Chapter 26

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX

Tori had done it.

Twenty minutes later, the chips had been removed from both Kai and Gage.

Using a small first aid kit Tori found in the SUV, she'd cleaned the cuts the best she could and put bandages on them. That would work until Kai and Gage could get stitches—unless they didn't care about scarring. But really, they needed stitches so infection wouldn't set in.

Emotionally, it had been one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do as a nurse. Thank goodness, it was over.

As soon as Kai's chip had been removed, he'd taken it, walked to a rock, and smashed the device with his foot.

Gage had done the same.

Tori could rest assured they wouldn't be tracked now.

She shivered at the nighttime around them. The woods were dark and silent, other than the sound of crickets and an occasional owl hooting or frog croaking. The air had turned cooler and brought with it the scent of decaying leaves and old wood.

At least they were alone. No one had found them. No one seemed to be watching—for the moment.

"Should we go back to the house?" she asked after she cleaned her hands with another wipe.

"That location has been compromised." Kai tugged his shirt back on. "We can't go back there. We'll find a hotel for the night instead. Then we can all talk again."

"And I can stitch you guys up."

"Yes, but for right now, let's get out of here." Kai paused and glanced around before looking back at her. "I think we can all agree that it's been a long day."

Tori couldn't argue that.

If only there was somewhere she could go where she'd feel safe.

Thirty minutes later, Kai, Tori, and Gage were in a two-bedroom suite. The place was pricier than they'd wanted, but the location was good.

Kai hoped with those chips out of their bodies that they wouldn't be found, at least for a while. He'd watched on the drive here, and he hadn't seen anyone following them.

Once inside the room with the door locked, Tori collapsed on a couch, her limbs shaky.

He knew today had been tough on her. It had been tough on all of them. The difference was she hadn't trained for circumstances like these. He and Gage had.

Plus, her friend had died, she'd cut chips out from their bodies, broken into a doctor's office, and been chased by gunmen.

He slowly lowered himself onto the cushion beside her. "Are you okay?"

She raked a hand through her dark hair, leaving it disheveled. "My head is just still spinning from everything."

"That's to be expected." He wished he could put her at ease. But he didn't want to give her false reassurances either.

Gage paused near the door. "I'm going to run to the store. Do we know how we're doing on money?"

Kai had thought about that also. Since they were paying in cash, everything was more complicated. But he hadn't wanted to stress Tori out by bringing up any of those issues. She had enough on her mind as it was.

"If we spend carefully, we'll have enough for a couple more days," Kai said. "We can always withdraw more from our accounts."

Gage cocked his head. "Except doing that will let people know where we are."

"Right now, they already know the general area we're in," Kai reminded him.

"That's true." Gage let out a breath.

Tori nibbled on the side of her lip before frowning. "I'm sorry I put you guys in this position."

"None of this is your fault," Kai reassured her. "I'm glad you came to me with what you knew. Maybe we'll finally get some of the answers we deserve."

She nodded, though she didn't look convinced.

Kai knew things just might get harder before they got easier.

In the meantime, none of them were safe.