Marked (14 page)

"Yeah,
I know. That goes double for anyone who already knows that Alec was
injured in our ambush or who manages to get in contact with someone
who knows. Don't worry, I've got an idea there too."

Ruby
was back sitting in the driver's seat, but by some miracle we hadn't
started moving yet. Under other circumstances that would have
frustrated me to no end, but it had worked out in my favor this time
so I didn't say anything chastising to Mallory when I found her
standing outside of the other RV.

I
pulled her inside of her vehicle and shut the door to the bedroom so
we could speak without being overheard. "Donovan thinks that
there is a chance that the communications suite in the other RV was
sabotaged. I'm going to need you to collect everyone's phones before
we get back on the road."

"You
don't ask for much, do you?"

"Believe
me when I say that I would pursue another course if I felt like it
was even remotely possible it would keep us all safe."

"This
is going to require more than just my say-so."

"Is
my say-so going to be enough?"

"We'll
never know until we try."

I
took a deep breath and nodded before turning to lead the way back
outside. I found Vik and our unnamed driver waiting not too far away
from the RV, and waved them over.

"I
need each of you to go gather up as many of our people as you
can—please hurry."

It
took less than three minutes for a respectable crowd to gather, but I
was fidgeting the entire time. It was more than just the fact that we
needed to be back on the road and headed towards our meeting with
James and Dominic. I was exhausted again and not entirely sure that I
would stay awake if I sat down in the camp chair that Mallory offered
me.

I'd
been feeling pretty good initially when I'd woken up from my nap, but
sometime between the time when I'd hung up from the call with Jaclyn
and when I'd exited the RV all of my energy had drained away. It was
one more thing to worry about and I made a mental note to make sure
that Donovan, Mallory and I all checked each other at night while we
were sleeping. If Dream Stealer really was capable of going after
more than one person at a time then none of us were safe.

I
looked around the group gathered in front of me, and then began
speaking. "You may have noticed that our phone service has been
spotty. It turns out that our communications equipment—which is
integral to the security measures we've put in place to keep the
Coun'hij from being able to track us by way of our cell signals—was
damaged during the ambush. Donovan kept it running for as long as he
could, but it's officially beyond repair.

"Given
our current circumstances, it's going to take some time before we're
going to be able to get replacement equipment installed. I hope that
you've all been complying with the communications protocols that
force your phone to only connect to the cell network through the RV's
communication suite, but given Alec's current injuries, it's just too
dangerous to the group as a whole to leave unregulated cell phones
out there. Mallory will be organizing groups of three individuals to
go around and collect everyone's cell phones."

A
murmur of unhappiness swept through the assembled group of shape
shifters, but I almost thought I was going to get away with it until
a big guy towards the front of the group spoke up.

"And
what if we decide we're not going to give you our phones? I didn't
sign up to be some kind of slave."

I
recognized him from back in Utah. I couldn't remember his name, but
he was one of the hybrids who had come through and sworn fealty to
Alec. I thought he was from Louis' pack, but I wasn't positive about
even that.

I'd
known something like this was coming, but honestly I'd been hoping to
make it a little bit longer first. Oh well, no time like the present.

"Nobody
said anything about anyone being turned into slaves. I could bring up
the fact that you swore fealty to Alec, but I won't. Alec doesn't
want anyone here who doesn't want to be here and I feel exactly the
same way. You're here because this is where Alec is. You're here
because he offers you his protection in return for your loyalty and
service to him."

The
rabble-rouser in the front was grinning like I was headed exactly
where he'd wanted me to go, but I refused to let that rattle me. I
couldn't just keep my feelings off my face, not when I was dealing
with a bunch of shape shifters. I had to not feel doubt or all was
lost.

It
should have been impossible, but I simply refused to give those
negative feelings any room inside of my head. Alec was going to be
okay. I was going to see to it.

"Alec
is many things, but he's not foolish, and trying to protect people
who are actively working to make protecting them more difficult isn't
just foolish, it's pointless. Anyone who wishes to retain their
phones may do so, but you will not be accompanying the convoy if that
is the case. You have exactly two minutes in which to make your
decision."

"You
can't force us into making some kind of snap decision."

"Forcing
you into making decisions is an unfortunate consequence of the fact
that we've been traveling for several hours while being unaware that
our security precautions had potentially been compromised. Allowing
some kind of protracted debate would be irresponsible on my part and
would put everyone here in even greater danger than we're already in.
That is the last thing that Alec wants to have happen.

"You
now have one minute and thirty seconds before the rest of us will be
leaving."

A
dark-haired woman at the back of the crowd was next.

"Is
Alec okay?"

It
was the question I'd been preparing for ever since I'd agreed to take
over, but I didn't bear her any ill will for asking it. She wasn't
trying to cause problems; she was just understandably concerned about
our situation.

"He's
been shot—not once but twice. If he'd been a human he would
have died on the spot. Luckily, you all have much better regenerative
abilities than that. He's still alive and you all know that anything
that doesn't kill a shape shifter within an hour or two of the injury
is something that you'll eventually come back from."

The
big bruiser at the front cocked his head to one side. "That
sounds suspiciously like what Mallory just finished telling those who
asked."

"What
are you implying?"

"I
think you've hatched a story between the three of you and you're
trying to make us think Alec Graves is going to survive when in fact
he's going to die at any moment."

I'd
been struggling so hard to make sure I didn't feel any despair that I
hadn't steeled myself against anger. A wave of rage crashed through
me with a suddenness that took my breath away.

"To
most of you, Alec Graves is nothing more than a meal ticket. At best
you're actually willing to do as he commands in return for the
protection he offers, but even so, most of the risk is his. Unlike
all of you, I was there before Alec manifested his ability. I stood
by his side in the midst of terrible danger even though nothing I
could do would make even the slightest bit of difference. I did that
because I love him.

"If
you think that I would be out here wasting my time verbally sparring
with you if I thought Alec was going to die at any moment then you
are sadly, sadly mistaken."

It
was right on the edge of believability. I could see it on the faces
of the people arrayed before me. There was only one thing left to do.
I knew it was the only route open to me, but I was still surprised
when my mouth opened and the words poured out.

"I'm
no more able to see the future than any of you, but I will say this
as clearly as I'm able so that there is no room for doubt. Alec
Graves
is
going to recover from this injury. You now have thirty seconds in
which to make your decision. Personally, part of me hopes you all
stay here, but I know that isn't what Alec wants to have happen."

I
turned and walked away without looking back. Two seconds later I
heard a rush of people moving forward towards Mallory in an attempt
to make sure that they got their phones handed in before the time
limit ran out.

Adriana Paige
Interstate 70
Western Colorado

Donovan
was asleep when I got back, but Ruby was still sitting in the
driver's seat. "What's going on?"

"The
communications equipment is down, so I just told everyone that they
need to hand over their phones if they want to continue traveling
with us. Now that we don't have a way of scrambling our cell signal
it's just not safe for people to be using their phones."

Ruby
digested my words for a second and then pulled a slender flip phone
from her pocket. "Here, it sounds like you need this."

"Thanks,
Ruby. We should be on our way again shortly. We've got some lost time
we need to make up."

I
started back towards Alec's bedroom, but stopped after just a couple
of steps. "You haven't asked me if Alec is okay."

"I
figure there are some things I'm better off not knowing, Miss Paige.
What I don't know I can't accidentally let slip. Don't get me wrong,
I'm hoping that he makes it through, but either way I'm a lot safer
here with everyone else than I would be off by myself."

"Would
you be willing to swear fealty to me, Ruby?"

"I…I
don't know. I'd have to think about it."

"That's
fine. I'd rather it be something you didn't just jump into. It would
be subordinate to the oath you've already sworn to Alec or your
alpha, but there isn't any rush. Just continue to keep your mouth
shut about everything that happened back there earlier and I'll be a
happy camper."

"I
can do that."

I
gave her a smile and then walked the rest of the way back to the
bedroom. I checked on Donovan on my way. He was sleeping peacefully,
which was good because it meant we hadn't woken him with our chatter
and he wasn't being targeted by Dream Stealer.

We
were just about to start moving again, which meant that this was
probably as good a time to make one last call as any. It was still
dangerous, but it couldn't be helped. I dialed the number that had
burned itself into my mind the last time that I'd seen it.

"What
now?"

Tasha
didn't sound particularly happy to be answering my call, but then
again I wasn't happy that I was having to call her. I briefly
wondered what she would have sounded like if I'd called using Alec's
phone. That of course reminded me that we needed to get Alec's sim
card out of the communications equipment. People were going to be
calling his phone still if they needed something.

"We've
run into a problem. Our communications equipment has given out on us,
which means that we don't have the ability to scramble and mask our
calls. We're going to have to go dark for a while until we can get it
replaced."

"So
you're calling everyone you know to tell them, thereby sending up a
massive signal fire as to your current location?"

The
scorn in her voice was palpable and for a second I almost changed my
mind, but she really was the only option that made sense.

"No,
I'm calling you and only you. I want you to take over as a kind of
temporary communication node. Get ahold of as many people as you can
and let them know to keep their heads down for a few days until I can
get us back online."

"Why
me?"

"Because
you've got Grayson and Lori both there with you. Until Alec is back
on his feet and able to fight again, your group is our strongest,
most secure force. Your group has the best chance of surviving if the
Coun'hij track your calls and come after you."

"Best
chance of survival is a long ways off of guaranteed survival. Neither
of those two is going to be worth spit against a group of
werewolves."

"I
know. You'll want to keep moving, use burner phones, and batch your
calls so you have a chance to drop out of sight afterwards. Hopefully
it's only for a couple of days."

"You're
basically giving me the keys to the castle here. You realize that,
right? If I've got ambitions for taking over everything this is my
golden opportunity. Why me? There are a lot of people here in this
group who could do the job."

"I'm
not an idiot, Tasha. I know very well that this is a risky move, but
the fact of the matter is that I have to put someone in charge.
Whoever I put in charge would have the option of trying to wrest
control away from Alec, but that's quite simply a waste of time. Once
Alec is healthy again it would be futile for anyone to try to keep
control of people who are already sworn to his service."

"And
if he doesn't recover?"

"He's
going to recover, but this is the part where you are expecting me to
threaten you so I'll oblige. I'm tapping you for this job because
you'll have the threat of your mom backing you up, but if Alec
doesn't survive and you try to wrest control of our people away from
me then I'm going to make you wish Alec had survived to deal with
you. He's got a soft spot where you're concerned because of your
history together. I'm not laboring under that disadvantage. Do a good
job on this and
when
Alec recovers he'll reward you. Try to screw Alec and me over and
I'll make sure you suffer as a result, even if I have to pull the
trigger myself."

Mallory
opened up the door to the bedroom within seconds of me hanging up on
Tasha. "You have a second?"

"Are
we having problems? I was serious about being on the road. Anyone who
gives you problems needs to just be left behind."

"No,
nothing like that. After you left that same guy tried to convince
everyone that you were bluffing, that there wasn't anything you could
do to stop them from just tagging along behind us, but I reminded him
that Donovan is a crack shot with the sniper rifle he took off of the
shooter back at the ambush site. That shut him up instantly."