Page 92 of Fangs
Mac came by in the morning shortly after Griz left.
“Me and the crew are goin’ out today to pick up some supplies. We’ll be gone until tomorrow. Sam’s stayin’ here, though.”
“Oh.” He was wearing his tactical gear, which made me feel nervous. “When are you leaving?”
“In a couple hours.” He paused. “We got the clinic all cleaned out. Shouldn’t smell anymore. We also rigged up a pulley for your loft ladder. Thought you might feel better about sleepin’ in the clinic with your brother and his crew if you could pull the ladder up.”
Warmth curled in my chest at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you.”
“I gotta go help get the rovers ready, but I wanted to come tell you first.”
“You’ll come say goodbye before you go, right?”
He blinked. “Of course.”
I ran a hand through my hair and tucked it behind my ear, a smile creeping over my face. “Okay, good.”
He grinned and headed out. After he left, I sat in my bed for a long time, a sick feeling growing in my stomach. I needed to tell him about the other powered person.
Should I tell him before they leave?
As soon as I thought it, my hands started trembling, and my lungs seized. Why did this scare me so much? Part of it was because I’d waited so long. I was afraid he’d be angry—justifiably so. I’d put the whole hold at risk by keeping this to myself. Ihadto tell him. He needed to know what dangers could be out there, even if it changed how he felt about me, or he hated me for keeping this secret, or he decided to hand me over in exchange for the hold’s safety.
Was that why it scared me? That didn’t make much sense since I knew I’d turn myself over if the shadow manshowed up and threatened the hold.
I took a deep breath and threw the blanket off. I wasn’t going to let Mac and his crew go out blind. I threw on my clothes someone had returned, freshly laundered, and shoved my feet in my boots. Then I headed out, trying to keep myself from imagining the worst possible reactions Mac could have.
The whole crew was in the garage. I walked in, glancing around curiously. I’d never been inside this building. It was a vast space full of more vehicles than I realized the hold had. There were about a dozen rovers, even more single-person four-wheelers, a bunch of dirt bikes, and, most shocking, a fuckinghelicopter.I stopped in my tracks and stared at it.
Griz noticed and laughed at me. “It doesn’t work. We don’t have the right fuel, and nobody’s makin’ jet fuel that we know of.”
“Mac, Bones is here,” Raven yelled, and her angry tone made my stomach twist.
Mac was underneath the rover on his back. He came sliding out, lying on a small-wheeled platform, and stared at me with surprise.
“Hey,” he got to his feet, wiping his dirty hands on a rag. “You okay?”
“I need to talk to you,” I blurted out before I lost my nerve.
His brows creased, looking worried. “Uh, okay. Lemme just tell Raven to take over for me.”
He strode over to speak to Raven in a low voice, and she glared at him like she was contemplating murder. I hoped her anger had nothing to do with me.
Finally, he came back, taking my elbow and steering me outside.
“What’s wrong?”he asked in my head.
“Can we go somewhere private?”
His brow furrowed even more.“Yeah, the bunkhouse is just around the corner. That work?”
I nodded, and he released my elbow but walked so fast I had to jog to keep up. We made it to the bunkhouse in record time, and as soon as we were inside, he ushered me to the couch.
“What is it?” he asked, sitting beside me.
My mouth went so dry I could barely swallow. Where should I start?
“Em?” He sounded distressed now.
