Shattered (Alchemy Series Book #3) (15 page)

"Help me get up," I said to Katie and she grabbed my good arm. I looked at my
torn shirt but it was black so the blood and hole from the bullet wasn't easy to spot. I didn't know how long it would take to heal but I wasn't going to sit there, looking all injured, while we were outnumbered.

S
even men, all in army fatigues, swarmed out of the truck, circling Cormac and the man he had pinned.

"My name is Crash. We don't want you, we want our people."
The guy's voice was strained from Cormac's forearm pressed against his throat.

"Tell your guys to stand down,
" Cormac told him.

"Do it," Crash ordered. 

"Who shot the girl there?" Cormac demanded.

"I did," one of the guys said in a
"what are you gonna do about it" tone.

Cormac
released Crash and was over to him and laid him out before anyone knew what was happening.

"Leave it," Crash said
to his men. "He deserved it. He had no order to fire."

Something struck me as off about the explanation
, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe it simply wasn't how I would have handled it.

"Who are you?" I asked
as Cormac made his way back over from the still unconscious man.

"We'
re looking for Oslo. We received word he was on his way back and then he disappeared," Crash said.

He
knew we'd recognize the name. He already knew who we were.

"
They're with the senator," Cormac said, midstride, with a sneer.

"It's nice to meet you
, Jo," Crash said. "And I can only assume this is Cormac."

Crash
made a hand motion and the headlights turned off, leaving a dimmer illumination from the fog lights. His people all looked like they'd just returned from a war, crew cuts and all.

Crash held up his hand and signaled for his people to wait where they were
, as he approached Cormac and me.

"We aren't looking for trouble. We only want our people," Crash said
, once he got a few feet away.

"They aren't your people
," Cormac said, taking a step closer to Crash.

"Look," he said, dropping his tone. "I've got a job to do. We received notice from Oslo that he was on his way back with ten willing companions. No one forced them to come. They disappeared before they made it back to the
checkpoint. I'm assuming you are out here trying to find them as well."

Neither of us denied it, which was basically an agreement.

"Wherever they are now, it's not their choice. I've got an offer," Crash said.

Cormac was brewing and Crash was waiting for an answer so I jumped to grab the olive branch.

"We're listening," I said.

"We
find them together, get them out and let them make their own choice from there."

I saw Cormac's mouth shape into a no and cut him off before he could speak. "G
ive us a minute." I signaled our group over while Crash went back to his people.

"I don't like this guy," Cormac said the second we were out of earshot.

"We don't have a choice."

"Your shoulder still hurt?" Cormac asked, eyeing me up.

I immediately dropped the hand that had unconsciously been holding it. I knew my shoulder would heal on its own, but it was still burning like crazy. I didn't want anyone else to know. They didn't need distractions.

"No, already closing." It wasn't.
I could feel trickles of blood dripping as I stood there, but I'd tell him when we were alone and away from the humans. By that point, it would probably have closed anyway.

"We've got to work with them."

"Absolutely not," Cormac said.

"Sabrina and the rest of them are close. Crash and his people
are heading in the right direction. They could potentially beat us there. So, I repeat, we don't have a choice."

Cormac was so aggravated by the idea
, he didn't even remember to shutter his expression, or maybe he just didn't care who saw the anger in his eyes. It normally annoyed me when his face was a mask. This time, I wished he'd mute it down.

Chip was
getting more skittish by the minute and we needed him functioning. Katie, on the other hand, was proving to be quite tough. This was a girl that I could get along with and I needed some more estrogen around. Without Sabrina, I was drowning in manliness. Plus, she was small. I was sick of arching my neck to talk to everyone. 

"I agree with Jo," Katie said.

Oh yeah, Katie and I were definitely going to get along.

"Sabrina and Oslo weren't slouches. Whoever took them had some power
," I said, seeing a little momentum building.

"Then we'll bring more muscle."

"Private word?" I asked Cormac as I walked a bit further away from Katie, Chip and Dark. Cormac followed me over. "I don't know exactly what you're capable of, especially
now.
" I didn't elaborate, knowing he knew exactly what I was talking about. "But it's pointless. Even if we get them out of there alone, if they're determined to go to the senator, they will."

"I won't let her."

It saddened me a bit that the only one he cared about was Sabrina, but there wasn't much I could do. "You can't lock her up and you know it. All we'll be doing is exhausting much needed manpower."

"Fine. We'll do it your way
, but I don't like it."

I turned and nodded to
Dark, instinctively knowing he'd understand and explain to the others as we called Crash over.

"We go in
together, but I run the show," Cormac said,

I clea
red my throat. "We run the show," I corrected.

"Why do you get to?"
Crash asked.

"Cause we know the location. It's our gam
e, we're just letting you play," Cormac replied.

"This isn't dodgeball
, people," I added.

"Okay," Crash said. I saw a hint of a smile on Crash's face and that was it…
I knew something was off. The guy was just too damn agreeable. This was not someone looking for a fight. How did he get to be in the position of leading this group? Crash glanced in my direction, as if he knew I was sensing something off with him, but his eyes moved on quickly.

"W
hen we get closer to the locale, a couple of us will go ahead on foot," I said. Cormac and Crash looked at each other for a second and then nodded.

"Get in the trucks
. It'll be quicker."

"Can you fit us?"
I asked, looking at his guys and wondering how close I wanted to get to them.

"It'll be tight
, but yes."

We split into two
groups. I could tell Cormac was uneasy dividing up, but we didn't have much of a choice. Neither group wanted to be with the other, but they also weren't ready to hand over a truck.

I squeezed into the front s
eat of one hummer, in between Crash and one of his G.I. Joe men. Chip had come with me and was squished in the back with the other guys. Dark, making a show of changing, which was so not his style, changed into wolf form and followed along on foot. A few miles were nothing to him.

We
'd gotten close enough that Chip could direct us the rest of the way without having an issue. If the driver could stop hitting every bump going, it would be smooth sailing, but I wasn't so lucky. Every time we hit a bump, my shoulder slammed into Crash and pain shot down my arm. I could feel the blood still leaking out of the wound. Why hadn't it healed? Cormac and Dark would smell the blood but not think anything of it, since they'd assume any injury would already be closing.

I was positive something was
very wrong with my shoulder, but I needed to suck it up and not be a wimp. We were so close to where Chip said we should be to find Sabrina. Another few minutes and we'd stop. That's what needed my attention.

As much as I wanted to take the lead
, I knew Cormac and Katie were best suited. That girl moved like a cat and just as quietly. I had no description for how Cormac was moving, other than maybe
strange
. I was going to force myself to be a team player, even if it killed me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Crash looking at the hole in
my shirt before he noticed me watching him. I did a single shake of my head. His stare paused for a moment and then he looked away, holding his tongue. Yeah, I didn't know who Crash was, but I didn't think he was a company man.

"Here," Chip
said. "It shouldn't be too far." Our Hummer pulled over to the side, closely followed by the other.

We piled out and my eyes instinctively sought Cormac
as I watched the men in the other truck pile out.

"Cormac
and Katie are the best people to go ahead," I said once everyone grouped together.

"I need one of my guys to go," Crash said.

"Your guys are too loud. They'll hear us coming," Cormac said.

"We'll
be here, waiting with you. They won't go in alone. They'll go, check out the situation and come back," I said.

Cor
mac nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay," Crash
said.

I watched Cormac and K
atie leave in the direction Chip told them. It was hard not to be nervous. I wasn't so sure Cormac wouldn't take an opening if he saw it and then what? But there was nothing else to do but wait, as we watched them disappear into the dark.

As soon as they were completely gone, our group split into two
. G.I. Joes on one side, Freaks R Us on the other. We were outnumbered, but had a lot more to work with so it felt even anyway.

My shoulder was throbbing worse than ever
, but I was doing everything I could to act normal. I was just about to tell Dark and ask him to help cover for me when Crash walked over.

"Can I talk to you over on the
side for a moment?" he asked, as I stood there with Dark and Chip.

"Sure," I said, not being able to think of a plausible excuse not to agree.
With Crash, I'd have to pretend everything was fine.

"By the truck,
" he said, and motioned to where the one Hummer sat by itself. I followed him around to the other side wondering what this was all about, also knowing I could probably kill him as long as he didn't shoot me again. His guys stared curiously at both of us as we walked together. "I'd like to go over the maps with you."

We stepped over to the
truck and he pulled out huge maps and held them up, blocking our view of everyone else.

"We've got to get that bullet out of your shoulder."

I looked at him warily. He already knew enough about us to identify me on sight, but I wasn't going to spell out Keeper secrets to him that he might not know. The fact that Keepers could normally heal easily from bullets wasn't something I wanted to explain. Even if this one was taking a while, it would happen soon enough.

"It's fine. It was just a graze."

"There's no exit hole in the back of your shirt."

I narrowed my eyes.
"I'm fine."

"
It's not going to heal."

Man
, this guy was stubborn.

"I
told you, I'm fine."

"I know what you are and I know what you people can do." He leane
d a hair closer and spoke in slow and punctuated words. "It's not going to heal. They're not regular bullets."

I kept my face neutral as I realized I was screwed.

"Exactly," he said.

Okay, maybe
I wasn't so neutral on the facial expressions. But I was afraid he was right. I could feel the wound still dripping blood. I hadn't even clotted yet. It should have stopped bleeding, at the very least.

"I can take it out."

I looked around at the dust bowl we were currently in. I'd never discussed infection with any of the Keepers, but I didn't think it was an issue.

"Why do you want to help me?" I asked, eyeing him skeptically.

"I can't answer that."

"Nothing personal, but I'd rather have one of my own people do it."

"The guy with the paws or the one that can't stop shaking? Do whatever you want, but I can't have my men knowing."

"I don't see the di
fference between you knowing or you and all of your men."

If the senator knew we were aware of the bullets, he'd simply switch to something else. But what did it matter if Crash already knew? Wouldn't his men know too?

"I can't spell it out for you, but there is."

I surveyed the area
. Crash's men were about twenty feet from my people. For the most part, they seemed to be chatting between themselves but I could tell a couple of them were paying attention to what we were doing, although not blatantly.