“Seems like we’re all the same kind of worthless.”
Even though Milosh looked as if he was ready to use the knife in his hands, Gunari and Nadya shared a quick sideways glance before laughing. Their camaraderie struck a nerve with Paige. It hadn’t been so long ago that she had the same sort of connection to a partner, but it had been a while since things were easy enough for her and Cole to relax and enjoy a moment together. Thinking back to one moment in particular brought a fraction of a smile to her face. Before it was noticed, she asked, “Any chance of you telling me where we’re going?”
“Oklahoma,” Gunari replied.
“Where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain.” When she didn’t get a reaction from that, Paige added, “Wavin’ wheat can sure smell sweet?”
Surprisingly enough, it was Milosh who said, “And the wind comes right behind the rain. Rodgers and Hammerstein. Geniuses.”
“I don’t know if I’d push them into genius territory, but you’re in the right ballpark. I knew we’d find some common ground before too long. So what’s in Oklahoma besides wheat, wind, and rain?”
“Werewolves,” Nadya said. “The same one that was in Kansas City and at least one other.”
All of the humor in Paige’s voice dried up when she heard that. “How can you be sure? Did someone see them?”
“We got a sample of its fur.”
“Nadya!”
“Hush, Milosh!” she snapped as if scolding a dog. And, much like a pup that had just sniffed the wrong piece of carpeting, he backed down. Nadya drew one of her blades and removed a sharpening stone from a kit strapped to the back of the seat in front of her. “We can take you to Denver, but not until this other matter is settled.”
“Cole’s in a lot of trouble,” Paige said. “He needs help now.”
“And so does Tobar,” Gunari snapped. “Yet we let him stay where he is because we know he can fend for himself. If not, then he is surely already dead. I’ve seen enough of Cole to know he should be given that same sort of respect. Since we thought you might not want to share your information right away, we expect a favor in return for picking you up on such short notice.”
Paige reached into her pocket to remove the little plastic flash drive. “If you’ve got a laptop or something, you can download a copy right now.”
Although all three of the Amriany sat up and took notice of what was in her hand, none of them made a move to take it. “Can you guarantee what’s on there will be enough to make up for dragging us into the legal troubles with your police that will follow anyone helping such a group of wanted criminals like yourselves?” Gunari asked.
“If they were my police, they wouldn’t want to drag me over the coals so badly,” Paige said frankly. “But this information is all I’ve got. You’re right, though that if there are Full Bloods gathering somewhere, we need to see what they’re doing.”
Rather than take the flash drive from her, Gunari reached into one of the overhead compartments for a computer. He handed the notebook device to Nadya and said, “Download a copy.” To Paige, he added, “You’re welcome to watch if you want to make sure it is done properly.”
“Cole’s the one who’d know if you were trying to put one over on me. If it takes too long, I’ll just rip it out of there and smash that computer to bits.”
Gunari grinned at her and nodded. “And if you prove to be someone we can work with this easily, we may be able to extend our hand to you in the future.”
“And I don’t mind lending a hand with you guys for whatever you need, especially since we seem to be working toward the same thing. Your partner is in the same tight spot as mine. He may even be locked up by the same group.”
“They are both in prison,” Gunari said. “Isn’t that what you mean?”
“They are both in buildings called prisons, but they’re not in the system.”
Milosh leaned forward in his seat as if to mirror Paige’s confidence. “What do you know of Tobar?”
“Have you seen any videos of him online or on the news?”
“No,” Nadya replied.
“Have you been able to contact him?”
“No.”
“Which means he’s disappeared just like Cole. I’m trying to find out something about where he wound up after he was pulled out of Denver. At the very least,” Paige