Page 46 of Soul Bound

“Oh, right.” I stop looking around the space. I was trying to see if I could find any personal details or items, something to clue me in more on who Ranger is. I’ve told him most of my deep dark secrets, but I still don’t know much about him. I’ve heard the basics from Ransom, but that’s about it. “What happened to the facility you found Pruitt and Thalia in after you guys left? Did the authorities get involved and clean it out?”

“Why?”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes at him. “Because I thought it would make a lovely vacation destination, I was thinking about visiting soon,” I deadpan. “Trust me, it’s important. What happened after you guys left?”

“Noah’s the police chief here and he had some fellow shifter contacts in Vancouver. After all the women who we couldn’t help had been saved and taken to a proper hospital, Noah’s contacts made it so no humans could go in and investigate. As far as I know, it’s sitting exactly how we left it. Noah told me his friends still go out every once in a while, to make sure Sterling or Nicolai’s men haven’t returned, the last time they checked it was still empty.”

“But no one has touched it orcleanedit, right?” The cleaned part is what I’m concerned about.

“No, no one has stepped foot in there since we left three months ago.” He looks at me quizzically. “I don’t understand what this has to do with anything.”

I feel practically giddy knowing the building has been untouched. This is the best news I’ve gotten in a long time. “We need the baby’s blood, right? To do a tracking spell.”

“Right, but we don’t have the baby’s blood.”

“I know,” I bounce on my toes as I explain, the excitement overwhelming me. “But we haveThalia’sblood. If you’re right and no one has cleaned the facility, her blood is still all over the operating room you found her in. That means we have half of the baby’s blood since half of her DNA is Thalia’s, and based on what I’ve read in the many,manyjournals I’ve read over the past couple weeks, it should be enough to do the tracking spell. And who knows, we might get lucky and actually get some of the baby’s DNA since blood from the placenta and umbilical cord—which yeah,supergross—could also still be there.”

Ranger jabs his fingers through his hair and lets out a breath, almost like he’s been holding it. “Why didn’t I think of that?” His gaze finds mine. “This could work.”

“This could work.” I can’t help the grin growing on my face.

“We need to get to Vancouver.” He turns serious. “We need to leave as soon as possible.”

“Time to put my shiny new passport to use.”

15

Ranger

Esme confirmed Winslow’s theory. We now have a viable plan. That’s all Winslow needed to hear before she was chartering us a private plane to Canada the following morning, paid for by the money she liberated from her parents. It was the fastest way to get there and since Winslow is using a very real looking, but still very fake passport, it’s safer for us to travel this way.

Neither Winslow nor I could sit still during the flight. Winslow’s leg bounced the whole way there, and I kept reaching across the table that sat between us to pull her thumb from her mouth since she wouldn’t stop chewing on her nail. That earned me a dirty look, but I elected to ignore it.

We still haven’t talked about the kiss. I keep waiting for her to bring it up, but she never does. Throughout the flight I found myself staring at her when she was busy looking out the window, totally lost in thought and oblivious to me. When she told me her brilliant idea, it took everything in me to not kiss her again. Now that I know what she feels like in my arms, what her tongue feels like against mine, I crave it. My wolf hounds me to touch her, to hold her close, not understanding why it isn’t a good idea.

I’ve never felt that kind of electric connection when I’ve been with other girls. I’ve never experienced anything like kissing Winslow, and I’m not sure I ever will experience it with anyone else. There is just something about my little witch… a magnetic pull of sorts that draws me to her.

After landing in Canada and going through customs, where Winslow subtly freaked out the whole time, afraid her fake passport and ID wouldn’t work (it did), we got into our rental car and went to the hotel I had booked for us.

It’s a basic hotel with an average rating sitting on the outskirts of Vancouver. I picked it because it was the closest one to the facility that sits about an hour outside of the city. We aren’t here on vacation; we just needed a place to drop our bags and rest our heads at night.

Winslow’s lips twitched when the lady at the front desk confirmed the reservation was for two rooms. I could’ve gotten a room with two beds, but I knew it would be better if we had a wall between us at night. My control when it comes to her is slipping by the minute and I knew sleeping in the same room as her would finally make me snap. Our rooms are adjoining, so as it is, it will be hard knowing she’s just one door away from me.

We toss our things in our respective rooms before climbing back into the car. We both agreed the sooner we got out to the abandoned facility, the better.

Just like the plane ride, Winslow is quiet the whole drive out. She wears a pair of sunglasses, but I see her gaze taking in everything as we drive. That’s something I’ve learned about her, she’s an observer. She takes in everything and everyone around her, constantly assessing the situation. She’s like me that way. Between the four siblings, I’m definitely the most reserved, the thinker, and plotter of the group.

I’m never one to make rash decisions or act impulsively. Or I wasn’t until the thing with Thalia happened. And being around Winslow has just made it worse.

I clear my throat. “What happened last night…”

Her head jerks in my direction. “I don’t want to talk about it, Ranger.” Her voice is stern.

“You didn’t let me finish; I’m not talking about the… about what happened betweenus,” I clarify. “I was asking what happened before you came outside. When I found you, you looked upset?”

“Oh.” She relaxes, but her fingers still play with the end of the long ponytail that hangs over her shoulder. “Noah learned I brought back Poe and asked me to do the same thing for Addison.”

Fuck.

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