"Okay." She leaned down and pulled out a small gun and placed it underneath her seat. "Let's go."
Ella swung the door open and slowly stepped out with both hands up in the air.
"What the hell?" Kassie waved at Ella. "Put your damn hands down."
"I don't know." The guy stepped partially in the light and grinned. "I kinda like it." He was about my height with short chestnut hair that was spiked in front. His light blue eyes twinkled with mirth.
Considering the way Kassie was acting, I'd thought he'd be a scary man, but he appeared more like someone I'd go to the university with.
"Well, if you like it..." Ella purred.
"Stop." Mason climbed from the backseat and stood next to me. "We aren't here to flirt or whatever the hell you're doing."
The guy grinned at her and scanned her from top to bottom.
"Chester, we're in a hurry." Kassie pointed at the trunk of the car. "Can we get the guns and get out of here?"
"Sure." He scanned each one of us. "Are any of you armed?"
"No." I just wanted to get in and out and get this whole thing over with.
The others shook their heads too.
"All right, if I find out differently, there will be hell to pay." Chester's features relaxed to indifference as he turned and headed across the driveway to the small place next door.
Instead of heading straight to the door, he waved for us to follow him as we walked around it right up against the woods. "You can take what you can carry."
"Got it." Kassie caught up to him as we approached a small door that was cut into the ground with a lock on it.
It reminded me of the storm cellars you see in the Midwest.
He leaned over and pulled out a key, unlocking it. Then he swung the steel doors open.
I'd expected it to be just a small cold hole in the ground, but it opened up to steel steps leading inside.
"It won't take much longer," Chester said as he began his descent.
"Mona, stay behind them, and I'll take the front with him." Kassie quickly followed after him as Mona waved us forward.
"Do you know this guy?" I had to know what we were getting ourselves into.
"Not really." Mona patted my shoulder. "This is her contact. My contacts are more in the south, but if she trusts him, we should be good."
These two ladies were my world, so if both of them were comfortable, I wasn't one to disagree. "Okay."
Mason took my hand, and we stepped into the underground building right after them with Ella and Mona taking up the rear.
The stairs ended at a metal hallway that had to be at least ten yards long. At the very end was a door that had a computer and a scanner on the outside. Chester walked up to it and punched several buttons fast, which made the scanner buzz toward him. He opened his eyes wide and let it scan over him.
"Access Granted," the computerized voice said as the door clicked and opened.
"Go on inside." Chester motioned us in as he kept the door opened. "Pick out what you think you'll need."
As I passed him, entering the room, his piney scent hit me hard. He was a wolf too.
The room wasn't like anything I expected. It reminded me of some futurist place. The whole place was made of metal, and there were guns, swords, daggers, bows and arrows, and so much more lining the walls. Every type of weapon had to be here.
"We're going to need some daggers, guns, and maybe bombs." Kassie slowly moved around the place, taking inventory.
"Take all that you need." Chester nodded as he watched us.
Kassie grabbed five daggers, two bombs, a shotgun, and a few pistols. "This should do us. We're going to have to be able to shift too when needed, so we don't want to get loaded down too much."
I sure hoped that she knew what she was doing.
"That makes sense." He nodded.
She divvied out the daggers and grabbed a steel container to put the bombs in. There were cut-outs to hold both of them. She closed and locked it so they wouldn’t be jostled. Then, she collected the shotgun and two pistols. "Mona, can you grab the other three?"
"Yup, sure can." Without a moment of hesitation, Mona picked them up and carried them around like it was second nature to her.
"I think we're done here." Kassie nodded at Chester. "Thanks for allowing us to get here on such short notice."
"No worries." Chester waved us ahead of him. “Let’s get out of here before the sun gets too bright. I don’t want anyone nosey coming around.”
“Got it.” Kassie looked at me and nodded her head. “Go on and get in the car. Mona and I will be right behind you. The car is unlocked.”
Mason took a hold of his sister, who’d been glancing at Chester every few minutes, and tugged her toward the door. “Let’s get going. You heard the man.”
I had to bite down on my cheek to prevent myself from laughing too hard. Within minutes, we were back in the car and heading toward a hotel.
My heart raced as we pulled out of the hotel parking lot and headed toward the house where my uncle was staying. We all piled into one room, and I only got an hour or two of sleep. Every time my eyelids closed, my parents showed up in my dreams.
Even when Mason wrapped his arms around me, he still couldn’t protect me while my eyes were closed.
Now it was after midnight, and we were heading toward a house that I’d never heard about before yesterday.
“We should be there in twenty minutes.” Kassie glanced into the back.
Once again, Ella claimed the seat beside me again since Mason would have the plane ride home to sit with me.
Everything is going to be fine. Mason tried to be comforting, but he couldn’t make that promise.
I just want this over with. My hope
