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He breathes out a sigh, a sign that he’s given up. Smart man. “Fine, we’ll bring the dog.”
I have to refrain from pumping my fist into the air. I’ve been wearing him down. It’s been a day and a half since Max got the information out of the dreg doctor. It took the rest of that day for Griffin to cool down enough to be around me without William stepping in between us, and then all of yesterday for him to finalize a plan enough to share it with me.
The plan is a pretty good one, but I’m not telling him that. His head is already big enough.
If the doctor was right, there should be dregs patrolling the outside, but only a few of them. We’ll take them down and take their clothes. We’ll have to hide them somewhere, otherwise a pile of naked men would be sure to get some attention.
Max was hellbent on killing them on the spot after what they put us through a couple of days ago, but Griffin is adamant that knocking them unconscious will be enough. He doesn’t want to draw any extra attention to us. It’s going to be hard enough blending in as it is, and the chance that someone will recognize that we don’t belong there is pretty high. So I’m curious to see how this plays out. My vote is on Max. Griffin is stubborn, but Max is unstoppable. Griffin can only reel him in so much. If he wants to feed his personified weapon, then there won’t be any stopping him.
I, personally, don’t care either way as long as we get that insulin.
We get out of the car and the first thing Buddy does is stand by my side. I give Griffin a triumphant grin, but he shakes his head and looks away. Proving him wrong gives me a thrill. I wonder what I can prove him wrong on next.
Griffin leads the way, and William follows. Then me and Buddy, and Max behind us. We parked in a thick of trees big enough to fit the car and hide it. We can’t even see the hideout yet. It’s going to be a short walk, but I can feel the excitement radiating through me.
We don’t have any information other than where the hideout is located, and I hope the doctor was telling the truth because we can’t exactly go back and ask him again. I really hope he was telling the truth about the insulin. If we get inside and find the medical room and it turns out to be empty, I…well, I don’t know what I would do. I only hope that it’s there. Zoey is counting on me.
When a building with a few people scattered around it carrying guns comes into view, I steel my spine. Max leans in from behind and whispers in my ear. “Don’t get any brave ideas, pet.”
I elbow him away. I’m grateful that I’m not alone in this and that these guys will go through this hell with me, but I’m tired of being treated like I’m fragile. Well, it’s more the smugness they have about it. All that masculine energy they like to throw around, claiming they’re invincible, and so am I if I’m with them. I guess I can’t fault them for that. They don’t recognize that I’ve already endured enough damage to prevent me from ever becoming fragile.
This is something I’d set out to do on my own, after all. I’ve been on solo scavenging missions for so long that I haven’t exactly built teamwork skills. I don’t even care about proving myself. All I want is that medicine. And to not die while getting it, that’s sort of an important goal of mine. At least that’s one goal the four of us can agree on.
We hide behind two cars, Max and I behind one, while Griffin and William are behind the other. We’re only a few feet away from the first dreg. I look around, trying to see if we can sneak by unnoticed. I see Griffin doing the same thing from behind the second car a few feet away, and when our eyes meet, we agree that it’s not possible. We’ll need a diversion.
“I got this.” Max slides around the back of the car we’re hiding behind and shoves a dagger through the kidney of the nearest dreg, then lowers him to the ground without a sound. He strips him down, slipping into his pants and jacket that are clearly too big for him, but I like the idea. Then he repeats the process with the second closest dreg who isn’t paying any attention, but this time he brings the pants and jacket back behind the car. “Hold out your arms and turn around.”
“Did you really need to kill them?”
He thinks about it for a moment and then shrugs. “Dunno. Now turn around.”
Raising an eyebrow, I do as he says. He places the jacket on me but then looks at the pants with a frown. “What is it?”
“There’s no way you can wear these. You’re too tiny.” He tosses the pants into the mud behind him and rubs his chin while he thinks.
“Hey, I could’ve used those,” William whispers from the other car.
“You two can pick out your own kills. I’m only treating the lady.”
I roll my eyes, but then he snaps his fingers.
“What was that?” someone calls out. Dammit, he got the attention of another one.
Max’s eyes widen, as does his grin, and he holds a finger to his lips before peering around the back of the car. Footsteps approach, and when they get close enough, he goes in for the kill. He’s so fast that even though I knew it was coming, I almost miss it.
He appears behind the car again and grabs all of my hair together before stuffing it into a beanie and pulling it down. He beams down at me. “There, that should do it.”
Max kisses my cheek before looking around the car again. William is putting on the clothes of the third dreg that Max killed, which he’s rolling his eyes at, while Griffin lowers a fourth dreg to the ground before stripping his clothes. He and William push the four bodies beneath the cars.
“This one’s still alive,” Griffin says, hauling him inside of the car instead. He glares at Max and then at the three bodies he’s kicking beneath the car.
“She needs the pants, even if they’re too big,” William says.
“She’ll trip in them,” Max says.
“And you think walking around in those shorts is a better idea?”
Max thinks it over. “Hmmm, you might have a point. Come on pet, we’re not done playing dress up.”
