Out of Darkness Ch. 06

They ran through the alley until it fed out onto a main street. They stopped long enough for Drago to get his bearings, and then he pulled Kelly with him to the tram stop. There were dozens of people waiting for the next one to come any minute. They pushed their way through the crowd to the far end of the stop. Seconds later the tram stopped, and they got on. Drago glanced out the window and saw them. They looked confused. Good! Maybe they hadn't caught wind of them. He pulled Kelly close to him and inhaled deeply. His wolf needed her scent to assure himself all was well, for the moment.

Kelly's heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest. They'd found them! How could they? They'd been running for days without a trace, but they'd found them. She'd thought they were safe. She'd distracted Drago by coming on to him. She could have gotten them killed! She looked up into his serious face. He was holding her close, almost possessively. His hand was burning a hole where it laid on her waist. This was some kind of connection that she'd never felt before. She pushed her face into his chest and whispered, "I'm sorry." She felt him squeeze her tighter. He'd heard her. She thought she'd barely made a sound.

The tram made its next stop and they got off, surrounded by a throng of tourists. They blended into the middle of the crowd and made their way through the busy streets, dodging bicycles whizzing by them. Kelly struggled to keep up and not lose her footing. She had her suitcase in one hand and Drago's hand in the other. Basically, he was pulling her along while she did her best not to trip. Suddenly, he yanked her into a dark alley and they ducked inside a dark, dingy little bar. Drago deposited her at a table and went to the bar, quickly returning with two glasses of water.

Drago sat down and reached for the phone in his pocket. He stopped when his fingers found nothing. "Shit, must have fallen out of the shirt when I grabbed it off the bed." He ground his teeth together, disgusted with himself for losing the phone, their only contact with help. He'd have to get to a store and buy another one. But they didn't have much time. He almost jumped when he felt her soft hands close over his. He looked across the table at her beautiful face. He tried to force a smile, but he'd been caught with his guard down, and he was trying his best not to let her know how rattled he really was.

"Where to now?" Kelly knew that no matter what, she trusted him with her life. Hell, he was her life now. He could tell her they were on their way into the lion's den, and she'd follow. She would follow him anywhere.

"Probably the last place we should go right now, but I don't see any other choice. It's time to go to America." He saw the relief on her face. "Kelly, as soon as we use our passports, they'll know exactly where we are and where we're going. They'll be waiting for us." He grasped her hands tightly. "I'll do all I can to keep you safe, but it might not be enough."

"If anyone can keep me safe, it's you, Drago. If you can't, then I know it isn't possible. And no matter what, we'll be together." She leaned down and kissed the strong hands that still held fast to hers.

------------------------------------------

"We lost them in the crowds. There were just too many scents." He stood at the door, watching his leader bending down to pick up something. "Find anything in this room that'll help us find them?"

Milo stood up, gazing at the phone in his hand. He pushed some buttons, scanning the call log. "Only one number called, only one number received. Someone is helping them." Milo planned on moving up in his pack. If he helped Erobos track this traitor, he would back him. It was worth the risk. It had just been luck that one of his pack had spotted them getting off a bus the other day and recognized them from the pictures Erobos had sent to every pack. "Put the word out, we need to find the renegade and his captive. He can't have gotten far. Put someone at the bus and train stations and the airport."

They'd missed them by seconds. Next time he wouldn't miss. He'd have him trapped soon.

-----------------------------------------

"How long do we have to make it to the gate?" The man stood at the ticket counter, holding his girlfriend's hand as she cradled their baby, cooing and singing. He smiled lovingly at her.

The ticket agent looked at her screen. "You'll barely make it. They're at final boarding call. You'd better go now. I'll let them know you're on your way." She returned his smile and watched him pick up their luggage and walk quickly towards their terminal. She loved the smell of his cologne. She should have asked him what it was so she could get it for her boyfriend. A little too much though, kind of overpowering.

The man standing at the end of the counter wrinkled his nose. Humans and their artificial scents. Even from this far it was going to make him sneeze. He turned away to blow his nose. This was a boring assignment. They wouldn't be stupid enough to come to the airport.

Just before they got to the gate, the woman stuffed her bundle into her backpack and smiled at her companion. They approached the gate and handed their boarding passes to the attendant.

"You just made it in time, Ms. Creighton, Mr. Cavallo." She smiled and pointed the way to the ramp. "Have a nice flight." She waited for them to enter and then secured the door. A moment later she was surprised by a man running to the gate, out of breath.

"Wait, I need to get on that flight!" He turned his head instinctively as he sneezed.

"I'm sorry Sir, the flight is full, we aren't waiting for anyone else. They're taxiing out to the runway now." She jumped when his fist hit the wall. She watched as he pulled out a phone and started yelling.

"They made it onto a flight to the United States. What?" He turned to the startled woman. "Where does that flight land? What city? And when?"

"San Francisco, in ten and a half hours."

----------------------------------------------

'You look nice with long blond hair." Kelly pulled a strand and twirled it around her finger. "Maybe you should keep it." She tugged on it, dislodging the wig a little.

"I like you better as a brunette." He pulled her blond wig off and stuffed it into her pack along with his. "At least it worked. But I need to get into the bathroom and get some of this cologne off before I asphyxiate everyone sitting near us."

-------------------------------------------

Nevada - Present Day

"He's not picking up the phone anymore." Silvano sat quietly, trying to console his mate through their bond.

Xylon sat next to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Your son seems to be very good at staying a step ahead. Be patient, my friend."

"We need to have some plans ready. This fight may be coming to us soon. I don't want to get caught off guard." Carr had no intention of sitting back and waiting. He'd rather be proactive than reactive any day. "Cole, have your guys ready to go at a moment's notice." He waited for his brother and second in command to acknowledge the order before turning to Guillame. "Can you have your Betas start training with mine so they're able to work well together in a pinch?"

"Absolutely, Carr. Zsigmond, have everyone report to Cole." Zsigmond nodded and walked out of the room with Cole in order to get started right away. He liked the Baxter Pack. He was impressed with how Carr ran the pack and the close relationship between Carr and his Betas. It'd been so long since he'd been a part of a pack, he'd been concerned they would have problems with integrating the many Vlkolak refugees who had converged on the new Bertrand/Kardos Pack. This would be good experience for them.

---------------------------------------

Katy watched as Rhys rifled through stacks of papers. He'd been waiting for these papers to arrive from his office since they'd heard the story of the orphan cub who was adopted by Silvano and Carla Cavallo. "Have you found what you're looking for, Rhys?" She moved quietly across the floor. Since being turned into a panther, her movements were so much more graceful and stealthy. She leaned on his shoulder, lovingly stroking his back. He felt so tense.

"No, and if the boy really was orphaned or kidnapped, I should have some sort of record of it. Not one pack reported losing a cub or any members at all during that time." Rhys didn't like the idea that he might have missed something this important. He wouldn't have ignored something like this, would he? No, not possible.

"Maybe Erobos spoke a little truth, that the boy belonged to a couple from his pack. Did he ever report anything to the European Council?" Just the thought of someone stealing a child from its parents made her blood boil. She felt her panther pacing in her mind.If anyone tries to take our cub, they won't live long enough to regret it! For once, she totally agreed with her panther. They normally had differences of opinion. The panthers were very literal-minded and couldn't handle any nuance in their thoughts. But on this they were of one mind.

"I suppose they could have been rogues or lone wolves. Maybe the parents had a reason to be afraid of the Council. I don't know." His wolf was agitated and insistent that they shouldn't be discussing a kidnapped cub around their mate. It could upset her.She already knows. And she knows no one will have a chance to get near our cub. They would have to kill us both to take our child.

"If the Council finds Silvano and Carla's son, are they going to try to find out who his parents were and reunite them?" She managed to wiggle her way into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"That, little one, is up to the Council to decide. I suppose Xylon would be able to run DNA tests and try to match him up with the database he has going." His wolf took the opportunity, burying his nose in her neck, her scent of mint and cinnamon calming his nerves.

"It seems like a no-win situation for everyone. If you find his biological parents, what happens to his adopted parents? Won't that hurt them? I mean, his biological parents, if they're still alive, wouldn't know who he was or that he was still alive. So, would it matter to disrupt the couple that raised him?" Katy really wasn't sure what the right answer was. She just knew if her child had been taken from her, she would go to her grave looking for her baby.

"I don't know. If they were to cross paths by accident, the parents would know. They'd know his scent. I don't know if he'd know them, he was so young at the time they were separated. But a wolf never forgets the scent of their young. Never!" Rhys pulled his mate closer and let his hand rest lightly on her stomach. Her pregnancy wasn't even noticeable yet, but his wolf could tell the difference. "This will never happen to our cub, little one, I promise you that!"