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“We’re not stopping here, right?” Salem asks with a wobble in her voice.
“Whoever did this shouldn’t come back.”
Salem huffs and shakes her head, shimming out of Oz’s hold. “We know who did this. It’s not a coincidence that you send a message back home, and days later everyone is dead. Well, not everyone, just the people who can identify us. That hacker you thought would get bored very much didn’t. We can’t even guarantee that they didn’t find a way to intercept the message before your team even got it. We could be sitting ducks here.”
Oz looks at me, waiting to see how I’ll handle it, but Salem catches the look between us and tenses.
“Son of a bitch. If I figured that out, so did the two of you.” She takes a step back and looks at us warily, and I hate that I’ve put that look on her face.
I approach her, but she backs up. I stop with my hands in the air. “They know we made it. They know we’re alive, and they won’t stop coming until they get us.”
“So, your plan is to just surrender? Or are you going to hand me over in hopes they’ll just let you walk away? They won’t. You know too much.”
“I know you know us better than that, Salem.” I try to keep the anger out of my voice because I know she’s scared and hurt, but it pisses me off that she thinks we’d trade her just to save our own skin.
“I thought I did too.” She looks between me and Oz before wrapping her arms around herself. “Tell me what the plan is then.”
“Honestly, we’re playing it by ear, Salem. We have no other options right now. We can fight the enemy we see, but we can’t fight ghosts.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Salem
I’m not sure how much more I can handle today. I’m already fighting my brain’s need to shut down. I’m beyond exhausted, scared out of my mind, and still reeling from the horror that happened here. They seem so sure that this is the right decision, but I have a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that I just can’t shake.
Another part of me feels pissed that they didn’t talk to me about this crazy ass plan of theirs before springing it on me. I thought we were a team, but now I feel very much like there is a me-and-them divide.
“Salem, come on,” Oz coaxes.
I swipe angrily at my cheek, frustrated that a few tears have slipped free. “Why didn’t you talk to me?” I sound pathetic and whiny, and that’s not what I want. But God, this is my life.
“Because I didn’t want you to look at me the way you are now. We are out of options, Salem. We have used virtually all our supplies. We need to get out of here. But hear me now. We will not now, nor will we ever, hand you over. Like it or not, we’re keeping you,” Zig promises.
I huff out a watery laugh and rub my eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey!” Oz grabs the back of my head and pulls me to his chest.
“Don’t be sorry. We could have handled it better.”
“I could have too. I know you guys wouldn’t do that. It’s just old habits die hard.”
I feel Zig approach on the other side of me, and without looking, I reach out for him. He wraps my hand in his and crowds closer to us as I get myself under control. “Let’s find somewhere a little more covered and rest for a while.”
I tense, not wanting to be anywhere near the house with all the bodies inside it. Zig tugs me in the other direction as Oz releases me from his hold and takes my other hand. We don’t walk near as far as I’d like. We can still see the smoldering village, but we’re away from the danger zone.
Oz and Zig check the area for creepy crawlies, though I could care less right now. Seems it’s humans that we need to be more worried about. Zig sits down with his back against a tree and tugs me into his lap. I snuggle against his chest as he draws lazy circles on my back. I let his actions soothe me, along with the gentle thumping of his heart.
A touch on my shoulder has me lifting my head to see Oz offering me a bottle of water. I take it from him and drink half of it before handing it to Zig, who drinks the rest. When he hands it back to Oz, I burrow back into his chest and let my eyes close as they talk quietly between themselves.
I feel myself drift off, and I don’t fight it, having reached my limit. It feels like it’s only been minutes when I’m jostled awake. Zig moves beneath me, and I open my eyes in confusion as Oz stands protectively in front of us in the dark.
“What’s happening?” I whisper, the tendril of fear snaking its way around my chest, stealing the air from my lungs.
“Looks like the cavalry has arrived.”
“Good guys?” I can hear the desperation in my voice.
Zig looks down at me and slides a strand of hair from my face. “Looks that way.” His voice says one thing, but the tone says something entirely different.
