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“Everyone ready?”
I look at Alfie, who has his noise-canceling headphones around his neck. “I know you want to put those on and shut out the world, but I’m asking you to wait until we’re safe. I need you to help with the other children, and I need you to listen for any signs of danger. Right now, we’re a team, and we need to work together. Can you do that for me?”
He gives me a sharp nod before stepping closer to Lara, who smiles softly at him. Lara is amazing with all the kids. If I didn’t know her gifts lay elsewhere, I’d swear she was the child whisperer. But regardless of what her gifts are, her bond with Alfie is undeniable.
“Alright, let’s go,” Lara says.
“Okay, kids, out the back. Alfie, can you take Noah and Bella for me? I need my hands free.” He takes their hands so I can pull my gun.
I push the back door open and make sure the coast is clear before ushering them outside. I point them toward the woods and watch for a minute as they run that way.
“Here.” I turn at the sound of Lara’s voice, just in time to catch the lighter thrown at me.
“The guard might wake up. Plus, your blood and traces of the kids are in there.”
She’s right. I step back inside.
“Hurry,” she yells as I run into the kitchen, turning on all the dials for the stove and oven. I open the doors and let the gas flow through the house while I look around for something to light.
The drapes in the living room seem like a good place to start. I flick the lighter over and over until the flame jumps up and catches the fabric of the curtains. Unfortunately, because it’s a safe house, there is no freaking alcohol, which would help now. Scanning the room, my eyes fall on a large bottle of hand sanitizer. I’m sure I read somewhere that the stuff was flammable.
“Worth a shot.” I grab it and twist the cap off, pouring it over the large oak table. Taking the small throw blanket from the sofa, I flick the lighter, hold it to the blanket, and wait for it to catch fire before tossing it onto the table. I watch as the flames cover the table almost immediately before running out of the house like my life depends upon it. Which I guess it does.
I run into the woods, trying not to break my neck as I catch up to the kids. When I reach them, I stop. Bending over, I try to catch my breath.
“Are you okay?” Lara asks.
“I really need to up my cardio,” I say, panting, making her laugh.
“Someone’s coming,” Delaney says softly, making Lara curse.
“Let’s go, let’s go,” I order, nudging Alfie, who still has a hold of Bella and Noah. We’ve barely gone a few steps before a large boom rips through the air, followed by another. A huge cloud of smoke and ash erupts into the sky. Thankfully, the trees protect us from the worst of it, but ash still falls like dirty snowflakes, covering our skin.
Bella starts crying, so Alfie wraps his arm around her and pulls her close.
“It’s going to be okay, guys. Let’s keep moving.”
Reluctantly, everyone does as I say. We walk through the woods, looping back around to where I saw the park.
“It’s dangerous being this close to the Division, Avery. I thought the idea was to get away,” Lara whispers.
“And they’ll be looking for us to be doing just that. But I need time for our rescuers to arrive and the safest place to hide the kids—”
“Is with a bunch of other kids. Okay, I get it. You just stay here, though, because you look like you’ve been hit by a car. I’ll stay close to the kids. I promise.”
“Okay, you’re right. Do you have a cell phone on you?”
“The guards took it when we left for the safe house. Want me to see if one of the parents will let me borrow theirs?”
“Yes, please. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get the hell out of here.”
Chapter Thirty
Creed
Slade, Jagger, and Ev went back to the ranch to question James. With nobody answering their cell phones, all I can do is wait for news while I try to focus on Salem and Astrid, knowing they still need our protection.
“Creed,” Hawk calls my name.
