Page 6 of Whispers and Warriors
Chris’s disciplined military mind was clearly running through the variables, calculating risks versus necessity. She loved that about him, even if at times it made him seem disconnected from her.
His hand tightened around her smaller one. “If we stay, they’ll find out what we discovered. What we know. We’d all be eliminated. I’m certain they’d even dispose of you so that you couldn’t rock the boat and destroy the false safety they’ve created.”
His fierce need to protect her and the others at any cost went unspoken, but she knew. Emma knew Chris would lay down his life for any of them without hesitation.
Especially her.
“But to leave everything behind...” Her words trailed off as emotion clogged her throat.
“It’s the only way.” Chris’s full lips thinned into a grim line. “We have a destination. Just like before, there’s an endgame. We regroup and fight another day.” Ever the pragmatic soldier, his tone allowed no room for further conversation.
As much as she wanted to dig in her heels, to cling to the fragile stability they’d found, Emma knew Chris was right. He always was in matters of survival. Slowly, she nodded, surrendering to his greater wisdom and experience. She wanted to be someone he confided in, not just someone he ordered around, but she knew he didn’t mean to control her, just to protect her.
Curling against his side, Emma tried to draw strength from Chris’s unwavering presence. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, anchoring her against the mad tilt of their world. She couldn’t lose him. Couldn’t lose any of them.
Not again. Not after being with Marcus.
Needing to feel grounded, Emma leaned forward a bit and buried her fingers in Ranger’s thick fur. Her pup lifted his head, ears pricked and eyes bright with concern. She’d found him as a scrawny, flea-ridden puppy shortly before the bombs fell, and now, he was her constant shadow, attuned to her every mood. She missed Bo and Shadow more than her heart could take, but Ranger would keep her sanity with every low bark and slobbery flick of his tongue.
“Good boy,” she whispered, leaning forward more to press her face into his face. “We’re going to be okay.”
Even if it was a lie.
From the front seat, Liam twisted around, his bright blue eyes meeting hers over the rims of his glasses. “Em, I know it’s scary, but this is the right call.” His voice was gentle, soothing. “We’ve got a plan. We’ve got each other.”
Liam seemed to always prove he was their navigator in more ways than one. His quick mind and quicker wit had gotten them out of more than one sticky situation, and he knew exactly what to say to send her mind at ease...or whirling with desire when he wanted to.
If anyone could get them across more of the country safely, it was him.
“What about supplies? Fuel? We can’t just drive into the sunset and hope for the best.” Emma hated the way her words quivered with her fear and the way her hands shook as she clung to Ranger.
“Alex and I have been stockpiling for weeks.” Liam’s grin was a flash of white in the gloom. “Call it a hunch, but I had a feeling we might need to make a quick getaway. We’d been loading it into the truck after dark, it’s how Alex was able to break into it so fast.”
Of course, he had a hunch. Liam’s ability to interact with the world was nearly as uncanny as Bash’s ability to shove his waythrough a room. Emma exhaled slowly, feeling a tiny spark of hope kindle in her chest. Maybe, just maybe, they could pull this off. Hadn’t they already done the impossible once before?
“And the coordinates?” she asked, glancing at the map spread across Liam’s knees. “How do we know they’re legit?”
“We don’t,” Bash rumbled from the far back, his deep voice startling her. “But it’s the best lead we’ve got. And staying put ain’t an option.”
Blunt as ever, Bash never sugar-coated the truth, not even with her. He was all hard muscle and harder attitude. But beneath all his snarling, he was loyal to a fault, and she’d seen that side of him enough to know he wasn’t being an ass right now.
Emma leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse of the map. The winding roads and jagged contours blurred before her tired eyes. She rubbed her temples, willing away the dull throb of a headache.
The truck lurched as Alex navigated a particularly rough stretch of road. Emma braced herself against the seat, her free hand tangling in Ranger’s fur. The dog whined softly, sensing her distress.
“Shh, it’s okay, boy,” she soothed, scratching behind his ears. “We’re going to be alright.”
But even as she spoke the words, doubt gnawed at her insides. The world had gone to hell in a hand basket, and they were just six people and a dog up against an entire system bent on their destruction. The odds weren’t exactly in their favor.
“A true safe haven,” she murmured, the words tasting foreign on her tongue. After so many months of running and hiding, the concept seemed almost mythical knowing the most recent one had been a lie. “Is that even possible?”
“We have to believe it is,” he said softly, his blue eyes catching hers in the rearview. “Otherwise, what’s the point of all this?”
Liam’s fingerstightened around the worn map, the paper crinkling under his touch as he traced the faint lines of roads and rivers. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses, trying to discern any landmarks or clues that could guide them.
The coordinates were maddeningly vague, leading to a seemingly random spot nestled deep within the forested mountains. No towns or settlements marked the area, just an endless expanse of untamed wilderness. What could possibly be out there, hidden away from the rest of the world? And more importantly, could it truly offer them sanctuary from the forces hunting them?
Liam’s mind raced with possibilities, scenarios unfolding and collapsing as he attempted to puzzle out the logic behind the cryptic message. Whoever had risked everything to send that transmission must have had a compelling reason, a secret worth protecting at all costs. But was that secret meant to save them...or lure them into a trap?
