The stranger in the Nissan pulls up next to my side of the car and rolls down his window, nodding his head at me. Wolf rolls my window down for me and I silently curse him. The guy flashes a villainous smile and winks at me. He has green reptilian-like eyes and bleached blonde hair. He looks like Draco Malfoy now that I think of it, which makes me bite my lip to suppress a laugh.

He speaks with a thick accent. "I will see you at the bottom, Williams. Then...the American leaves with me."

I glare at him coldly before returning my eyes to the road ahead of me. I won't give this creep the satisfaction of my fear. Guys like him are sharks, and fear is the blood that feeds their relentless pursuit.

"She is feisty, isn't she" he laughs cruelly. I can smell the cigarette smoke on his breathe from a few feet away and I wrinkle my nose. I remember that I have a knife in my sock and that brings me some small amount of relief. As I look over at him, I notice that Wolf is gripping the steering wheel tightly. I wonder what's got his panties in a bunch. It's not like he's about to be bartered off like a mail-order bride.

Wolf whistles and Lucas runs to the car and removes Kobra. I'm shocked that Wolf allows him to touch the dog, and that Kobra doesn't chomp his head off. But I'm also glad that he won't be in the car for this. Racing down these roads seems way too risky for a dog to be jolted around in the back.

"If you want to get out, this is your chance" he says, turning to me. I replay Hanna's words in my head. It doesn't make sense, but I somehow innately know that I am safer here with Wolf. Even flying down this perilously rocky and curvy mountain road. I shake my head no and twist my hands together, attempting to fight off the nerves. He turns his head back to the road and says, "Ok then. Pull the other seatbelt over you. It's on your left side." I look down and sure enough there's another seatbelt coming from the bottom of the seat. I pull it across me, hooking it to a small contraption up and to the right of me. I feel kind of ridiculous with this X-shaped harness around me, but it gives me a bit more comfort.

Klaus rolls his window back up and both of our cars advance towards the white line that has been spray painted in the sand. Lena takes off her leather jacket, exposing a lacy red bralette on top of her red leather pants. I know she's trying to be sexy, but she kind of looks like a Hot Cheeto and I find that hilarious. I wonder if Wolf thinks she's attractive. I steal a glance at him but he's not even looking at her. He acts as if other people don't exist and Lena is no different apparently. But he doesn't ignore me. Maybe I amuse him with my tiny body and strange eyes. I look back at her and I notice that she's crossed her arms and is leaning forward, attempting to make her breasts look larger. Her eyes are zeroed in on Wolf and, in response, he looks at me.

"Are you afraid?" he asks.

"No" I keep my eyes on Lena. I want to watch her squirm because he would rather talk to me than stare at her chest. Her eyes move to mine as she stares me down viciously. She eventually looks away though, when she realizes that she's not intimidating me. Klaus revs his engine and Lena jumps back to reality, grabbing two small flags out of her back pocket. For some reason I giggle when I realize that she's going to do that thing they do in the movies, where they count the race down and wave their little flags. Wolf shoots me a quizzical look.

"Sorry" I whisper, concealing my remaining laughter.

Lena counts down from three in German and as soon as she swipes the flags downward, Wolf slams on the gas and the car lurches forward. We go from zero to sixty in what feels like milliseconds. Klaus is easily taking the lead and Wolf is calm as a cucumber. I look at him in disbelief. Is he going to throw this race? But I quickly realize there is a method to his madness when Klaus cuts a sharp turn and almost spins out of control. It's obvious he is not as accustomed to these roads as Wolf is. Wolf glides around each bend with ease. We start to gain on him and he picks up the speed. Wolf leans down and presses a button, immediately causing us to accelerate at a seemingly impossible rate. I feel like I'm inside a rocket.

"Hold tight Skye" he says calmly and I see that we are barreling towards an edge. I know we can't clear it because we would have to drift to the right, but Klaus is already taking up that space and we would smack into him.

"Wolf!" I scream. "We won't make it!"

"Shhhh" he replies while in deep concentration.

Right as we almost hit the edge, he slams the breaks and we pop backwards before he drags the car swiftly all the way to the right. The car tilts onto the right two wheels as we turn and I fear that we're going to tip over completely. But the the vehicle rights itself at the last second and we've somehow managed to turn the corner unscathed.

"You need to trust me" he says with a patronizing tone as I try to calm my breathing down.

"Trust you?!" I shout incredulously. "How can I trust you Wolf? You are risking my life for a race!"

"Your life is not in danger Skye. I told you, you need to learn to control your emotions. I am trying to help you" he continues through gritted teeth. I'm starting to get under his skin. Good, I think to myself.

"This is you helping me? I'd hate to see you try to hurt me then" I reply sarcastically, shaking my head.

"I would never hurt you" he says earnestly. It takes my by surprise. And yet, I don't believe him. I have never gotten anywhere by putting my faith in a man. Liam is different. He is a sweet boy. But not a man. Wolf is all man, which means I can't trust a single word that escapes his lips.

We have begun to advance past Klaus, which feels dangerous because he is on the side closest to the mountain. As I suspected, he begins to clip the backside of the Audi with the front of his Nissan. If he hits us hard enough we will surely fly off the edge. There's no way this man would commit murder though. I have looked into the eyes of cold blooded men. These men are not cold blooded. They think they are, but they are not ruthless enough to take another life. I am sure of that. Wolf bravely rams him back, causing an awful screeching sound as Klaus's car scrapes against the rock. If this wasn't so blatantly dangerous, I would probably laugh at their childish pissing contest.

Klaus shoots his car forward and cuts in front of us, causing Wolf to have to slam on the breaks. "Fuck" he hisses in annoyance. He stays in front of us and swerves over anytime Wolf tries to get out from behind him. We drive in a straight line before he suddenly cuts over to the left. I immediately see why he moved so abruptly, because there is a massive tree branch on the road that must have fallen after we drove up. I close my eyes and accept my impending doom. But Wolf cuts the wheel and sends us reeling toward the inside wall. Somehow the car rides up along the wall slightly before slamming back down on the road. My body attempts to snap in half at the impact, but is jolted back down by the crossed belt. I feel lucky for the contraption at this moment because my knees would have likely shot through my forehead. We're almost to the end of the road now and Klaus is still ahead. Wolf lazily guns the gas again and whips around him easily, before slamming the breaks at the white line painted at the bottom.

Klaus jumps out of his car shortly after pulling up beside us and Wolf follows suit. "That is not possible. You cheated Williams!" he shouts, shaking his fingers in Wolf's face.

"Be careful Becker, you don't want to lose your head" Wolf warns venomously.

"Ich werde sie Haben" he says, gesturing towards me.

"Try me" Wolf challenges.

Klaus smirks and walks around to my side of the car. "Come out little one. I want to have a chat with you" he calls to me from the window. I look over to Wolf and he nods his head at me, signifying that it's safe to get out of the car. I take a deep breathe and open the car door. When I stand, Klaus moves closer to me. He looks me up and down for a few moments before laughing hysterically. "She is broken Wolf. You did not tell me that."

"Tell him?" my head whips to Wolf. "What is he talking about?!" I ask icily. He ignores me and keeps his eyes on Klaus, who continues.

"But, even with the eyes, she can still be useful to me." He grabs my arm.

"I wouldn't do that" Wolf warns as he calmly walks over to us.

"Or what?" Klaus throws a sinful grin at me as Wolf approaches, cracking his knuckles.

"Skye, move" Wolf says to me and I step back, ripping my arm from Klaus's grip. He walks up to Klaus and they stand face to face, inches from each other. "Say it again" Wolf demands quietly.

Klaus laughs. "What, that she is broken? Look at her" he sneers towards me. "Don't play with me now. You know I can take you."

Wolf laughs in his face and Klaus throws an unexpected punch. Wolf catches his hand swiftly, blocking the punch. He twists Klaus's arm and grabs his pinky finger, snapping it back. I hear a sickening crunch as the bone breaks.

"Now you are broken" Wolf smiles salaciously. "If you want to keep the rest of your fingers, you walk away now."

Klaus must be just as dumb as he looks because he winds up his left fist to attempt another punch but Wolf knocks him clean to the ground with one sharp throw of his elbow to his face. Klaus's nose is surely broken now too. He writhes and shrieks on the ground.

"I will kill you Williams" he screams.

Wolf smirks and tells me to get back in the car. But I hear Klaus say one last thing that sticks with me. "She will not stop until she has the girl, Wolf. You know that!" he cries out, his blood dripping onto the dirt as he pushes himself off the ground.

"What does he mean?" I demand aggressively.

"I have no idea" he replies, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. I know there is something more to this but it just fuels me even more to get out of this situation. Whether Klaus is just out of his mind and spewing nonsense, or if there is actually someone looking for me, I'm not going to stick around to find out. He presses a button and I hear Lucas's voice fill the car. "Es ist erledigt" Wolf says.

"Ok" Lucas replies and ends the call.

We start to drive back to the apartment.

"That's it?" I ask. "We came all the way out here for one race and a few punches?"

He chuckles at my question. "Klaus was not supposed to be there. It is our territory and we do not advance on his. But he is greedy and I knew he would be distracted by you. Klaus is a sucker for a bet. And beautiful women."

There's that word again. I'm not even fazed by it at this point because I'm seething. "So you USED ME?! To dangle in front of him? You're unbelievable."

"Skye. Listen. There is no way I would have ever lost to him. If I did, as you can see, he would not be able to take you from me anyway."

"I'm not YOURS to be taken from, Wolf. Who do you think you are?"

"It wasn't real. It just needed to seem real for him, it's the principle."

I shake my head in disbelief. I decide that it's better to just ignore him the rest of the drive. I fold my arms across my chest and think of where I will run to next. There's no way I'm staying here with these fucked up people. I came her to lay low and stay out of trouble. So far I've made multiple enemies in a matter of days. Wolf being number one on my list. When we arrive back, I jump out of the car and slam the door. I ignore all the stares from the rest of the crew as I stalk off.

"Skye, wait" Wolf calls after me.

"Let her go Wolf" Lena scoffs, with her hands on her hips.

I whirl around. "Shut. The. Fuck. Up. LENA!" She shrinks back in shock at the potency of my words. "Do you think I want to hang around and look at you sulking because Wolf isn't interested in you. God, you are SO fucking annoying" A few of the girls snicker and Wolf looks down to conceal a small smile. Her jaw drops and she stares at me. I flip her the finger and then I send another one to Wolf, before turning and heading to the emergency staircase. I climb the stairs two at a time before quickly unlocking and bursting through the apartment door. I pick up all my things as fast as I can and throw them into my bag. I lift the mattress and reach into the foam where I've cut a hole for my money. I pull it out and stuff it in the bag. As irritated as I am, it felt so good to release that pent up anger. But Wolf's right. I need to control my emotions if I want to be invisible. At least I learned something during my short time here.

When I have everything ready to go, I walk to the door and swing it open, coming face to face with Wolf.

"Going somewhere?" he asks.

I huff and glare up at him. "I can't stay here."

"You won't survive out there" he says pointedly. He grabs my bag off my shoulder and sets it down on the kitchen table. I stare at him blankly as he holds his hand out to me. "Come. I want to show you something." I look down at his hand, which has three intersecting swords tattooed on the top of it.

"I don't trust you."

"I would be worried if you did."

I reluctantly take his hand and follow him out into the night.