we’re trying to outrun them,” Weylin said sarcastically from the back.
    “It's a damn SUV, Wey. What do you want me to do? It's not like I have nitrous or anything,” Bryce said, his voice strained.
    “Oh, no. You hafe got foo be kidding me!” Juliette said suddenly. Ree didn't have time to ask what was wrong because the red car accelerated, slamming into their rear bumper. Everyone slammed forward against their seatbelts before jerking back against the seats.
    “What the hell man! What the hell!” Bryce hollered. He jerked around a slower car and swerved down another road.
    “We've gotth to losthe them!” Paden was gripping the handle above his door. Apparently
    Bryce glanced over at him. “Really, is that what we need to do? Way to be helpful, jackass.”
    “Hey, I don't think the red car is alone,” Melanie said. She hadn't taken her eyes off the car behind them. “There’s a black Mercedes following them really closely. “
    “Great, a horde of angry misfits,” Weylin said. He turned and looked at Ree. He paused for just a moment, his eyes narrowed as he studied her face. “Huh, they do glow. Well, what do we do? I mean, can we do anything? What about some of your green stuff? Or maybe have Paden bite them?”
    “Har, har,” Paden said sarcastically from upfront.
    “I don't know if I can do anything with all of these people around. What if I accidentally