I hesitated, shooting a glance at Jenna before nodding. “I was thinking the same.”
Jenna’s eyes widened in protest. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“She’s not,” Drake said, looking back at me. “She’s serious. Moreover, she’s right. It’s our best chance of survival.”
I sent him a grateful nod. He understood.
Separating wasn’t just for Jenna’s benefit. It was for me too. Distraction caused mistakes. If we remained together, I’d be so worried about her safety that I might miss something important.
“You can’t actually expect me to do this,” Jenna sputtered.
“Aileen, we need to move,” Anton said from the exit.
“Drake, take Jenna. Get her somewhere safe,” I ordered.
As a hunter, he had experience slipping in and out of places like this. Hopefully, the familial bond between them would be enough to make him protect rather than abandon her if things got rough.
“Go with them,” I told Caroline.
Rebellion flashed in her eyes. “It would be better if I stuck with you. You might need some teeth and claws at your back.”
“I’m sure I will, but I’d feel better knowing you were with them.” I nodded at Drake and Jenna, who was still acting resistant. “Two humans alone in the Playground will stick out like a sore thumb.”
Even if one of them was a hunter. Unless they had a chaperone. Say, a demon tainted werewolf who was capable of holding her own against much older spooks.
Caroline’s hesitance showed I’d hit a nerve. “I don’t like this.”
“No one said you had to,” I told her.
It was enough that she’d agreed.
Jenna’s pleading gaze followed me as I joined Anton at the exit. “Aileen, don’t do this.”
“We’ll go first to draw them off,” I told the other three, ignoring her. There was a time to indulge and a time for ruthlessness. This was the latter. I could only hope Jenna was in a forgiving mood once the dust had settled.
“You’re a menace,” Anton informed me.
“You’re the one who thought you’d get more action this way. Congratulations—you were right.”
Anton shoved open the door and glided through.
I caught it as it swung shut, pausing to flash Jenna one last bittersweet smile. “See you later, baby sis.”
God, I hoped this wasn’t the last memory she had of me.
Her broken, “You’d better,” followed me into the Playground.
Anton waited for me on the pathway that I remembered from my first visit.
“Does this run throughout?” I asked, stopping beside him.
Anton didn’t answer immediately, his attention on the woods on the opposite side of the path. Unlike the ancient trunks whose circumference could host an entire dance club, these trees were smaller. More like what you’d find in a mature forest.
Their presence was a signal that we were in a part of the Playground that I’d never visited before. From the lack of guests wandering around, I had a feeling not a lot of people had.
Was that because the Playground had expanded to encompass new territory? Or was there a more sinister reason?
Like patrons being warned away because a murder was about to go down.
