He was staring at me, a haunted expression on his face. “I’m almost positive that one of them – the one hiding behind the menu - was my sister, Felicia.”
I considered his words carefully. Granted, the pregnancy left him in a heightened emotional state, but, so far, nothing about Jeremy’s actions had suggested that he was prone to overreaction or panic.
“Can you think of any reason that she would be here?”
Jeremy shook his head emphatically. “No. She almost never travels outside the clan territory and we’re hundreds of miles from there.”
“Okay.” I glanced up in the rearview mirror, relieved to see the road behind us was still pitch dark with no sign of headlights. “We’re going to leave the highway in a few miles. We’ll take some backroads that lead up to an overlook and hang out in the shadows long enough to figure out if we’re being followed, okay?”
“If you think that’s best,” Jeremy agreed immediately.
I reached for his hand and set it on my knee, covering it with my own. “They’re not taking you from me, Jem. I promise.”
“I know, Kade,” he said, his voice stronger. “I know we’re safe with you.”
“Good.”
The turn off I needed was a little over a mile down the highway, but, when I took it, it immediately looped back and up, leading us to a scenic overlook about fifty feet above the highway below. I pulled the camper off the road and into the trees, counting on the patchy paint job to help it blend in.
“Grab your coat, Jem,” I ordered gently. “I don’t want to risk them seeing the camper, so we’re going to walk to the edge and find a spot to sit and watch.”
Wrapping up in the puffy winter coat I’d ordered him, my Omega added the hat and gloves before following me outside. The camper had ended up about a hundred yards from the trail, so we walked in silence for a few minutes until we reached the guardrail that looked down onto the road.
“Come sit over here,” I suggested, tugging him toward a large boulder sitting off to the side. “If they really are following us, it should only be a few minutes.”
Jeremy lowered himself to sit on the rock without comment and leaned back against my legs. All that was left to do was wait.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Jeremy
The longer we sat in the chilly air, the stupider I felt. I’d been so positive that it was my sister’s profile I’d seen duck behind the laminated diner menu, but, really, what the hell would she have been doing there?
“Kade?” I was about to apologize when he gently patted my cheek.
“Look.” He nodded toward the direction we’d come and, sure enough, there were three cars approaching. They were driving close behind each other, bunched together despite the lack of other traffic. Moving at less than half the sixty miles per hour speed limit, it looked like they were lost. Or looking for something. “Looks like you were right. Someone was on our tail.”
“But how?” I whispered as if the occupants of the cars could somehow hear me from that distance.
“No idea,” Kade said with a scowl. “But now we know they’re onto us, I think we’ll have to pick up the pace.” He dropped a kiss on my head. “We’re going to have to get back on the highway for another twenty miles," he said with a frown, “but after that, we’re going to stick to back roads.” He pulled me to my feet. “And, as much as I hate to say it, no more snuggle breaks. We’re still about twelve hours away and we’re going to drive straight through.” He laughed when I wrinkled my nose. “I promise to make it up to you when we’re safely in the ODI compound.”
Back in the camper, Kade took a few minutes to prepare for the trip ahead. Not wanting me moving around or cutting vegetables in a moving vehicle, he quickly worked his way through the sandwich fixings and snacks we’d need. By the time he pronounced us ready to go, there was a stack of sandwiches in the tiny fridge next to a large zip-top bag of sliced fruit. Another bag full of crisp cucumber and bell pepper slices was resting in the console between our seats with a large thermos of steaming instant coffee. Several water bottles and a carton of apple juice were on the floor at my feet.
“You know, I can go a few hours without eating,” I protested with a laugh. “Have you looked at me? I think you’ve put ten pounds on me in the past week!”
Kade just grinned. “Then we only have about twenty to go, right?” he teased. “Everything is ready, so there is no reason for you to miss any meals or snacks,” he said firmly. “Now, do you need to pee before we go?”
I was pregnant. Of course, I did.
I made a face at him and went to use the facilities, but was back out and strapping myself into my seat almost before he knew it. Then, Kade pulled the camper out of the trees and we were back on the road.
When we got to the exit that Kade said would put us on the back roads, he pulled off to the side of the highway and pulled out his phone. In the darkness, I could see the screens flashing as he pulled up a map and took a screenshot before sending off a text message.
“Kade? What was that?” I finally asked when he tossed the phone into the console next to the veggie bag without comment.
“Just updating the guys about our change in plans,” he said gently. “I left our route with Sonny and a couple of other friends, just to be safe. I needed to let them know that we appear to have a tail and that we’re going to be on a different route. And, since I can’t be sure I’ll have a phone signal the entire drive, I wanted to do it before we got too far from civilization.”
“Oh.”
