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The thought barely crosses my mind before the ground shakes beneath us, and the bunker explodes in flames, raining a hailstorm of death and destruction down on the clearing and anyone still in it.
Chapter Eighteen
Skylar
Awaveofheatwashes over us as the blast echoes through the forest. Car alarms blare near the clearing, along with agonized screams and pleas for help. We close our eyes for a second for the shifters who undoubtedly lost their lives because of this. It hadn’t been our plan, but there’s no going back now. I can only hope for their sake, and for the pack members we too have lost in this senseless fight, that we can one day find peace.
“We have to go,” Arsenio hisses as he pushes back up to his feet. He takes a step towards us, but a low growl emanating from my lips causes him to pause. We stand and give him a pointed look, not for the first time wishing I could communicate by pack link with him. There’s no way we’re letting him stay in human form to protect us, not when it could cost him his life. He’s fast, but not as fast as his wolf.
Arsenio frowns back at me, but as headlights flash in the distance, signaling another wave of guards close on our tail, he doesn’t put up a fight. He kneels down, his wolf quickly taking form as his red coat sweeps over his skin. His eyes glow in the pale light, and we don’t need a link to know exactly what he’s saying.
We launch into motion, tracking every scent and sound as shouts echo through the forest. We weave through the trees, pushing our muscles to the very limit as we get closer and closer to the parking lot. Trees crash behind us, some of the bears clearly having shifted to track us. I have no doubt that they know where we’re heading already. I just hope we get there before they do.
We crash through the treeline and into the parking lot, practically shifting mid-stride, my limbs prepared for it as I roll to a stop at the edge of the grass and leap for the van door, hopping in, in one swift move.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” I gasp, struggling for air in my human form as I slam the car door closed behind me. I unbuckle the pack and pull on the loose sweatpants and hoodie that are waiting for me on the seat. Arsenio quickly does the same, unclipping the pack and shoving it in the back before pulling on his pants and starting the engine. It can’t be more than a few seconds before we’re peeling out of the parking lot with gravel spitting out behind us in a cloud of grey.
“We need to let the others know we’re out,” Arsenio huffs. I hurriedly grip the handle above the door as he takes a sharp turn, barely slowing down as he pulls onto the main road. Almost frantically, I rummage around in the pack and pull out my phone, typing a quick message to Zeke to let him know we’re out.
I clip my seatbelt in, my heart pounding from the run and the adrenaline coursing through my body. Just as I’m about to breathe a sigh of relief and check in with Everett, the squeal of tires behind us sends a jolt of terror straight through me. Two pairs of headlights quickly approach in the rearview mirror.
“Fuck,” Arsenio hisses as he hits the gas, and we lurch forward. “On second thought, let Zeke know we’re heading to the hideout. We should be able to lose them by the time we get there.”
I don’t bother to ask questions, my mind already forming a plan.
Skylar:Let me know when you’re out and safe. We have a few cars on our tail, and we’re heading to the hideout.
I don’t wait for a response, knowing it probably won’t come for a while since he would’ve shifted by now. Instead, I trade the phone for my Glock and unbuckle my seatbelt.
“What the hell are you doing?” Arsenio bellows. The car lurches to the side as he tries to grab for me, but he hurriedly scraps that idea, grasping the wheel with both hands to right us.
“Getting these cars off our ass.”
I climb over the center console into the back seat and quickly assess the area. The window opens just like the front, but there’s a small section that will give me a space to look out when I’m taking cover. I rifle through Arsenio’s pack and grab some extra ammo just in case, my finger gliding over the smooth metal of my father’s gun. Pushing down the urge to use it, I close the pack and take position by the window. I’ll reserve that gun for my revenge.
The two jeeps take up both sides of the road, making sure we have nowhere else to go. Despite how fast we’re going, they’re still gaining on us, slowly but surely. I only have this one shot at taking them by surprise.
“Sky,” Arsenio says, his tone betraying just how concerned he is.
The second jeep weaves in and out of the opposite lane, and I mutter a curse beneath my breath. I need to time this perfectly now. As the second jeep darts back out, I slam a hand on the automatic windows, my arm already out before it gets all the way down, and I take aim. I press the trigger again and again, aiming for the front wheel on my left. I don’t stop, unloading the entire clip as the tire bursts—one or more of my bullets finds its mark. The car skitters, everything happening so quickly that the driver doesn’t have time to correct the steering before he careens into the jeep in the opposite lane. Screeching pierces my ears as the first car tries to drive on its rim, basically being carried by the second car now as the other driver fights to keep them both on the road.
I quickly duck into the car to reload and take aim again, leaning the top half of my torso out of the window just as guns emerge from the other car. I unload another clip into the tire of the second car for good measure and both cars begin to lose control.
“Get in,” Arsenio shouts, and I fall back on the seat as bullets spray the back of the van. He gets the window up for extra protection, and speeds up, leaving the cars behind us in a plume of smoke. Everything is silent for a moment, then a booming crash echoes behind us as both cars careen into the ditch.
Gunfire erupts, but it doesn’t hit us; our car is too far away from the wreck now. I take stock of the chaos we’ve left in our wake as the gunmen stumble out of their jeeps, hobbling after us on foot—like that will do any good.
My heart pounds against my ribs as I watch a few of the men check on the jeeps, but judging by the smoke that billows up from their hoods, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Arsenio hammers the gas pedal still, and I watch their forms get smaller and smaller until they’re nothing but tiny specks behind us.
“We have to get off this fucking road,” Arsenio grinds out between gritted teeth. His eyes are focused on the roadway ahead, but I don’t miss the spark of fear in them, fire blazing just beneath the surface. I have no doubt he’ll unleash the full weight of that anger as soon as he gets us out of Dodge.
I reload and turn to watch behind us again because Arsenio is right. We got away from those two cars, but we can’t let our guard down now.
“There’s still a few more miles until we can turn off,” I remind him. The silence that follows is nearly stifling, both of us still riding the adrenaline high from the chase, and neither of us willing to broach the topic that has Arsenio gripping the steering wheel like it’s his lifeline.
I watch the trees, monitoring for any sign of cars parked along the side of the road, but we’re clear—for now. Gripping the side of Arsenio’s seat, I brace myself as he makes a wide left turn. I take a deep breath and watch behind us again, but no headlights follow. Some of the tension slowly ebbs from my body at the momentary victory. But as Arsenio stabs the address into the GPS, I know it’s going to be a long and tense drive back, even if we aren’t followed. I almost want another gunfight just to relieve some of the tension radiating through the van right now.
