Page 45 of Hidden Fate

Cassidy and I climbed out, with Thorn following me. He murmured, “Don’t shut the door in case they opened theirs at the same time. They can’t see the open-door light, but they could hear the door shut.”

Good idea. And if we needed to rush back to the Suburban, we could jump right in without pause.

We hit the woods to the left of the Tahoe, stepping in deeply enough that the lush branches would hide us for as long as the occupants stayed in human form.

With each step I took, my heart pounded louder in my ears, and the cold metal of the gun had my skin crawling. I kept expecting them to open their doors and try to sneak behind Errol and Vlad, but no one had made a move…yet.

A few owls hooted in the distance, and a flying squirrel jumped from branch to branch right above us. When we reached the side of the Tahoe, we all took a tentative step forward, but we couldn’t make out anything through the tinted windows.

There was no telling how many warriors were in the car.

Thorn’s jaw twitched, and his anxiety peaked. My blood whooshed through me.

The driver’s door opened.

Thorn whispered so low I almost didn’t hear him, “Surprising them is our best option. On the count of three, we run and surround them.”

Another door opened, and Thorn lifted a hand, raising one finger…then two…and three.

I took off, my lungs seizing, desperate to get there before I froze.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Hand shaking,I kept the gun at my side. Holding it felt so unnatural that lifting it before I had to could be disastrous.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Cassidy run around the back of the Tahoe to the other side. I remained focused on the side closest to me.

Thorn stayed beside me, and I knew why. He could feel my emotions. He knew I didn’t feel comfortable doing this…at all.

Wings flapped overhead, and I could make out two distinct sets. I didn’t risk looking up to see who the dragons were, but they were currently my favorite people.

When the driver stepped out of the vehicle, Thorn pointed his gun at him.

“Drop your weapons. Now,” Thorn growled. “How many of you are there?”

“Shit,” the driver rasped. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to go down.”

“Yeah, we know. You wanted to get the jump on us instead.” Thorn’s jaw clenched, and his eyes flicked to the woman in the front passenger seat. “Answer me. How many people are in this vehicle?”

Saphira’s butterscotch dragon landed in front of the Tahoe, and Tyson’s maroon dragon landed behind Thorn and me. With the vehicle too close to the trees, there was no room to land on the other side next to Cassidy.

Footsteps from the parking lot ran toward us, and I heard Uther yell, “Wait! Don’t hurt them.”

He might as well not have said anything. Thorn, Cassidy, Saphira, Tyson, and I were on high alert. If the warriors had been hoping to surprise us, their attempt had been futile, and this was what they’d say.

“How many?” Thorn asked again. “This is the last time I’ll ask you.”

The back passenger door in front of me swung open, and the driver growled, “Chandra, close the doornow.”

I grabbed the edge of the door, yanked it all the way open, and lifted my gun. My hands shook so hard, I was surprised I didn’t drop it.

The woman froze. Her cognac-brown eyes widened.

“Hands up,” I said, barely above a whisper. The words rubbed my throat raw. This feltwrong.

She immediately lifted her hands. A strand of her auburn hair fell out of her ponytail and into her face, and her bottom lip quivered.

This woman didn’t look like a warrior. She was tall, which was the dragon norm, but her face held a softness that most warriors lacked, like she was still innocent. Hell, even my face didn’t have that innocence anymore, and I’d been fighting for a month, if that.

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