“I’ll call Mom and Dad,” Abby said.
“I’ll call Ethan,” Cassidy said.
She could barely contain her excitement asshe dialed Ethan’s number. It had been so long since they had anysign Kyle was still alive, and now, suddenly, he was back. She hadno idea what to expect, but he wasalive.
For weeks, Cassidy hadn’t allowed herself tobelieve anything less, but lately, doubt had crept in to chew ather certainty like a mouse on wires. And the doubt had eroded somuch of her hope that some days, she didn’t retain any.
And now Brianhadhim, which meant hewas alive. She didn’t know what kind of condition he was in or ifhe was okay, but she would do anything to save him.
***
By the time Kyle pulled onto a dirt roadleading toward a ramshackle house, the sun had set hours ago andthe color had faded from his skin. However, he remained ready tokill.
Studying the house, he wasn’t sure how itcould withstand a gentle summer breeze, never mind the winterstorms that blew through here, but it remained standing. Andhopefully, it would provide them with a place to stay for thenight.
Lucy required rest and more blood. However,he wasn’t sure it would be enough to save her. Her condition hadn’tworsened, but though he’d given her more blood throughout the day,she hadn’t improved either.
They had ditched the Chevy hours ago in favorof a RAV4 he’d stolen from a Walmart parking lot. He found atoolkit in the back of the Chevy, all the supplies necessary tochange a tire, and an emergency roadside kit also containing apop-up tent.
He’d removed the license plates from anothercar with the toolkit and put the Chevy ones on it. He doubtedanyone from the facility would report the SUV stolen, but he wasn’ttaking any chances.
Afterward, he moved swiftly through theparking lot, trying doors to see which ones opened. A fair amountdid, but only one had the keys inside. He put the plates from thecar on the Toyota and the Toyota’s plates on the Chevy.
Melanie drove the Chevy out of the parkinglot and followed him down the road to a grocery store parking lot.They parked far away from the building, and he transferred Lucyinto the back of the Toyota.
Kyle examined her injury and discovered itwas still bleeding. He checked her pulse and found it beatingsluggishly in her neck. Her shallow breathing concerned him, andafter everything she’d done for him, he wasn’t going to let herdie.
He gave her more blood. However, his bloodloss, the amount of damage he sustained in the facility, and theblood he’d already given her, had weakened him. That was the mainreason he stole another car instead of approaching someone to taketheirs. He wasn’t sure how strong his ability to take control ofanother’s mind was right now, and he couldn’t risk failing to takecontrol of another, considering stitches and blood covered him.
The last thing they needed was someonecalling the cops. So, instead, he stole a car the old-fashionedway.
It was also why he hadn’t called his familyyet. They had no money, and he couldn’t walk into a store lookingthe way he did. If he couldn’t control the clerk or someone elseenough to get a phone, the cops would swarm the place in a matterof minutes.
So he had to wait and build his strength, andhopefully, he would feel strong enough to risk approaching someonesoon. It would be nice if he could get some clothes too.
After examining Lucy, he gave her some moreof his blood, but she was slower to swallow this time. He glancedat Melanie, who held her friend’s head in her lap as she brushedthe hair from Lucy’s forehead. She blinked rapidly against thetears pooling in her eyes, but she didn’t shed any of them.
“Is she going to be okay?” Melaniewhispered.
Kyle wanted to tell her that Lucy would befine, but he couldn’t lie to her. “I don’t know.”
And now, after hours of driving north, hepulled behind the lopsided house and parked the Toyota. He staredat the building as he listened to the cooling engine's tick and thecricket song.
He’d already decided against returning toBoston; that’s where they’d taken him from and probably where theywould look for him again. It would be better to head toward hisfamily’s home in Maine, but he couldn’t go directly there.
To make sure no one was somehow followingthem, he would take a few days to get there, maybe a week. Hewasn’t going to take any chances with his family’s safety, nomatter how much he wanted to see them again.
He’d hunt tonight and glut himself on blood.Hopefully, it would strengthen him enough that tomorrow, he couldget a phone to contact them. They would also need a new vehicletomorrow or, at the very least, gas.
Opening the door, he climbed out from behindthe wheel to study the dilapidated house with its sagging backporch and holes in the siding. Roofing shingles littered theground, and he doubted there was much of a roof left on thehouse.
It looked abandoned, but it was impossible toknow for sure.
“Stay here,” he said to Melanie.
In the moonlight, her face was pale, andshadows rimmed her eyes. He hated the anxious look on her face andthe pinched set of her mouth. He far preferred her smiling and hereyes shining with laughter, but there was little to smileabout.
He closed the door and approached the backporch. His bare feet didn’t make a sound as he climbed the ricketystairs, opened the torn, screen door and caught it when it fell offits one remaining hinge.
