They fucking knew.
He had no idea how, but they did.
Jumping out of the van, he rushed to open the side doors. “Come on,” he ushered Cole and his parent’s out and hurried them round to the back of the cottage. The back door opened. Logan didn’t recognise the woman who opened it, but she whispered the password, so Logan had to trust her.
“Come in, the others are waiting inside.”
Logan hung back as she showed Cole and his parent’s where the bathroom was. They wouldn’t be stopping again for another three or four hours. As soon as they were out of earshot, he marched through to the living area in search of Sadie.
She was one of the few people he knew by name.
A shifter like him.
Her scent led him to a small room at the back of the cottage where she stood talking to two young women, Cole’s age. “Hey,” he whispered, catching her attention. “Can I have a word?”
Sadie walked over to him, frowning at his rude interruption, but they didn’t have time for niceties. “What’s up?”
“They know.”
She didn’t ask who. “How?”
“I’m not sure, but there’s weird shit going on at the McKillan offices and something just feels off.”
“Motherfucker.” She didn’t question his instincts; they both knew better than to brush them aside. “We need to go now. Erica’s outside with her candidate having a smoke. I’ll take mine out there and get everyone loaded in the van. Where are yours?”
“Bathroom. I’ll hurry them up and meet you out there.”
With a nod, she turned and hurried over to her charges while Logan ran back the way he’d come and up the stairs. He met Cole’s mum coming down, his dad just behind her.
“Where’s Cole?” he asked, glancing up the stairs.
His mum grimaced. “In the toilet. He’s not feeling too good.”
“Shit.” That was the last thing they needed.
She put her hand on Logan’s arm. “I think it’s just shock at what we’ve done. Well, either that or car sickness, he never did travel all that well.”
Fantastic.
“Okay, fine. You two come with me, there’s been a change of plan and we need to leave now.” He turned to go back down the stairs, but she grabbed his arm.
“Wait, what about Cole?”
“I’ll come back and get him once I’ve got you two safely in the van. Give him till the last possible minute.” When she still looked conflicted, he added, “You’ll be in there for a good three hours. The last thing you need is someone being sick.”
She nodded, wrinkling her nose. “Yes, okay.”
“I’ll be right back for him, I promise,” he said over his shoulder as they hurried back down the stairs.
The cottage had another exit at the end of the garden, leading out onto a side road that eventually joined the A3. A bread delivery van was parked there, back door rolled up to reveal a false panel and another door leading to the interior. Seats had been installed to make it a little comfier, but it was still sparse.
Did the job though.
Logan helped Cole’s mum and dad climb into the back. “When Cole gets in, they’ll lock this door.” He pointed to the one behind him. “And then push the racks of bread in front of it to make it look like you’re carrying a full load. It’d be incredibly unlucky if you got pulled over for anything, but just in case that happens, remain still and silent and they shouldn’t have any reason to be suspicious.”
They both nodded.
“Logan!”
