Once they figured out a way inside and funneled into the bunker, they would be sitting ducks as he doubted they could go more than three wide at a time.
Ronan had sent scouts into the woods to see if they could uncover another entrance. With the lack of animals in the area, the Savages were hunting here, which meant another door was probably close by, but so far, they hadn’t found anything.
They had to make their move while the sun was still out. The sunlight wouldn’t do them any good once they were underground, but if they could push the Savages into the day, the sun would take care of some of them.
“I brought the explosives,” one of the hunters said and pointed to two black suitcases in the hands of two other hunters. “Give the order, and I’ll have this door open.”
Saxon couldn’t remember the hunter’s name, but he’d seen him around the compound. He was older than Nathan with salt and pepper hair and brown eyes that had seen too much over the years. Lines etched the corners of his eyes as he lifted his gaze to Nathan.
“Isn’t it abombshelter?” Lucien asked.
“Yes.” The hunter stepped closer to the entrance and knelt to examine the surface. “It could withstand numerous bombs in the area, but it won’t hold up againstmycarefully placed explosives.”
“Do it,” Ronan said.
“Elijah.” The man turned to walk toward the suitcases but stopped when Nathan said his name. “Make sure you leave enough explosives so we can blow this entire thing sky high if we have to.”
The corner of Elijah’s mouth curved into a small smile. “I will.”
“Since when do we work with explosives?” Lucien asked.
“Since you started working with hunters,” Nathan replied. “We have trained experts in many fields.”
“And we came to Maine prepared for anything after that news story,” Ronan replied.
“We’re like the Boy Scouts,” Declan said. “Minus the merit badges.”
“Maybe they have one for killing,” Asher suggested.
“We’ve all earned that one,” Killean said.
Lucien stepped away from the tree he was leaning against and started walking around the door. “What if we blow the whole bunker up?”
“Elyse’s father is in there,” Saxon reminded him.
Lucien met his gaze, and though he didn’t say it, Saxon knew what he was thinking; what was the life of one human if they could end the lives of numerous Savages?
Saxon understood his reasoning, and if Elyse weren’t involved, he’d probably feel the same way, but he couldn’t return to her without at least trying to rescue her dad. He’d never be able to look her in the eyes again if he did.
“We can’t try to blow the whole thing. We have no idea how big it is or where it goes,” Ronan said. “Plus, there could be answers to whatever the Savages’ ultimate goal is in there. We can’t blow it up without knowing more. We might not kill any of them; we could drive them out another entrance if we do that.”
For the first time, staring at the door, Saxon was glad he and Elyse hadn’t completed the bond yet. If he’d turned her and bound her to him, she would die if he did today. As a human, her heart would break, but she would survive, and he knew the others would bring her to the compound and keep her safe.
He hated the idea of her alone and vulnerable in the world, but he hated the idea of her death more.
“Are you sure this will work?” Ronan asked Elijah as he carefully removed something from one of the suitcases.
Elijah didn’t look up as he replied. “Yes.”
Ronan pulled out his phone to call someone. “Come back,” he said gruffly, and Saxon realized he was calling back the scouts.
“Where did you learn to do this?” Killean asked Elijah.
“From other hunter compounds,” Nathan answered. “We send some hunters out to be educated in different things like explosives, medicine, and other useful things.”
“Find shelter,” Elijah said as he closed the suitcase.
Saxon didn’t have to hear that warning twice. Being blown up was not on his bucket list of things to try. Taking shelter behind a tree, he leaned against it as he checked his jacket to make sure the weapons Ronan had given him were safely tucked away.
