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FIFTEEN
Decima
“Where canwe go that he won’t find us now?” I asked, glancing around at the guys in the cramped space of our new vehicle.
Knowing the car we’d nabbed after our mad escape would be reported stolen at any moment, Julius had managed to rent something else under one of his many aliases so that we could ditch the sedan we’d taken. He’d gone with a minivan, kind of dumpy-looking on the outside but at least a little more space than we’d enjoyed before. But between the five of us and Carter sprawled in the third row of seats, in the grips of the sedative but maybe not for much longer, it was still a tight squeeze.
We were parked in a suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of town, a stretch of trees on one side of the road and a sprawl of identical brick houses on the other. But I had no idea how safe we were even with the various stealth measures we’d taken. The Blood Hunter clearly had extensive resources at his disposal. He’d tracked us down more than once before, and now he was more motivated than ever.
Blaze could hack into any camera in the city, so it made sense that the Blood Hunter could do the same and who knew how much more. With squads of soldiers and untold numbers of criminals in his back pocket, did we really stand a chance?
“He could already know where we are,” Garrison muttered, echoing my thoughts. “We don’t know what he’s using to track us.”
“Could he be tapping into our phone signals?” Talon asked.
Blaze shook his head. “We’ve been constantly swapping out burners for a reason. I have a proxy set up that’s been redirecting our numbers every time we make a call or send a text—no one we’ve contacted has any idea what the real numbers are to trace them.”
And who would we be calling anyway? I had no family left to contact, and the men weren’t exactly friendly with anyone in the city. I didn’t have anyone’s phone number except theirs, the Maliks’, and…
My thoughts stilled around the idea that had suddenly occurred to me. “So if we call someone, they shouldn’t be able to track our location from the call in any way?” I clarified.
Blaze shook his head. “The phones are safe. But there are all kinds of other methods. Street cams, satellite footage, even random sightings can help narrow things down. He must have a lot of people out on the streets. One of them gets a glimpse of us, and it’s that much easier for him to connect the dots.”
“We need to stay on the move,” Julius said. “We can’t afford to stay in any place for very long—no more than one night, leaving the next morning.”
Garrison hummed to himself. “Do you think weshouldgo back home to the apartment now? As far as we know, he still isn’t aware of our home base.”
His question caught me off guard. “We can’t go home until we find out how to take him down. If we run away now, he’ll either follow us or screw things up for us there too, or he’ll have the chance to solidify his position here. We’ve only just gotten him on the defensive.”
Garrison gave me a baleful look. “I’m not sure how much that was defensive vs. aggressive, sweetheart. I’m just saying it might be worth taking the time to regroup after all.”
He might have had a point, but I couldn’t stop picturing a mass of armed men bursting into the penthouse apartment I’d started to think of asmyhome too. My stomach twisted. “He’s out to destroy us now, and the only way to stop him is by destroying him first. We have to be close so we can take advantage of any opportunities we get.”
“Dess is right,” Julius said. “We entered a war, and now we need to finish it. Running off with our tails between our legs isn’t going to help us.”
They’d entered a war because of me. The guilt twined through my gut didn’t release even with his agreement.
The Blood Hunter had only been interested in me at first. My association with the Chaos Crew had pulled them into this mess, made them his targets too.
If he succeeded in killing them, it’d be my fault. I could have suggested we walk away as soon as I’d taken care of the Maliks, but instead I’d insisted on pursuing the other mysteries we’d encountered, and look where that had gotten us.
Maybe I’d never have been free of the Blood Hunter regardless, but that didn’t change the fact that I was responsible.
His interest in me also gave me a little bit of an edge, though, didn’t it? My fingers itched to grasp my phone. But I knew what the guys would say if I told them what I was thinking of doing.
I had to try. He’d never been willing to speak to anyone but me.
I wiggled my legs and reached for the door. “I need to go for a walk.”
Garrison sat up straighter. “I don’t think you should go anywhere alone right now.”
I cut a glance at him. “I need some space to think properly. I know how to look after myself.”
He grimaced, and I half expected him to argue. But then he simply reached behind him and offered me the pistol he’d grabbed from our reduced stash. “At least make sure you’re properly armed.”
I recognized the peace offering for what it was and accepted it, ensuring the safety was flipped on before tucking the gun into my waistband. Then I stepped out of the car and headed through the trees beside the road. No street cams or passersby where there weren’t any streets. I should be safe enough from prying eyes there.
What could I say to the Blood Hunter that might convince him to back off? How could I stop him from continuing to attack us when we had no intention of letting up on him? It might be an impossible problem, but I wouldn’t know what might come up until I tried. Maybe he’d let something slip that we could use.
