Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Following Danny, we jumped off the roof, landing on top of a trailer. From there, it was easy to hop down to the tractor unit and then to the ground. We hit the car at a run, and I’d barely shut the door before the engine was running, and Danny pulled it onto the street.
We idled at the intersection.
“Charlie’s in the van,” Matthias announced. “Repeat: Charlie is in the van. They’re ditching the car.”
Danny turned on his blinker as the van passed us and then pulled easily onto the street behind him.
“You think he’s still out?” I asked, watching the back window. The only people visible were the driver and passenger.
“Hopefully, he’s playing possum,” Danny replied.
“We’ve got Erik,” Josiah said through the comms. “Getting him to Alice. We’ll call in a clean-up on the way.”
“How is he?” Beau asked.
“He’ll be fine. Two chest, one stomach. It’ll hurt like a bitch when he wakes up, though.”
Knowing that our father was fine and out of danger, it was easier to focus on what we were doing. We followed the van onto the freeway and fifteen minutes later took an exit as Beau and Chance took our place.
Heat pulsed beneath my skin, but it wasn’t as distracting as usual. Instead, it was oddly comforting.
“Charlie just put his hand up to the back window,” Chance said, laughter in his voice.
“He flipped us off.” Beau snickered.
Charlie was awake and okay. That was a relief.
Danny and I hopped out of the car we’d been driving and into a new one that Uncle Sven had stashed that morning. He’d left the night before and spent all night parking them in different directions. I wasn’t sure how he’d known where to put them. Something about possible routes and the odds of which would be used. Minutes later, we were pulling onto the freeway ahead of the van carrying Charlie.
Keeping his eyes forward, Danny puttered along in the slow lane, letting them pass us. Two exits later, Chance, Beau, and Finau disappeared.
Danny sped up and moved to the middle lane, gradually catching up to the van.
There were enough cars on the road that another pair of headlights was nothing to think about, and we settled in. Thirty minutes later, the boys joined us again in a different SUV, and we took the next exit. This time, we just circled around and got back onto the freeway without switching cars. It was dark enough that they wouldn’t have noticed us with the others between us.
“Really hoping they’re not taking us across the state,” Danny said after we’d been on the road for an hour.
“Looks like you’re getting your wish,” I replied, nodding at the van as it exited the freeway.
Uncle Sven’s voice came through the earpieces as we took the next exit. He was monitoring Charlie’s tracker. Following his directions, we made our way through the town. The goal was to follow close enough that we wouldn’t lose them, but far enough away that they never saw us. It was an intricate dance that included pulling over more than once so we wouldn’t cross paths.
Eventually, he announced that the van had pulled into a garage.
I cracked my neck from side to side as we parked one block over and climbed out of the car.
“Almost done,” Danny said quietly, slapping me on the back.
“Lucy’s going to be pissed if anyone messes up my pretty face,” I joked. The heat inside me flared, and I sucked in a breath. It still wasn’t bad, and if mine wasn’t bad, hers shouldn’t be either. Uncle Sven would’ve let us know if there was anything happening at the house.
“She doesn’t care what you look like,” Chance said, his voice coming from somewhere near the building to our left. “It’s your dick she needs.”
“For a second there, I thought you weren’t being an asshole.” Beau scoffed. He was further ahead than Chance, but not by much.
“Everyone quiet,” I ordered.
If there were Vampires in that garage, even the smallest noise could alert them. Hopefully, we’d only be dealing with humans, but we couldn’t count on it.
“Only camera is on the north side,” Josiah announced. “Move to the others.”
We stepped carefully as we moved between buildings. Danny and I came in from the east side while Beau, Chance, and Finau took the west and south.
“Erik is fine,” he continued. “Currently being fussed over by Alice and Mattie. Woke up on the way to the house, cursing a blue streak.”
The building wasn’t large by anyone’s standards, but it did have a pretty good-sized yard surrounded by a chain-link fence. The whole area was well lit, which was a bit annoying. We had to scale the fence and move to the darkness closest to the building one by one while Josiah kept an eye on the north door.
The windows were cloudy, but light still filtered out of the rooms that were occupied. One in particular looked promising, and I noted where it was so I could check there when we finally got inside.