I gripped Thorn’s hand more tightly, realizing this was harder for me than anything else before. I felt helpless sitting in the back seat of a vehicle, waiting and watching. In every other tense situation, we’d been moving or fighting. I’d had the illusion of control, or at least my mind had been preoccupied.
Pressing buttons on the dashboard, Cassidy called Theron on the Suburban’s Bluetooth. It rang once before Theron answered. She filled him in as Thorn and I watched the cars between us and the Tahoe. If more people joined them, they wouldn’t expect us to be behind them, so they would fill in between Uther’s vehicle and ours, likely behind the Tahoe.
The two of them hung up with a plan. Hydra would stay near the vehicles with Theron’s phone in case someone saw anything or we needed to call with an update while the rest of them shifted and scouted out the area. Either way, Hydra could use her fated-mate connection with Theron to get the messages across.
Twilight was upon us, which meant humans would have a harder time making out the dragons and hopefully think they were a flock of birds.
A maroon Ford Explorer pulled into the lane beside us and slowed, merging as we got onto the interstate heading west. The woman in the vehicle was taller than average and had long, silky blonde hair. Could she be a warrior? Judging by how quickly she’d rushed up, I had to at least consider it.
We turned onto the interstate, and Cassidy sped up. Breaking my gaze from the Explorer, I noted that we’d fallen behind and she was trying to catch up.
The woman beside us did the same and glanced at me. I jerked my head down, trying to hide—not that it would do any good. The windows were tinted. It wasn’t like she could make me out, even with dragon eyesight.
What’s wrong?Thorn connected.Do you see something?
I don’t know yet. There’s a woman in the car next to us, but I’m not sure if she’s following them.I bit my bottom lip, trying to calm my raging nerves.Do you?
He shook his head.Not yet.
At least that was something.
The Explorer dropped behind us, the woman focusing forward, and we barreled toward a split in the highway.
Which vehicle is it?Thorn leaned over the space between our two captain’s chairs to look out my window.
Just as he did, the interstate split, and the woman turned east, opposite where we were headed.
My body sagged as anxiety melted away. Although we weren’t out of danger, I was relieved that another warrior wasn’t following us.She went east instead of west. It was a false alarm.
More restlessness swirled through our connection.
Doyousee something?I asked, anxiety clawing in my chest again. Wow, that peace had been short-lived. Thorn didn’t freak out unless he thought we were under direct threat.
No,he answered as he released my hand and rubbed his legs.That’s the problem. I’d expected us to spot at least one more car by now.
I scanned the interstate again. A white truck and a blue SUV caught my attention. They’d been near us for a while and had split west with us, but nothing seemed suspicious about the vehicles.
He clucked his tongue.Maybe we’re being followed, but they have a tracker on Uther’s vehicle so they’re staying far behind. They might suspect we have our own backup.
That was something I hadn’t considered, and the strategy hadDrakewritten all over it. Luckily, we were leading them into a public section of woods.We need to call Hydra so she knows what we’re up against.
Thorn nodded and filled in Cassidy. Once again, she called Hydra, and Thorn voiced his concerns. When the call ended, we settled into silence.
* * *
All too soon,we neared the parking lot in the woods where we’d planned to meet. If dragons came, we’d have the forest to cover us since there was no overnight camping in the area.
Hydra had called ten minutes ago to confirm the parking lot was empty, now that darkness was thick around us. Theron and Brenton had taken the Suburban and Mindy’s car to a nearby parking area hidden by the numerous red maples and cypress trees that were lush and green in the late spring.
Each moment we’d gotten closer, Thorn had grown twitchier, putting me on edge from our shared bond. I tried to practice my yoga breathing, but it was futile. I was too focused on watching every damn car that passed us. Yoga wasn’t just a physical technique. Emotional health was equally important, and I couldn’t find my center.
We turned down a road and switched off our headlights as Vlad and Errol’s car disappeared into the parking lot with Uther on their tail. The Tahoe slowed to a stop twenty feet away from the turn, allowing the trees to hide us, and turned off its engine, likely so that Vlad and Errol wouldn’t hear or see the vehicle.
My stomach bunched until I swore a tourniquet had been tied around it, cutting off the blood flow. They were trying to hide their presence, and what terrified me was that it might have worked if we hadn’t followed them.
“Let’s sneak up on them.” Cassidy turned off our vehicle. “Stay in the woods and hurry. We need to get there before they get out, or they could hear us.” She opened the glove box. We’d stashed three guns inside. She pulled out two and passed them back to us.
Hands shaking, I took the weapon. I didn’t know how to shoot a gun, but I could point and pull the trigger. I knew that much. When we got home, I’d need Thorn or Vlad to teach me how to shoot for real.