“Thank you,” Lachlan said, taking the bag.
“I didn’t tell them about you,” Carter stated suddenly. “But they already suspect you’re helping me. You need to leave the area tonight. As quickly as you can.” With a rough groan, Carter hauled himself to his feet, keeping his back braced against the tree. “Come back when you have a plan and help.”
“What about you?” I asked, stepping forward.
He looked at me and once more I was struck by the strength of his personality. Carter Whelby, the alpha, was here tonight, even in his currently bloodied state. “I’m not leaving my pack.”
“He’ll kill you,” Lachlan argued. “You should come with us.”
Carter shook his head. “I have a place to hide. I’ll contact you when I’m healed. Even if you have help, you’ll need me when you return for the evidence.”
“Carter,” I said quietly. “Come with us.”
He shook his head. “No. I’m not leaving h—” he cut himself off. “My pack.” He grimaced. “Besides, in my state, I’ll only slow you down. You need to go. Now. They’ll be coming back soon and you should be gone by then.”
I started to argue further, but Lachlan reached out and took Carter’s hand, shaking it. “Thank you for the warning. If you ever need us, the MacIntire pack will be here for you.”
Carter nodded. “You’re welcome.”
I tried to resist when Lach took my arm, looking back at Carter. He leaned heavily against the tree and shook his head at me. “Go,” he commanded.
I loathed it, but I did as he said. Lachlan slung the backpack over his shoulders as we walked away, moving quickly through the trees.
“We need to run,” he muttered to me. “If they know he’s gone, they’ll be coming for us next.”
Without a word, I picked up my pace. The darkness slowed us down, but only a little. Adrenaline sharpened my night vision and soon I was flying through the trees, my feet barely touching the ground.
Within a few minutes, we reached the edge of the cabin property. The house was still dark. I looked around as Lachlan scented the air.
“There’s no one here yet,” he commented. When he turned to look at me, I realized I was seeing another side of Lachlan. Yes, he was an alpha, but he was also a strategist. As good as any warlord. “When we get to the house, you go inside and get our bags. We’ll take the truck since it’s a 4x4. If they planted cameras in the house, it’s also likely they put a tracking device on our vehicles. I’m going to look for it. We need to drive out of here in five minutes.”
There was a reason I never wanted to be the alpha of my own pack, and this was it. I could win almost any fight, one-on-one, but strategy and battle planning weren’t my strengths. I also lacked the patience necessary in a good leader.
Lachlan appeared surprised when I nodded in agreement without a word of argument. Rather than questioning his good luck, he grabbed my hand and we ran toward the cabin. He released me as he headed toward the truck, dropping to the ground and pulling out his phone to use the flashlight capabilities.
I dashed into the house and scooped up the few personal items we left lying around. For the most part, Lachlan and I both kept our bags packed for this very reason.
As I shoved things inside, an odd feeling washed over me. They had put cameras all over the house, so maybe they’d done something to our bags as well. Moving quickly, I unpacked everything once again and ran my hands on along the exterior and interior of our bags. Sure enough I found a tiny device tucked into the lining of each bag. I repacked everything as quickly as possible, leaving the tracking devices lying in the middle of the bed.
I grabbed our phone chargers, some water and food, and walked back out the door. It took me longer than expected, but I was surprised to see that Lachlan wasn’t waiting on me.
When I returned, I found a tracking device on the ground next to the truck, but Lach was rummaging around in the cab of the pick-up as though he were looking for something.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Without stopping, he answered, “I found that one within sixty seconds. It was almost as if Darrell wanted it found. Since he’s not stupid, I’m betting he planted another one…” Lachlan trailed off as he bent to look beneath the passenger seat.
He shoved the seat back as far as it would go and reached beneath, cursing under his breath. I smelled the metallic tang of blood in the air when he swore again and pulled his hand free. Between his index and middle finger, he held a slim disc, barely the size of a quarter. Blood trickled from the small cut on his hand.
“Found it,” he said triumphantly, dropping it on the ground. Taking the bags from me, he tossed them in the storage space behind the seats. “Let’s go.”
“I found two devices in our bags too,” I informed him as he gestured for me to get in.
“Shit. Are you sure that’s all there was?”
“I think so,” I answered.
He nodded and walked around the front of the vehicle.
