The Protectors Series Bundle - By Nana Malone Page 0,5

she headed right for the kitchen. As a kid, she and Peter had played hide- and- seek in the house for hours during rainy afternoons. Being older, he’d always gotten bored with the game. But not her. She’d found the old bomb shelter on one of her marathon hiding sessions. She’d been hiding in the pantry and had flattened against the far wall in an effort to slink further into the darkness—and that wall had given way.

She’d been terrified. She’d eventually gone back with her father and shown him what she’d found. Now, as she tiptoed into the deserted kitchen, she smiled at the memory. Her father going first with the large flashlight in hand, resolute that he wouldn’t actually find anything behind that pantry wall. What they’d found was a bomb shelter from the thirties. In all likelihood it was probably used more for making moonshine during prohibition.

When Cassie slipped into the shelter, she flipped on her flashlight. Dust particles filled her field of vision. No one had been down here in years. Before her father had died, he’d intimated that he’d never told anyone about their secret hideaway.

Cassie traversed around the small table and the covered chaise using the shelves lining the walls to steady her progress. To her right, she heard scurrying and swallowed hard. Please don’t let me find a mouse. Please don’t let me find a mouse. When she reached the tunnel, she sucked in a breath of dusty air.

Getting on her hands and knees, she began crawling through the hard packed earth, praying she didn’t disturb anything creepy and crawly or fuzzy and furtive.

For several dark minutes, as she followed the trail, all that filtered through Cassie’s sense of smell was earth. Wet, dank earth and animals. Some alive, others not so much. After what seemed like forever fresher, greener smelling air washed away the pungent odor of things dead and alive. After another ten minutes, Cassie reached the end of the tunnel.

She tried to focus her hearing, but all she heard was trickling water and owls. Some crickets and scurrying forest nightlife. Holy cow. She was free. Whipping around, she tried to get her bearings. Through the trees, she saw the lights of the house some distance away. Maybe a mile. Maybe more. Damn, how long had she been in that tunnel? Had Peter noticed her missing yet? No, he couldn’t have. She’d hear the dogs looking for her by now.

“Get a move on,” she muttered to herself. Just because no one had noticed her missing yet didn’t mean they wouldn’t come looking for her soon. And she wanted to be out of the woods by then and at least somewhere she had access to transportation.

Running south, she followed the stream, for once grateful for what Peter had done to her. She was fast and agile, even in the dark of night. She navigated the brush at record speed. Before long, her path ran parallel to Fisk Road. If she kept following it south east, she’d eventually hit the school and the center of town. And Mallory and Bryan.

Chapter Three

Cassie didn’t want to think about her friends. Sure. When she’d made like the boys of Prison Break, it had been about getting out to see her friends. But now it was about so much more. Peter was never going to let her go. She had to get free. But she also owed it to her friends to warn them. Peter would come after them and it would be her fault. And she needed some help with some wheels. Maybe Mallory would loan her hers. It was a tall order, but she’d have to ask. Then she could put miles between her and her brother.

Hanging a left at Briargate Road, she followed the sounds of revelry to the school. Kids of all ages roamed round. Laughing and talking and playing in the fake snow. Some were in band uniforms. Some in cheerleading uniforms. She’d seen enough movies to know that never the twain shall meet. Heading straight for the gazebo where the sounds of the live band were coming from, she saw Mallory leaning over the gazebo laughing uproariously. Cassie had to smile. She’d really miss her friend.

Her eyes did a quick scan of the grounds and she found Bryan instantly, segregated from the crowd. Leaning against the far wall of the school, he watched her. When their gazes met, he gave her an easy, lazy smile. Without conscious knowledge, her feet moved toward