Then an explosion rocked the house so powerfully the windows blew out. She screamed and ducked as glass flew.
Logan tackled her to the floor, already yanking a gun from the back of his waist.
Chapter 26
Logan had Mercy up and running in the next instant. They burst through the door to find the living room demolished. The roof had been blown away, and stones from the fireplace were strewn in every direction. Water spouted high from the kitchen sink. He was getting fucking tired of being attacked.
Adare rushed into the room, carrying a terrified-looking Grace. “Follow me,” he bellowed.
Logan kept Mercy between him and Adare, catching sight of an attack helicopter turning around in the distance. Cyst soldiers appeared from the north and south, running out of the forest with automatic weapons. “Hurry,” he yelled.
How the hell had the Cyst found them?
They followed Adare into a small pantry, and he hit a button near a box of granola. A wall opened with stairs leading down. Of course the Highlander would have an escape route.
The rest of the group fell into step behind Logan, and he turned to make sure everyone was there. Garrett was bleeding freely from a wound on his chin, but his eyes were clear, and he was running with the grace of a panther. They rushed down and reached a tunnel flooded with about a foot of water. The cabin’s lakeside location made escape routes difficult.
Logan waited until they’d run for about a mile before he spoke. He tried to keep anger out of his voice, but he didn’t succeed. This wasn’t making a lick of sense. “Mercy? Did you give some sort of signal to your president about your location?”
The look she threw him could’ve melted concrete.
Okay, so no. How the hell had the Cyst found them? He thought through the last day. Wait a minute. The Cyst had found him on the island, and he’d figured it was via satellite. What if it wasn’t? Ah, shit. “Adare? When you mentioned fairy dust, you weren’t just being sarcastic, were you?”
“No,” Adare snapped back. “That Sandy threw dust on me. I thought she was trying to blind me.”
“Fuck,” Logan muttered. “It’s tracking dust. They can track you anywhere.” But that meant the Fae were working with the Cyst. There was no other explanation.
Mercy stumbled, and he helped her regain her footing.
“I can carry you,” he said, much preferring to leave his hands free to fight if the Cyst breached the escape tunnel.
“I’ve got it.” She slogged through the water, her body hunched.
Yep, he liked her spirit. Something crashed far behind them.
“Adare, you’re going to have to strip,” Logan commanded, increasing his pace.
“Damn it.” Adare set Grace on her feet and starting ripping off his clothing while running with Grace at his side. The human splashed up water, her eyes wide, her panic filling the air.
Mercy jumped over a rock. “He’ll need to dunk his head in water, too. She would’ve aimed for his hair, since he has so much of it.”
Apparently she didn’t want to face the Cyst soldiers either. Had she put it together that her people were aligned with them? That was the only possible explanation. Sandy had covered Adare with tracking dust, and now the Cyst were here. Logan had to keep Mercy away from those bastards.
Adare ducked into a side tunnel where water poured from the ceiling and soaked himself, rubbing his long hair vigorously. The shield marking on his back danced oddly in the darkened tunnel, as if it had a life of its own. “Tell me I can keep the boxer-briefs.”
Mercy brushed against Logan. “Those should be fine.”
The group paused. Logan studied the design on Adare’s back, unable to look away. Did it look like a tattoo to humans? Were they that dense? Adare’s entire torso had been bonded together—forged in blood and bone—to create an impenetrable shield. No blade or bullet could ever pierce it.
Fuck, it was going to hurt to acquire his own shield.
Adare dodged back into the main tunnel, lifting Grace in one smooth motion and launching himself down the path.
She slapped his chest. “I can run.”
“Quiet, woman,” Adare said, increasing his speed.
Grace gave a very impressive tug on his hair, but the Highlander just growled.
