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French fries.
The identification of the scent immediately popped me into a sitting position. I have no idea how long I was out, but now I was fully awake and ravenous. A quick glance at my surroundings told me we were in the drive through line of a Wendy’s and my mouth salivated.
“What would you like?” Steve asked, meeting my gaze.
“Everything,” I said in all seriousness and he arched a brow. “Fine,” I sighed and looked at the approaching board. “Two double bacon cheeseburgers, no, make that three, two large fries, a large chocolate frosty.” I scanned the menu. “And maybe spicy chicken sandwich,” I added. “Wait, make that three portabella bacon cheeseburgers instead of the double cheeseburgers,” I said and smiled. “And a large frosty shake along with the chocolate frosty.”
Steve stared at me in the mirror.
“That should do for me,” I said and glanced at Damian. “Do you want anything?”
Damian snorted laughter and Steve looked down so I wouldn’t see him grin. After the chortle of laughter filled the car, everyone yelled out their orders.
“Just hold on a second,” he said as he rolled up to the drive through kiosk.
“Welcome to Wendy’s, what can I get you today?” the chipper voice asked.
Steve accurately recounted my order, which impressed the hell out of me, and he continued ticking off what everyone had called out down to the last frosty. It was an impressive list for seven people, but no one had near the volume of food I ordered.
“I got this,” Damian said, reaching for his wallet, but his expression fell when his hand came up empty. “Fuck,” he muttered and Steve glanced back at him. “My wallet was in the jeans I had on earlier,” he said. “Which are on the floor in the bathroom upstairs.”
“That means they’re going to assume you had something to do with the disappearance of my family,” Steve mumbled, pulling his wallet out and peeling off enough cash to cover the bill at the window.
We didn’t linger. The minute the food was in the car and accounted for, Steve pulled out of the parking lot, heading down one of the main thoroughfares right through the middle of a college campus. He pushed the redial button on his phone as soon as he was sure no one was following us.
“Steve?”
“You went to the house, didn’t you?” he asked, his voice filled with instant irritation.
“It’s my job. There’s blood everywhere, what the hell happened?” Sarah snapped back.
“We are all okay.”
“You said that earlier. But after seeing this, clearly, someone isn’t.”
“Something. Not someone.”
“What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?”
“Let it go. This is one of those situations where you don’t want to know. Just like you don’t want to know what the hell happened at the hospital in Torrington. It’s way too out there for you to come to terms with.”
Silence cascaded on the line.
“More fucked up than your guardian angel?”
“Far more,” he said, his voice softening. “It’s even more fucked up than what happened at Black Cove.”
Jennifer shivered at the mention of Black Cove, encircling herself with her arms as if that could ward off whatever chill accosted her. I traded a glance with Damian and focused on my food, carefully unwrapping the first burger.
“Fine. Can I at least tell Ron that you’re okay?”
“Go ahead,” Steve answered. “And let him know that video didn’t carry the full story. The man in the video was there, but he isn’t responsible for those deaths. It’s a set up. And I know who is responsible.”
“Fine, I’ll tell him,” Sarah said and the line went dead.
I tore into my second burger and glanced at Damian. I had a few questions, but my mind focused back on the food and I devoured it with zest, like this was my last meal.
Silence blanketed the car and I looked up at Damian. His lips pressed together in derision and his gaze jumped between the food in my hands and my face and then he shook his head, taking a spoonful of my chocolate frosty that he held for me.
I glanced in the back and all three of them were staring at me in the same manner as Damian.
“I’m hungry,” I said around a mouthful of French fries.
That seemed to break their morbid curiosity and they all looked down at their own food. I glanced back at Damian. “What?”
“Wild dogs,” he whispered and grinned, shaking his head like I was a hopeless case. He handed me my frosty and broke into his meal.
I finished mine before he had the chance to drink half his soda.
We pulled off the main road onto an overgrown dirt path between drifts of snow. I hadn’t noticed the shift in the scenery from the snow dusted seacoast to the mountains of New Hampshire until now.
“Where are you taking us?” I asked and covered a burp. The triplets seemed to be falling into the same food coma I was entering and I yawned.
“Paradise Cove,” Steve said just as the woods opened to a clearing with a charming oversized cottage like the ones you’d see the rich and famous slumming in.
The moonlight reflected on the snow and Steve slowed as the garage opened and he pulled inside, throwing the car into park and cutting the engine. He waited until the door closed behind us before he reached up and scratched a line through the symbol, rendering it useless. Steve stepped out of the car and opened the door for me.
“You’ve got just enough time to hit the bathroom and then we have to move,” he said, unlocking the house and waving me inside. The crew unloaded but no one else came inside with Steve and me.
I did my business and stepped back into the dark room.
“You and Damian will need these,” Steve said, handing me a down coat and once I pulled it on, he handed me the one for Damian and I stepped back into the garage.
Damian stepped close and I offered him the coat. He slipped it on and we waited for Steve. A couple of minutes later, he came out with a metal box along with four coats draped across the top. After handing the coats to Jennifer, Raven, Tom and CJ, Steve set the box down and pulled out his keys.
“Get the ammunition,” he said nodding toward the back of the truck where Damian had stashed the grocery bag of bullets. Damian stepped to the trunk while Steve unlocked the box and handed CJ and Tom two of the revolvers from within the case. When Damian returned, he handed each one of them a box of ammunition.
“Load up, boys,” Steve said and took a box himself, making sure his clip was full.
Damian did the same and I watched each of the platinum bullets fit neatly in the clip and then he pushed it in place, meeting my gaze.
“You ready for this?” he asked me and I nodded, running my hands over my belly.
He offered me a strained smile and leaned down, meeting my lips with his cool ones.
“If something happens to me, make sure they know I loved them as much as their mamma,” he whispered and pulled away.
“I hate it when you do that,” I snapped. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.” I straightened, sending a glare in his direction before turning to Steve. “You got another gun?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t,” Steve answered, showing me the empty case. “Besides, you’ve got an advantage the rest of us don’t.”
“The tiger?”
He nodded.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” I said, running my hand over my belly.
“It’s your best option if the shit hits the fan,” he said.
As much as I didn’t like that answer, I had to agree. I was a force in tiger form, especially after what I did to the hellhounds in the garage. I gave him a nod and stepped back next to Damian.
Steve checked the safety on the gun before stepping toward the door. He waited until everyone finished loading their clips, his gaze settling on each one of us as we lined up behind him.
“Game on,” Steve said and all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. He opened the door and I clamped my teeth together, steeling myself for battle.