Milo tilts his head back on the couch to see us as we enter from the kitchen. “Pizza should be here any minute. Rosa went to go talk to your mom, and the guys are keeping an eye on them.” It’s that simple. No questions on where we were or why we left.
I settle on the couch beside Milo with Dante next to me. Ollie and Ares are on the couch across from us. I look around, noticing it’s just the five of us here, and it reminds me of the beginning. I lay my open palm on Milo’s leg, and his hand settles against mine immediately. I was so confused back then, not sure who I was, who they were, or how we fit together. None of those thoughts even matter anymore. The only thing that does matter is making sure everyone is safe from Leon so we can all get on with our lives—my mom included.
The doorbell rings. “I got it.” Ares stands up and heads out of the living room at a brisk pace. I hear the front door open moments later.
Dante jumps up cursing. “Shit.” He runs from the room, following after Ares.
“What’s wrong?” An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach. “Oh, God.” Realization dawns too late. Dante backs into the room with his hands outstretched, fending off Ares.
Ares shows no signs of slowing down as he shoves Dante out of the way, and his eyes lock on mine. The darkness I see there isn’t anything like the usual obsidian I recognize when he looks at me. No, his gaze is almost empty as he stares at me with his eyes fully black. Milo moves to stand in front of me as Dante comes back between Ares and us. “Ares, this isn’t you. You’re stronger than this. Whatever you’re feeling, it isn’t real.”
“Get her out of here, Ollie,” Milo insists, as the width of his shoulders expands.
Ollie grabs my hand and starts tugging me backwards, but my feet feel rooted to the ground. I can’t look away as Ares reaches out and shoves Dante to the side again like he’s nothing.
“Ares,” I gasp, shocked at how violent the move was. His head slants to the side as he examines me. He blinks several times, but his face hardens, and he takes a few more steps in our direction.
“Laura, they can handle this. We need to go.” Ollie doesn’t give me a chance to argue. He lifts me up from behind and spins. As we’re turning, I catch a glimpse of Ares as he lowers his head and rushes toward Milo. A scream of terror bellows up from my throat.
Ollie rushes into the hall where he sets me on the floor. I hear when Ares slams into Milo, and the grunts and curses that follow.
Ollie places his hands on my cheeks and forces me to look at him instead of behind me. “We need to go. If he gets hold of you and shadow walks, we won’t ever find you.” I swallow as a pained shout comes from the living room. I close my eyes and pretend I didn’t just hear Dante shouting in pain.
Hand in hand, Ollie and I run to the side door, neither of us bothering with shoes. Rocks dig into my feet as we rush over to the Suburban. “Fuck!” Ollie shouts and slams the door. “No keys.” He pulls me over to the garage and flings the door open. Ollie hits the light switch and rushes over to a small red car. He peers into the window before moving to the next—Ares’s Range Rover. “Finally, get in.” He opens the passenger door and all but shoves me inside. Rounding the car, he hops in, hits a button on the dash causing the engine to purr to life as he taps a button near the sun visor to open the garage.
The tires squeal as he reverses into the driveway. He makes a tight turn, and then we’re flying down the long drive. I turn around and angle between the two front seats to stare out the back window. My heart is still racing with fear for the guys and my mom.
“Stop the car!” I yell. Ollie turns his head to look at me but doesn’t slow down. “Ollie, stop the car. My mom is in the house. He could go after her. We need to get her.” Ollie peels out as he makes the turn out of the drive. Thank goodness no one was coming, because he didn’t even slow down.
“I’m sorry, Laura, but we can’t. He was coming after you.”
“Ollie.” I smack his arm, still looking behind us. “We have to go back.”
“I can’t,” he says sadly, looking in the rearview mirror. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
I throw myself back into the seat, a wail of frustration bubbling up my throat. “How could we forget and let him answer the door alone?” I punch my hands down onto my thighs. “How long will it last? Do you think he’s going to be okay? They won’t really hurt each other, right?” My words are as frantic as my thoughts.
Ollie rolls his lips in, not giving me an answer. “We need to keep moving. I have no idea if Ares can track you through your bond or not. We can’t go home, not to our parents’ houses.” Ollie’s leg is bouncing up and down as he glances behind us again. It’s like he expects Ares to just pop up. That’s not even that farfetched at this point.
I fold my arms over my chest as Ollie speeds us into the night.
“She’s sleeping,” Ollie whispers. I open my eyes to see him, and he’s still driving. I blink at the glow of the clock coming from the center console. It’s almost three o’clock in the morning. I bolt upright, memories of what we left behind slotting into place as I wake.
“Who is it? Is everyone okay?” My voice is hoarse. I cried myself to sleep a few hours ago. My eyes still feel gritty and swollen.
“It’s Mal.”
“Where are Ares, Milo, and Dante?” My voice is quickly becoming hysterical. Ollie pulls the phone from his ear and taps a button. Mal’s calm voice fills the interior of the SUV. “—nted me to tell you everyone is okay.” He cuts in. “We think it’s worn off. Ares is… Ares is Ares. He seems to be under control.” Mal sounds exhausted as he stumbles over the words.
“Why didn’t Ares or one of the others call us?” My voice is high-pitched.
“Laura,” Mal murmurs. “Honey, they asked me to give you the message. I’m sure you’ll hear from them soon. They need to make sure that everyone is…” He pauses. “Themselves.”
“What about my mom, is she okay?”
“She’s fine, she and Rosa left just a few minutes after you. I think they’re headed to a hotel now. If you want, you can meet them there,” he offers.
“No, we need to come back. I’m glad they’re safe, but I need to come home.”
Mal lets out another long sigh. “They aren’t here, I don’t know where they went. They wouldn’t tell me.”
“Did they go home?” I ask, even though he just said he didn’t know where they were.
“I don’t think so. Why don’t you guys meet us at the hotel? William and I are heading there now.” I hear some mumbled words in the background. “The Hilton, in town,” Mal adds.
“We’re hours away.” Ollie guides the SUV to the side of the road, turning on his hazards.
“Well, maybe just get a hotel where you are. I’m sure you’ll hear from them soon. You guys need to get some sleep.”
I look at Ollie, pleading with him to take us back. “Maybe we will,” he answers noncommittally. I shake my head in denial. “Call us if you hear anything else,” he tells Mal.
“Will do. You guys take care; be careful.”
“Thank you, Malcolm, for helping me and my mom. I’m sorry we’re such trouble,” I rush out before Ollie can end the call.
Ollie lays his hand over mine before Mal can respond. “Ain’t none of this your fault, Laura, you or your momma’s. Get some rest. We’ll figure it out.”
The line goes dead. I peer up at Ollie. “Don’t even think like that,” he admonishes, squeezing my hand.
“Where are we?” I ignore his demand and look out the front window.
“Florida,” Ollie slurs around a yawn, settling back into the seat, his eyes closing.
“Let me drive for a little while so you can get some sleep.”
He opens one eye, leering at me. “And where would you be driving to?”
“Back home. We shouldn’t be this far from the others.” The feeling of anxiety bubbling in my stomach tells me how true the words are.
Ollie’s eyes close again. “We should wait until w
e hear from them before we head back. If Ares or Milo wanted us there, they would call.” His voice is soft, and I can hear the edge of defeat in his words. With just a little convincing, I’m sure I could get him to agree to go home.
“We’re hours away, we won’t even make it there until morning. We should just head back that way, and when they do call, we’ll be closer.” Ollie turns his head and gives me a sideways glower. I quickly add, “I promise, we’ll wait until we hear from them before we go to them. I don’t even know where they are.”
He blows out a heavy breath, his cheeks puffing. “Are you sure you’re awake enough to drive? I’ll probably fall asleep. Maybe we should just crash for a few hours at a hotel.”
“I’m wide awake, Ollie. I’ve been sleeping for hours,” I insist. It’s the truth. I don’t even know how I was able to fall asleep earlier, but there’s no going back to sleep for me now.
“You better not crash Ares’s Rover, he would kill me if you got hurt,” Ollie mumbles while reaching for the door handle. Excited that he’s giving in, and so easily, I hastily reach for the door, fumbling a little, so I can get into the driver’s seat.
When we go to pass each other at the rear of the vehicle. Ollie snags me around the waist. I look up into his sleepy eyes, the color is off with only the glare of the rear lights of the SUV to highlight them. He studies my face. “If you get tired or lonely, wake me up.” I nod and lean up on my tippy toes to capture his lips in a sweet kiss, but Ollie has other ideas. The moment my lips touch his, he responds hungrily.
Ollie’s usual teasing kisses are replaced with an almost desperate need to be closer as he drags me against his body. He’s all long, lean lines of sinewy muscle and heat. I reach up to his jaw, feeling the fine, soft stubble grazing my palm. He tilts his head as our noses brush. Abruptly, he stops the kiss and places his forehead on mine, his eyes still closed.
“We have to be more careful. I can’t believe Leon’s ability affected Ares.” Ollie lets out a shuddering breath. The fear and worry he must have worked so hard to keep hidden are leaking out now that he thinks everything is okay. I drag him down to me and wrap my arms around his neck. The threat of what Leon is truly capable of is much more real.
“We will be more careful, and we’ll stay together. No more letting him separate us.” Placing my heels back on the ground, I give Ollie’s shirt a tug and glance around the deserted two-lane road. I haven’t seen another car’s headlight since Ollie’s voice woke me up when he answered Mal’s call a few minutes ago.
“I hope you have GPS, because I have no clue where we are or how to get us home.” I add some lightness to my tone. Ollie was strong for both of us earlier. I want him to know I can be strong too. I want him to rest knowing I will get us back to our Infinity.
He gives me a dry chuckle in response. “If we don’t find a gas station soon, it won’t even matter.”
Chapter 10
“In two hundred feet, make a legal U-turn when possible.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” I growl, peering over at Ollie. His head is leaning against the window, and his mouth is hanging open. A grin lifts my lips, until I realize I probably looked just like that when I was sleeping.
“I don’t think this road is on a map, the GPS can’t even connect.” I’m talking to myself, but who cares. It’s just past dawn, and I’ve been driving for a little over three hours. Ollie wasn’t kidding when he said he drove all the way down to Florida.
He stayed awake until we found a gas station near the expressway, but that was a while ago. I was doing fine until the stupid app told me there was an accident ahead, and if I wanted to avoid it and heavy traffic, I could hit the button for rerouting. I should not have hit the button. I’ve been stuck on back roads and two-lane highways for the last hour. Pretty sure the coffee I got when we filled up was a bad idea, because now I need to pee.
I glance down at the phone again to make sure I do indeed need to make a U-turn. Yup, the blue line has me headed right back the way I came. I pull off to the side and let the two other cars behind me pass. When the road is clear, I pull out and turn around.
“Continue for six point seven miles and make a right on Secore Road.”
“Whatever, you’re crazy, I should have got a map instead of the coffee.” At least the SUV drives nice—a hell of a lot better than the motorhome—but I’ve been in this car for hours. No matter how nice it is, I want to get home.
I run my fingers over the phone screen, wondering if I should try to call one of the guys. Shouldn’t they have called us by now? But what if something happened to them? Shit, what if one of them is hurt?
I reposition myself, bouncing my left leg. I won’t be able to ignore my need for a bathroom soon. I could stop now, walk into the tree line, but I really don’t want to do that unless it’s a real emergency.
I think I’ll try calling them. Ollie is still sleeping soundly, and the GPS says we won’t be home for almost three more hours. I don’t think I can wait that long to hear from them.
I still have three miles before my next turn, so I tap the phone to bring up the home screen and hit the phone icon. The favorites pop up. There’s a picture of Milo in a little circle at the top, but he’s not looking at the camera. It looks like Ollie snapped it without him knowing. Dante’s and Ares’s names and pictures are right below it, but I hit Milo’s name. It’s already ringing when I bring the phone to my ear. I sit up a little straighter at the prospect of talking to him. The line clicks. “Hello?” I call, but an automated voice answers.
“You have reached—” I hang up before it can finish.
This time I hit Dante’s contact. His gruff voice fills my ear on the second ring. “Ollie, everything okay?” I can tell by the way he sounds he was sleeping.
“It’s me,” I whisper back.
“Laura.” His tone changes, he sounds more urgent, instantly more awake.
I almost feel guilty for waking him up, almost. “You never called.” There’s an accusation in my voice.
“Mal was supposed to call. Are you guys okay? Where’s Ollie?”
“Ollie’s sleeping. Mal did call. Why didn’t you?” I keep my eyes on the road, waiting for my turn.
A heavy sigh comes through the line. “Ares was a little confused and a whole lotta pissed off when he came out of it.” I hear a door shut, then the sound of running water.
“Are you peeing?” I groan.
“Yeah, sorry.”
“I have to pee so damn bad, and that’s just making it worse.”
“Why can’t you go to the bathroom?” The toilet flushes in the background.
“I’m driving.”
“And Ollie’s sleeping?” Dante sounds incredulous.
“He drove until three, and I wanted to get back home after we talked to Mal. I’m driving so he can get some sleep. Oh, hang on, this is my turn. I need to check the directions again.”
“You’ve been driving all night?” he growls at me.
“Just a sec, don’t hang up. I’m switching to speaker.” I switch the phone to speaker and flip on my blinker to make the turn.
“Are you still there?” I call as I turn.
“Yes, you shouldn’t be driving all night—or talking on the phone while driving.”
I roll my eyes. “Why didn’t Milo answer? I called him first.”
“Probably still sleeping. Are you paying attention to the road?” He sounds impatient.
“Yes, Dante,” I drawl. “How do I switch it back to the GPS while I’m on the phone?”
“The GPS might not work if you’re on the phone. But you swipe up from the bottom of the screen, just like if you want to switch apps.”
“Dammit, I should have checked the next turn before I called.” I guide the car to the shoulder of the road. I don’t want to go out of my way even more. I look around, but there’s not much to see.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere in Georgia.” I bounce in my seat.
�
�Just take the ninety-five until you get into South Carolina.”
“The stupid GPS has me all turned around. I have to get out and pee in the trees,” I growl, digging around looking for some napkins.
“What? Where the hell in Georgia are you?”
“I’m taking the phone with me,” I warn him, and hit the button to disengage the locks.
“Wait, wake up Ollie. I don’t want you going off in the woods by yourself,” Dante urges me.
“It’s not the woods, and it’s not like I’ve never done it before.” The SUV dings when I open the door.
“Laura, just wake up Ollie.”
“No, I’ll be done in, like, five seconds. Don’t listen to me pee,” I demand.
Dante lets out a real growl. Even though I can’t really feel it, the stiffness in my legs registers when I get out of the car. Maybe it’s a memory of how I know they should feel, or maybe I’m not quite so numb.
Phone in hand with Dante still on speaker, I high-step over some taller grass until I can make it to the tree line on the side of the road. The Range Rover is only about twenty-five feet away.
“Why the hell didn’t you guys just go to a hotel last night?”
I peer around the tree and make sure no one is around to see me as I set the phone near a rock and drag my pants down to my ankles. “Because I wanted to come home,” I tell him.
“I mean, when you left here, why go all the way to fucking Georgia? Ares, wake up.” He bellows the last part.
“Don’t wake him up. Ollie didn’t know if Ares could track me. He wanted to keep us moving, so we went to fucking Florida,” I defended.
I finish my business and wipe. I feel a tad bad for leaving the paper on the ground, but I’m not bringing it back to the car.
“Florida. He took her all the way to Florida,” Dante announces.
“Yeah, well, maybe we wouldn’t have gone so far if you would have actually called us.” I’m scared and worried, but my words are coming out like I’m pissed.
Dante ignores me. “Ollie was worried you could track her. Could you?” he asks someone—Ares, I assume.
Infinity Chronicles Book Four: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Series Page 9