Logan's Choice (Dark Hollow Wolf Pack 3)
“Something’s going on. We need to find out why they’re out here. ” Nicky stood up and tried to see farther down the trail. “They could be meeting with them at the stream. You said it was an old Hunters’ site. You think we could sneak up on them and seewhat they’re saying?”
“No, the falls make too much noise . Let’s see if they plan on staying at least. I can circle us around and get us close. C’mon. ”
They made a wide circle through the brush, not daring to get near the trail. Finally, they came out downstream, looking up toward the waterfall. The Hunters were there, on the stream bank.
Keeping silent, they watched the small group set up a campsite. Nicky followed Logan as he moved further away from the camp. He sat down on a rock near the small trail and regarded Nicky solemnly.
“Nicky, do you trust me?”
Nicky shrugged. “Sure, I guess so. Of course. ”
“I want to ask them for asylum. ”
Nicky stared down at him like he’d lost his mind. “No! I can’t leave Marco. It would kill him and kill me too. I only said that to hurt him if it got back to him. ”
Logan looked impatient. “I know all that. Look, it wouldn’t be for real. We’ll say that to negotiate a talk. I’ve got to find out how they knew we’d be in the Hunters’ compound that night and,what’s more important, Ian has to know, and he won’t believe me if you don’t hear it too. He’ll never trust me again if he doesn’t. ”
“But what if we can’t get back out of there? They could force us to go with them. They have a lot of guns with them,and we don’t. ”
“That’s why I’m asking you to trust me to get you out of there. I know I can do this, but if you’re scared…”
“Hell no, I’m not scared. ” Nicky bristled visibly. “Okay, let’s do this. What do I say?”
“That you were kidnapped and treated badly. We’ll stand at the top of the falls and call down to them. ”
“What if they shoot us?”
Logan snorted. “They’re not going to shoot us, Nicky. We’re human. They’ll see us as victims they’re rescuing from a fate worse than death. ” He hoped.
Nicky grinned. “Marco as a fate worse than death? I don’t know if I can pull that off with a straight face, but I’ll try. ”
Logan grinned back at him. “Okay, let’s do this!”
Crawling up the mountain behind the top of the falls, Logan looked back over his shoulder to make sure Nicky was still behind him. Nicky gave him a thumbs up. Logan took a deep breath, stood up, and waved his arms to the men gathered below on the bank. Instantly, the men raised their weapons, but lowered them when Dawson saw who it was.
Dawson yelled up to him. “Come down, Logan. We’ve been looking for you! We’ll help you!Your father’s been worried sick about you!”
Logan motioned for Nicky to stand up beside him and looked back down. “I want to talk first,” he yelled back down to him. “We want asylum. ”
“Of course! Come down and we’ll talk. ”
“First I want your word we can go free if we decide we want to leave. You won’t try to hold us against our will. ”
“Of course! Who is that with you?”
“Another one of the humans they kidnapped. Can I trust you, Dawson? Do you give me your word?”
“Yes, Logan. I swear!”
Logan nodded and signaled to Nicky to climb back down. On the way down the side, he spoke to Nicky in a low voice. “I don’t trust him. Like I said, he’s my father’s closest aide, and my father will lie about anything to get what he wants. ”
“Then why are we going in? They might not let us back out. ”
“I wanted him to believe we really want asylum. Just trust me. If I say run, get in the cave. They’ll think they have you trapped and not be in a hurry to go in after you. Straight back, two feet to the right, there’s an overlap in the rock. You can’t see it unless you slide your hand in. Follow it out if I don’t get in with you. ”
“What do you mean if you don’t get in there?”
“I mean if we get separated and I run the other way. ”