Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Istudy Sash’s computer screen. She’s mapping out routes from Florida to Toronto, preparing for every possible situation. If the American government decides they want to stop us, they’ll shut down roads and block exits.
I don’t think they’ll resort to weapons. Not yet.
Everett seems to think they will. The Americans have long avoided conflict on their own lands, choosing instead to fight where their citizens aren’t at risk.
There’s strength in numbers, and widespread public support is what gives HPAW so much power. If they begin making decisions that put Americans at risk, that support will evaporate. We know it, and they know it, too.
Sash taps her screen. “Hurry up.”
Caleb’s men parked in a nearby lot, then traveled underground into the facility. The trucks are equipped with trackers, but they won’t activate until the engine turns on. I stare at the map on her screen. There’s no activity.
The shifters are still inside. Are they okay? What are the odds that HPAW kills them all? Shifters are strong, but they aren’t invincible.
Sash stands and paces the length of the room, then approaches an east-facing window. “We’re preparing a wing of the local hospital for the humans. Only medical professionals will be permitted entry, and several mated shifters will be standing guard to keep the humans safe.”
I already know this, but I suspect Sash is repeating it for her own benefit. She’s looking for a distraction. Waiting is painful, and I almost regret agreeing to stay in this room. I’m tempted to leave and find busywork, but I intend to honor my promise to Caleb.
I’m not going to make him regret trusting me.
I stand beside Sash, also peering out the window. There are hundreds of shifters littering the street, almost all men. They’re in various forms of undress, and several are moving about in their animal forms.
Their movements aren’t panicked, but they’re urgent. Are they scared? I would be. I am.
I give a quick scan for Caleb, but he’s nowhere to be seen. He’s still at the border.
Sash returns to her seat. “They won’t be in the hospital for long. We’ll need to remove their chips and tend to any wounds, and we’re securing better transportation.” She taps her screen again. “Ones safe for children.”
This is going to be absolute chaos.
“And we’re good on female drivers and doctors?” I ask.
Sash nods. “Yes.”
HPAW believes all shifters should be hated equally, but most of their propaganda is geared toward men. Male shifters are the ones to fear the most. They’re the most violent, and while women are to be avoided, they aren’t nearly as dangerous as men.
It’s hard to prepare when we don’t even know what we’re dealing with. How many women are there? How many children? Are they even still alive?
Sash returns her attention to her computer. I unlock the tablet I was given.
HPAW didn’t allow me much access to technology, but I know enough to get by. I’m not entirely inept. I aimlessly scan the saved files, unsure what I should be looking for. It doesn’t really matter. My real focus is on Sash’s computer screen. I’m just trying to kill time.
Sash gasps. “Yes…” She clutches a hand to her chest.
I follow her line of sight. A breath catches in my throat as a red dot appears on the Florida facility.
The shifters are out of the facility. They’re alive. Some of them, at least.
“Should we tell Caleb?” I ask.
“I’m sure he already knows.”
I’m tempted to go to Caleb—but I stay where I am. He’s busy, and he’ll check in when he can.
We spend the next several hours watching the dot on the map move. It’s a painfully slow process, and I’d give anything to speed up time. Sash sends routes to the vehicles, entering them directly into their GPS units, but it’s the only form of communication we have.
Caleb likely has more information, but it hasn’t been relayed to us.
“How much longer?” I ask.
“Too long.” Sash jabs her fingers against her computer. “They aren’t taking any alternative routes, so I’m assuming HPAW isn’t trying very hard to stop them. They should be here tomorrow morning.”
My fingernails have been chewed into nubs when Caleb finally returns. He bursts into the room in a huff, his frantic gaze sweeping through the room before landing on me. He visibly relaxes the moment he spots me, his shoulders softening and fists unclenching. Good.
“Evelyn.” He breathes my name.
He’s wearing a pair of pants two sizes too small, but there’s no blood. His eyes are tired, but they’re otherwise bright and clear. His upper body is also free of injury. I don’t have any more time to look him over as he storms forward, folding me into his arms.
Caleb buries his face into my hair with a deep inhale. “The border is secured and ready for the humans to cross through. Comms have been rough. There’s interference, but we’re hoping things clear up once the team is closer to the border.”
I cup Caleb’s face, running my thumbs over his eyebrows. He stares me down, a slight frown marring his features.
“There were two groups of humans within the facility,” Caleb explains. “The first was a group of eight marked humans. They were unharmed, and they volunteered to work for HPAW. We suspect they were being positioned to follow in your path.”
“What about the breeding program?” Sash asks. “Was that the second group?”
“Yes.” Caleb swallows. “Our men found the women in a secure, hidden underground level. They were kept separate from the first group.”
“Did we get them out?”
“Some of them.” Caleb tightens his grip on my waist. “HPAW was actively executing the women when we arrived. We believe there were fifteen in total, but only three made it out. The infants were unharmed.”
My mouth runs dry. It’s Sash who speaks first. “Infants? No children?”
Caleb doesn’t verbally respond. He lowers his gaze, his head quickly jerking up and down. “Only infants. We assume the program was relatively new.”
My stomach drops. What is HPAW getting out of this? Leverage against the shifters? I can’t fathom why else they would want to breed marked humans with their captured shifters. It’s sickening.
“And HPAW isn’t stopping them?” I ask.
Sash and I suspect, but I want confirmation.
Caleb shakes his head. “It doesn’t seem so. They’re tailing us, but there hasn’t been any interference. They’re letting us return to the pack.”
Caleb slides a hand down my back. “There’s a bed and breakfast just down the street. A room has been prepared for us,” he says. “If all goes according to plan, the humans will be arriving tomorrow. You need rest.”
Rest? That’s easier said than done. I’m not getting a wink of sleep tonight.
Caleb leads me outside. The temperature has dropped, and I hug my arms to my chest as we hurry down the street.
The word infants lingers in my mind.
“Do you like children?” Caleb abruptly asks.
The question catches me off guard. Do I like children?
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I’ve never been around them.”
The HPAW employees from my facility weren’t exactly bringing their children to work with them.
Even if they had, they sure wouldn’t have brought them around me.
I was a marked woman. Dirty. Plus, I’d fucked a significant number of the men who worked there.
They avoided me once they married and began their families.
Caleb’s pack is filled with children and babies, but I haven’t interacted with them. I avoided the few who visited the hospital while I was working there. Shifter children are vulnerable, and the shifters didn’t trust me. I didn’t want to make the parents uncomfortable.
“Do you like children?” I ask.
Caleb smiles. It’s nervous, and I know his answer before he speaks.
It breaks my heart.
We don’t talk about that night, about how I asked him to finish inside me. I teased him with the promise of a family, then slit his throat. I’m sure he still thinks about it. He has to. I would if I were him.
I step in front of Caleb, facing him.
“Do you still think about it?” I ask. “Are you still angry?”
Caleb’s budding smile falls. He knows what I’m referring to.
I remain silent as I wait for his response, but I’m sure he can hear how fast my heart is beating. I should’ve never asked him to cum inside of me. At the time, I thought I was doing him a favor. I thought I was giving him one last good night.
He’s since finished inside again, but I know the first time was meaningful to him. Caleb cares about those things. I do, too.
“I think about it,” Caleb quietly admits. “I think about it frequently, if I’m honest with myself.” He shrugs. “But I’m not angry. I suppose I feel more embarrassed than anything else.”
Embarrassed? Of all the emotions I expected, that one is far down on the list. He has nothing to be embarrassed about.
“Caleb…” I start.
“Let’s discuss this later.” He glances around. “Not now, and not here.”
I chew at my bottom lip, mindlessly gnawing at the skin as I fight back the millions of apologies that linger on the tip of my tongue.
We need to talk about this eventually, but as I eye the busy building behind us and the few shifters also on the street, I agree that maybe this isn’t the best time.
I do want to talk about it, though. We need to.