“We need to run,” I said. “Now. Back to the cars.”
We didn’t hesitate. Whipping back around, we bolted through the trees, past the garden maze, my old treehouse, and down the small incline back the way we came. The wound in my side started to ache, so I put more weight on my right side as we ran, digging my heels in.
How were we going to get out? Fuck.
There were no trees around that wall, and we couldn’t climb the goddamn gate. We needed to get around to the main road before they left and disappeared.
But as we approached, the cold night air stinging my lungs, I slowed for a second, noticing that the gate wasn’t closed. Not entirely.
It wasn’t fucking closed.
Relief washed over me, but we didn’t stop to question. We slipped through the opening and raced for our cars buried beyond the trees.
Glancing back, I noticed the cameras hung by their wires, dangling like a dead animal, and something was lodged in the hinges of the gate. I laughed under my breath.
Thanks, guys. David and Lev might hate me, but they knew my sister didn’t.
My father’s people were going to notice the cameras were offline any second, though, if they hadn’t already.
We dashed to the cars, Rika jumping in Michael’s old G-Class, and Will and I taking his SUV.
Barreling onto the dirt road, I stepped on the gas, kicking up the gears and storming down the empty path. I kept the lights low, counting the seconds in my head as Rika followed close behind.
They got them in the car. They have to get all the way down the driveway and through the gate. Then pull onto the road, and hopefully they weren’t in a rush, so they wouldn’t be far ahead of us. What if I lost track of her? Where would my father take them?
We charged out onto the highway, bouncing and skidding as I jerked the steering wheel right and laid back on the gas. Rika swerved behind me, getting control of her car again, and I kept my eyes peeled on the road ahead.
But just then, headlights shone from the right, in the distance, and I immediately slowed, knowing it was them. I breathed hard.
We hadn’t missed them. They were just leaving the estate now.
Rika skidded behind me, unprepared for my sudden brake, and Will gripped the handle above his door.
“Shit!” he exclaimed.
His phone, propped up in its mount on the dash, rang, and I saw Rika on the screen. Will answered it, the speaker coming on.
“Stay back,” she ordered. “Just follow.”
“I know!” I fired back.
Did she think I was fucking stupid? Whatever we did would put Michael and Winter in more danger. We had to think.
I hung back, hoping they just assumed we were other drivers on the road, and followed them at a distance, unsure of how many people were in the car.
Other than Winter and Michael, probably two? My father’s men always worked in a minimum of pairs.
We kept Rika on the line, while Will dug out his pocket knife. We’d need that for their zip ties.
I followed the car down past the neighboring estates, past the security booth for our community, and onto the highway, but instead of heading toward Meridian City like I thought they would, whoever was driving took the right exit, heading for the village.
Gabriel was keeping them close, after all.
I swallowed a few times, trying to get my dry mouth wet.
They were going to come to a stoplight in another mile at the village center.
“You still handy with that crowbar?” I called out, remembering Rika back when she was sixteen and the antics she pulled that night.