Megans Mark (Breeds 6)

A bitter smile curved her lips. "And if it doesn't work?"

"Then we're both in a shitload of trouble. " There was no doubt in his voice. "Do you want to risk that?"

Her lips trembled as she pressed them tightly together. Rather than

speaking, she bent to strap one of the knives below her knee, the other to her thigh.

"I don't like the way you stack the odds. Have your buddies take out the team watching us here," she suggested.

He grunted. "If they can, they will. There's always the chance they can't. Now let's get moving. I want to get there before noon. "

He turned and strode from the house, clearly expecting her to follow him. Damn. And she was going to do it, she knew she was. He smelled of danger, of adventure, of a way to conquer her demons and find the freedom she had longed for all these years.

And, in that moment, as hopeless as he made the mission seem, she knew he wouldn't carelessly drive them into the arms of their enemy. He had been doing this all his life, planning each move, each battle. He knew what he was doing.

That didn't mean she had to like it.

It didn't mean he wasn't going to tell her exactly what was going on. In that moment she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was no more than a test. The decision to follow him, to trust him. And she would be damned if she wasn't going to pass it.

Braden kept his expression calm, his shields carefully in place as Megan opened the door to the Raider and jumped into her seat.

"GPS, pull up Area Six-fifteen, Section C, Casper's Pass. " The windshield immediately became a crosssection of lines and map points as he backed the Raider into the turning area and pulled out.

"There's the canyon. Lance and I always called it Casper's Pass, though officially it has no name. We named it that for the sound the winds make at certain times of the day, like ghostly laughter weaving through the canyon.

"Here. " She pointed to a section of marked range, hilly, appearing impassable if one used the GPS

appearance.

"There's a rarely used road that weaves through this range. It's pretty much hidden, even from the air, so satellite would have a hard time finding it. If we disconnect GPS and the locator beacon on the Raider, we could slip through here. It would bring us above the canyon and allow us to survey it from a point where damned near all the canyon is in full view, It could give us an advantage that the other routes won't. "

Braden glanced at the screen, his brow furrowing as he stared at the direction she laid out by touching the points on the screen. As she had said, it was hidden, so well that even the Breed satellites had been

unable to detect it.

"The Raider can traverse it?" The range looked remarkably rough.

"Lance and I went fishing up there last summer with Grandfather. " She minted to the blue area indicated more than a mile from the observation point she suggested. "We took the range road with his Raider. It was rough, but definitely passable, and the area is also greener than the valley below, which cuts down on the dust trail. Without beacon, locators or dust points, the satellite imagery—if the Council is using it—can't pick us up here. They won't be expecting us if they're there. "

Excitement. He could feel it building in her, along with fear. And arousal. He inhaled slowly, restraining the lust building within him.

"Stop sniffing. " He almost grinned at the disgruntled tone of her voice.

"Leaving the house was your idea, not mine. I was perfectly happy bouncing in bed. "

"You have a way of describing things that astounds me, Megan," he drawled. "Next time, we'll try the kitchen table and see what you come up with for that one. "

"Ewww, I eat there," she retorted in mock distaste.

He glanced at her, allowing a smile to tilt his lips.

"I'll just make a meal out of you,'' he told her, not bothering to hide the hunger in his voice.

She flushed. He loved watching the color move beneath her skin, the way her eyes darkened and her breathing roughened.

"Pervert," she accused him, though her voice lacked heat. "I'll wait until we get closer to the area before I disable the GPS and locator beacon. Otherwise, anyone at the office can track us. I'll never believe Lance would betray me, but there are several people there I wouldn't trust as far as I can throw them. "

There were several people he knew would sell her out in a second. Jonas had pulled profiles on each and every deputy on the force, as well as the sheriff. Their records weren't nearly as clean as the state investigators had listed them.