Page 13 of Bloodline Unbound

Okay, that was unnerving.

Caden looked about ready to chuck the gas pump down and follow her, but we needed to fuel up.

“I’ve got her,” I said, hopping out to follow Logan. I stood outside the bathroom like a dutiful soldier. She took so long that I knocked on the door. “Lo, you okay in there?”

The door swung open and I jumped. Her eyes were red-rimmed. “Yeah, sorry.”

I walked her back to Caden and made sure she was safely in the front seat before I went about my business. After relieving myself, I slipped inside the gas station and grabbed a bunch of candy—chocolate, gummies, some sour monstrosity that would pucker my lips right off my face—as well as some drinks and chips before booking it back to the car. I held a selection between the front seats.

“Snack?”

Logan grabbed one of the chocolate bars full of peanuts and caramel. I knew she had good taste.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

I missed her snappiness.

Sad Logan was freaking me out.

I held out two bottles—iced tea and water. She took the water, but just stared at it, along with the chocolate bar. I nudged Caden when he sat back in his seat and he opened both for Logan, waiting until she’d consumed a bit of each. He took her hand, and while I couldn’t tell what he was saying in her head, she nodded and nibbled some more at the chocolate. Good. Maybe some sugar would help.

Caden flashed me a grateful smile—at least I assumed it was grateful—and got the car running again.

“I’ve got a buddy in Carlisle we could crash with,” I offered.

“Too dangerous for them. And also, not far enough.”

“Where is far enough?”

Caden shrugged. “I dunno. The fucking moon?”

I snorted and opened the map app on my phone. Maybe I could find us a sweet hotel in the middle of bumfuck-nowhere. I scrolled down the I-81 on the map, swerving off to some more remote locations. I found exactly what I was looking for and checked the vacancies. They had an assortment of cabins, set away from the rest and with a view of the mountains.

Booked.

I grabbed Caden’s phone and input the address.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I booked us a place for the night. Sweet cabin in good old West Virginia. Nice and deep in the woods and it’s over seven hours from Syracuse.”

Caden looked at me in the mirror like he was surprised I’d even thought of it.

Rude.

I have good ideas.

Sometimes.

We took the I-81 all the way to Hagerstown, Maryland, where we diverged west and followed the Potomac River for a while. We stopped for more snacks along the way, but it was hard to eat when you were worried about an unknowable entity on your tail.

Almost three hours after Hagerstown, we pulled into our stop. I let Caden and Logan stay in the car and went to check in.

We’d traveled so far and presumably we’d be safe for a while. After I got the key, Caden drove to the one we’d be staying in. You couldn’t tell any other cabins were nearby from where we were. The Appalachians cocooned us like some giant mountain mama.

It was nice.

If you didn’t listen to the stories.

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