Tuesday Teaser Gina’s Wolf Part 16–LATE!

Aaack! I don’t know how, but I completely forgot to post the teaser this week. Please forgive me. I am so sorry! My only excuse is that I got horribly sick on Friday. My temp went as high as 102.1 and I slept pretty much the entire weekend. I did make it into the office on Monday, but I was still exhausted. Then on Tuesday my mom came down with it. My brother was out of town for the week, so I was trying to take care of mom while I was still sick myself. Let me just say that I have a whole new appreciation for moms who take care of their sick families while they are sick themselves. Don’t know how you do it!

And hey, I have a question for you. I have brought 7 members of the Pack/Clan to Omaha, but I haven’t decided who yet. Taye is there, of course, to find his son. Who else would you like to see have a role in this story? Let me know and maybe you’ll see your choice in an upcoming snip.  🙂

I’m sorry the teaser is late, but here it is, and you get more in just a few days, on Tuesday Better late than never? Tuesday Teaser for Tuesday, June 26 Gina;’s Wolf Part 16:

Her hat must have fallen off somewhere along their desperate flight. Gina did her best to tidy her hair. She didn’t want to meet her prospective in-laws looking frazzled or bedraggled. Gina could see the trucks were almost here, three of them, with deafeningly loud engines. Was his father driving one of the trucks? Or was it his cousins that she had met in Omaha that day in the coffee shop?

Two of the trucks sped up and went past them, probably in pursuit of the motorcycles. They wouldn’t catch up. The motorcyclists were her stepfather’s crack advance troops. They could go faster than heavy, lumbering trucks. The third truck slowed and rolled to a stop nearby. But her attention was pulled from the truck by the arrival of what seemed like a whole pack of dogs. The headlights of the truck showed the dogs were big, gray, and fierce. She took half a step back and froze when they … shimmered.

Her mouth gaping open, she stared at the naked men who appeared out of the shimmers. She silently counted seven men. They were equally big and fierce. Some had long black hair, some had shorter hair in black and various shades of brown. One was blond. Most appeared young, probably in their early to mid-twenties. One was in middle age. Although his body was still lean and muscled, silver gleamed in the black of his hair. Was this Cole’s dad? When the men finished embracing Cole, they turned to look at her. The weight of their combined stares made her want to flinch. Of course, she lifted her chin and stared back, careful to keep her gaze on their faces, not other, more embarrassing, portions of their bare bodies. She felt relief when Cole came to her side and draped his arm around her shoulders.

“This is Gina Summer,” he said proudly. “My mate.”

She attempted a smile. Cold and maybe a little shock made her teeth chatter. Concern appeared on every face, incongruous with their savage auras. The older man waved toward the truck.

“Let’s get the lady inside the truck, out of the cold,” he said, his tone making it a command.

She expected Cole to snarl at being given an order, but he only rubbed a hand up and down her upper arm. “Yeah, come on, Gina, I’ll help you up.”

The driver’s door in the truck cab opened and a small grizzled man leaned his head out. “I’m not sitting around out here all night,” he called disagreeably. “Get in before I go and leave you here.”

Several of the men exchanged glances. “Coming, Sal,” the older man said.

Cole pulled her over to the truck. The wolf men all followed closely, appearing to sniff discreetly as if trying to smell her. Gina fastened a hand over the throat of her coat and tried to look calm. Cole only grinned at them while he opened the passenger door and jumped in. The older man accepted a wad of dark fabric from one of the others. It was a pair of loose pants which he casually slipped into, as if being naked in front of a strange woman wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. He put his hands on Gina’s waist and lifted her to the cab before climbing in after her. The cab would have been roomy with two people, snug with three. There were four of them in the truck cab now.

“Dad,” Cole said, “you could ride in back with the rest.”

Gina stared at the older man. It was too dark in the cab to make out his features clearly, but his build was the same as Cole’s and the way he tilted his head was exactly the way Cole did.

“Sal’s a good man, but he’s not Pack, so do you want your mate sitting next to him? If you put yourself next to him, then your mate is vulnerable against the window.”

Sal, who was obviously not deaf in spite of his age, growled, “Sitting right here.”

Cole grunted in acknowledgement. His response to the crowded conditions was to slide her onto his lap. Gina felt uncomfortable and grateful for the warmth at the same time. The truck cab wasn’t heated.

Cole’s dad slammed the door shut and in just a minute Gina heard the truck’s tailgate squeak and clank as it was opened and the slight sway of the truck as men jumped into the back. Sal put the truck in gear and the almost quiet idle of the engine turned to a monster’s roar as the vehicle jolted down the road at an alarmingly fast speed. Cole tightened his arms around her to keep her from bouncing into the cab’s ceiling.

Cole’s dad raised his voice to be heard. “I’m Taye Wolfe,” her shouted. “Colby’s father. We’ll talk more once you’re safe in Omaha.”

There was no more talk during the short ride to Omaha. The little man drove like a demon. He drove so fast that whoever was manning the gate in Omaha’s wall didn’t have time to get it fully open before they roared through. Gina clenched her eyes shut and hunched her shoulders, expecting a sideswiping crunch if not an outright crash. Somehow, Sal was able to pass through with precision, like he was threading a needle. She collapsed like a wet noodle against Cole’s chest in relief when the truck left the gate behind. Cole rubbed his hand over her shoulder in soothing circles.

“Scared ya, Missy?” Sal screeched.

Gina didn’t answer. He didn’t notice, probably because he was too busy cackling with glee while he raced the truck down dark roads.

“Where are we going?” Cole asked his dad.

“The Limit,” his father replied. “We have rooms there.”

Gina knew of The Limit, although she’d never gone inside. The high-end restaurant and club was outside her budget. She’d seen the outside of the historic mansion that housed the restaurant and had wondered what it was like inside. It looked like she’d get to find out.