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“I have a few books like those under my bed.” Taz explained. “We just tell him they were blank.”
Beam nodded. “This sucks.”
“I agree.” Storm nodded. “Okay, he’s coming back inside.”
Beam scrambled from the bed and made his way out the door.
If Storm and I weren’t with Beam, Darby would probably just assume we were together, especially after the night before.
I hid the real books and USB drive and pulled out the books I had. I cleared the cobwebs off them then blew off the dust.
Storm coughed.
“My bad.” I rushed over to check on him. “Sorry—it’s been a while since I fancied myself a writer.”
“You’re a writer?”
“No.” I chuckled. “I wanted to be one. I was never any good at it. After about a week and two pages into the first notebook, I moved on.”
Storm chuckled as Darby all but barged into the room.
“I’m going crazy in the house.” He announced. “I’m going out.”
“You can—”
Storm caught my arm.
“Just watch your back.” Storm told him.
‘Did you guys go through the books?” Darby asked.
“Yeah.” I spoke up. “I don’t know why he was hiding them. They’re fucking blank.”
I tossed one at him.
Darby flipped through it.
“That’s disappointing.” He sighed and handed it back. “He probably meant to use them but hadn’t gotten around to it.”
“Maybe.” I replied.
“I’m not taking the jeep—I’m just going to walk—after a run to the toilet.” Darby explained.
After he left the room, I frowned, wishing there was a way to follow him. But where we were located had nothing to hide ourselves. If we wet after him, we’d be out in the open, and he’d see us.
“Do you have any of Tex’s trackers?” Storm asked.
“Tex’s tracker?” I asked. “Yeah—he gave me some the last time we visited.”
It took me a few seconds to realize what he was suggesting. While Darby was in the bathroom, I found his shoes and slipped one of the small trackers into the tongue of his shoe through a rip in it.
Praying it would stay, I wandered to where Beam was now sitting on the sofa, watching television. He smiled when I sat beside him.
We listened to Darby’s steps down the stairs then out the door.
“We’re letting him leave?” Beam asked.
Before I could answer, the screen on laptop on the center table flickered and Tex’s face appeared.