I climbed into the passenger seat, shutting the door just as Lach got inside and turned the key. I’d barely buckled my seatbelt when he put the truck in gear and shot down the driveway. He didn’t bother with the headlights, trusting his shifter night vision to guide us to the main road. When we reached it, I looked to the right and saw headlights in the distance, coming from town.
“They’re coming,” I murmured. “I think they’re too far away to see us with the lights off.”
Lachlan peeled out of the driveway, turning left. He floored it, the speedometer in the dash quickly shooting up to eighty miles per hour. The road veered to the left. The trees would hide us from view if they intended to pursue us. Quickly, Lachlan turned right down another small country road, followed by a left, then another right.
“Do you know where we’re going?” I asked.
“Yes,” he answered shortly. “I memorized the route before I came. If we take a few more turns, the roads will lead us to 412.”
“Where are we going?”
“I don’t know.”
I grinned. “I do.”
He glanced at me. “What?”
“Gram arranged for me to have a house under an assumed name. No one knows about it but the two of us. We should be safe there.”
“Where is it?” Lachlan asked.
“Twenty miles from here,” I answered. “But in the opposite direction.”
“Shit.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “We can take the scenic route.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lachlan
Iparked thetruck in front of the small house and shut off the engine. It was nearly four in the morning and Chloe and I were exhausted.
“We need to check the place out,” I stated tiredly.
“I know,” she answered, her voice quiet.
In agreement, we climbed out of the truck and Chloe gestured to the right. I went left. We circled the house, finding no evidence that anyone had been there. Not even humans.
When we met back at the truck, I pulled our bags out of the cab. “Come on, let’s get to bed.”
She dug the keys out of her bag and unlocked the door. I followed her inside, my nose twitching from the dusty smell of the house. She walked through a compact living room and down the short hall. A door stood open to our left that revealed a bathroom. The door at the end of the hall was open as well and Chloe went inside. I followed her, discovering a spacious bedroom. Against the far wall was a king-sized bed.
Chloe gestured to a chair in the corner. “You can stick the bags there. Are you hungry?” she asked.
“It can wait. We need sleep.”
She sighed. “That sounds good. I’m going to go turn on the air then we can go to bed.”
I dropped the bags in the chair, grabbing the phone chargers out of mine. In her rush, Chloe had stuffed them both inside. Then I stripped out of my clothes, letting them drop to the floor as I walked to the bed.
I heard the air conditioner kick on and felt cool air blowing into the stuffy room. When Chloe returned a few moments later, I was already in bed. She removed her own clothes, disappeared into the bathroom for a minute, then came back to slide into bed, sighing as she settled against me.
I slid my arm under her head and exhaled as her cheek hit my chest. In the last few days, I’d grown so accustomed to having her in bed with me that I wasn’t sure how I’d ever sleep alone again.
If I hadn’t been so tired, the thought probably would have scared the shit out of me. As it was, I could barely keep my eyes open.
“Do you think Carter will be okay?” Chloe asked suddenly, her voice sleepy.
