I don’t bother asking free from what. Or from whom. For Tamra it’s become all the same. The pride. Cassian.
Soon we’re moving back down the highway, plunging headlong into the sunrise.
Chapter 28
Several hours later, after we’ve ditched Will’s car for a van that’s seen better days, I shoot a glance over my shoulder at Cassian and Tamra asleep in the back, lying on blankets they spread out on the rusted and dented floor.
“How much longer?” I whisper.
“Maybe tomorrow night. If we drive through and don’t stop.”
“Good.”
The floorboard rumbles beneath the soles of my shoes and I curl my knees to my chest. Shifting on the torn vinyl seat, I try not to miss the comfortable seat of Will’s Land Rover. It’s only temporary. We parked his car at a truck stop, ready for us to reclaim after we rescue Miram.
Sighing, I lean my head back on the headrest. The sooner we do this, the sooner Miram and Cassian go home. The sooner Will, Tamra, and I can find Mom and start over someplace else. I stare through the window, almost relieved to see the clear night all around us. No perpetual mist.
Will reaches for my hand. His thumb traces the inside of my wrist. Sparks ignite up my arm from the simple touch. We share a heated look, and I know he feels it, too. Slipping a glance over my shoulder at the sleeping pair in the back, I acknowledge it might be a while before we have some privacy, and this bothers me. We’re heading into danger. We might not make it out.
As though he senses my doubts, he says, “I’ve done the drop before with my father. It’s easy enough getting in.”
“It’s not getting in I’m worried about.”
“We’ll get out. They’ll never suspect a hunter ever wanting to break a draki out. We drop, we get paid, we leave.” He nods once, and I’m not sure whether he believes what he’s saying or not. “We’ll escape. And then we’ll be together. Without Cassian.”
The headlights of an oncoming car light up Will’s face. If his words weren’t enough, his intense expression drives home for me that he might not blame me for the bonding, but he’s not at peace with it either. He’ll never be at peace until Cassian’s back with the pride and I’m . . . not.
“I told you it’s not real.”
“I know. You were forced into it. It means nothing.” He brings my hand to his lips for a tender kiss. “Why don’t you get some sleep?”
“Sure you’re not too tired to drive?”
“Cassian offered to take the wheel for a while. I’ll wake him in an hour.”
Closing my eyes, I’m convinced I can never sleep.
That’s my last thought.
A firm hand on my shoulder shakes me into consciousness. I jerk, looking around, every muscle tense, ready to defend, run, fly.
“We’re here,” Will says.
When did I become so guarded, so braced for attack? I don’t try to figure it out. Just tell myself this is good for the events to come.
I look left and right. We sit parked on a narrow dirt road, trees all around. Tamra leans forward between us and echoes my thoughts. “There’s nothing here.”
Will cocks his head. “You didn’t think I’d drive to the front gates and honk, did you?”
Tamra snorts. “Well, show us then, fearless leader.”
I look almost in bewilderment at my sister. She acts like this is nothing. As if we’re just out for the day, cruising the countryside or something.
Will steps from the van. Cassian’s already outside, holding his face up to the breeze like he’s scenting the air. I guess he probably is.
Will opens the back doors of the van and throws aside the blanket covering an array of weaponry. I’d already seen the arsenal when we switched vehicles, but the sight still makes me inhale sharply.
Cassian immediately starts handling weapons, deciding which one to take, and I watch, amazed as he and Will revert to guy talk over the variety of guns, knives and bows, weighing the pros and cons like old comrades.
Tamra and I roll our eyes at each other.
After a few moments, I clear my throat. “Are we going in there guns blazing or something?”
“Yeah,” Tamra agrees. “I thought this was just supposed to be a surveillance run first. So we can get a feel for the place.”
“It is. This is just a precaution.” Will straps an ankle holster beneath his jean leg, slipping a gun inside. I shiver a little at his smooth movements, reminded that he’s done this before. Cassian follows suit, and I stop myself from asking whether he even knows how to shoot a gun. They’re not part of our life in the pride. But something stops me. For once, the guys are in accord. I don’t want to ruin that.
Will selects four binoculars and hands one to each of us. He gives me a wink. “We’ll look over the layout for now, and then come up with our strategy.”
Slamming the doors shut, he leads us off the road. Tall grass snags at my jeans as we move through the shadows of trees, almost like grasping hands trying to stop us.
The air is colder here than even I’m used to, and I snuggle into my fleece jacket. For the first time in my life I might actually need a parka.
The trees begin to thin. Will holds up a hand. We stop. “From here we crawl,” he says, nodding ahead to where there’s nothing but a sloping field. “They have lookouts. They’re always watching. Even when you can’t see them. We don’t need to be spotted.”
My skin is tight and prickly as we crawl on our hands and knees, moving downhill. We finally stop, perched on a rise. Below, a small town sits nestled in a valley.
“What is this place?” Tamra asks, peering out with her binoculars.
“Crescent Valley,” Will answers. “Population: nine hundred and seventy-eight.”
“It looks dead,” Cassian observes.
“Pretty much,” Will agrees, gesturing to the picturesque valley below. “The grocery store. Crescent Valley School—all grade levels in one building. The community hall. Joel’s Bar and Grill. Antonio’s over there serves a decent pizza. I’ve waited there when my dad and uncle made drops. No more than two can drop off. And there, see that big building? That’s the number one employer in town—CVMS. Crescent Valley Medical Suppliers.”
I survey the innocuous sprawling factory of dingy white rock. Less innocuous is the high fence with its winding ropes of barbed wire along the top. A uniformed guard stands at a gatehouse. It’s the only way in or out that I can detect. The vast parking lot is half full, dotted with cars.
“They sell mostly medical supplies. Stuff used in your standard doctor’s office. Syringes. Some surgical equipment.”
“This is the enkros stronghold?” Cassian asks. “It’s a front?”
“Yes,” Will answers, his lips pressing into a grim line. He gestures to the entire valley with his hand. “All of it is. The whole town. Everyone is connected or related to someone who works there.”
My skin hums itchy-hot, heart hammering in my chest as I look down at the valley, at the place I had feared for so many years while knowing so little about it, without having any notion what it could be.
This is ten times worse than the prisonlike fortress I imagined. It’s evil wrapped up in innocent packaging.
It sits there, tidy bows and all, within a seemingly normal community. Underneath it all, it’s a place of torment and death.
My father’s image swims before my eyes. Is this where they took him? And Miram? Are they both behind those walls?
Resolve rolls through me in a bitter wash. Mine. Cassian’s. It doesn’t matter really. In this, we feel the same. Suddenly it’s about more than rescuing Miram.
I sense Will’s gaze on my face and turn to him. He knows. He’s with me. We’re together in this. In everything.
“Let’s bring it down,” I mutter. “All of it.”
He smiles and warmth spreads through me at how fortunate I am, how far I have come. I have Will. I have my sister. I even have Cassian. I’m not going into this alone, a victim like Miram. A captive like Dad. We will infiltrate the stronghold. We will rescue Miram. We will stand together. Right now, I’m convinced anything is possible.