Page 21 of Thrown into the Mob

Durand looked over my shoulder and sighed, not with sadness, but if I was guessing correctly, it was relief.

Three people got out of the car. The other vehicles in the convoy must have diverted elsewhere. That was another smart move because a parade would draw attention from the wrong people.

The Alpha was out first. Even if I hadn’t seen his photo in the intelligence files, he was unmistakable as the man in charge. He held himself like a man who'd been leading their pack since both his grandfather and father were assassinated. That must have left a mark, just as me being blamed for something out of my control had shaped my life.

He moved toward the gas station with his eyes sweeping the area and his hand inside his jacket. If I made a wrong move, he’d fire that gun at my head before I’d had time to blink.

The second guy was broader and bulkier, and I pegged him as enforcer, but I’d also done my research on the second brother. He stayed near the car with his eyes on the tree line and a hand on his holster. That was Ranger.

The third person was a much older man. He was the Alpha’s spritely great-uncle Arnie, but a grandfather to the man who’d escaped with me tonight. He was a chef, and he too had a gun, outlined under his sweater. But an aroma wafted out of the car with him, and my mouth watered. One cereal bar in the past fifteen hours had done little to satisfy my hunger.

“Madd, are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Grandpa.” Durand grinned, and his face lit up for the first time since we’d met. “Something smells good.”

My dragon, while alert to the newcomers and their motives, was wary. The adrenaline that had coursed through our veins had subsided, and a heavy tiredness settled over me.

Durand crossed the distance between him and his Alpha in a few strides, and Flint caught him with one arm, pulling him in. His hand went to the back of his cousin’s head. As he held him, Flint’s eyes found me over Durand’s shoulder.

I waited as his brow furrowed and his gaze moved over my face. I imagined his mind checking it against whatever photograph he had of Evander. But the 11’s between his brows evened out, and that was the moment he must have understood there was a second brother, and that was me.

“You're the friend.” Flint still had hold of Durand who didn’t turn around. “And also the patriarch's son.”

Durand pulled back from Flint's grip. “Flint.”

“Enough, Madd. I’m talking to him.” He was no longer the worried cousin but the in-command Alpha. “We somehow missed that the patriarch had a second son.”

“Don’t beat yourself up.” Shit, I shouldn’t have said that. His nostrils flared. “My father has done that all his life.”

Flint nodded. I’d get no pity from him.

Ranger strode toward us. “You got Madd out.”

“That was my dragon. He took the lead.” Now wasn’t the time to go into detail about who Durand and I were to each other and why we’d run.

Flint’s gaze rested on me, and I wondered what was going on behind those dark eyes. But Durand grimaced, and Flint’s attention switched to his cousin’s shoulder. The Alpha tugged at the shirt collar and studied the gauze and the blood and yarrow stains.

“We'll talk later.”

The grandfather, Arnie, walked past Flint and me. He gave me a dismissive look before taking his grandson’s face in both hands. He turned it one way, then the other.

“You're too thin, Madd.”

“Grandpa, I was only held captive for a few days.”

“Days without eating properly. I brought food.”

“Uncle Arnie, you can talk in the car.” Flint steered Durand toward Ranger who bundled him in the car. "We have to move now. They’ll be looking for us.”

“And in the air. My father will have sent at least two to take their scales by now.”

Ranger punched his palm, apparently eager for a fight. But Flint shut him down with a look.

“There's a back route we can take. It’s a service road that runs south through the woods. Logging trucks use it during the day, but it's empty at night. It comes out on Route 12 about fifteen miles past the junction. From there you can take the highway south and they won't know which direction you went.”

Flint's eyes narrowed, but if he didn’t trust me, there was nothing I could do to prove I wasn’t double-crossing him.

“Your GPS might not show that one, but I know every road within forty miles of that compound.”