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Chapter 16
Addie
Islept on and off during the car ride, the leveled plains slowly being replaced by immense, towering mountains. Fog had settled over the road, creating an ominous presence that sent goosebumps up my arms. There was something almost malevolent about the abandoned road and the heady layer of fog obscuring my vision.
The next time I woke up, it was to the clap of thunder. I jolted upright. I probably would’ve banged my head against the front seat in if Ryder hadn’t put his arm around me.
“Easy there, Kitten.”
Rain pounded against the window, and diagonals of lightning cracked in the sky. It lit up the forests on either side of us like a giant spotlight before the light was snatched away and darkness returned.
“The weather’s getting bad,” Asher said from where he was navigating in the passenger seat. Fallon mumbled an affirmative, twisting the steering wheel so that we were parked on the side of the road.
“We’re getting low on gas,” he added gruffly.
“Any gas stations opened?” I asked, though I already knew the answer. Every building and store on this stretch of road had been closed down. We had been able to find a couple of abandoned cars discarded on the side of the road and siphoned gas from them. Illegal? Absolutely. Did we care? Not anymore.
Still, Fallon answered my question in resignation. “Nothing opened most likely. We’re probably going to have to get a new vehicle. We’re for sure going to have to sit out this storm. Is there a hotel nearby?”
Asher fumbled with the map, paper crinkling as his finger traced a dark line.
“Wait a minute! Is that...?” he trailed off and turned towards Ryder behind him. Ryder released me to lean forward.
Peering at the map, a scowl contorted his features into something almost unrecognizable.
“No way in hell,” he huffed. He crossed his arms over his impressive chest.
I raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t look my way.
“No. We’ll find a hotel.”
“The next hotel is still a long ways away,” Asher said placatingly. “This is our best option.”
“What is he going on about?” Ronan asked. He was sitting on the opposite side of me. At first, when I had discovered the seating arrangements, my mind had immediately conjured up images of a brother sandwich, as Ronan so eloquently stated before. I couldn’t ignore how appealing that idea sounded...or how flustered I became.
Asher handed Ronan the map, pointing to the same road he had shown Ryder. Like his brother, Ronan’s expression darkened.
“No.”
Another gunshot of thunder reverberated through the night air. Lightning streaked overhead, a vivid light show in the dark sky.
“Do you even think they’ll let us stay there?” Ronan continued. His eyes flickered anxiously my way.
I couldn’t ignore my unease at his reaction. What the hell were they talking about?
“They’ll let us,” Fallon said, voice subdued. He seemed to be contemplating something. What, I had no clue. Coming to an apparent conclusion, Fallon expertly drove the car back onto the road. “We’ll spend the night there.”
The boys all groaned, even Tam who I had thought was asleep.
“Where are we going?” I asked. I didn’t know how comfortable I felt going to a location that brought out such a reaction from the guys. Surely there was a better option, right?
I had to tell myself that the guys would never let any harm come to me. It was inconceivable to believe that they would bring me to a place where I could get hurt. Calax loved me, and I knew the others cared for me as well.
Still, my anxiety threatened to boil over as we drove down the dark streets.
When we finally stopped, the darkness was so thick that I had trouble deciphering the features of the building before us. It appeared to be a tall Victorian manor, walls painted a light color, though that color was unknown even with the intermittent flashes of lightning. Rain immediately consumed me as I stepped out of the car. My clothes became plastered to my body like a second skin.
Clinging to the back of Calax’s shirt, I followed the boys up a staircase to a small porch built beneath a drooping alcove. It was Fallon who rang the doorbell, completely at ease despite the taut postures of his team.
