Lost and Found (A Werewolf Wars Novel Book 4) (18 page)

Sarah raised her eyebrow and gave him a disbelieving grin. “Okay, this is your safety.” She pointed to a tiny lever. “It has to be off to fire. It’s a semi-automatic, so it will reload for you, but you’ll have to give it a second. Then aim and fire.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Vincent replied. He doubted it was easy, though. It probably took a tremendous amount of skill.

“Once you get the hang of it, it will be easier.” She patted his shoulder with her free hand. “You know, try shifting your eyes. You see better that way, right?” Sarah asked, offering the gun to him.

Vincent flexed his fingers before lifting the cool metal out of her hand. It was heavier then he imagined—not that the pistol was overly heavy. He’d just expected something different. What, he didn’t know.

“All right, you are going to want a firm stance. The gun will kick back when you fire,” she explained. Her hands rested on his shoulders and she bit her lip as she met his gaze. Unable to stop himself, he leaned in and captured her soft, plump lips.

Sarah hummed against his mouth, her hands gently pushing him away. She cleared her throat and took a step back, clearly flustered by his actions.

“We can’t be doing that while you’re holding
that
.” Her eyes darted down to the gun.

“Clearly, I’m not ready for the big boy toys,” he joked.
That was stupid! What was I thinking?

“It’s okay. The safety is on, but accidents can happen. Now focus on your body, you want your elbows bent slightly and feet apart. I’m going to stand back here behind you.” She moved away from him. “Aim for the third fence post and fire when you’re ready,” Sarah called.

Vincent focused on her words, trying to follow instructions. He zoned in on his target by shifting his eyes, allowing the post to become clearer. He released the safety and pulled the trigger. The weapon jolted back and a loud pop echoed throughout the yard, accompanied by an ear-splitting blare. He frowned, confused by the noise.

“Is that the alarm?” Sarah hollered.

Vincent blinked and set the safety. His heart pounded with adrenaline. He spun around taking in their surroundings. A blur of black caught his eye in the distance. Only one animal moved that fast in these parts—a werewolf.

“Take this,” Vincent instructed, thrusting the gun at her as he grabbed her by the elbow and darted to the house. Fear gripped him. He inhaled deeply, searching for the wolves’ scent.
The Lunas are here.
They had to get out of here now!

The few hundred feet to the house stretched endlessly. Panic consumed his thoughts. They had to get to the car.

He raced through the thick grass, clasping onto Sarah for dear life. She pulled away, yanking her hand out of his and he gulped, terrified something had happened to her.

A loud pop rang out. Of course, leave it to Sarah to fire rounds while on the run. She was a deadly woman—his deadly woman. He spun to check on her and assess the damage. A gray wolf dropped to the ground. From here on out, he needed to make sure she always had a gun.

He needed to keep her safe. Sarah fired again. The wolves seemed to hesitate, allowing Vincent and Sarah to put some distance between them and get to the house.

Their shoes stomped over the wooden porch as they hurried to the shelter of the house. Vincent yanked the door open and tugged it shut behind them. He twisted the lock even though he knew it wouldn’t keep them out for long, but it would give them a head start.

“Get the bullets and anything else you can grab. Meet me back here in a minute.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond. They had to keep moving or they would never make it off the property. Vincent tore down the hall. They needed the journal, money, and the laptop.

Sarah blinked, staring after Vincent’s retreating form as her mind tried to process what was happening.
I need to move! The Lunas are here.
The door thudded behind her. Her heart leapt up into her throat and she sprinted up the stairs two at a time. Terror pitted within her. They’d come too far to be caught now.
Move faster!

She dashed into Vincent’s bedroom, snatched a gym bag from the closet, and ran to the stash of weapons. Her hands shook violently as she gathered the supplies.
Get a hold of yourself. We have to go!

She inhaled deeply, letting the adrenaline take over. Her mind raced.
What else did they need? Clothes.
She ran to the dresser and shoved an armful of garments from each drawer into the bag.  Then she rushed to Emily’s room to grab things for herself.

Sarah was reminded of their pressed time when glass shattered downstairs.
They are coming in through the windows.
Her pulse roared in her ears as she darted out of the room.

Don’t fall down the stairs,
she repeated over and over again in her head as she rushed down.

Vincent met her in the hall, breathlessly. “You ready?”  He had a bag over his shoulder, the edge of the laptop poking out from the top.
Good
, she thought,
it would have been very bad if we left that behind.
That laptop had a large majority of their evidence, including dated emails between Emmett and Charles.

“Yeah,” Sarah gasped as more glass fractured.

Vincent clasped her hand in his as they fled to the garage.
We just need to make it to the car. Please, please let us make it.

Vincent opened the garage door and slammed it shut behind them. He unlocked the BMW and sprinted to the driver side.

Sarah jumped in, ready to book it out of there. She stuffed her bag between her legs as Vincent set the laptop bag on her lap. Her hands shook with panic as she fumbled with the seatbelt.

“I got you.” Vincent clicked her belt then jammed the key in the ignition as the car roared to life.

Sarah held her breath. She prayed no vehicles blocked their path. The car lurched forward. She screamed as they crashed through the garage door. Pieces of metal and plastic pinged against the windshield. Sarah cringed as the glass splintered and cracked.
Please don’t let it shatter.

“Vincent!” she shrieked, pointing. A black van blocked their path.

Vincent jerked the wheel to the left, but it was too late. The bumper crunched against the back end of the van. Sarah’s seatbelt tightened around her and the air whooshed out of her lungs. A puff of white popped out at her. She blocked the air bag and yelped. Pain exploded in her right shoulder as they began to move again.
Thank God! We might just make it out of here.

Vincent punched the air bag as he struggled to see around it.

“Sarah? You okay?” he asked, flooring the gas.

Sarah swallowed, trying to regain her composure. That had been too close.

“Sarah?” Vincent asked worriedly, casting his glance to her.

“Yeah, yeah, I think so,” she croaked, trying to control her breathing.

“Hold onto something. This corner is going to be tight,” Vincent instructed, gripping the wheel. He grunted as he tried to turn, but the car no longer maneuvered as it should.

Sarah clung to the overhead handle and closed her eyes. Whatever was about to happen, she didn’t want to know. Her body listed to the side. Tiny clangs pounded the car as the back end spun out. If Vincent lost control, they would be caught for sure.

Her pulse roared. He was a good driver. They’d done well the other day. Finally, the car gained traction, causing her to be whipped to the right. She opened her eyes. The road ahead of them was clear.

But I bet we are being followed.

Sarah turned, squinting as she tried to see through the dust their retreat kicked up. Three cars appeared in the debris and she ground her teeth.
It isn’t over yet.

“It’s okay,” Vincent assured. “We have a full tank of gas. We’ll be on the main highway in a minute and it’s broad daylight. They won’t do anything that is going to get people involved.”

“Are we going to Abilene?” she asked quietly. She would like nothing more than to see her big sister and Gene again. The madness had to end.

“We could. First, we have to lose our tail. And then we need to call Gene,” Vincent explained, his eyes wearily drifting to the mirror. “What the hell?” he mumbled, leaning forward.

“What is it?” Sarah asked, twisting to see out the back.
What is happening now?

“That’s Daniel’s car.”

S
arah frowned. “Daniel? Like your brother Daniel?” Questions raced through her mind.
How did he find us?

“I’d recognize that blue Camaro anywhere. He special ordered that cobalt color,” Vincent commented, a hint of hope in his voice.

“But why is he here? How did he know how to find us?”
Does Lark know?  No, she’d be here, too.

“I’m not sure why he’s here. I would assume he’s here to help,” Vincent said excitedly, glancing in the rearview mirror. “We could most definitely use a little assistance at the moment.”

Sarah twisted to look out the back window. Two other vehicles sped after them and Daniel’s vehicle followed their pursuers. At least help was here; they wouldn’t have to deal with wacky werewolves alone.

“Can you take the wheel a sec?” Vincent asked.

“Yeah,” Sarah replied, grasping the wheel. She focused on the road as Vincent lifted himself off the seat and dug out a phone. She prayed no one did anything crazy as Vincent took his time dialing Daniel—at least that’s whom she assumed he was calling.

“Thanks,” he said, reclaiming the wheel as he put the phone to his ear.

Sarah let go and sat back anxiously in the seat. Help was finally here; they just needed to figure out how to get to Daniel.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Vincent joked into the phone. Daniel said something on the other line she couldn’t quite make out.

“You know school’s just getting out for the day. You remember how crazy traffic is over by the high school?” Vincent gave her a smile before pulling them onto another narrow country road. He nodded, probably to something Daniel said. “Yeah. The Beamer’s not in great shape. I may have scratched it a little.”

Sarah quirked her brow. She wasn’t even sure how the windshield was still intact. She could only imagine how mangled the metal bumper was from their run-in with the van.

“Sounds good. We’ll see you in a few,” Vincent grinned, hanging up. He turned to Sarah, “Are you up for one last run? We’re going to lose these guys for good.”

Sarah let out a ragged breath. She was tired of running, but she would by no means give up. “I’m game.”

Vincent shifted in his seat, getting comfortable. He had a determined look in his eye as he made a few more turns. “Time to lose these guys once and for all.”

Sarah smiled and let out a long breath, eager to lose their tail. But as she took a moment to look around, she realized losing their pursuers wasn’t quite that easy. In fact, it looked down right impossible. A four way stop was in front of them and traffic was bumper-to-bumper heading through it. “What’s all this?” Sarah asked with a frown.

“Traffic is always crazy through here at this time. The high school just let out. There are four stops throughout this tiny stretch of road. They’ll get trapped in this mess,” Vincent smiled.

“But won’t we, too?” Sarah questioned, confused.

“Nope. We are going to park in the lot up ahead on your left, take a short stroll for a few yards, and end up in the Wendy’s restaurant parking lot,” Vincent explained. “I should have asked Daniel to run through the drive-thru.”

Sarah glared at him. “Seriously?”

“Nah, there probably wouldn’t have been time,” Vincent grinned.

Sarah shook her head. She did understand he was trying to lighten the mood, but sometimes his jokes just didn’t help. Whether or not everything went according to plan, they would be off the radar again. Hopefully this time their reprieve would be longer. She had enjoyed their short time at his home relaxing, but it hadn’t been long enough.

The car rolled to another stop, jolting her out of her thoughts. She swallowed realizing the lot Vincent had pointed out was one more stop sign away. Bending down, she made sure the contents of the bag were gathered up and zipped the bag completely shut.

“Can you see them back there?” Vincent asked, casting a glance in the rearview mirror.

Sarah twisted in her seat and peered out the window. “I think they are at least eight cars back now. I only see the one car, though.”

“Good. Daniel would have called if the other car followed him. I’m sure it’s stuck back there, too,” Vincent stated, relieved.

“Couldn’t they still get out of their car and follow us on foot?” Sarah asked nervously.

“I suppose it’s possible, but highly unlikely. Look around,” he suggested.

Sarah looked outside her window. The sidewalk was bustling with high school kids.

“They’d be foolish to draw attention to themselves by chasing after us in this crowd,” Vincent explained. “Be ready to move, just in case, though.”

Sarah sighed, sliding the bag Vincent had given her over her shoulder and clasping the other in her hand. As soon as they stopped, she needed to be ready to run. She gripped the door handle with her other hand, readying herself to flee.

Vincent made a hard right turn into the small parking lot thanks to the BMW’s great handling. He sped to the back of the lot and came to an abrupt halt. “Come on, Sarah. We got to go.”

Sarah shoved her door open and raced out without further encouragement. Vincent met her in the front of the vehicle and took the heavy gym bag from her arm. He clutched her hand in his and tugged her into the brush. Sarah ducked, nearly missing a low branch as they darted through a yard. She sucked in a deep breath, forcing herself to stay upright. Vincent was moving fast—supernaturally fast—and it was getting hard to keep up. Their shoes slapped across pavement as they entered another yard.

Vincent squeezed Sarah’s fingers in a silent assurance they were almost there. He knew he was moving fast, but had confidence she could keep up.

Trees and houses whipped by them as they sprinted. They ran through the last yard and he swallowed hard as he spotted Daniel’s car ahead. Nora stood in the lot, the door held open and front seat propped forward, waiting for them. He never thought he’d be so glad to see his brother in his whole life. And how about that, Nora was with him. That was so not like his brother.