Page 68 of Shackled to the World
“Edgar,” Annora snapped and glared at the girl.
Sadie sighed heavily and crossed her arms. “Between you andEdgar, you can be in and out in seconds.”
“Not all paranormals are stupid—they’ll have an army waiting for us.” Annora was annoyed at the girl for being so heartless, not sure she wanted to know more about phantoms if they were all like her. “Besides, they’re holding one of my men. I won’t leave him behind.”
“So you’d rather put the rest of your mates in danger instead?” Sadie gave her a disapproving look and shook her head, completely baffled.
Instead of being offended, Annora gave her a pitying look. “You never leave family behind.”
“They can’t be allowed access to the afterworld,” Sadie warned, then strode away.
Annora watched her and didn’t have to wonder what would happen if she was taken.
Sadie would find and kill rather than let her power fall into the wrong hands.
Terrance took the steps up the deck two at a time, holding his phone out for her, the front displaying a picture of trees. “He said you should be able to find this place.”
“Is Kevin—”
“He’s okay for now.” But Terrance looked worried, frown lines leaving deep grooves between his eyes.
“We’ll get him out,” Annora promised, but felt helpless as she watched the vehicles start to pull out onto the road, her skin itching at the idea of them fighting without her to watch over them.
Terrance nodded absently at her bullshit reply, knowing she couldn’t promise him anything of the sort.
Her team milled about their vehicle in deep discussion, then gathered the maps off the hood. As they opened the doors to the SUV, they paused and glanced at her. None of them looked happy to be leaving.
She didn’t blame them one bit.
Camden gave her a nod, a silent promise that he wouldn’t let her down. Mason and Xander both watched her, as if committing her to memory, and she found herself stepping toward them to beg them not to go.
But when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.
They seemed to understand and ducked inside the truck. Terrance and Sadie were the last to enter, both of them crawling in the back. In less than a minute, they were gone.
Loulou stopped with one foot on the bottom step to the deck and gazed up at her. “They know what they’re doing. They’ll be fine.”
But Annora could see the concern in the rabbit’s too-large blue eyes. “Lionel will be fine. He won’t let anything happen to himself, not when he’s just found you.”
“I know.” Loulou’s laugh came out as a sob, and she gave Annora a broken smile, rubbing her chest as if to ease the ache. She released a long, slow breath, then her blue eyes hardened. “When do you leave?”
“Now.” Prem tugged at her pant leg, and Annora scooped him up, then grabbed the bag resting on the bench and opened it for him. Once he was settled inside, she eased the book in next, careful not to squish Prem, and slipped it over her shoulder.
“You can do this.” Loulou looked her up and down, nodding her approval, then gave her a savage smile. “Now go kick some ass.”
Chapter Eighteen
Annora glanced back at the house, the home now just an empty shell with the guys gone. The chill of it nipped at her, and she turned away, unable to remain there a second longer without them.
Prem pulled himself out of the backpack and rubbed his head soothingly along her neck. She reached up and scratched him between the ears. “What say we finish this once and for all?”
He bobbed his little head, brushing his head along her jaw, then patted her with a tiny paw before he popped back into the bag. Tugging Terrance’s phone out of her pocket, she slid her thumb across the surface to unlock it. A picture of a bunch of trees in the middle of fucking nowhere popped up on the screen.
She’d never tried to travel so far, nor to a place she’d never been.
She wasn’t sure if it was even possible.
Thankfully, the guys didn’t know or they never would’ve agreed to the plan.
