Page 61 of Dawn of the Pack

Their radio crackles as more teams start checking in.

“Team two, all clear.”

“Team three, all clear.”

“Team four, we found the witch sneaking around again. She’s wrapped up nice and tight in suite seventeen. Otherwise all clear.”

And on it goes. If every team is two people, there are far more guards here than Azalea led us to believe.

Richardson and Levi turn and gesture forcefully for us to go back the way we came.

Lily tries silently arguing, pointing toward the door again, but Richard drags a hand across his throat and starts moving, leaving Lily zero choice but to retreat.

“Team seven and team eleven, check in.”

The knowledge that they know something is up gets us moving faster. I push Lily ahead of me and we practically run down the hallway, following Levi with Richardson in the rear. The security guy must have memorized every turn, because he doesn’t hesitate as if he’s following neon signs to the exit.

We turn another corner and pass the desk, and a surge of relief washes through my chest.

Which is quickly squashed when we pass a hallway with two bulky guards just steps away, spotting us immediately and racing down the hallway. “Red alert red alert, this is team three. We have six intruders heading toward the back door!”

“Keep going!” Richardson shouts, all hope of sneaking out forgotten. We race up the steps, flying through the door only to realize we can’t get back through the hedge without Azalea.

“We have to go to the front of the house, it’s the only way!” I shout, grabbing Lily’s jacket and dragging her with me. We race along the house to the side we entered, speeding down the narrow strip of dirt between the wall and the hedge.

I know what they see when we follow the corner of the hedge: the long, straight path of the driveway, hedges on either side. Nowhere to split off. Our only option is to race straight ahead.

Shouts reach my ears from multiple directions, and the feeling of a wolf pack closing in on all sides tries to choke me with panic. I keep Lily ahead of me, directly behind Levi, and focus on protecting her at all costs. Feet thunder across the wooden deck, telling me more people are pouring out of the house in pursuit of us. I don’t know how many it is, but I know we are in serious trouble.

It seems to take a lifetime, but we finally reach the end of the long row of hedges. I spare a glance back and realize we’re farther ahead of our pursuers than I thought. When we turn left and start racing down the hill, Richardson shouts, “Split up! Use your GPS markers and stick to your specific path. Follow the plan!”

Lily and I hit the trail and immediately branch right, and she glances at me in shock, breathing too hard to speak. I’ve still got a grip on her sleeve; she didn’t know about the emergency plan.

Thanks to a lifetime of sports conditioning, I’m probably doing better than most. “We had a backup plan to make sure you get out safe,” I shout. “This way!”

I pull her down yet another path, racing the way Landon and I came on our visit.

Further into Montrose territory.

It made the most sense; they’d be expecting us to head for the closest path out of Montrose. Milo and Landon would lead pursuers that way, and Richardson and Levi would try to thin out them before heading in a different direction.

We run at top speed all the way to the trailhead and I pull Lily to the side, ducking behind a low stone wall to catch our breath and listen.

There’re shouts in the distance, footsteps crashing through dead leaves and the occasional flicker of light between tree trunks, but it’s all surprisingly far away.

Lily pants heavily beside me, and her breaths sound almost painful. I’m definitely going to get her on a training program after all this.

After a few minutes our labored breathing evens out, and the sounds of pursuit have grown noticeably more distant.

“I think we’re clear,” I whisper to her with a small smile, then pull out my radio and click the button once, then twice, then three times, letting Richardson know we made it.

A moment later, two clicks come through, another two, then three.

“Milo and Landon are good,” I reassure her, and she’s visibly relieved.

The radio comes to life again, three clicks, then two, then one.

“And Richardson and Levi are good. We all made it.”

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