Page 53 of Unexpectedly Wanted
Thank fuck.
Unfortunately, the sun was already going down, and by the time we made it to the location, the sky was completely dark.
We only had a general idea of where this place was. It felt like we were going around in circles. I began to wonder if this guy hadn’t been leading us astray.
“I don’t think this place exists,” Austin said.
“I’m likely to agree,” Dune chimed in.
With a sigh, I pulled off on the side of the road and parked.
The day had worn us all down, but we were doing our best to push through it. I reached for my cup of cold coffee and chugged the rest of the gas station sludge down.
“Toss me my bag,” I said to Austin.
He did, and I pulled out a flashlight and my firearm. I strapped down and shoved my phone into my pocket. Then I pushed open the door and hopped out.
“What are you doing?” Austin asked as he followed suit. He shut the door and made his way around the back of the SUV right behind me. Dune was already there, which was no surprise since he was a big guy with long legs. I opened the back hatch and grabbed a black bulletproof vest.
Not five minutes later, we were all strapped down in our gear.
Then we set out on foot.
If there was something we were missing from the roads, maybe we’d be able to find it by taking a walk. I wanted this information to be right. I fuckingneededit to be right.
The ground was soft and uneven. It wasn’t easy for me to navigate, but no one said anything whenever I stumbled a little. I pushed on.
Austin’s hand flew up to his neck and the smack rang out in the quiet night. “Fucking mosquitoes,” he grumbled.
“Should have used the bug spray,” Dune pointed out quietly.
“That shit stinks. And it’s sticky. I don’t like it,” Austin hissed back.
“Like the million percent humidity isn’t making us stinky and sticky anyway,” I said.
Dune snorted.
“Yeah, that’s fair,” Austin said, and with the light from the flashlight, I was barely able to make out the shrug of his shoulders. “That bug spray shit is worse, though.”
“Hold up,” Dune said, arm shooting out to stop us from taking another step. He clicked off his flashlight, and Austin and I immediately did the same. “There.” He pointed.
I followed his finger, finding a hint of light peeking through the thick trees and bushes.
The sun was starting to rise, and though the sky was a lighter shade of navy, I was glad we hadn’t stumbled on this any later. We might have missed it completely. Then what? We might have passed by it. Because I would have sworn there was no way there was a house in that direction. We were too close to the water and the trees were too thick. There wasn’t even a driveway cutting through anywhere.
“Let’s go,” I said. “Watch for traps.”
That wasn’t so easily done. We made our way through the trees slowly, each step carefully placed.
“Is that an RV?” Austin asked quietly. “That thing must be older than me.”
“You’re in your late twenties,” I said. “That’s not that old.”
“Fine, must be older than Dune.”
Dune grunted, then bit out, “I’m only thirty-two.”
“Oh,” Austin said with a shrug. “Thought you were like forty.”
