I barely trusted Rad.
I pressed my hands to Rad's chest and gave him a little push. A furrow moved across his forehead as he stepped back, almost as if he didn't want to move away from me.
I didn't want him to move away from me either, but I needed to get out of the Jeep. We needed to talk, but I didn't want to disturb Sy's sleep. He'd been getting precious little of it.
As soon as I was out of the vehicle, I turned and quietly closed the door. When I turned back, Rad was right there in front me, so close our chests brushed together.
I wanted to protest as I didn't like people in my personal space, but I couldn't. Not only did the intensity in the glowing golden eyes peering down at me stop me from saying anything, but my own personal need to have Rad close to me kept my mouth shut.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Rad asked.
I nodded. "Physically, I'm fine. Mentally? That's another question and one I don't have an answer for at the moment."
I doubt I would for a long time to come. Physically I was fine, but I was emotionally and mentally a wreck. My nerves were strung as tight as a bow string, my head ached for everything flowing through it, and I wanted nothing more than to collapse in Rad's arms and have someone else keep me safe while I fell apart.
Something I had never wanted before.
"Rad," I whispered on a shaky breath. I curled my fingers into his shirt.
"I'm here," Rad whispered right back, almost as if he had been expecting my desperate plea. "Remember what I said. You are no longer alone. I will stand by your side no matter what."
Rad leaned back far enough to see my face and then slid his hand along my cheek, tilting my head back. "There are a lot of people willing to stand by you if you'll let them."
I wasn't sure I was capable of putting my trust into someone, anyone. Sure, I trusted Rad on some level, more than I did anyone else, but even he didn't have my full trust. I'd been betrayed to many times for that. That didn't mean I didn't want to trust someone because I did. I just wasn't sure I was capable of it.
"Rad—"
"I know you're scared, baby, and you have a right to be, but I swear I'm here for you and I will stand beside you no matter what."
He'd said that mere moments ago, and it sounded better each time he said it, but could I really believe him?
"Why not start out with something small like sitting beside me while we talk to Val? He has information I think you need to hear, but he also has some questions to ask you. You don't have to tell him anything you don't want to. Just listen, okay?"
I grimaced and pressed my lips together as I nodded. I guess I could start out small and see what happened, but I wasn't sure I was ready to answer any questions Rad's friend might have.
Rad grabbed my hand and then led me to the front of the vehicle where Val was standing. "Ajag, this is my friend Valko, or Val as most of us call him. He's been a friend for a little over twenty years and I trust him with my life." Rad gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Val, this is Ajag, my mate."
My jaw dropped as shock rolled through me at Rad's claim on me. I hadn't expected him to just announce it like that, especiallysince he hadn't actually claimed me yet. We'd only talked about it for like a minute.
Instead of acknowledging me, Val glanced down at his cell phone. It seemed a little rude, but what did I know? Maybe it was this guy's natural state.
"We need to go," he finally said. "I put trackers on their vehicles and they are headed this way, maybe thirty minutes out. I have no doubt they will be searching all the campgrounds and motels in the area. We need to be somewhere else when they get here."
Pure panic griped me, shaking my entire body. For a moment, I didn't know what to do. I had worked so hard to stay ahead of these people and yet they kept finding me.
I wanted to know why.
"How do they keep finding me?" I whispered. "Every time, everywhere I go, they find us."
"I don't know, but we'll figure it out."
I wasn't sure that was possible. I had ditched the cell phone like Rad directed. What else was left? "Is there any way Sy or I could have had a tracker placed in us somewhere?"
Rad's brow wrinkled as his dark eyebrows pulled together. "You think you could have been tagged?"
"It's the only thing I can think of. Our clothes have changed in the last few weeks and we haven't brought anything with us that we've had from before. That leaves our bodies."
"Can you think of any injuries you've had that could be an injection site?"
