Page 19 of Guardian

9

Logan tossed his stained shirt into a bag in the trunk of the car, pulled out a fresh one and slipped it on. He did the same with his pants, which also sported green bloodstains. It was standard to keep a change of clothes in the car for incidents like this.

He was zipping up when his cell phone rang. He retrieved it and looked at the display. He’d expected the call.

Logan looked toward the restrooms, where Winter was getting changed and stepped farther away from them, so she wouldn’t overhear his conversation. He pressed answer and brought the phone to his ear.

“Man—”

“You fucking asshole!” Manus yelled into his ear, forcing him to hold the phone a foot away for a moment. “What the fuck were you thinking knocking me out like that? Are you out of your bloody mind? You practically ambushed me. Me! Your friend. You’ve got a beating coming, you fucking jerk! Explain yourself! Where the fuck are you? You left me amongst a load of dead demons!”

“Are you done with your rant?”

“No, I’m not done. I’m not done by a long shot! We had a job to do. And you stopped me from doing it. What the fuck got into you?”

“If you stopped ranting, I’d explain.”

Manus mumbled something unintelligible.

“Now listen. We can’t kill her. She’s too valuable to us.”

“The council took a vote. And neither you nor I can question it.”

“They didn’t have enough facts to come to the right conclusion.”

“Oh, and you do? Fuck you, Logan!”

“Would you shut up and listen for a moment? The things she sees, it’s not just about us. She sees the demons, too. Hell, she’s drawn a maze that I believe is the tunnel system of the Underworld.”

“So? You don’t think the council knows that?”

“Don’t you get it? With the information she can provide, we can find the demons’ stronghold. We can destroy them.”

Manus huffed. “You don’t seem to understand that the council already took all that into account when they made their decision. They’re not stupid, Logan. I’m sure they weighed the pros and cons. And the cons weighed heavier. Their decision is law. And you know it.”

“We have to change their mind. If we show them the drawings I found in her place, we can convince them that she’s more valuable to us alive than dead.”

“We? No, buddy, no way. I’m not committing treason. And you’d better not either.”

“I’m not committing treason. This is—”

“Tell me where you are. Where did you take her? We have to finish this job. Before the demons launch another attack. If she falls into their hands—”

“She won’t.” Logan looked toward the restrooms. He was running out of time to convince Manus. Winter could emerge at any moment. “So are you with me or not?”

“Not,” Manus shot back. “I urge you to change your mind, because the council will never change its vote. And if you flee with her, we’ll find you. The council will prosecute you. Don’t do this. Come back now. The council need never know what happened today. I won’t breathe a word of it.”

Logan shook his head. “I can’t do that. I’m sorry. She needs to live. We need her.”

He disconnected the call and stared at the phone.

Going to a safe house was out of the question now. Manus would be able to find them. Just as he would be able to trace Logan’s cell phone and the car just as soon as he spoke to the Baltimore compound. Pearce would run a trace in minutes, and soon after, several of his brethren would come to take him in and kill Winter. He couldn’t let that happen. Now he not only had to hide from the demons, but also from his own people.

“Shit!”

“Something wrong?” Winter’s alarmed voice came from the entrance to the restrooms.

Logan’s gaze shot to her, as she walked toward him quickly, her eyes darting around as if looking for danger. She’d changed her gypsy outfit for jeans and an oversized sweatshirt and removed the dozens of bangles from her wrists.