Page 118 of Savior

As I moved to slam the door, he leaned across the seat. “I’m looking forward to it.”

The terrain was uneven, and in spite of my attempts to wake her, Kate was nothing but dead weight. I raised my shoulder, trying to reposition her several times, but was still soaked in a layer of sweat within minutes of hiking into the forest.

Trees seemed to bend and arch onto the overgrown path, slowing us down. If we didn’t move faster, the Sons would be on us before sundown. I was so focused on the low-lying branches that I missed the exposed roots and stumbled to the forest floor with a low groan. Instead of blinding pain, something soft broke my fall.

When Kate cried out almost immediately and began struggling, I realized that my soft landing hadn’t been dirt. I rolled away from her to assess the damage.

“My leg,” she whimpered, rocking back and forth. “Help.”

Her bare foot was twisted at an abnormal angle and already swollen to twice its normal size.

“Oh, fuck, Katydid.” I pressed my fingers into the tender flesh, and she came up off the forest floor with a roar. Her fingernails dug into the battered skin on my chest, and tears filled her eyes as she fought to free herself from my grip.

I’d broken her foot when I fell.

In the middle of goddamned nowhere, with armed bikers that were going to be looking for us any fucking second, I’d just crippled my daughter.

She shifted against the dirt floor before squeezing her eyes shut with a wince. “My foot hurts… and my head hurts—” With another low moan she leaned to the side and began vomiting.

I squeezed Kate’s shoulder and rubbed along her spine as her body purged the remnants of the drugs. When she finished, she sat up, only to collapse against my chest with a whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you apologize to me, darlin’.”

“Where are we?” she croaked.

My throat was so dry that it hurt to swallow. “Somewhere outside of Mirror Lake. Do you remember coming out here with Wolverine and Angel?”

She nodded, studying the dense trees. “I don’t see the lake, though.”

“Yeah, we got a few miles to go, darlin’. Think you could use your old man as a crutch.”

A tear streaked down her dirty cheek, and she shook her head. “No, Daddy. I need to sleep. Just let me sleep for a little longer, okay?”

“Okay, sweetheart, but just for a minute.” I settled her against the trunk of a nearby tree before getting to my feet. As much as I wanted to collapse beside her, we couldn’t stay here. They’d be combing every inch of these woods once they realized we’d gotten free.

I pulled the cell phone from my pocket, surprised to see that there were three bars of service. Cobra’s warning to ditch it echoed in my head as I punched in the number and hit send. “C’mon, princess. Pick up.”

“Darlin’—” I said before realizing I’d gotten her voicemail. My throat tightened just hearing her voice, but I held it together long enough to get out what needed to be said.

“Celia, it’s me. I need help—we’re outside of Mirror Lake. Me and Katy. Gonna try to make it to Wolverine’s old cabin, but we’re in bad shape, darlin’. If—” My nostrils flared, but I forced myself to say it. “If I don’t make it… need you to know that you were the best thing that ever happened to a poor fuck like me. I, uh, I love you, princess.”

Swiping the tears away, I dialed the only other person I thought might be home. I had to ditch the phone soon before they had Jeremy track us down.

“Who’s this?” Angel said by way of greeting. “Got the caller ID now, so if you little shits think you’re gonna pull one over on me again, you better think the fuck again.”

I swallowed. “It’s me—”

“Jamie? Christ, kid, where are ya?” I could hear him moving around.

“Somewhere near Mirror Lake. There was a military bunker built into the mountain. Fuck, Angel—I’m turned around—”

“Okay… okay,” he said soothingly. “What’d I teach you as a kid? You remember? Get you a stick about three feet long and find a spot where it’ll cast a shadow. Make sure it’s level and then mark the end of the shadow with a stone or pinecone. That’s west.”

I nodded before brushing away more tears. “Yeah, uh, then I wait, right?”

“That’s my boy. Wait a bit and then mark where the shadow moves. Straight line between the two’ll give you an east-west line. If it gets dark—”

“Look for The Big Dipper and trace up from the front of the bowl to the first bright star they point to,” I answered dutifully, surprised I’d remembered jack shit about something that happened over forty years ago.

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