Chapter Twelve
~ Ajag ~
I didn't know this man Rad had brought with him and I didn't trust him.
I barely trusted Rad.
I pressed my hands to Rad's chest and gave him a little push. A furrow moved across his forehead as he stepped back, almost as if he didn't want to move away from me.
I didn't want him to move away from me either, but I needed to get out of the Jeep. We needed to talk, but I didn't want to disturb Sy's sleep. He'd been getting precious little of it.
As soon as I was out of the vehicle, I turned and quietly closed the door. When I turned back, Rad was right there in front me, so close our chests brushed together.
I wanted to protest as I didn't like people in my personal space, but I couldn't. Not only did the intensity in the glowing golden eyes peering down at me stop me from saying anything, but my own personal need to have Rad close to me kept my mouth shut.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Rad asked.
I nodded. "Physically, I'm fine. Mentally? That's another question and one I don't have an answer for at the moment."
I doubt I would for a long time to come. Physically I was fine, but I was emotionally and mentally a wreck. My nerves were strung as tight as a bow string, my head ached for everything flowing through it, and I wanted nothing more than to collapse in Rad's arms and have someone else keep me safe while I fell apart.
Something I had never wanted before.
"Rad," I whispered on a shaky breath. I curled my fingers into his shirt.
"I'm here," Rad whispered right back, almost as if he had been expecting my desperate plea. "Remember what I said. You are no longer alone. I will stand by your side no matter what."
Rad leaned back far enough to see my face and then slid his hand along my cheek, tilting my head back. "There are a lot of people willing to stand by you if you'll let them."
I wasn't sure I was capable of putting my trust into someone, anyone. Sure, I trusted Rad on some level, more than I did anyone else, but even he didn't have my full trust. I'd been betrayed to many times for that. That didn't mean I didn't want to trust someone because I did. I just wasn't sure I was capable of it.
"Rad—"
"I know you're scared, baby, and you have a right to be, but I swear I'm here for you and I will stand beside you no matter what."
He'd said that mere moments ago, and it sounded better each time he said it, but could I really believe him?
"Why not start out with something small like sitting beside me while we talk to Val? He has information I think you need to hear, but he also has some questions to ask you. You don't have to tell him anything you don't want to. Just listen, okay?"
I grimaced and pressed my lips together as I nodded. I guess I could start out small and see what happened, but I wasn't sure I was ready to answer any questions Rad's friend might have.
Rad grabbed my hand and then led me to the front of the vehicle where Val was standing. "Ajag, this is my friend Valko, or Val as most of us call him. He's been a friend for a little over twenty years and I trust him with my life." Rad gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Val, this is Ajag, my mate."
My jaw dropped as shock rolled through me at Rad's claim on me. I hadn't expected him to just announce it like that, especially since he hadn't actually claimed me yet. We'd only talked about it for like a minute.
Instead of acknowledging me, Val glanced down at his cell phone. It seemed a little rude, but what did I know? Maybe it was this guy's natural state.
"We need to go," he finally said. "I put trackers on their vehicles and they are headed this way, maybe thirty minutes out. I have no doubt they will be searching all the campgrounds and motels in the area. We need to be somewhere else when they get here."
Pure panic griped me, shaking my entire body. For a moment, I didn't know what to do. I had worked so hard to stay ahead of these people and yet they kept finding me.
I wanted to know why.
"How do they keep finding me?" I whispered. "Every time, everywhere I go, they find us."
"I don't know, but we'll figure it out."
I wasn't sure that was possible. I had ditched the cell phone like Rad directed. What else was left? "Is there any way Sy or I could have had a tracker placed in us somewhere?"
Rad's brow wrinkled as his dark eyebrows pulled together. "You think you could have been tagged?"
"It's the only thing I can think of. Our clothes have changed in the last few weeks and we haven't brought anything with us that we've had from before. That leaves our bodies."
"Can you think of any injuries you've had that could be an injection site?"
"Um, well, I'm not sure I can answer that. Brass beat the crap out of me on a pretty regular basis and there were times when I was unconscious. Who knows what he could have done."
Rad's jaw clenched for a moment before he said, "I'll talk to Val. I'm sure he has some way to check." He gave me a little push toward the driver's side door. "But right now, you need to get in the car. We need to get on the road."
"I need gas."
Rad's frown deepened for a moment before he glanced at Val. "We need gas."
"It's not a good idea to stop at any of the gas stations in town. They usually have video surveillance of some kind. There's a couple of stations west of here that are too old for that, but we'll need to drive fifty miles or so."
I quickly shook my head. "I don't have enough gas for that." I'd been planning on getting gas first thing in the morning. Who knew I'd need it before then?
"Give me ten minutes," Val replied before walking away.
"Where's he going?" I asked.
"To get you some gas."
"In a campground?"
How?
"He's probably going to go ask someone that has an RV. They usually carry spare gas."
Huh.
I never really considered that. Truth be told, I wasn't much of a camper. If Rad hadn't supplied me with everything I'd need, I'd be lost on what to take camping.
"We're going to head back to the ranch," Rad stated. "I know you don't want to be there, but I think it's the safest place for you right now."
"It's not that I don't want to be there." I kind of did. "It's just..."
"I know, baby."
When Rad's arms encircled me, I sank into the embrace, needing it more than I could imagine. "I'm tired, Rad."
Rad's fingers threaded through my hair as he pressed my head to his shoulder. "I need you to hold it together just a little longer, Ajag. You can rest when we get to the ranch."
"Promise?" My question was almost desperate.
"I do."
"I've been running for so long. Sy wasn't even a year old when our mother was killed. Between being hunted and what happened with Brass, I haven't had a single moment to breathe."
Rad's arms tightened for just a moment. "I promise you, Ajag, you'll be able to rest once we get back to the ranch. I'll make sure of it."
I wasn't sure he could keep that promise.
I lifted my head and turned when I heard footsteps coming toward us, my heart leaping into my throat until I saw Val. He was carrying two large red plastic containers.
"It's only about ten gallons," he stated, "but it should get us far enough down the road to get to a good gas station."
He walked back to the gas tank cap. After setting the two containers on the ground, he unscrewed the cap, and then started pouring the gas into the tank.
He glanced over at me, his face cold and expressionless. "Oh, by the way, if anyone from the campground asks, your kid is sick and we need the gas to get to a hospital in Wagon Mound."
"Won't these guys just follow us there once they figure out where we're going?" I asked.
Val's face changed when he grinned. "That's the plan."
My eyebrows shot up. "You want them to follow us there?"
Was this guy insane?
"I want them to go to Wagon Mound," Val replied. "That's south of here. We're headed west. That should give us a couple hours head start on them." He let out a little snort as he looked back down at what he was doing. "These guys may be council guards, but they ain't that smart."
I wasn't so sure of that. They seemed to find me easily enough.
"Ajag is worried that someone might have tagged him and that's how they are finding him so easily."
Val shook his head. "If someone tagged you, it's not these guys. They've been following your cell phone."
I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or freaked out.
"Speaking of which..." Rad walked over to his bike and searched around in his saddlebag. He came back a moment later with a small bag. He pulled out a piece of paper before handing me the small bag. "I picked up a bunch of disposable cell phones."
I took the bag and opened it up. My jaw dropped when I saw that it was full of cell phones, not just one. I glanced up to meet Rad's golden eyes. "Why so many?"
"There are five cell phones in there." He handed me the paper. "This is a list of phone numbers to the ones I have. Once you use one phone number, move on to the next one. Never call the same number twice. Never use the same cell phone twice."
"Only use them if there is an emergency," Val added. "And don't call any other number except the ones Rad gave you. We'll be with you the entire way so if you need to stop you don't need to use the cell phone. Just flash your lights at us."
Rad patted my shoulder before giving it a gentle squeeze. "We can pick up more cell phones if we need them."
I narrowed my eyes at the two men, looking between them. "I feel like you've done this before."
Rad chuckled. "Once or twice."
Again, I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or freaked out.