Horror churned inside her as his words sank in. She couldn’t imagine the desperation that would compel someone to do that to themselves. Given everything she’d witnessed, she was beginning to realize it was a miracle he’d retained enough control to get them out of those tunnels.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“For what?”
“Saving me.”
Uncomfortable with her gratitude, Lucien shifted. “We have to go.”
She ignored her impulse to clasp his hand as they walked through the storage units and toward the entrance. They were almost to the guard booth when he tugged the shirt over his head. Disappointment filtered through her, but it was definitely for the best.
When they stopped outside the guard booth, the man turned to look at them. He didn’t seem surprised to see them standing there.
“I need to use your phone,” Lucien said.
The guard grabbed the black phone sitting on the counter and pushed it toward him.
“Do you have a cell phone?” Lucien asked.
“No.”
Lucien kept his irritation over this concealed as he pulled the phone closer and lifted it from the receiver. He started dialing the last number he remembered for Ronan and waited as the phone rang. Usually, Ronan would have gotten rid of the phone with this number by now, but Lucien suspected Ronan kept it in the hopes of receiving this call.
He’d almost finished dialing when he spotted three Savages emerge from the alley between the buildings across the way. They stayed to the shadows, but they were out in the day, which meant they weren’t as far gone as some of their brethren and the sun didn’t bother them as much.
And as he watched them, their eyes found his.
Chapter Seventeen
The Savages emergedfrom the shadows of the buildings and raced across the road toward them. Gripping Callie’s elbow, Lucien hurried her toward the guard booth. The older man stood inside, gaping at the monsters racing across the street toward them.
“Get in the booth,” he told her, “and stay in there until this is over.”
“Lucien….” She started to protest, but he was already pushing her inside and closing the door.
Out of frustration, she slapped her hand against the glass before reaching for the handle. Her fingers enclosed on the knob and froze there. Heart hammering, she lifted her gaze to the Savages racing across the street toward them.
What was she going to do out there… besides get in the way and possibly get them killed? But she hated the idea of him out there, alone with those things. The only weapon he had was himself, and though he looked better than yesterday, he didn’t look as healthy as these things. He was still bony; they were well-fed monsters.
She started to twist the knob before stopping. She wasn’t afraid of going out there and fighting them; they would kick her ass, she had no doubt about it, but she was scared of being a distraction to Lucien, and neither of them could afford that.
She couldn’t be the reason he died. He’d hurt her, but she wouldn’t be here, or alive, if it wasn’t for him.
Releasing the knob, she rested her palm against the glass as Lucien faced the Savages and braced his feet apart. “Lucien,” she breathed.
“What is going on?” the guard demanded, but his voice wavered.
The Savages scrambled up the chain-link fence like monkeys up a tree. When they arrived at the top, the barbwire didn’t slow them even a little. They jumped over it and landed on the other side in a move so fluid Callie barely saw them.
Callie’s mouth went dry as she locked the door and backed away from it. The lock and glass would do little to stop the Savages from getting through, but it gave her a measure of relief. Then one of them looked up at her and smiled.
She didn’t recognize the creature, but something in the way he looked at her unnerved her completely. Hunger emanated from the man, but she wasn’t sure if it was for her blood or something more.
“What are those things?” the guard breathed.
“Death,” Callie murmured and wished she could take the word back when his breath sucked in.
Her gaze shifted back to Lucien as the Savages raced for him. She spotted the phone outside lying on the ground a second before Lucien lifted it and jerked it toward him. The cord ripped from the wall inside the booth and slid out beneath the door. It caught for a second before tearing free.
