Trainwreck

Chapter 4

It was almost too easy for Hanni to forget the train, and the fear, and the greedy hands slithering along her arms, pressed as she was against Minji's side. The Alpha had kept one arm around her as they flagged down a cab right outside the train station, and held her close when they'd slid in the backseat. It had not even crossed Hanni's mind to put some distance between them, the weight of Minji's arm across her shoulders too reassuring to forego just yet. Perhaps it was a bit too intimate for two people who, despite what they had shared, were still perfect strangers, but Hanni felt calmer because of it and, combined with the heated car's interior, it helped her relax.

She didn't really know where they were going, having paid only partial attention when Minji had given instructions to the cabbie, but she had come to trust the other woman enough to know that no harm would come to her.

Minji had had plenty of opportunities to try something when they'd been locked up in the bathroom, but she hadn't, and Hanni had no reason to believe her demeanour would suddenly change.

Streets that looked all the same flashed past as she stared out of the window, the car crossing from the orange glow of street lights to darkness at regular intervals. Her eyelids grew heavy, eyes itching with fatigue, and the roads outside became an impenetrable labyrinth, marked every so often by neon signs her strained mind failed to read.

With a tired sigh she gave up, bringing her attention back to what she could see of the road ahead. It didn't make much of a difference, but she found herself entranced by the white line bisecting the road in half.

Their driver's gaze crossed hers in the rear view mirror, and he leered, not bothering to hide the white flash of his teeth as he did so. He seemed unfazed by the blood still leaking from the gash on Minji's cheek and, if anything, the way he tongued his upper lip as he looked back at Hanni, gave her a good idea of the path his thoughts were following.

Next to her, Minji stiffened, pulling her arm away from around Hanni's shoulders. Tension swelled around them, and her hands - which she had momentarily rested atop her thighs - curled into fists. The same smell Hanni had caught a whiff of during the fight filled the cab, making her hair stand on edge as if the air itself had gained a static charge. A shiver ran down her spine, but Hanni felt no fear. Instead, something warm uncurled inside her belly, so subtle at first that she only noticed it when a growl left Minji's lips causing heat to spear down between her legs.

Oh my God.

Hanni's thoughts went no further, her eyes widening as she followed Minji's movements. The Alpha shot forward, and grabbed at the front seat so hard it creaked in protest. They were driving through a mostly lightless street, the lamp posts far enough behind them that all Hanni could really see of the Alpha was a hazy silhouette. Minji's eyes, however, were another story. They shone in the darkness, as foreboding as a forest in which people vanished without trace, and gathered the light, devouring it until their rich green was best named black.

"I'm paying you to drive." The Alpha's rasping voice sent another wave of shivers to cascade down Hanni's spine, which was followed - almost instantly - by a gush of rushing wetness from her core. "Not stare."

The rank, acidic smell of fear pricked at Hanni's nose, and she scrubbed at it with the sleeve of Minji's jacket, inhaling deeply of the distinct woodsmoke scent that still lingered on the fabric, mingled with that of her own heat.

In the front seat, the cabbie squirmed, taking one hand off the wheel to wipe at his brow, the fingers of his other one twitching in a show of nerves.

"Yes ma'am." He mumbled after having calmed enough to speak. The car turned into a different street, a vehicle rapidly approaching on the opposite lane. It came and was gone in a bright flash of headlights that lasted long enough for Hanni to see that he wasn't staring anymore, his gaze fixed forward as if nailed.