The broken safety glass glittered in the moonlight and crunched under her bare feet without cutting her, and it seemed wrong that it should look so pretty, like crystals or diamonds. There was no one in the car. No bodies nearby.
But there was blood. And where there was blood, there was a trail. The predatory part of her liked the scent of it, wanted it.
The human part of her used it to find them, following a smear barely visible on the pavement, across two lanes and onto the grass. Just outside the tree line, she saw them and froze. They were so still, so pale in the moonlight. Cage was on his belly with an arm draped across Aidan’s stomach. Aidan’s face. That beautiful face . . .
You have to forget who we are, little bird. Follow your training.
She knelt beside Aidan and felt for a pulse, breathing a sigh of thanks when she found one, thready and fast but at least he was alive for now. What happened to all those bonded to him if he died? She didn’t want to know, not yet.
Carefully, she turned Cage over, again feeling for a pulse. She closed her eyes in silent thanks when she felt it, and that it was strong. He was in better shape than Aidan.
Now, to get them hidden before anyone arrived. Her instinct was to take Cage first, but she knew that wasn’t what he’d want. Aidan had to make it to ensure the others did and to ensure Penton did.
She slipped her hands beneath Aidan’s knees and back and lifted. Her spine protested, and her shoulders, but she managed to stand. Piece of cake, Robin.
“I’ll be back, vampire.” She stayed in the cover of the trees while another truck passed, going toward Atlanta, then hurried across the highway as fast as she could carrying a couple of hundred pounds of vampire. Her bare feet slid on the wet straw and leaves, and twice she fell, twisting to cushion Aidan’s head against her so it wouldn’t hit the ground. She didn’t need to add to the damage that had already been done.
Finally, she reached the cave, panting for breath, sharp pain stabbing through her lungs and against her ribcage. Bad thing about caves—reaching them on foot always required an uphill climb.
Robin left Aidan near the mouth of the cave, and since she’d already approached God, unsure he’d remember her or want to hear from her if he did, she pushed her luck and prayed there weren’t wildcats or bears in the cave who’d make a tasty snack of Aidan while she was gone.
By the time she reached the bottom of the hill and crossed the highway to Cage, a shrill siren of some vehicle coming up fast carried through the night. She hoisted Cage up and took off at a sloppy, off-kilter lope. “Sorry, no time to be gentle, vampire.”
She made it into the tree line just as the first flashing light crested the hill to the east, toward Penton. She’d had to sit down to catch her breath anyway, so she stayed put, watching through the pine boughs as a state police cruiser stopped and two officers walked around the wreckage. “Wonder what they’ll think happened to the driver?”
She didn’t wait to find out but managed to get Cage up and start moving again, relieved to see Aidan still where she’d left him.
Pulling her cell phone from its pouch, she checked the time. Damn it, they’d be pushing it to get them to Penton before dawn, but they’d try.
Nik answered on the first ring and was all business in his questions: location, landmarks, condition of the patients, presence of police. He’d gone into Ranger mode, and a good thing. Her emotions had ridden one too many roller coasters already tonight.
Now, they waited, she and her still, silent companions, their blood looking black in the soft moonlight. Which gave her an idea . . .
Robin crawled to where Aidan lay, and wouldn’t Cage be proud that she stifled her need to take care of him first and instead went to his friend? She remembered the night of the bonding, when Aidan had flicked that little blade across his wrist. He’d pulled the knife from his right pocket.
His pants were stiff with dried blood, but she’d touched worse. One would be an awfully sorry bird of prey if one got queasy over blood. Spiders? Another matter altogether.
She found the knife and, touching the blade to her forearm, made a small incision. She massaged the skin around the cut to get the blood flowing and held her wrist to Aidan’s mouth. Damn it. His face was so bloody that she couldn’t tell what was going in and what was already there.
Cage’s head injury was in the back, so she crawled over to him. “I told you you’d feed from me one day, vampire. Make it today. Please.”
She had to cut again—shifters healed fast, and a cut that small wouldn’t last long. The new incision needed to be twice as big, so she gritted her teeth and dug the knife in deeper and dragged it across an extra inch of skin.