60. Chloe
CHAPTER SIXTY
CHLOE
NOW
“Siren.” Ryker’s voice is soft as it pulls me from a deep sleep that I’m desperate to stay in. “Come on, Chlo. We gotta go.”
Go? Go where? It’s so warm and comfortable here. Why would I ever want to leave? I think to myself as I snuggle deeper into the blankets.
Neither of the warm bodies I fell asleep between is still there, making me frown.
“Don’t pout, Sparrow,” Ronan says from my other side, amusement seeping into his words.
Tugging the blanket over my head to shut them out, a soft sigh of contentment leaves me. I could stay here in this cabin forever, surrounded by the people that make me feel safe…and Damon.
A snicker slips into the burrito I’ve made for myself. “Seems it takes more than taking a bullet for you to get into your good graces, huh, Siren?”
Did I say that out loud?
“You sure did, Chlo.” Ronan chuckles, scooping me and all my blankets up from the bed. “You’re adorable when you’re sleepy and disgruntled.”
I crack one eye open to glare at him, but his pinched brows make me pause. “Did something happen?”
“Someone was in the forest,” he tells me as we move into the living room.
“You know those blankets don’t belong to us, right?” Kingston’s voice comes from the kitchen, and I tug the burrito down a little further to see him fully dressed in a dark suit.
“I don’t care. She’s warm, and it’s freezing outside.”
“Is she naked under there?” Damon asks, his words sounding both irritated and concerned.
“No, she’s wearing King’s shirt,” Ryker replies as he steps around us, our bags piled over his shoulders.
Damon pinches the bridge of his nose, muttering something about that making such a difference under his breath before stalking toward the front door with his own bags.
“I can walk,” I murmur. “We don’t have to take the blankets.”
Ronan shakes his head, dropping a soft kiss to the side of my head as he carries me toward the door. “We’ll be on the road for a while, so you can go back to sleep once we’re settled.”
“Where are we going?” I yawn.
“That’s to be determined, Mama,” Kingston replies. “Right now all that matters is getting out of here. We’ll make the rest of the plan on the road.”
“Is that safe? Isn’t leaving here just going to play into their hands?”
“It might, but we’re sitting ducks in the middle of nowhere. If they’re as advanced as we believe they are, they could take down the towers and block the roads. It’s better to be on the move where we can’t be ambushed.”
Ryker’s jaw tightens like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t, instead stepping out into the darkness.
The sun hasn’t even peeked out from the horizon yet, but if the brisk gust of air is anything to go by, it won’t be long.
Ronan carries me out next with Kingston and Damon trailing after us, and I burrow into the blankets despite telling them just moments ago I didn’t need them.
He slips into the back seat with me in his lap, while Ryker takes the other side. Kingston climbs behind the wheel, leaving Damon no other option than to ride shotgun.
It’ll be a miracle if the two of them don’t kill each other.
“She needs a seat belt,” Damon mutters as he climbs into the passenger seat.
My brows just about shoot into my hairline, but Ronan shifts me to the seat between him and Ryker and wraps the seat belt around me and all the blankets.
This is going to be a very weird road trip.
Imust fall asleep as soon as we pull away from the cabin because when I wake up again, we’re on a highway and the sun is up.
The soft hum of music fills the car, tempting me to close my eyes and go back to sleep, but when I glance at Ryker, I find him staring down at me.
“Were you watching me sleep again?” I murmur, my voice sounding too loud for the quiet car.
He smirks. “You already know the answer to that, Siren.”
I shake my head and turn to find Ronan asleep with his head against the window.
Glancing toward the front of the car, I meet Kingston’s eyes in the rearview mirror, and I fight the urge to look away. His intensity has always been overwhelming, but I refuse to allow anyone to intimidate me anymore.
King included.
“How you feeling, Mama?” he asks in a deep rumble, glancing at the passenger seat to make sure he hasn’t woken Damon.
“I’m okay, just some dull cramping, but nothing I’m not used to.”
He frowns, flicking a look to Ryker, who types something out on his phone.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Tracking your symptoms so I have a record for the specialist.”
I blink at him, processing the words that have just come out of his mouth. “Tracking my symptoms…”
He nods. “I did some research while you were sleeping, and a blog post I read said it was a good idea to have exact dates and symptoms available, especially when women’s health issues are so often ignored or downplayed.”
I open my mouth to reply, but nothing comes out. Because what the hell are you supposed to say to something so equally thoughtful as it is unhinged?
“Where are we heading?” I ask, changing the subject to something safer.
“We’re just driving for now. Looking out for anyone following us before we make a plan.”
I furrow my brow, biting down on the inside of my cheek as I fight the urge to ask if that’s the safest option. Kingston does this for a living, helping people find somewhere safe to land, somewhere their nightmares can’t find them. I need to trust him to do the same for me.
“We’ll be stopping in an hour to eat something, and then we’ll make a plan of attack,” Ryker tells me, dropping a soft kiss to the top of my head.
The move is so familiar that it feels like he’s done it a million times, and not for the first time I realize how much he’s come to mean to me.
How they’ve each weaved their way into my chest without permission.
Without even meaning to, I’ve given four men the power to destroy me…again.