“Let the doors close,” he said to Grey.
I could have hugged Carlos.
As soon as they shut, I pushed. The men fell to their knees. Carlos hit his opponent hard enough to knock him out, then turned and knocked out mine before I could protest.
“We need to move. The rest are coming down. Charlene says police are coming.”
He pulled me toward the stairwell, and we raced down two flights of stairs. It was good to get my heart pumping and relieve some of the lingering tension.
On the main floor, we burst into the lobby and complete chaos. Clueless visitors to the building stood in frozen panic as police poured in through the front doors. Gabby, Clay, and Grey had almost made it to the exit.
“No one leaves!” one of the uniformed men shouted.
I glanced at Carlos, wondering how the heck we’d get out of there. He reached for my hand, and I gladly held on. He pulled me close to his side as someone shoved past us. The police were using their shields to push people back into the room. People began to panic and shove against the barriers, causing a ripple effect of jostling bodies. Carlos was my rock, my mountain shelter. No one touched me. Yet, despite his physical protection, the emotions of everyone in the room were getting to me. I started pulling and pushing emotions, just to keep from going under.
Across the room, the elevator doors opened, and Charlene stepped out. All motion stopped. Just froze.
She walked forward, weaving her way between the bodies. The rest of her group slowly followed. Carlos started leading me through the crowd as well.
“We are not the ones to fear,” Charlene said, her voice carrying the length of the room. “The ones you seek are on the third floor.”
She continued to move toward the door, joining Grey, Clay, and Gabby. A few of the people around us slowly started to move toward the exit, too. The police and security remained stationary.
As soon as we cleared the doors, everything inside went back to normal speed. We walked among the crowd of those who also sought to escape the madness. As we walked, I breathed in and out, barely sampling the emotions around me.
On the sidewalks, people were stopped, staring down at their phones or other devices. Disbelief ran rampant.
“They will discredit what they saw,” I said, walking beside Winifred. Oddly, no one seemed to notice her walking around in a robe.
“They might have. But they now have two Urbat,” Charlene said.
I felt her disquiet at the thought. Was she imagining what the government would do to them? I was. Because, since the day I’d figured out what I could do, I’d wondered what would happen to me if the world knew. I shivered.
Eighteen
“What do you see, Gabby?” Winifred said.
We walked together in a cluster—the same arrangement we used for practices—toward our vehicles that we’d parked several blocks away.
“Mass movement in their facility to the north. So many are fleeing it. I see Olivia’s spark moving too.”
“Keep an eye on her,” Bethi said.
Gabby nodded.
“So what now?” I asked.
“We wait and see where they take Olivia and go after her,” Bethi said. “She’s the last of us.”
“And when we find her?”
We entered the parking garage, and my last word echoed around us.
“The Taupe Lady has been a little vague on that part.”
The who?
“But I’m still having dreams and learning. By the time we find Olivia, I hope I’ll know more.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. It was a huge maybe. I could see Bethi didn’t like it, either.
“For now, I think it’s safe to head back to the apartments,” Charlene said.
Carlos and I went to the car. This time Grey and Jim joined us. As soon as Jim settled into the front seat, he turned to Grey.
“Think we can stop somewhere to eat? Our fridge is cleaned out.”
If their food supply had been like ours, I didn’t see how that was possible.
“Where do you put it all?” I said.
“In my stomach.” He winked at me, which earned the bottom of his seat a nudge from Carlos.
“Nice bruise, by the way,” Jim said, studying my face. “What’s the other guy look like?”
“He’s still breathing,” I said.
Jim grinned then faced forward.
Grey pulled out of the parking garage, stopping to pay before joining the slow stream of traffic.
“Gabby says Olivia is moving,” Grey said. “She thinks a car maybe.”
“What direction?”
“So far, north.”
I nodded and hoped we wouldn’t need to follow her north. It was cold enough here.
Grey turned a familiar corner and pulled toward the garage door. The security guard opened the door and waited while our three vehicles drove in.
The security guard’s gaze stayed on Winifred as she got out. Because of the robe she was wearing, she showed quite a bit of leg in the process.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” the older man said, looking at her.
I grinned at his emotion and waved everyone to keep moving.
“We’ll see you upstairs, Winifred,” I said.
Sam frowned at me and lingered enough that he walked beside me.
The guard watched us leave, making no move to say anything more to Winifred.
“Why are we just leaving her?” Sam asked as he stepped into the stairwell.
The door shut behind us, and I turned to peek out the narrow security window. The guard was slowly walking toward Winifred.
“Because he’s sweet on her. And worried that she’s walking around in a robe,” I said quietly.
“Sweet?” Sam said.
I glanced at him when I felt his unease.
“As Elders we can’t—”
“Hush. Every woman wants to know she’s pretty. Winifred just exposed herself on national TV. Let her have this moment.”
I watched the man speak, though I couldn’t hear what he said. Winifred blushed, smiled, said a few words to the man, and left him with a small wave. She caught me grinning at her through the door.
“Time to go,” I said.
When I spun around, ready to sprint up the stairs, I almost took out Carlos. He moved aside and followed me up.
It was a relief when he closed our apartment door behind us.
“Well, that was an exciting morning. What should we do this afternoon to top it?”
“Rest,” Carlos said.
I wrinkled my nose and walked toward the fridge.
“Boring. What are you going to make me for lunch?”
“What would you like?” he asked from just behind me.
Since leaving the building that morning, I’d felt very little from him through our connection. Now, however, it surged forward. His complete devotion wrapped me in a mental blanket.
“What are my options?”
His hands settled on my shoulders.
“Burgers, pizza, cereal?”
I grinned and slowly turned. His gaze found and held mine.
“You speak my language,” I said.
He gently touched my face.
“How long will it take for this to fade?”
I shrugged.
“I dunno. A week. Maybe a bit more. Why?”
“Because I want to kiss you.”
My pulse leapt.
“So kiss me.”
He shook his head slowly.
“I won’t hurt you.”
I put on a fake pout, and he swatted my butt.
“Hey,” I said. “What happened to not hurting me?”
“Go sit, and I’ll cook for you.”
I went to the couch and turned on the TV. A news feed ran on the bottom.
“Check this out,” I said as I read it.
Carlos closed the refrigerator and came to stand beside me.
Live air interruption causes widespread speculation. Are werewolves real? Tune in at 10.