Page 59 of Marked Dragon

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Two hours later,we were pulling out of an Enterprise Rent-A-Car in two Suburbans. Apparently, Vlad was a man of many talents and had fake IDs for himself and Cassidy, so they’d put the cars under their aliases and opted for the company’s rental insurance.

We parked the other vehicles across town in a motel lot. If the warriors found them, they wouldn’t automatically realize we had rented cars.

Everyone from my Audi climbed into the Suburban that Cassidy was driving, while everyone else climbed into the one with Vlad. We put Peter in the passenger seat so we could keep an eye on him. He sat silently pouting, which I was all about. It was just as good as him being unconscious.

Thorn sat behind Cassidy, and I opted to take the seat behind Peter, since I had shorter legs, which left Elliott and Eva in the far back. Elliott had pulled out a Nintendo Switch, which he and Eva were playing. I swore the boy had a game stowed away everywhere.

As soon as we got on the interstate, heading northwest again, Thorn tapped his hands on his leg. “There’s only one place I can think of in this direction, but Vlad would never take us there.”

My mouth went dry. That sounded ominous.What are you talking about?

“His family thunder.”The area around Thorn’s eyes tightened. “He hasn’t been back there or even spoken to anyone, including his parents, since we hid away in Atlanta.”

“Desperate times call for even more desperate measures.” Cassidy glanced in the rearview mirror. “We have nowhere else to go.”

“What about a hotel?” The last thing I wanted to do was put more people in danger.

“We don’t have unlimited funds, and Drake will have dragon shifters searching for us. They know what we all look like.” Cassidy watched the road. “We can’t get jobs and risk them finding us, we can’t go back home to Atlanta, and the cabin has been compromised. We literally have nowhere else to go. I tried talking him out of it, but we’re out of options.”

My leg bounced.Maybe I should go back. If he has me—

Thorn’s pupils slitted, and he growled so loudly that the car shook. “That isnotan option, Everly. If you so much as think that again, I will not let you out of my sight…ever.”

“Whoa,” Elliott gasped from behind me. “That’s badass, but Ineverwant to get on his bad side.”

“It tookthisfor you to realize that?” Eva sighed. “Not him punching out Dad twice?”

“Eh. Dad’s an ass.” Elliott’s tone held some anger.

Peter glared over his seat at his son, but surprisingly, he remained silent.

If Thorn hadn’t been so angry with me, I would’ve pushed the topic more.

“I’m not trying to upset you but look at how many of us are on the run. Going to another thunder could add more people to that number,” I said and took his hand, but he didn’t squeeze back like normal.

“What Thorn is trying to say, not so eloquently, is that there is one thing Drake wants more than you.” Cassidy changed lanes, following Vlad. “Thorn. Even if you handed yourself over, he won’t stop looking for us. Vlad and I were captured before you were promised to Drake.”

I hung my head. Regret surged through me. “You’re right. I wasn’t thinking.” I stared at the floorboard and removed my hand from Thorn’s.

At the last second, he snatched it back.I know you’re trying to help, but I just got you back, and you’re already considering doing the same damn thing all over again.

You’re right.Why did I keep wanting to sacrifice myself? I wasn’t a martyr, nor did I want to be. I just wantedhimand my siblings safe…no matter the cost. But they were right. Even if I turned myself in, that wouldn’t be enough…not for Drake.I’m sorry.

I need to know you won’t ever do something like that again.He clutched my hand tighter.

I promise. I don’t know what I was thinking.I wanted to kick myself for even considering it.

Some of his worry eased.Good, because otherwise, I might have to give you a spanking.A twinkle returned to his eye as his playfulness swirled inside me.

The vehicle fell back into a comfortable silence.

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An hour later,we passed through the small, quaint town of Mount Airy, North Carolina. Several miles past that, we turned onto a gravel road.

The Suburban bumped and jolted as we passed a few ranches and drove deeper into the woods. The houses were spread a few miles apart, and I was surprised the dirt road continued for so long. This had to be the thunder neighborhood.

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