She didn’t know what ever happened to Donna; she moved away before the start of the school year. They kept in touch for a time through phone calls, but when her grandpop died the following spring, Mollie stopped taking her calls and eventually lost touch with her.
“What do you know about this place?” Mike asked Doug in a whisper.
Pulled from the past, Mollie focused on the conversation between the two vampires.
“Not much,” Doug said. “I’ve spent my days searching for you and Jack in a grid pattern. I haven’t covered much land, but I mapped the land I trekked.”
“Do you have that map?” Mollie asked.
Doug tapped the side of his head. “Right here. If I can answer it for you, I will.”
“We know there is the barn and another building beyond it. Are there any more buildings where they could be keeping prisoners on this island?”
Doug visibly paled. “Island?” he croaked.
“Yes,” Mike said. “We’re on an island.”
Doug sat back and closed his eyes. “Well, shit,” he muttered. “I’ve come across the ocean on both sides, but I assumed it was a peninsula or a skinny piece of land. I hoped for it anyway.” Opening his eyes, he focused on Mollie. “To answer your question, those are the only two buildings I know about. I’ve been close to the mansion beyond the barn, which is probably the other building you know about, but I didn’t explore much of it.”
“Why not?” Mike asked.
“Because it was near sunset, and it’s where the Savages are staying.”
Mollie gulped. “Are all of them there?” How would they be able to get Aida out if there were a bunch of killer vamps holed up inside the place where she was?
“Not all of them, but I think the majority are. Some Savages, mostly the ones with the security patches, are out all day searching for fugitives. They’re not killing all the ones they recapture,” Doug said to Mike. “I’ve seen security dragging some captives back to the barn.”
“So Jack could be back in there?” Mike asked.
“He could be, but I doubt it. He wouldn’t let them take him alive again.”
“No, he wouldn’t,” Mike agreed.
“But we’ve heard them killing people at night,” Mollie said.
“Those are the Savages from the mansion. When they come out at night, all bets are off, and they don’t take survivors.”
A tingle of dread ran down Mollie’s spine, but at least those monsters left the mansion at night. That meant they might be able to get in and see if they could find Aida.
“Some of the security members are staying in the barn all day too,” Doug said.
“That’s a new development,” Mollie said. “They didn’t stay at the barn before.”
“Our escape probably changed the way they run things here,” Mike said. “They’re making sure they keep their prisoners on lockdown.”
“Okay, so they’re at this mansion and the barn—”
“And some are in the woods,” Doug reminded her.
“And they’re in the woods,” Mollie said. “Aida wasn’t in the barn when we broke out, so if she’s still alive, she’s in the mansion. I have to get closer to it.”
“We will,” Mike said. Taking her hand, he threaded his fingers through hers and squeezed it.
Doug’s gaze went to their hands; a small smile quirked his mouth before he glanced away and tugged at the collar of his shirt as if he were suddenly uncomfortable.
“Who’s Aida?” Doug inquired.
“My sister,” Mollie said. “Those things came in and took her from the barn before they brought all of you inside. I’m going to find her.”
