Logan’s gaze went beyond her to the window. “We fight.”
“They outnumber us.”
“You have a vampire on your side who used to be a hunter; that’s a plus on our side.”
“They could have my mother out there; that’s ten pluses on their side.”
Logan rubbed his chin as he studied the night. “We have to come up behind them. We have weapons that can immobilize them if we can get around to the other side. They won’t expect us to come from that way.”
“Can we get out the bathroom window?” Asher inquired.
“Yes, and from there, we’ll circle behind them.”
“What if they have another carful of hunters hiding somewhere?” Elena asked.
“Then we will take out that car. Once we’re outside, if there is another vehicle full of hunters and we’re anywhere near it, I’ll smell them,” Logan said. “You’re going to have to stay inside this room for a little while to give us time to get behind them. Turn on the light, let them know you’re here, but don’t go out right away. It will kill some time and keep them distracted if they’re focused on you. Once you go outside, do your best to keep their attention on you without making it obvious.”
“Okay,” Elena said. “And what if this crazy plan somehow works and my mother’s not with them?”
“Then we’ll see how much your compound wants its new leader back in exchange for her,” Asher said.
Elena gulped. “This is my mother’s life we’re talking about.”
“Both your lives are forfeit if you go with him tonight,” Logan said.
He hated how unkind the words were, but she needed to hear them. She had to understandthiswas her only chance, because if she didn’t, she might walk out there and go with Mateo, and he would never see her again.
He gritted his teeth when his fangs tried to lengthen. With sheer willpower, he kept the demon restrained. He couldn’t lose her.
Elena hated that his words were most likely true, but she was tempted to run out there and demand to see her mother. She also wanted to claw Mateo’s eyes out for what he’d done and was doing. But she couldn’t do either of those things if her mother was going to survive.
“If my mother’s with them,” she murmured as a new understanding dawned, “then there’s no room for me in those cars.”
Logan’s gaze flicked toward the covered window. “You don’t think she’s with them.”
“No, I don’t,” she reluctantly admitted. “Unless they do have another car and she’s hidden somewhere else.”
“Let’s get the weapons, and we’ll go find out,” Logan stated.
He and Asher each took two tasers and two handguns. If Logan killed any of the hunters, it would push him toward becoming a Savage. However, he would do whatever it took to survive. He may not want to kill them, but they wouldn’t hesitate to destroy him or Asher.
“Let’s go,” he said to Asher.
When the two of them disappeared into the adjoining room, Elena followed. They went into the bathroom and didn’t turn on the light as they pushed the window open and removed the screen from it. It was barely large enough for them to get through, but after some wiggling, they dropped to the other side.
Elena climbed into the tub they’d vacated and stood on her tiptoes to peer out the window at them. “Be careful,” she whispered.
They both waved to her before vanishing into the desert landscape behind the motel. There was little to keep them hidden, but she lost sight of them, even with her excellent vision, in less than a minute.
Feeling more alone than she’d ever felt in her life––and that was saying a lot considering the many nights she slept on the streets, under bridges, or in shelters where, even when dozens of other people surrounded her, she still felt completely alone––Elena trudged back to the first room and turned on the light.
She felt like she’d signed her death certificate as she pulled open the drapes. When the hunters turned toward the room, a malicious smirk curved Mateo’s mouth.
Chapter Sixteen
Logan ledthe way out into the desert. He normally didn’t mind the heat, but now it felt like a heavy, wet blanket draped around his shoulders, dragging him down. His clothes cleaved to his body as they ran.
They went far enough away from the vehicles and hunters to avoid being spotted when they cut out toward the road. No matter what, they had to get far enough around those cars, so when they came up on the other side of the road, no one would spot them until they were nearly on top of them.
