“No problem.”
Clyde appeared at that moment. Without saying a word, he strode up to her, plucked her off the ground, and threw herover his shoulder. His hand clamped down on her ass and she growled, “Hey, stop feeling me up, pervert.”
Stella laughed again. Maybe the other woman wouldn’t kill her. Maybe she’d keep her around for entertainment. Clyde didn’t let go, but he did shift his grip, so his hands were on her bare thighs. Not really an improvement.
“Ouch,” she muttered.
He ignored her and started to walk—first up the mountain, through the bush she’d crashed into, and then onto the track. They made better speed then, but it certainly wasn’t the most comfortable mode of transport she’d ever endured, and she gripped onto his shirt to minimize the bouncing. Her ankle was throbbing, but the pain wasn’t unbearable. Stella was up ahead of them.
Where were the others? She wouldn’t believe they were dead, but she was still failing to reach anyone. They had all gone quiet. The only time she’d not been able to sense them at all was when they were wearing the reflector devices. God, she really hoped that was the case now. Her mind raced, searching for a way out of this mess, looking for anything that could be used to her advantage.
What did they want? There was only one way to find out.
Her face was smashed up against Clyde’s back, and she lifted her head slightly so she could talk. “Are you going to destroy the machine?”
He didn’t answer, and she jabbed him in the back. “You might as well tell me. I mean—why not? It’s not as though I can do anything about it.”
“Shut up,” he said.
Clearly, she wasn’t going to get any information from him, and she sighed and relaxed her head. She had to find a way to escape. Because she suspected they were right, and her friends wouldgive up the machine before they would see her hurt. And she couldn’t bear it if she was the reason they failed.
They came to a stop, and she lifted her head again. They were at the edge of the trees, looking down on the house. Nothing moved. Where the hell was everybody?
Stella called out, “We have Kaitlin. If anyone shoots at us, then she gets a bullet in the leg. If anyone shoots again, she’ll get one in the head.”
That wasn’t very comforting, but at least it meant that they hadn’t already killed everybody. They stepped forward out of the cover of the trees, and she held her breath, though she didn’t believe that anyone would shoot.
Christ, she hated being carted around like so much luggage. She squirmed, and Clyde’s hand tightened on her, his grip so hard, it hurt. She went still. No way could she get away, and even if she did, she couldn’t run. She had no choice but to see how this played out and hope that the others had a plan.
Her gaze darted around the clearing as they crossed the open space to the house. And then she saw them. As they passed, the others appeared from their cover. Jake, Rose, Stefan. They were all armed, but their weapons were pointed at the ground. Then she found Kane, and across the space between them, their gazes locked. She could see the glint of silver at his ear. He was wearing a reflector device. And some of the tension oozed out of her.
He was alive.
Then they were past him, and she twisted her head to keep eye contact for just a little while longer. Her friends all fell in behind them, keeping their distance but following. And she knew they wouldn’t risk anything while she was being held.
Despair grabbed at her mind. This couldn’t be over. They couldn’t fail.
They came to a halt about twenty feet from the cave. The door was shut but there was no one at the entrance. Where were Leila and Brandon? She couldn’t believe they would abandon their post.
Then a shot rang out, and Clyde dived for cover behind a huge rock. He flung Kaitlin to the ground, landing on top of her, and the air left her lungs in awhoosh. Stella dove to the side, but the second shot caught her in the chest, and she whirled around and crashed into the rock, then crumpled to the sand. She lay still for a moment, then sat up and dragged herself to cover.
Bulletproof body armor. Damn.
More bullets hit the rock they were hiding behind, spitting up splinters.
Stella looked at her and scowled. “I should kill you.”
“Hey, it’s not my friends who are shooting.” At a guess, it was Leila and Brandon. They’d never liked her. Never liked any of the newcomers. If it was a choice between protecting her or protecting the machine, then they would pick the machine every time.
“Leila, stop shooting,” Kane called out.
More shots. Clearly, Leila was no longer taking orders from Kane.
Clyde rolled off her and finally, she could breathe again. He came to his knees, peering around the rock, then ducking back as a shot nearly took off his nose. Stella was silent, concentrating on something, and Kaitlin had a bad feeling. She was talking to someone, and it wasn’t Clyde. That meant there were others. Which made sense. They must have known the place would be guarded from what they had seen in Kaitlin’s head.
She started inching backwards, hoping no one would notice, but Clyde clamped a hand on her ankle—her bad ankle, and dragged her back.
Pain flooded her and sweat broke out on her forehead. She screamed. “Fuuuck!!!”
