She shrugged. “I don’t know, but there’s something in the air, don’t you think?”
Her non-answers got on my nerves, but a moment later, something in the air turned out to be the squadron of police cars that appeared on our tail as soon as we emerged from the lane that led to Fletch’s land. Three in total, including a souped-up Audi that was better suited to chasing down drug dealers.
Unease crept over me, as potent as desire, but far less fun. I rubbed the back of my neck. I wasn’t imaginative enough to associate every copper I ever saw with my fucked-up love life, but seeing them mob-handed on hunt day nudged old ghosts to life. Logic told me they’d used their common sense to appear close to the camp, but why so many? And why was Rae’s gang on their radar so much they had the time to lie in wait for us?
Our florescent escort boxed me in, as though they knew exactly where I was going, and sure enough, the car up front led me to the spot Fletch had advised me to park the van.
We got out. Meg smiled amiably at the coppers, but I didn’t have it in me. Suspicion burned my veins and it was all I could do to keep my head down and trail Meg to the gate where the woods met open fields.
The police followed, and even when the monitors and Bucks sabs joined our ranks, they outnumbered us.
“This is ridiculous,” I muttered. “It’s like they’re herding us.”
Meg fiddled with her Go-Pro. “They do that. It’s to keep us as separate from the hunt as possible so they have nothing to do.”
“They don’t do anything anyway, though,” a Bucks sab protested. “Our car was rolled into a ditch last week and they just watched.”
Stories like that had been told a thousand times over. I tuned everyone out as they swapped gossip, and scanned the horizon. Goon’s house was in the distance, but I couldn’t see the driveway, and the fields were quiet—tooquiet, for this time on hunt day. Even if they were rolling the hounds out from a hidden location, something somewhere should’ve been moving by now.
I unclipped my radio from my belt. “Do these fuckers even work?”
Chapter Nineteen
Rae
Cash was antsy. I didn’t need to be with him to know. His energy laced the wind in my face, I could taste him on the winter drizzle, and it left me impatient for the day to be over so I could get back to him. Lord help any wanker who got in my way.
It took a moment for me to correct myself. Cash had made his position plain, and the shut down part of me had accepted it. Understood it, even. The rest of me would just have to deal.
Paradoxically, hunt day made that easier. Sprig and I ran a loop of the woodland, on alert for any sight or sound that a pursuit had begun. It wascold,and frosty. The uneven ground made my ankles ache, and I welcomed the distraction, absorbed the sensation of my heart pounding for a different reason, and threw myself, body and soul, into our mission.
Half an hour later, Cash came on the radio, shattering the illusion that I could get through today without him making me weak at the knees.
“This shit isn’t right,” he growled.
His tense voice did odd things to me, always, but he had a point. We were on our third circuit and had found nothingexcept a strong scent of citronella that we’d gladly added to. Scouts had radioed in every ten minutes, confirming no activity at local hunting stables, and there was still no sign of the hounds. Where the fuck was Goon and his band of merry killers? It was almost as though he’d picked up his hunt and moved it—
Fuck, no.
I skidded to a stop and pulled out my phone, jabbing Cash’s contact listing with my thumb until the call went through, thankful we both had service
“They’ve moved it,” I blurted before he had a chance to speak. “Think about it—the Bucks sabs came over to help us today because their hunt never runs the last week in November. Goon’s knobbed off and borrowed their land, knowing we’d all be over here waiting for him. That’s where the hounds are, in the next fucking county—”
“Rae.” Cash cut me off as Sprig jogged up beside me. “Slow down and say all that again so Meg can hear you.”
I repeated myself, for Sprig’s benefit as well as Cash and Meg, with less expletives to save time. “We’ve gotta go,” I said. “We’ve got to round everyone up andgo.”
Cash agreed and hung up. I turned to Sprig. “Sab on, let’s move.”
We raced back to camp. Cash was already there with the van, and a couple of furious Bucks sabs in tow. “I left Meg with the police,” he said. “Fletch too, distraction tactic. If we hit these wankers mid hunt, it’s gonna get messy. We don’t want the old bill involved.”
“Where do they think you went?”
“Home. Me and Meg faked an argument about it being too cold to fuck around in the woods. Think I got away with playing the lazy son.”
“Nice.”
“Is it?”
