Page 38

I followed his gaze, narrowing my eyes. There was movement through the trees, and it was coming closer to where we were. Pax grabbed Warner’s arm, yanking him down into the bushes. I crept back, concealing myself behind a tree. I listened carefully, hearing light footsteps come closer.

The second a body stopped in front of the tree, both Pax and I moved forward, revealing ourselves. The man was wearing all black, with a mask covering his face. The PARA patch was sewn onto the breast pocket of his jacket. He heard us and whirled around, his eyes widening in shock. I ground my teeth, recognizing him as the Clover who had a gun on me in Impulse the night I was taken by Kali’s group.

“Collin,” Warner said softly. “It’s me.”

“What the fuck is this?” Collin spat out, his gaze falling on me in shock. “It’s the middle of the day. How are you walking in the sun?”

“He has a hawthorn bracelet,” Warner said, resignation in his voice. He was still so early in his transition that his loyalty to the Clovers rivaled Kali’s. Though, it’d been over a month, which meant he would need blood soon, once his fangs dropped.

I snatched Collin’s wrist when he went for his gun. “Calm down. We’re not going to hurt you if you cooperate.”

“Fuck you,” he hissed, hatred vibrating in his voice. “I won’t help you.”

“Oh, you will.” Pax slid Collin’s other sleeve up, ripping the black bracelet off his arm.

Collin struggled, panic taking over when he realized he was now vulnerable to our mind control. Tightening my hold on his arm, I yanked him closer before grabbing his jaw, forcing him to look at me.

“Relax,” I ordered quietly, locking my eyes on his. “No fighting us.”

Collin went still, and I released him once I had him under control. Pax stood next to me, keeping an eye on our surroundings.

“How many other PARA members are out here patrolling?” I asked.

“Three.”

“They travel in pairs,” Warner muttered. “Collin probably broke away so he could check the tree.”

Pax and I already knew how they patrolled. We’d studied them for a year when we were in Deadwood. But we never chanced being seen in daylight like we were now. It was a large fucking risk.

“Where’s your partner?” I questioned.

“Half a mile north.”

“Who else has hawthorn?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are any of the patrolling PARA members Clovers?”

“No.”

Pax sighed. “Get it done, Zan. We need to find them before they go back to the city.”

“Radio your partner,” I commanded. “Give him your location and tell him you found something.”

Collin reached for his radio and then repeated my words. Once the guy responded, I took the radio and tossed it on the ground.

“Take your clothes off,” I ordered as I slipped my backpack off.

Collin complied, pulling off his mask first. Warner was glaring openly, but didn’t say a word. Pax strode farther away, waiting for Collin’s partner to show up. We needed to get the jump on him before he could use his radio to alert the others.

Once Collin was standing in only his boxers, I tossed him some clothes from my bag, ordering him to put them on. Grabbing the collar of my shirt, I yanked it off and stripped off the rest of my clothes before taking Collin’s PARA uniform and putting it on. Collin was maybe an inch shorter than me, and we were nearly the same size. Hopefully his partner’s clothes would fit Pax.

“How are we going to get past the temperature checks?” Warner gritted out.

I glanced at him as I laced up the black boots. “We have it figured out.”

“Right,” Warner mumbled. “I’m sure you’re going to leave a trail of bodies behind you.”