"Let's do this!" Lucas bellowed.
And like that, they were all rushing for the trucks. This time, Thane ended up in the middle one, sitting in the back seat. He could feel the spikes pressing into his side. He wanted to pull out his phone and text his brother to see if he was in on this. He didn't dare do that though. Instead, he let his leg bounce, not caring if it annoyed the man beside him.
"Little excited?" Brice asked, looking over.
"Bit," Thane told him. "Also glad to have some backup. Pretty sure we're the only two here who've seen them in action."
"I did too," Lucas said. "Harrison, but he's still on crutches."
"So we watch each other's backs," Thane told them, turning to look out the window.
Damn her for getting caught. Damn them both for taking a risk, although he didn't know what else they should've done. Thane should've given them the money when he had the chance. He should've gotten them out of Dallas and given Dahlia his number. He should've fucking tried, because now she was as good as dead - or he was.
"How many priests do we have?" he asked the others in the SUV with him.
"All of them," Robbie, the driver, said. "They brought in a fucking cardinal. He might miss the fun, because I'm sure he's in a nice hotel and probably in bed by this time, but still. The bigger problem is going to be the bubbles to keep any normals from seeing."
"This is going to be a complete cluster-fuck," Brice grumbled.
Thane couldn't help but agree. Six hundred years old, and one mistake had been all it took for them to become priority target number one. It felt like an eternity before they were crossing into Irving, and yet when he saw the cluster of red and blue lights in the distance, it felt like much too soon. They were still a couple of miles away, but the sight was enough to get everyone checking their gear one last time.
Then Thane saw something in the field along the side of the road. In the darkness around what used to be the old Texas Stadium, there were a pair of women walking side by side. One was taller than the other, and while he couldn't be sure, Thane had a very funny feeling that was Dahlia and Mei.
For a moment, he considered saying nothing. The problem was that if he didn't, someone else would, and then questions would come up. Dahlia knew the risks. He'd made it clear that he had to be careful, and that was all this was. So why did he hate himself for it?
"That's them," he called out. "They're at the old stadium site, on foot!"
"Shit," Robbie breathed. "Jackson, call Dale."
Then the SUV began to move over. Damn, but Thane wanted to puke. He'd just betrayed her, and yet he knew he had no other choice. If anyone realized that he'd been looking out the window and simply hadn't seen them? The stake would be going into him next.
Jackson was mumbling into his phone now. Robbie had taken over the lead, with the other two SUVs following him. All of them were heading for the far-right lane and the next exit they could take. That required backtracking a bit, which took a few more minutes, but this was happening.
The SUV pulled up into the abandoned area and all of them jumped out. Thane slipped out his first clavum, holding it against the underside of his arm so it wouldn't be too obvious. Brice moved to his side, and Lucas fell in behind them. All of them were scanning the darkness while the other trucks pulled up and stopped.
"Ok!" Dale ordered as he climbed out. "Spread out. Eyes open."
"We need groups," Thane countered. "At least three, or they'll rip us apart."
Dale just pointed at him. "That. Make it happen. Let's move. I want to have these women cornered before the priests get here, and they're three minutes out!"
The place was big, but flat and wide open. There were a few construction vehicles parked for the night, and even more mounds of dirt from whatever they were trying to do. To the northeast was a swath of green that ran along the Trinity River. In other words, the chances of them being spotted by normal people was low, which meant they could pull out the shit they usually tried to keep out of sight.
Thane led. Brice and Lucas followed. Each group went in a different direction, including the three kids that were still in training. Thane had no idea why they'd been brought along, but clearly "all-hands-on-deck" wasn't an exaggeration. The trucks were turned off. The men fell silent, and within minutes, only the soft crunch of steps and the hum of traffic on the highway behind them interrupted the quiet of the night.
"Do we have names?" Lucas asked.
"Dahlia and Mei," Thane said softly.
"How do you know that?" Brice asked.
"She introduced herself to me as Dahlia," Thane explained. "She yelled for Mei when she ran. Probably fake names, but they're all I got."
"Dahlia!" Lucas bellowed. "You're surrounded. You're outnumbered. If you surrender, we will let you live."
Thane turned and gave him a disgusted look. "Do you honestly think that is going to work?"
"Figured that with the trucks pulling in, they know we're here," Lucas said.