“You ready?” I ask.
Hazel nods.
I pull over and twist in the seat to face her. “You stay close to Lachlan, do whatever he tells you to do, okay?”
“I’ll be fine, Flynn.”
My jaw ticks. “You better be.”
Ana wraps Hazel’s sweater around her shoulders. “Thank you for doing this.”
“Honestly?” Hazel’s eyes gleam. “This is kind of fun.”
Ana laughs and I get a little distracted staring at the smile that lights Hazel’s face.
Knuckles rap the driver’s window and I whip around to find Lachlan staring at me. I roll down the window, taking in the all black tactical get up he’s wearing, right down to the leather gloves. I smirk. “What, no mask?”
Lach stares at me with dead eyes. “Do you want my help or not?”
Behind me, Hazel reaches for the door and I drop the smirk. “If anything happens to her, I will personally rip your balls off in your sleep.”
“Relax,Flynny,I’ve got this.”
We wait till the SUV appears, idling at the end of the road, then Hazel slips out of the back and walks with Lach to his car. She’s got her head down, and with the hoodie pulled up covering her hair she’s about the same size and height as Ana.
I hold my breath, watching the SUV in the rear-view mirror. Lachlan and Hazel drive off.
“They’re not following,” Ana says, an edge of panic in her voice.
“Give it a second.”
Ahead of us, Lachlan turns the corner. A second later the SUV starts up again, whizzing past us before slowing and following Lach around the corner.
I wait a little longer, then turn on the engine and drive in the opposite direction.
Ana sinks into her seat, tipping her head back against the headrest.
I take the next entrance onto the highway, double checking my mirrors to make sure no one else is on our trail.
We drive the rest of the way in silence, but Ana sits forward again when we pull off into the service plaza, her fingers gripping the edge of the seat. “This Carmen person, she can really get me out of here?”
“Rescuing people is pretty much what Carmen does,” I say. “There’s very little she can’t do.”
I slow the car as we enter the parking lot, heading to the quiet area in the back, as per Carmen’s instructions. We stop across from a pink and white van.
Ana peers out of the window. “Is that… an ice cream truck?”
We get out of the car and a man with black hair down to his shoulders leans out of the side hatch of the truck, the tactical gear at odds with the blue and pink ice cream menu. “Someone order a sundae?”
The man is tugged back inside the truck and Carmen appears, also in tactical gear with her hair in two French braids. “Ignore him, Reaper’s still learning how to be human.”
“Hey!” Reaper presses a hand to his chest in mock offense.
Ana looks between me and the truck, about a second away from bolting until Carmen hops out the back. “Ana, I take it?”
Ana nods.
“I’m Carmen. We look a little crazy I know, but the ice cream truck is good for flying under the radar. We’re going to get you some place safe, okay?”
