“Wait,” she called out. “Just give me a minute.”

He paused, his gaze swinging toward her location.

“Stop it,” Adare hissed.

Benny pulled the back hatch open an inch. Then another.

Grace panted as her heart rate sped up uncontrollably. In addition to the Cyst, there were at least seven Kurjans spread out, all armed, all waiting. They had either black hair tipped with red or red hair tipped with black, frighteningly pale skin, and light, purplish eyes. Most were closer to seven feet tall than six, and they were lean and muscled. The drawings she’d seen hadn’t done justice to how frightening they appeared. She looked up at the sky, praying for a hint of sun to weaken them.

The clouds were too thick.

Benny pulled a long box out of the hatch and slid it back to Adare, who ripped it open.

It was ten Kurjans and Cysts to the four of them, and though she knew Adare and Benny were good, nobody was that good. Grace bunched her legs to run.

“You won’t make it,” Adare said grimly, not looking up from a set of six square gray blocks with silver pins. “But start bargaining with them as I set these.”

Okay. She could do this. Her stomach rolled over and she forced herself not to gag. “Um, promise you won’t kill me,” she yelled, not having to make her voice shake since it did so on its own. They didn’t answer, so she cleared her throat and tried to kick some ice loudly to give the impression that she was on the move. She had no clue what she was doing.

Adare pressed something on the gray squares and handed a couple to Benny, took several, and then pushed the box toward Jacqueline. “You still have an arm?”

The shifter nodded, her eyes gleaming. “Definitely, and you’re gonna like these explosives. They’re new generation.”

“Okay.” Adare crouched, one in each hand. “Benny, you throw at the group to the left, Jacki right, and I’ll hit the bastard in the middle. Grace, the second these land, you shoot through the window at anything still moving, but keep your body down. On two.”

She couldn’t breathe. A buzzing set up between her ears, but she clutched the gun, waiting for the signal. Thank goodness she’d spent the last five years learning to protect herself.

“Two,” Adare muttered, standing up and heaving the square toward the Cysts while the other two did the same.

There was a beat of silence and then a rush of movement. Three explosions echoed in a row, and a cry of agony came from the left. Grace lifted up, aimed, and fired toward the different smoldering fires. A series of gunshots instantly impacted the SUV from every direction, and she ducked down to protect her head.

Adare threw another square, while Benny and Jacqueline did the same.