Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,117

headed back into the camp in search of our tent.

I cast one look back over my shoulder at the perimeter the army had erected around us and I just had to hope that whatever Niall came up with as a distraction was enough to get us out of here. Because if it wasn't, then I was beginning to think we might be in more trouble here than we'd expected. And it was looking like we should have run before walking into this place. But now that we were inside it, we were going to have to break out. Because there wasn't a force on earth that could keep the Night Keepers away from Tatum Roscoe. So even if it came down to a fight with an entire army, we'd do whatever it took.

D arkness had fallen and there were no more shouts coming from the soldiers back on the street or even the sound of the helicopter circling. Niall had told me far more murder stories than I’d ever planned on hearing, but he somehow managed to tell them in a way that made them kinda funny. I didn’t know if that made me a sick person for laughing, but maybe it was just that his stories didn’t even sound true with how ludicrous they were. Knowing what I did about Niall though, they probably were.

He was examining a map on his phone as he plotted out a route to the barricades surrounding the city. Apparently there were weak spots that weren’t manned too heavily and he’d gotten through one of them earlier. I just hoped that would still be the case by the time we got there because we’d certainly caused a stir earlier on. And those soldiers weren’t going to stop looking for a guy who’d opened fire on them. The only chance we had was getting out now, and I for one was going to make damn sure we pulled it off.

“Okay, lass, time to go,” Niall said, pushing to his feet. The thick coats we’d taken from the woman’s apartment had turned out to be a godsend against the cold, but I was still a little numb as I got up.

I flexed my frozen fingers, checking my phone for messages from the guys for the millionth time.

We headed to the door as I put my bag on my back with Kyan’s bat. Niall tossed away the oar which had been holding the door shut before slipping outside. I followed him, the night air weirdly still as we slipped quickly back into the trees and followed the path towards the opposite side of the park to where we’d entered. The city was freakishly quiet and goosebumps prickled along the back of my neck as we made it to the exit and Niall opened the gate with a groaning of hinges.

I headed along after him on the dark street beyond it, pressing a bottle of hand sanitiser into his hand. I’d given him the vaccine while we waited in the boathouse and he’d mentioned wanting another two doses for his friends when he went home. I didn’t mind. There were still plenty left to be given to Dr De La Cost, but I was kinda curious about who Niall gave enough of a shit about to give a vaccine to. He struck me as more of a loner type. But it was good to know he wasn’t totally isolated in the world.

We crept through the silent streets, avoiding any patrols we saw or could hear close by as we continued on toward the edge of the city.

I focused on returning to my Night Keepers, trying not to worry about the camp they were in or how they were going to get out of it. If anyone could do it, it was them. And it wasn’t like they were prisoners there. They’d be able to slip out somehow. I just hoped Niall and I could do the same.

We reached the end of a long road and pressed back into the shadows as we gazed down the adjoining street to where a metal barricade had been erected. There was one truck in front of it and a soldier was leaning against it, talking to another guy a few feet away.

“The third one’s our problem,” Niall said quietly.

“I can only see two,” I breathed.

He took hold of my chin, tilting my head up and pointing to the roof of the building in front of us. “There’s a little birdie in his