The SUV was there, engine running. Jace opened the rear door and Red hopped in with Kit. Then Jace slid into the passenger seat and the vehicle was away before they were settled.
Red batted away Kit’s hands and clicked in Kit’s seat belt as if he were a child, then placed a fleece throw over him. “You won’t need this for long, but I imagine you’re still cold.”
“Frozen,” Kit admitted, his teeth chattering. He turned to see Red giving him a long look. “What?”
“What were you thinking? It’s almost freezing.”
“I wasn’t thinking, I was running,” Kit admitted.
“You used to do that a lot.”
“I still do.”
Red sighed. “It’s been a long day and it’s going to be a longer journey. Relax, sleep if you can.”
“Where are we going?” Kit asked, curious where they were taking him.
“You’ll see when we get there.”
“Can I have my phone?”
“No.”
“What the hell, Red. Why not?” What the hell was he going to do with himself if he didn’t have his phone? “It’s mine.”
“And I don’t have it. We don’t know if someone has a tracker on your phone.”
That’s ridiculous. Kit opened his mouth to argue but Red shook his head. “Relax and sleep.”
Kit didn’t want to sleep. He wasn’t a goddamn child. But he was aware the next words out of his mouth would make him sound just like a kid. “What about music?”
“Give us a chance to get away from here, then we can do that,” Padraig said from the front, and Jace gave him a reassuring smile, which didn’t reassure him at all.
Kit stared bleakly out of the tinted windows. He didn’t even have control of his own phone. The urge to have a meltdown was almost overwhelming. Then Red took his hand and held it tightly.
“I’ve got you, boy. You’re safe with me.”
Boy.
Kit swallowed hard and held on just as tight. He really hoped Red meant it, because he had nothing else to cling on to and he felt ready to implode.
Kit didn’t knowhow far they’d traveled when he became aware of tension in the car. The radio Jace had found was turned down so he couldn’t hear it. He’d spent most of the time with his eyesclosed, not sleeping, but not wanting to talk to Red. He couldn’t deal with the fact his world had flipped. He just couldn’t.
Now something was off. He opened his eyes to find Padraig and Jace talking in clipped tones and tension radiated off Red.
“What’s wrong?” he murmured, trying to sit up before realizing he’d been resting his head on Red’s shoulder.
“We’re being followed,” Jace said.
“Maybe,” Padraig corrected.
“Maybe,” Jace agreed.
Kit went to look behind him, but Red pulled him down.
“Keep your head down, kid.”
Kid? What happened to boy?
