She’d never really considered what would happen when she escaped the cabin; never thought about finding herself surrounded by vamps again. It was all so daunting that she could only focus on one thing at a time. If she considered the fact she had no money, no transportation, could end up imprisoned again or dead, and had no way of getting to her father, she would sit down and cry.
Hell, she didn’t have any shoes! What could she possibly do now?
A lump clogged her throat as she turned to stare out the window.You never believed you’d get out of the cabin either.
That was true, and yet, here she was. Granted, that was mostly due to Saxon, but still, she was free. Maybe it was time to trust him with everything; she didn’t exactly have many options. If he turned on her, then so be it. If she survived, she would deal with the consequences, and if she didn’t, then what would it matter?
And what about Dad? Her stomach churned as she tried not to think about him somewhere, surrounded by monsters, brutalized, and probably with no hope. If she did, she’d start crying again, and she couldn’t do that.
If she were dead, then her father was as good as dead anyway, but she had no idea how she would get to him. She could steal a car, but then what would she do for gas money and how could she possibly get him free of the Savages?
Saxon had said he would help her find her dad. He was her only hope, but still, she found herself recoiling from the idea of telling him everything. She didn’t know how she would handle the disgust and hatred that would follow her revelation.
“How is everyone else?” Saxon asked.
“Fine,” Lucien said. “Concerned about you, but I think they’ll understand now.” He glanced at Elyse in the mirror before hitting a button on the phone clipped to the dashboard.
“I found the cabin,” Saxon told him.
Lucien’s gaze flew up to meet his in the rearview mirror. “And?” he prompted; at the same time, Declan said, “Hello,” through the phone.
“I’ve got him,” Lucien said to the phone. “I found him wandering the road with a woman.”
“Of course you did,” Declan muttered.
“He says he found the cabin,” Lucien said.
“Good. I’ll call the others and meet you at the hotel.”
The line went dead, and silence descended over the car. Unable to stand her tumultuous thoughts anymore, Elyse watched the farms and snow-covered mountains rolling past. She squinted against the sun beating off the pristine surface of the snow on the beautiful yet stark landscape.
“Was she at the cabin?” Lucien asked.
“Yes,” Saxon said. “With some Savages.”
When Lucien looked in the mirror again, Elyse saw the distrust and malice glimmering in his eyes. Saxon might help her, but this guy would definitely issue a kill vote.
“What were you doing with Savages?” Lucien asked her.
“Playing Monopoly,” she replied. “They’re great at board games.”
She hadn’t realized Saxon still had his arm draped around her shoulders until he gave a small chuckle and squeezed her. She didn’t know why she was meeting Lucien’s antagonistic tone with sarcasm; this guy could squash her like a bug, but she was so tired of being scared. If they were going to kill her, fine, but she’d spent months bowing to the depraved demands of the Savages, and she wouldnotback down anymore.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Lucien asked Saxon.
“When we’re all together. I don’t feel like telling this twice.”
Lucien focused on the road again, and as the heat of the car started to seep into Elyse’s frozen extremities, she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Seeming to sense her discomfort, Saxon took her hands and gently massaged them. She closed her eyes as thousands of pins and needles pricked her flesh, but it wasn’t as bad as the first night Saxon slaughtered his way into her life.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.
“Yes. Aren’t you frozen too?”
“I am, but I’ve had centuries of learning to tolerate pain.”
Elyse lifted her gaze to find Lucien watching them with a furrowed brow.
“Shit,” he muttered.
