Page 55 of Eagle

No one did, but we all remained quiet.

“We can’t be that far from Wolfe’s.”

I knew that Lola was right. Though we hadn’t been able to see outside while we were in the back of the van, we hadn’t driven for very long.

“So what about you and Eagle?”

I wasn’t sure who Lola had meant the question for, and I cast a quick glance at Jillian.

“She’s not talking to me. There’s nothing between Eagle and me, and there never was. We’re just friends. Oh, and that kiss you walked in on? That was just a test.”

Curious, I asked, “A test?”

Jillian nodded. “Yup. I knew Eagle thought he was interested in me, and I proved that he wasn’t with that kiss.”

I was more confused than ever but held my tongue.

It was good to hear Ella laugh. It appeared that the further we moved away from the Maniac’s barn, the more she began to return to normal. “She means there was no spark, honey. The spark between two people is everything.”

I wasn’t sure about that, but it gave me something to think about as we walked. Eagle and I definitely had a spark between us but sparks eventually died out. Johnny and I had had a spark in the beginning, too, though I could admit that it hadn’t been nearly as intense as the one that I had with Eagle. With Eagle, I felt the spark with a simple look. He had a way of conveying his wants and intentions through his eyes, and when he touched me...I couldn’t put into words what I felt. I just knew that he made everything inside me feel alive and wild. He overwhelmed my senses in a good way.

“Damnit!” We all stopped to look at Val, who was looking at the bottom of her foot. It was dripping blood.

“What did you step on?” Jillian began to look closely at the ground around Val. “Oh, be careful! Look!” She bent and carefully picked up a piece of rotten wood with a nail in it. “No telling how this got here, but there are more scattered around.”

We all began looking down at our feet. It was hard to see with the sun going down.

“Oh, great!” Val said disgustedly. “Now I’ll have to get a tetanus shot.”

“It could always be worse, honey,” Ella said, eliciting a dirty look from Val. Ella shrugged. “The nail could have come out and gotten stuck in your foot.”

Val rolled her eyes and shook her head, but smiled anyway.

“We’re not going to be able to continue much longer unless we want to take a chance on getting hurt like Val.” She had one hand on Ella’s shoulder to balance herself while she stood on one foot.

“What do you suggest?”

They all looked at me as if I had the answer. “That one of us continues on, and the rest stay here?”

“No! No way, we stay together.” Ella said firmly.

I agreed with her, even though I’d been the one to make the suggestion. “I guess we could hunker down for the night.” I didn’t particularly like that idea either.

“I can’t fathom staying out here all night. We’ll freeze!”

Lola had a point. The five of us, nearly naked and huddled together—it wasn’t an option.

It was then that the silence surrounding us was broken by the loud, thunderous sound of motorcycles. We exchanged looks with a mixture of worry, fear, and hope. If we didn’t do something fast, the bikers would pass us. Another five minutes and it would be pitch dark and no one would see us. And they certainly wouldn’t hear us calling out.

“I’m going to try and flag them down and pray they are our men,” I said as I turned toward the road. “The rest of you stay hidden until we know for sure who it is.”

“If it’s not our guys then you’ll be caught again!” Lola yelled in warning.

“Then I’ll be the only one, and you’ll know where they’ll take me!”

As I raced gingerly through the field between the trees and the road, I waved my arms and shouted, knowing that I’d never be heard over the roar of the bikes but hoping that maybe my movement would catch their attention. Instinct told me that it was our guys and not the Maniacs. As the bikers came up the road and turned the corner, their lights flashed over me, and then one by one they pulled to the side of the road and stopped.

Elatedly, I continued to run straight to Eagle.

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