Meghan winced. “Sorry. We should have done that last night.”
“No need. I think I have the basics now. Would you like some coffee?”
“Please.” She looked toward Reyna. “How are you doing this morning?” Meghan asked. Worry creased between her brows.
“I’m alive. So, what’s the plan?” Reyna asked, forcing her shoulders back.
Meghan opened, then closed her mouth. She looked a bit like a fish out of water.
Reyna froze. “Wait, we do have a plan, right?”
“We have a plan,” Gabe said. He appeared behind Meghan. His dark red hair was frazzled as if someone’s hands had been in it all night. Looking between Meghan and Gabe, it wasn’t too hard to guess what last night’s grief had resulted in. “Tye went to switch out plates and get Prisha another vehicle. We need something secure before we can leave.”
“And where are we going to go? The bunker is gone. The plan was to get back to the bunker after all of this. Safe houses were Plan B in case we needed a quick escape. What the hell now?” Reyna snapped.
“Plan C,” Washington said.
Reyna arched an eyebrow.
“No one knows where all the safe houses are—that way if someone got kidnapped then they couldn’t out the entire operation. I’m going to take you to a safe place outside of the city until this blows over,” Washington informed her.
Reyna let the news sink in. “We can’t just run away.”
“We’re not,” Gabe said. “We need a place to regroup, and we can’t stay here.”
Reyna didn’t like the sound of that. She’d rather figure out away to make the bastards pay. But as she was about to say as much, Tye and Prisha came through the back door in a rush.
“They’re casing the neighborhood,” Prisha said.
“Time to go,” Tye said.
“Shit,” Gabe spat.
“Prisha, you should head out,” Meghan said earnestly. “You don’t want to be found.”
“Will you be safe?”
“Yes,” Meghan said. “Thank you again.”
Prisha kissed Meghan on the cheek, nodded at the rest of them, and then disappeared into the garage.
Gabe and Tye grabbed their remaining supplies before hustling them out of the house. An SUV with heavily tinted windows was parked where the van had sat last night. They all piled inside as Tye took the helm. Reyna tucked her legs up underneath her and waited for what felt like an eternity as the garage door opened behind them. Tye slowly backed them down the drive and out onto the main streets.
Reyna didn’t know what she was looking for. She expected something like the police waiting for them, but what she saw instead was a small army of black vehicles in all shapes and sizes. Reyna held her breath as they passed one of the cars and saw the little redVlogo for Visage on the side. Her stomach flopped.
Meghan grabbed Reyna’s hand. They locked eyes and Reyna saw her own fear reflected at her.
She held her breath as they drove past another Visage vehicle. A vampire got out of the front seat at that precise moment. The woman stared at their SUV as it rolled by. For a second, Reyna swore the woman had X-ray vision and was able to see through the tint to the people behind it. She narrowed her eyes at the SUV. Reyna watched the woman’s hand move to the phone in her pocket.
“Please don’t. Please no. Please, please, please,” Reynawhispered in the backseat.
Meghan clutched her hand until it was painful. But Reyna didn’t stop her, and she didn’t take her eyes off the vampire who took a step toward them. Her hand tightened around the phone. She opened her mouth but didn’t form words. She stared as if she just knew.
Reyna tensed. Ready to sound the alarm if need be.
Then something distracted the vampire. She glanced down at her phone, frowned, and brought it to her ear. She took one last look at the SUV before turning away as it sped past her.
Reyna released her breath. They drove the rest of the way out of the neighborhood in silence. They weren’t in the clear yet. But at least they were away from the worst of it.
