“You mean the one from this afternoon?”
Blue thought about how suspicious the men had behaved and how few women she’d seen. That in itself wasn’t unusual, but it was all the children that raised red flags—mostly girls. This one had been sitting inside the garage when they arrived. She had a hopeful look in her eyes when she saw Blue, but sometimes that was simple curiosity from packs cut off from the outside world.
“She’s been in there forhours,” Blue said, a sinking feeling coming over her as she pulled the girl out. She set her on the ground and patted her cheek. “Wake up, honey. Can you hear me?”
“I’ll get water.” Niko disappeared from sight.
The girl’s eyelids fluttered before she looked up at Blue. “Please don’t send me back,” she rasped. “Please.”
“Okay. Don’t you worry about all that.”
Niko reappeared and held out a bottle.
“Here, you take her,” Blue said.
While Niko cradled the girl, Blue slowly poured water into the girl’s mouth. A few swallows went down before she passed out.
“She’s burning up,” Niko said. “She’ll die if we don’t find help.”
“We can’t take her to a hospital—she’s a Shifter.”
They had a hard-and-fast rule about bringing strangers home for medical care. Blue reached in her pocket and dialed Graham, the only Relic she personally knew. When it went to voicemail, she pulled herself up. “We have no choice but to take her home. Turn on that cooling thing you do and see if you can bring down her temperature.”
Once they were safely inside the vehicle, Blue hit the gas and left the bodies behind. She didn’t have time to call cleaners in, but if these guys were expected back, their packmates would come for them sooner or later.
“You’re injured,” Niko said. “I can heal you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t do two things at once. Focus on her. She’s just a kid.”
“I can’t heal her,” he said remorsefully. “My gift heals wounds, but I can’t fix something like this, especially not a child.”
“Just keep her cool. Shepherd will know what to do.”
The air conditioner combined with Niko’s Thermal ability sent goose bumps up Blue’s arms. She couldn’t stop her hands from shaking, but it wasn’t from the cold. She sped down every shortcut she knew, trying to get home as quickly as possible.
What were you thinking, kid?Blue wondered why a child would have done something so foolish. She might have chalked it up as an accident, but the girl would have had to get inside the car, pop the trunk, and then quietly lock herself in.
Please don’t send me back.Those haunting words echoed in Blue’s head.
She dialed Shepherd. “Set up the medical room. … I’ll tell you when we get there.”
Thank the fates I bought a fast car.The engine roared as she glanced at the girl’s lifeless body, sand slipping through the hourglass with each passing second. Niko would notice if her light extinguished, but Blue wasn’t going to let that happen. Not on her watch.
When they arrived, the front gate was already open. She sped up the private driveway and screeched to a halt in front of the door. Blue hopped out.
“Is it Niko?” Shepherd approached the vehicle.
She limped around the car to open Niko’s door. “Help us.”
Shepherd’s eyes widened. “Who’s that?”
“A little girl who’s going to die if you don’t get moving.”
Blue snapped her attention to the footfalls rushing toward them. Matteo emerged from the darkness at Chitah speed, his nostrils flaring as he undoubtedly picked up their emotional scent.
“You’re like a stray cat we can’t get rid of,” she muttered.
Shepherd took the girl from Niko’s arms and carried her inside.
