Page 63 of My Fugitive Wolf
A quiet snap yanked Samara's attention back to the drone. She stood up while Stephen wiped his hands on his jeans.
"You can't tell him,” he repeated.
Samara nodded, understanding how perilous their situation was. "I know."
Dipping his head to her in respect, Stephen walked away but stopped briefly to gently squeeze her shoulder.
She would keep her promise.
From across the street, Kellen and Grace jogged against what little traffic there was carrying paper bags filled with supplies. As soon as they made it to the van, Grace pulled a can of something out of one of the bags. Then she pulled the pins out of her long hair, bent forward, and started spraying from the back of her skull and working her way from the roots to the tips of the strands.
"Hairspray?" Samara couldn't hide her confusion.
Kellen motioned for Samara to join him away from the others. In a darker corner of the gas station, he stopped, shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, and took a deep breath.
"It's hair color. Dark brown."
An uncomfortable feeling jumbled her stomach. "Why does she need dark brown hair?"
Kellen kept his eyes down. "The art of deception. Josiah doesn't know that Grace is with us. Her spell still works, we think. No matter what Josiah throws at us, he won't be able to inflict much damage on the two of us if the spell keeps him distracted."
He paused, still not looking at her.
"It's not going to be you and me walking into that camp together. It's going to me and Grace. With luck, Josiah won't know that Grace isn't you until we're there."
"And what am I going to do?"
Kellen started to tell her, but the sound of the drone launching distracted them.
"C'mon you two," Leo waved at them, the driver's side door wide open. "Time's up, we gotta leave!"
Kellen walked back to the van, without telling her what he wanted her to do. Maybe he simply didn't know yet, but she didn't think so. He was hiding something and that worried her, but if his silence had something to do with keeping Carlie and George safe, then she’d let it go until they got to Winterbourne. He would have to tell her then. When she climbed into the van, Stephen was already in the shotgun seat with his laptop open and the drone controls carefully balanced on his knees. Leo revved the engine and sped out of the parking lot.
Even from half a mile away, they saw smoke from the restaurant spiraling in the air. As they got closer, they could see that most of the structure was still intact, but the sun deck was gone along with the kitchen. A fire truck sprayed the debris, and the sheriff redirected the few cars on the road. Leo drove slowly, not looking at the building, but behind it. The flashing lights provided enough light for all of them to see clearly with their preternatural eyesight.
"I see Carlie." Leo swerved into the restaurant parking lot, but far away from the fire truck. "She's near the tree line."
As soon as Carlie saw them exit the van, she ran to them. Her hair was askew, clothes singed, and she smelled of smoke and grease. A huge bruise purpled her cheek.
Kellen opened his arms, and she walked right into them. "It's okay," he whispered over and over until she stopped sobbing.
"They still have George." Her voice hitched as she tried to say more.
"We know." Stephen remained in the van with the drone controls. "Don't worry, we have a plan to get him."
"I don't know why they let me go. I don't even know why they took us."
"They want me." Samara wouldn't lie to Carlie. She didn't need to know the details, but she would need a reason and if it helped at all with the trauma, then let the burden be on her shoulders. "I have something they want. That's why I came here. I needed money and sleep. Kellen gave me both, but my past has caught up with me. I'm going to give myself up to them. Once they have me, they'll leave you alone. Kellen has negotiated the deal."
Tearing free of Kellen, Carlie hugged Samara. To Samara the hug was a reminder of everything she was about to lose. No matter what Kellen said, Josiah would not keep his word and deep down they all knew that.
After a moment, Carlie turned back to Kellen. "I don't know what Maria has gotten herself into, but you can't turn her over to those men. You just can't. They will kill her. They were going to kill George, but then their leader forced me to unlock my phone and he walked away to make a phone call. After he hung up, he stopped threatening us."
"Leo," Kellen said. "Give Maria the keys to the van."
Leo did as instructed.
Kellen put his hands on Carlie's shoulders. "Carlie, go to the gym using the back door. Stephen will give you the code and the key to the office. Wait for George there."
