Jada wanted to stay mad at him, or at least irritated, but when it became clear Cooper was barely hanging on, she gave in and decided neither of them could manage everything on their own. Pouting wouldn’t get them across the country any faster. And she even managed to listen when he murmured directions about how to shift gears and when to hit the clutch and how to time that with the accelerator. It was still nerve-racking, driving the clunky old truck on a two-lane highway, and more so because Cooper watched how she drove and could feel when the truck jerked and jumped because she hadn’t timed the shift right.

He took up most of the middle of the bench seat, his eyes half-closed and his hand resting on her shoulder so his thumb could stroke up and down the back of her neck. It was only after a dozen or so miles down the road that she could start to relax. Her calves ached from tension and trying to do everything perfectly, but eventually Cooper’s head leaned back against the top of the bench and he murmured, “I’m just going to close my eyes for a second.”

“Good,” she said. She dared to release the gearshift to pat his thigh. “I’ll wake you up if anything changes.”

He grumbled more and almost immediately his face relaxed and his breathing went deep and even. Francine’s face popped up near Jada’s shoulder, whispering and dropping a few crumbs on Cooper’s shoulder. “He’s asleep?”

Jada exhaled in a whoosh and pressed on the accelerator. “Yeah, looks like it. You doing okay, bug?”

“Yeah. Did you see this pretty room?” Francine held out a design and household things magazine that Jada picked up in the gas station. She had no idea who most of the celebrities were in the gossip magazines, so she went for something that might give her ideas for where to live or how to live or what to do in the future. Francine sighed and stroked her fingers over a glossy spread of a bathroom and closet larger than most of the houses in the leopard compound. “Can you imagine living in a place like this? Do they swim in that bathtub? How could someone have that many clothes?”

“It’s pretty crazy, isn’t it?” Jada held up Cooper’s cell phone. “You want to help me navigate?”

Francine clambered over the back of the seat so she could perch half on Cooper and half on the seat, juggling the cell phone and squinting at the screen. “We stay on this road forever.”

“Thanks,” Jada laughed, shaking her head. Something tight in her chest started to uncoil. Maybe things would be okay.

Francine flipped through the phone screens, then held it up to her ear. “Hi! This is Francine.”

Someone else spoke on the other side of the call, and Jada nearly drove off the road as she stared at her cousin. “Who are you talking to?”

Francine covered part of the phone and rolled her eyes. “It’s Ethan. I thought he’d want to know how things are going.”

Jada prayed for patience and gestured with her hand. “Then put it on speaker so we can both talk.”

“Fine.” She sighed and held it up, and Ethan’s soothing voice filled the truck cabin.

“How is everyone doing? Is Cooper there?”

“He’s asleep,” Jada said. She glanced at him, holding her breath, but Cooper only snored on, though his hand remained on her thigh. “He insisted on driving this morning and almost ended up asleep at the wheel.”

Ethan chuckled. “He’s stubborn. I’m sure you tried your best to convince him otherwise. Did you all get enough to eat?”

“Oh yeah,” Francine said. “That was really delicious. We ate almost all of it, but we’ve still got some in the cooler so we can snack all day.”

“I’m glad it worked out.” Ethan cleared his throat and spoke to someone else, then went on. “Where are you, exactly? A mile marker or town name or any landmark would be helpful. We’ve been driving all night, hoping to meet you sooner than a couple of days, but we’re not sure how far we are.”

Jada squinted at the exit sign that rolled past and gave him the name and the exit number. “We just got gas so we’ve got a ways to go until we stop again. Should we try to drive through the night? I don’t know where we’d stop, to be honest.”

“Hold on, we’re doing some math.”

She glanced in the rearview mirror, searching for any hint of wolves or cops or anything, but nothing moved nearby. She got the creeping feeling that danger lurked just out of view, though she couldn’t put her finger on why. Maybe because their escape felt too easy, in a way. If the wolves wanted to kill Cooper, they should have attacked at the hotel. Or as Cooper drove, still injured and slower to react. She didn’t believe the wolves had just given up, not after following them so far from the mountains to begin with.

“Jada?” Ethan cleared his throat. “It’ll take us at least a day to reach a meetup point. There’s a town called Gratiot, just off the highway, about 360 miles west of you. It’s got a nice hotel, run by a friend of ours. We’ll make a reservation for you all. Do you think you can make it there tonight?”

She took a deep breath. Three hundred sixty miles, at least five hours of driving if she kept it up at seventy miles per hour. But they didn’t really have a choice. “We can make it.”

“I’ll text the address as soon as we hang up. They’ll have dinner waiting for you and a doctor as well to check over Cooper. And they’ll be able to protect you, in case the wolves show up again. Have you seen any of them so far?”

“I don’t think so,” Jada said. She gave Cooper a sideways glare. “Although I’m not sure Cooper would have told me if he did.”

Ethan laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me. But if you think you see anything suspicious, or even something that might be suspicious, call us right away. We’ve got Tate looking at the maps to figure out where to meet up, so call me tonight after you’ve reached the hotel and we’ll plan the next leg of the trip.”

“Does this hotel have a pool?” Francine asked. “And room service?”

“I don’t think so,” Ethan said. “But I’ll make sure the next one does.”

She sighed. “That’s okay.”

Jada shook her head and smiled. “You all and Cooper have been very, very generous. We appreciate everything you’ve done, and somehow I’ll figure out how to pay—”

“No chance,” Ethan said cheerfully. “Not even a small chance that you’ll pay anything back. This is what family does.”

She cleared her throat and tried to remember why she had to stand up for herself more, even when someone was being nice. “I would feel better if I could. At least something. But I’ll talk to Cooper more about that.”

Ethan didn’t sound the least bit put out or offended. “I don’t think he’ll let you pay him back, but you can always try.”

Jada wondered whether they should hang up and let him get back to whatever he was doing, driving with the rest of the guys at what must have been breakneck speed, but before she could say an awkward goodbye and thank you, Ethan went on. “Now, Francine. My lovely fiancée Kira is in charge of decorating your room in the house, so it’ll be ready for you when you get home. Kira wanted to know what colors you like and whether you’ll need a desk and what kind of furniture you want.”

Jada had to hold her breath to keep from breaking into ugly sobs as Francine practically bounced on the seat in pure joy. She started listing a torrent of requirements and thoughts and stories that even Jada couldn’t decipher, but Ethan made thoughtful noises and asked the occasional question that kept Francine going.

Jada knew Cooper said something about she and Francine having their own rooms at the house, but she’d never expected he would have his friends work on it before they even arrived at the cabin. And Ethan had said, “when you get home.” Not “when you get here” or “when you get to the house”—home. He’d said home.

She focused on the road and the truck and the feeling of driving that grew slightly more familiar as they went along. Five more hours of driving would definitely give her more experience, especially if Cooper remained asleep or unable to concentrate enough to take the wheel. Jada listened with only half her attention as Ethan asked Francine what size clothes she needed and what size shoes she wore and whether she needed a backpack and school stuff. Jada hoped he was a fast writer, because Francine’s wish list was long, detailed, and constantly expanding.

More than once Jada had to clench her jaw to keep from reminding Francine that Ethan and the rest of Cooper’s friends weren’t an online delivery service to buy everything for her and have it waiting when she got home. At least it kept Francine’s mind off the possibility of a wolf pack chasing them down and hurting them.

She jumped when Cooper finally stirred next to her, his arm tightening around Francine as he sat up and blinked the sleep from his vision. “Ethan?”

Francine held up the phone, practically in Cooper’s face, and grinned. “Kira is decorating my room for me.”

“That’s great,” Cooper said, still sounding completely puzzled. He turned to look at Jada, and relief suffused his expression. “Jada. Are you okay? What happened?”

“What happened?” Jada blinked, leaning around him to raise her eyebrows at Francine, then looked back at Cooper. “You almost fell asleep at the wheel, so we switched out. You’ve been sleeping.”

He frowned, facing forward, then nodded. “Sure.” And immediately passed back out.

Francine giggled and leaned against him, putting her feet up on the dashboard as she kept chatting with her pal Ethan. Jada took a deep breath. Three hundred more miles. Sure. Not a problem.