Embracing, they clapped each other on the back and held on for longer than usual, but Mike was reluctant to let Doug go. He hadn’t let himself consider the possibility they might be dead, but the fear had niggled at the back of his mind.
He also hadn’t realized how much he missed Doug and Jack until he saw Doug again. They bickered and occasionally fought, but they’d been friends since he was a kid. Rarely had a day passed in the last forty-some-odd years when he hadn’t seen or spoken with the two of them, David, and Liam.
Mollie lowered her rifle as the rest of her annoyance with Mike faded. She couldn’t be mad at him when he had that look of love and relief on his face. He’d missed Jack and Doug as much as she missed Aida.
“Jack?” Mike asked Doug when they separated.
“I haven’t seen him since we escaped the barn. I don’t know where he is or if he’s alive.”
“He’s alive,” Mike said confidently. “If anyone’s going to kill him, it will be one of us.”
Doug chuckled and ran a hand through his blond hair. “True enough. Or a woman.”
“More likely,” Mike agreed.
Doug’s curious gaze turned to Mollie, and his eyes fell to the mark on her throat. The puncture of one fang was barely visible above the collar of her shirt; her clothing hid the other one. When Mike stiffened, Doug tore his eyes away from her and looked warily back at Mike.
“Just a friend, or more?” Doug said so quietly Mike barely heard him.
“More,” Mike answered.
Doug’s eyebrows shot up. “Mate?”
“Yes, but she doesn’t know.”
“Wonderful,” Doug murmured. “And the bond isn’t complete.”
They all knew how volatile a vampire could be when their mate was threatened, and how unstable they were when the bond between mates wasn’t sealed. The fact their bond remained incomplete was evident in Mollie’s still human nature.
“Have you run into anyone else we set free?” Mike asked.
“A couple of humans and two vamps, but I didn’t get close,” Doug said. “Come on, let’s discuss this somewhere safer.”
“You have a safe place?” Mollie asked as she stepped toward them.
“Not exactly safe but safer,” Doug replied.
Mike held his hand out to Mollie, and she took it. “Mollie, this is Doug; Doug, this is Mollie.”
“You already made these introductions in the barn,” Doug told Mike and laughed. Mollie couldn’t help but smile at the man’s jovial laugh. “But it’s nice to meet you again,” Doug said to her.
“You also,” Mollie replied.
She went to extend her hand toward him to shake his, but Doug was already turning away from her. She frowned when she realized he must’ve seen the gesture, yet he pretended like she never made a move toward him. Glancing at Mike, she noticed he’d focused his attention away from her and her interaction with Doug.
They were talking about something she couldn’t hear earlier, and she had the sinking suspicion it was about her.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Doug pulled backthe branches on a spruce tree to reveal what lay beyond. The tree was one of a cluster of spruces fighting for survival amid the oaks and maples surrounding them. The spruce’s branches were thick and heavy on the outside, but the sun didn’t pierce inside the cluster, and many of the needles had fallen off the dying branches within. The result was a small alcove in the center.
Mike gestured for Mollie to go ahead of him and studied the forest as she crouched to slip inside. Mike followed, and Doug entered last. Mollie gazed around the small space, perfectly situated between the five spruce trees. Needles lined the forest floor, and though a couple of them poked through her jeans when she sat, the ground was soft and dry.
For a moment, as she gazed at the surrounding trees, a sense of security slid over her. She could almost pretend she’d been transported to some magical land—a magical land where all the creatures were looking to kill and eat them.
That thought tore her attention away from the trees and back to Mike and Doug. When Mike settled in beside her, his knee rested against hers while Doug sat across from them. She noticed Doug was careful not to touch her in the cramped area though he jostled Mike when he crossed his legs.
The space was about the size of the small pop-up tent her grandpop set up in her backyard when she was a kid. She and her best friend, Donna, spent an entire week in that tent one summer. They only left it to shower, use the bathroom, gather food, and cool off in the sprinkler when it got too hot.
