Nocturnal Read Online Free PDF Page B

tarp-covered flatbed truck. It was partially hidden behind a clump of brush near the entrance ramp to Highway 10.
    Rathbone and Rebecka glanced at each other, then Rathbone turned to Piper. “Piper, your girls aren’t dead.”
    She stared at him. “How could you know that?”
    â€œThey’re here, Piper,” Rebecka said. She reached back and took Piper’s hand.
    â€œI don’t know what you’re talking about,” Piper said.
    â€œIt’s true,” Rathbone said. “But before you see them, we need to explain a few things and … prepare you.”
    Aiden and Salvatore restrained Pippa, who was convulsing as she fought against them. Aiden guided Jack as he injected a needle into the line of tubing that fed into her arm. He had offered up his blood to give her a fighting chance, as Pippa had done for him weeks earlier, but the doctor said he couldn’t risk tainting her blood—it held the secrets to humanity’s survival. All they could do was keep her hydrated and sedated.
    Abby continued to scream, even after she’d been injected twice. There was nothing to do but put up with it.
    Aiden heard a vehicle approach and got down from the flatbed to wait. Jack joined him as a truck pulled in and parked. Rathbone, Rebecka, Salvatore, and a woman Aiden didn’t recognize got out.
    â€œThis is Piper Reyes,” Rathbone announced. “She’s Pippa’s and Abby’s mother.”
    â€œI’m assuming you’ve filled her in,” Jack said to Rathbone.
    â€œYes,” Rathbone said. “I gave her the short version and tried to prepare her.”
    Aiden immediately took the woman’s arm and led her to the back of the flatbed. Tears streamed down her face as she looked from Pippa to Abby. She fell to her knees, crying uncontrollably. Rebecka boarded the flatbed and put an arm around her. Then she led Piper off the flatbed and into the crowd of hundreds of humans and werecats that were now gathering.
    â€œWhat’s the plan?” Salvatore asked.
    â€œWe head north, as soon as we’re organized,” Rathbone said. “You three will stay here on the flatbed with the girls, and I’ll leave a few soldiers with you. Doc, your pet bats have gone AWOL, and we can’t wait for them to show.”
    â€œThey’ll catch up,” Jack said. “They’ll nest through the day, but they’ll find me at night.”
    â€œNot sure how they’ll be accepted in the safehold,” Rathbone said.
    â€œIf they’re to accept me, they’ll accept my brothers and sisters.”
    Jack’s black, hollow eyes seemed to press against Rathbone’s mind. “We’ll leave within the hour,” was all he said to Jack before he left.
    As he walked away from the covered flatbed, he felt Jack’s mental grip loosen. He liked Jack Tanner, but he didn’t like being controlled.
    The recent battle had left the troops exhausted and stressed. They struggled to pull themselves together. Rathbone knew he had six or seven hundred tired and hungry men and women, but there was no time for rest. They had to distance themselves from the Pits before what was left of the ferals came back to kill them.
    Rathbone and Rebecka pulled the massive team back together, and the convoy headed out onto the highway. Rebecka droveRathbone’s Jeep while he rested in the back. Piper reluctantly rode shotgun, but she wanted to be with her daughters. Rathbone said it was best to let the doctor treat the girls unimpeded. Then he drifted off to sleep.
    He was awakened hours later by the sound of Piper screaming, “Ferals!”
    Rathbone reached under the seat for the automatic and locked it in its metal holster. He swung the gun to the right and scanned a group of shadows. The shadows looked like werecats. Rebecka hit the brakes, and the Jeep skidded to a halt. Spanning the highway were more than a hundred hyena werecats, fully