Page 67 of Fae Devoted
The shorter man locked his fingers behind his neck and gazed skyward. “Bonnie is gonna kill me when she finds out. What am I gonna tell her?”
“Shit if I know. I don’t have a wife.”
“She’ll accuse me of having another affair.”
“Are you?” His companion smirked.
“No, but that won’t matter if she thinks I lost it because I took it off to pick up some chick in a bar.” He dropped his hands, walked to the edge of the trail and kicked at a cluster of wild mushrooms. “She’ll leave me for sure this time.”
“Looks like you’re screwed six ways from Sunday then, ’cuz you sure as hell can’t tell her the truth.”
“Damn wolves.”
“Heavy motherfuckers when tranqed.”
Johnnie froze, stiffening against the tree, careful not to make a sound.
Are they talking about the Willow twins?
“It’s gotta be here. I haven’t been anywhere else since the facility issued the last lockdown.”
Abby’s facility? Tucker mentioned the corrupt agency that held her and her brother Conlan was somewhere in Michigan. Was it located near Dylan’s park?
“Yeah, but the overtime should be sweet.” He slapped Neil on the shoulder. “Maybe with the extra money you could buy a replacement?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“You don’t go home on furlough until the end of the month, right? That’s plenty of time to find a ring that could fool Bonnie.”
“It might work.” Neil ran his palm down his face. “Thanks, man.”
“Sure, now let’s get the hell out of here. I’m starving.”
Johnnie waited for them to round the corner, her mind struggling to accept what she’d just overheard.
Why would a human-run facility take the twins? Did they know about Ferwyn bones and Anwyll dye?
Heart thundering against her ribs, she leaped to her feet and tore through the underbrush, her normal grace absent as she stumbled over hidden roots, jumped fallen trees, vaulted over small streams, and crashed through low-hanging branches, ignoring the stinging scratches on her face.
What had they done with them? Were they hurt?
The cabin was empty when Johnnie rushed inside. Her shoes were soaked, and she was mud-splattered from her ankles to her cheeks, her hair no longer in its tight tail. Going straight to the guest room, she grabbed her oversized purse and suitcase, then stood in the hallway with no clue what to do next.
First things first, she had to get to Jacob and Samuel. They needed to know the twins could still be alive but in real trouble, and their disappearance might be tied to Abby’s old captors. But how? She didn’t have a car or a phone, and it’d be stupid as hell to travel on foot with the danger of Lord Daimhín’s Athair still looming.
“Okay, okay. Think. Don’t panic.” Taking her bags to the door, she began searching the house, hunting for an extra set of car keys. Everyone had them, didn’t they?
Her only choice was toborrowDylan’s Jeep and drive to Sault Ste. Marie on her own. No way would Dylan take her to Samuel without good reason. And she couldn’t reveal the existence of the facility or the Fae without breaking Jacob’s confidence. Something Johnnie would never do, no matter how hurt or angry.
On the second full sweep, she gave up. So maybe Dylan was the exception to the rule, or he’d taken the spare with him.
“Can’t say I didn’t try to do it the easy way,” she said aloud, charging to his closet. “Plan B’s a go.”
Johnnie dropped to her knees, crawled through the clothes she’d tossed on the floor—again—and found a beat-up pair of hiking boots. “Perfect.”
Removing the laces, she scrambled to her feet, grabbed her luggage, and ran outside. Dylan’s ancient hardtop was in the one-car garage. After finding what she needed in his toolbox, she took the shoelace and stretched it tight, wiggling it over the top corner of the driver’s side window. It took her a few minutes to maneuver around the weather stripping, but once the strand was securely inside, she angled it to the near side of the door. With the regained length, she created a small slip knot and slid it back inside the classic car, thankful he didn’t own a newer model. Next, Johnnie positioned the loop over the old-fashion, pencil-shaped pin lock and secured the noose around the wider top by pulling on one end of the shoelace. She took a deep breath, held it, and tugged. The door lock lifted.
“I’m in.” Throwing her bags in the back, Johnnie slid into the driver’s seat and said a little prayer. It’d been a long time since her brothers taught her how to hotwire an old car.
