Page 56 of Marked Dragon

Peter laughed, and as soon as Errol removed his hand, he said, “I told you last night that, if you let me go, I’d blame it on her. But no.”

That was why he’d been so cocky.

“Drake tracked us with it.” Vlad groaned as he jumped to his feet. “I took the phone away from him last night while you were showering, but I didn’t think about them tracking it.”

“We’ve gotta get out of here.” Errol glanced at Saphira, his eyes wide with fear. “They’ll be here in less than thirty minutes. Is there another place we can go?”

“No.” Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose. “Since we lived in Atlanta, I sold my backup houses because the city was so expensive. I only kept this one because it was close by.”

“It doesn’t matter where we’re heading as long as we get Everly away fromhere.” Thorn climbed to his feet so fast he damn near blurred. “We can shift and get out of here.”

“Shifting will help them track us. Our scents could linger in the air.” Vlad licked his lips. “We’ll have a better chance at getting away by vehicle.” He glanced at the phone. “There is a place we can go, but we should rent two cars, so they won’t be able to spot us easily when we’re farther from the city.”

Thorn and Eva had to get out of here. Drake would take Eva to be his breeder and kill Thorn. Neither was going to happen.

Elliott blanched but ran toward the television and began unplugging the gaming system. Instead of asking about shifting and scents, he’d decided to use the extra time to salvage his games…again. A reaction I would never understand.

“Mom and Dad, take the truck keys on the key chain by the front door. We can’t risk leaving the truck behind in case they can glean information about the full name I go by now,” Thorn instructed and turned to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Eva, Elliott, Peter, Everly, and I will take her Audi. Everyone else, get into Brenton’s vehicle. We’ve got to go.”

Everyone dispersed. Elliott strode out of the cabin, balancing the gaming system, with Eva right behind him. I snatched the keys from the hook by the door and unlocked the car, climbing into the passenger seat.

That was when I realized Thorn and Peter hadn’t come out. Thorn wouldn’t delay unless something had gone wrong.

Peter had to be up to something.

“Stay here,” I instructed and opened the car door in time to hear a loud crash from inside the cabin.

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

I shouldn’t have runout without making sure Peter was following. I should’ve known he’d try something, but instead, I’d left Thorn to handle my stepdad alone. Of course, Thorn knew he couldn’t be trusted.

Anger flared through our connection, and my blood boiled. Whatever Peter was doing had pissed off my mate.

The front door was still open, so I breezed into the living room in time to watch Thorn punch Peter in the head. His eyes rolled back as his body crumpled. Thorn didn’t even try to catch him. He let Peter’s body hit the wooden floor between the kitchen and living room.

“What did he do?” I breathed as I reached Thorn’s side.

A metallic stench hit me. I looked at his upper arm, which had a deep cut. My jaw clenched.

“I’m fine.” He bent and tossed Peter over his shoulder. “He snatched a knife when we were all dispersing and used it on me when I tried to force him to leave.”

My chest constricted. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? Your mom marrying a douchebag?” He took my hand and tugged me to the door. “It’s not your fault. Stop taking on that responsibility.”

His words were like a slap to the face. I often apologized for things that weren’t my fault, but in this instance, I felt like it was.If it wasn’t for me, Peter wouldn’t be here cutting you.

Having you in my life has made me the happiest I’ve ever been,he replied as we stepped back outside.I’d happily let him cut me every day if that was the price of finding you.

My chest ached from the way it expanded. I’d never felt so happy, even when Mom was alive.

Mom.

I froze. “I need my bracelet.” Mom had given me the bracelet after getting diagnosed with cancer. I’d left it behind with Thorn when I’d run off to hand myself over to Drake. I’d wanted to leave a piece of myself behind for him, and it was the one item I truly valued.

He squeezed my hand and replied, “That’s what I was getting when Peter grabbed the knife.” He patted his jeans pocket. “It’s in here. I’ll give it to you once we get into the car. I know how much it means to you and didn’t want to leave it behind. We might not be able to come back.”

Tears burned my eyes. Of course he’d done that for me. In the short time we’d been together, he’d come to know me better than I knew myself—in some ways, anticipating my needs before I did.

---