AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Clenching my jaw, I followed her order, putting one arm behind me, only to grab my own weapon. Matt let out a yell in warning since he saw my move before anyone else did. Trish’s eyes widened when I slammed my palm on her wrist, shoving the gun from me while pressing my own to her forehead.
“That’s not going to work,” I said, my voice soft but firm. “I’m not here to hurt you. I wanted to warn you. But if I stay, I’ll only put you in more danger. So I’m going to walk away, and you’re going to let me.”
Fury covered her features, but she stayed completely still as my finger curled over the trigger. I wouldn’t kill her, but she didn’t know that. Jon was shouting orders at me, but I ignored him as I forced Trish to walk backward until both he and Matt were in sight to keep them from sneaking up on me.
“Fucking traitor,” Trish snapped. “I should have killed you.”
“Tell the Clovers what happened at Project Peace,” I responded. “The vampires aren’t going to stop. I have no idea which city is next on their hit list.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jon aiming his gun at me, and my heart dipped.
“Stop,” Warner’s voice boomed right before a shot flew past Jon and hit the tree beside him. “You’re going to let her walk away.”
Relief was mixed with sadness when I saw Warner pointing a handgun at Jon. He was choosing me. Meaning the Clovers would see him as an enemy after this. There was no going back for him. He had a backpack on and shot me a small smile before focusing back on Jon.
“Are you fucking serious?” Matt yelled. “She’s the reason that vampire escaped. Why our men died.”
“Drop the gun and turn around. Or I’ll shoot,” Warner told Jon. “And I’m dead fucking serious.”
“I knew it,” Trish hissed, her eyes spewing hate at my best friend. “I always knew you were with her. I told Jon that you couldn’t be trusted.”
I didn’t say a word, knowing she wouldn’t believe anything that came out of my mouth right now. Jon obeyed Warner’s order while glaring daggers at me. Warner made Matt zip-tie Jon’s wrists behind his back, and once Jon was lying on his stomach, Warner made Matt do the same, and he tied Matt’s hands.
Trish was tense, and I kept my eye on her. She was waiting for a distraction to slip away from my gun, but it wasn’t going to happen. I kept the weapon on her until Warner came up and used a zip tie on her too.
“Consider yourself a dead man, Warner,” Jon spat out as he stayed sprawled on the dirt. “Both of you are dead on sight now.”
“Yet we kept you alive,” I said quietly. “Maybe think about that. If I were really with the vampires, why didn’t I kill you?”
“Come on, Kali.” Warner grabbed my hand. “You have a vehicle?”
I nodded, and I took the lead as we raced away from their camp. I could already hear Trish trying to get out of her zip ties.
“I don’t have much gas left,” I panted. “Maybe enough for twenty more miles.”
“Then we’ll go on foot after that.”
“Warner, I need to get as far as I can. Zan can track this necklace?—”
“Once I cut it off, then you’ll be fine. But we’re going to hold on to it,” he replied. “It could come in handy later.”
I veered to the right, where I’d left the truck. “We can’t do that. He’ll be able to smell it. We need to leave it behind.”
“Fuck, Kali. I missed you,” he said, grabbing me and pulling me into a hug once we got to the truck. “I’m glad you’re still alive.”
“Me too,” I mumbled into his shoulder, inhaling his familiar scent. “But I won’t be for much longer if I don’t get this necklace off.”
“I brought a tool to cut it.” Warner slipped off his backpack. “And I also have a box to keep it in?—”
“Warner, that’s not going to work?—”
“It’s lined with lead,” Warner interrupted me. “Collin stole it from PARA. No scent can escape it, Kali. We keep the necklace in there, and it’ll be fine.”
I pursed my lips when he showed me the small box. I trusted Collin, since he was a Clover, but what if the box wasn’t enough to hide the scent of Shadow blood? It was a large risk. But Warner seemed confident. I planned to stay on the move anyway. Hopefully, I was already far enough away that Zan had lost me.
“Let’s drive a bit first and get away from camp,” I muttered, unlocking the truck. “Then you can cut it off.”
“I’m glad you came to me, Kali,” he said gently as he opened the door.
