Throwing the payment on the counter, I turned toward Paul.He released his hold on the door knob. Liam opened the door and frowned up at Paul.
“Sorry, bud,” he said, messing the cub’s hair. “You’re right. It wasn’t funny. Let’s get these Twinkies to the big guy.”
Neither boy seemed to notice the missing clerk as we walked out. Jim teased Aden about eating all the snack food as we got back into the car.
What now?I sent Jim.We’re clear of Urbat, but what about the humans?
JIM…
Winifred, we have a problem. Henry just had to knock out a human because we’re on the news. They’re looking for the car we’re driving.
For a moment, she said nothing. I could feel her frustration over the link and waited.
Michelle can contact her lawyer for a car. Head to Casper. There will be a rental waiting for you.
I did a U-turn in the road and started heading north again.
“Did we forget something, Uncle Jim?” Liam asked in a worried voice.
“Nah. Just took a wrong turn, bud,” I said. “Can you hand me a Twinkie?”
He threw one my way, and I caught it without looking back. Aden giggled. I heard cellophane crinkle and got ready to catch another one.
“I’ll eat them all if you keep throwing them,” I warned with a laugh I didn’t feel.
The cub didn’t throw any more after the second one. I opened the first and took a bite, making a good show of it. The boys smiled and snacked in the back, filling their little bellies during the drive. We stuck to as many backroads as possible. Not that there were many around these parts.
A distance from Casper, I cut the lights and turned off the road onto a little easement a farmer used to access his field. Creeping slowly forward, I drove along the tree line, slipping and sliding over the snow-covered ground. The boys giggled and grunted over the bumps. When the car wouldn’t move any further, Paul and Henry got out and pushed us the rest of the way. Nestled in between the trees of the two fields, the car would be hard to see from the road. Especially after we covered it with snow and cleared the tracks.
Once we finished, Paul and Henry carried the boys, and I shouldered the bags for all of them. The jog to town didn’t take long. Still, the cubs’ cheeks were red with cold by the time we arrived.
If the guy behind the counter wondered how we’d gotten there, he didn’t say anything. I provided my ID and signed his sheets of paper then got the keys from him.
As soon as we were in the new car, I turned up the heat for the cubs.
We have the rental and are heading for Salt Lake,I sent Winifred.
Stay on the main roads. If what Olivia says is true, it’ll be unlikely they find you. We’re at a hotel in Missoula. Grey, Sam, and I will stay up and keep watch on things here.
Gabby sleeping then?
Yes. She needs it. She’ll likely wake and check again at some point in the night just to verify Urbat positions, but she said since we’d picked up Olivia, nothing’s changed.
Still not sure if you can trust her?
No. She feels different. All these girls have some sort of strong emotions. Bethi’s fear. Isabelle is anger. Charlene and Michelle are worry. Gabby has desperation. But Olivia has nothing. She’s hiding something. Until I know what, we won’t let down our guard. Keep those cubs safe.
Aden stripped out of his winter jacket and fell asleep against Henry. Liam watched out the window for an hour before crashing.
“I need you both to sleep,” I said when neither Paul nor Henry tried to rest. “We don’t know what’s coming next and can’t all be exhausted when we face it.”
Paul exhaled loudly and closed his eyes. Henry watched me for a few minutes before speaking.
“What’s going to happen to us when this is finished?”
“If your dad’s not back by then, you can stay with me,” I said. Did he honestly think we would forget about them, even if they were adults by human standards?
“Not that,” he said. “I mean what’s going to happen to all of us when the girls do their magic, whatever it is? Even if the humans are no longer ‘in power,’ they aren’t going to conveniently forget we exist.”
