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We were miles from the laundromat when the car’s left blinker came on. So nice of them to warn me where they were going.
I whistled softly.Warden Hills.I hadn’t grown up in the area, but everyone knew the Hills. Our city’s richest inhabitants called it home. It was a little surprising that the community wasn’t gated, but the Hills residents prided themselves in the rustic but ritzy glamor of the hills. The mega mansions were separated by woods, streams, and brooks. Each property was an acre at minimum, and I’d heard a few of the homes sat on dozens of acres.
I’d also heard that Susie had looked into buying here at one time. I drove past what I assumed were homes, but the trees and gates obstructed the view of any structures. I could see why this place would appeal to Susie. There was plenty of privacy. Although why the community was okay with individual gates but not a gate to guard the entirety of it, I didn’t understand.
It had to be a rich and eccentric thing.
I was even farther behind the car now that we were in the neighborhood. I barely spotted its taillights as it turned with the curving road ahead of me.
This couldn’t be another hideout for the Beast Boys, could it? Granted, the privacy would be advantageous for a crime ring and it seemed like money was no object to them. Maybe this was the perfect place for them.
Suddenly, through the silence of the night, the squeal of tires reached my ears and I barely had time to pull over, turn off my car, and duck before the car I’d been tailing shot back past me.
What the heck was that? Had they made me?
At the sound of more tires, I peeked over my window’s ledge to see another car screaming down the road, followed by another and then another. In all five cars sped past, each faster than the one before it.
It took a few seconds for my racing heart to calm and my brain to formulate coherent thoughts again.
I was grateful for my instincts. I really doubted I was the reason they’d sped away, but now what? I couldn’t trail them at the rate they were going. They’d definitely notice another car hot on their tail. But I couldn’t let them go, taking my one lead with them.
Cautiously, I turned on my car, made the U-turn a bit more slowly than they had, and started back down the road.
Should I drive faster? They had to be nearing the entrance of the Hills, but if they saw a car come racing from behind them they would speed off. Still, I had to try, even if it meant a car chase. They were my one connection to Aria.
Just as I was about to pick up speed, a woman stumbled to the side of the road from the woods just beyond it.
At the sound of my car she started to back up, ready to run back into the woods. It was only when my headlights fell on her that I saw her wide eyes.
It was Aria.
SIX
shai
My car doorwas open before I could register what I was doing. My seatbelt yanked me back and I realized I was trying to jump out of the car before I’d even unclasped it.
I snapped it open and dashed toward Aria. She recoiled in fear and almost took off, but the startled look on her face morphed into a mixture of relief and joy when she realized who I was.
“How?” Aria asked at the same time I asked, “Are you safe?”
Aria glanced back to the woods she’d just escaped. “I’m pretty sure they’ve sent someone after me by now,” she said. She stood still, her gaze on the trees, instead of leaping into the car the way many of our other victims had. I had to remember that Aria wasn’t just a victim—she was one of us. And because of that I already knew what she was thinking. I would be doing the same.
I looked from Aria to the car uncertainly. I knew what I should do. All of my training and experience told me that Aria needed to get out of there immediately. I needed to get her to safety. These men had proved that they would stop at nothing.
But remembering my own experience—that woman in a pool of her own blood, dead until the paramedics brought her back—caused me to pause. That hopeless, helpless feeling was overwhelming. It was the only emotion I’d been able to identify with for a long time, and it still haunted my nightmares. If I could help Aria to avoid that feeling, to defeat the very men who’d tried to take her freedom, I had to do it. Even if it jeopardized our safety.
I knew Susie would want my head on a platter for this decision but I nodded, and Aria grinned, her eyes losing the look of horror for the first time.
I shot off a quick text to the rest of our team as soon as my decision was made. I wanted Aria to have her chance at bringing down her abductors, but I wasn’t an idiot. There was a good chance we’d need backup.
I have her. But we’ve been a little waylaid.
I knew that was all the girls would need to know. They’d read between the lines, realizing they needed to get here quickly.
“How many?” I asked, needing to prepare myself. The headlights were just enough to help my eyes to adjust to the dark. I handed Aria my extra gun and she slipped it into the holster around her thigh.
“Possibly ten,” she answered, eyes fixed on the woods. “Little ones.” She flashed a wicked smirk my way before charging.
