The SUV wound its way through a dense forest, and the snow grew thicker the further north they went. Rarely did they see another vehicle, and for the last twenty minutes before Jo directed Brandon to turn right on what didn’t even look like a road, they didn’t see another soul or even a house.
“You sure about this?” Brandon asked as he made a sharp turn between two trees.
“That’s what the map says.” She could see the red dot that represented their vehicle turning onto the thin line of a road on the map she was following using her IAC. “It’s narrow and winds around a lot, but eventually, it should come to a fence with a steel gate. The cabin is another thirty yards up the drive.”
“Oookay,” Brandon said, steering them between trees whose branches reached out and slashed at the roof of the vehicle. The road was bumpy, so he took his time. Even with that, Jo found herself bouncing out of her seat more times than she could count.
Eventually, they saw the gate in front of them. Jo reached for her door handle to open it, but Cass stopped her. “Let me feel around a minute.”
Not used to working with someone with her aunt’s skills, Jo bided her time, waiting for her aunt to finish feeling the area for any other presence. Once she was given the clear, she opened her door and got out.
Zane came too, which was nice but not necessary. The passcode for the old lock that secured the chain around the gate was in her mind’s eye, and she typed it in, releasing the chain and moving the heavy gate easily enough. She could've done it on her own, but Zane’s help was acknowledged with a smile. The gate might slow Vampires slightly, but it must’ve been meant to keep humans out because any Vampire would’ve ripped through it in seconds.
Once the obstacle was removed, the pair got back inside of the vehicle, and Brandon steered them up the drive a little ways before they hopped back out to secure the gate behind them, and then headed on toward the cabin.
Jo’s stomach was in knots as the dwelling came into view. It was larger than she had expected. No smoke billowed from the fireplace, and no other vehicles were in sight, but she assumed they were parked in back, and since there were no humans inside, there’d be no reason to heat the place, except to maybe keep the pipes from freezing, if there were any, and if the fireplace was the only source of heat.
Brandon drove around back and found a spot next to three similar SUVs, a couple of motorcycles, and a camo colored Jeep that looked like it had seen better days. The tailgate was riddled with bullet holes. “I wonder whose ride that is,” Cass muttered, swinging her bag over her shoulder as she got out of the car.
“Someone with nine lives,” her husband replied. Jo took a deep breath before she pushed her door open, not sure what to expect inside. She was certain her dad would’ve passed on the information that she was in charge of this mission, but that didn’t mean everyone had to like it. With the lack of intel she currently had, she’d be reliant on the others to help her feel her way around until she had the lay of the land and an expectation for where Holland was and how they could bring her in.
With her backpack secured, Jo followed her aunt and uncle toward the front of the house, hanging back a bit. Zane was waiting for her a few steps ahead, an encouraging smile on his face. The occupants had to know they’d arrived since they’d been following the map as well, so there was no hostile show of force to greet them, but there was also no welcome wagon. Jo wondered how many of these people knew her aunt and if her father’s good name would go as far with them as it had the Russian military.
The door was closing as they approached, which didn’t surprise Jo any. Far be it from her aunt to actually hold it open for her. She could hear Brandon’s voice on the other side of the barrier as he greeted people. Some of the voices were familiar--people from the US who had made it there before them. Some were not so familiar. Some had thick accents. These were her people, her teammates, whether she liked it or not.
Zane opened the door for her, and Jo looked inside before she entered. Cassidy was hugging Fiona and Hattie. Jo hadn’t even realized she was close to those women, but then, what did she know? Brandon was talking to Cale, alongside a couple of men she didn’t know who looked like they might be Russian, though it was hard to say. A woman with a sharp, short haircut stood next to them, her arms folded. She thought that was Mila, one of the Area Leaders.
All of the furniture in the room was mismatched, and there was a lot of it. Chairs, sofas, tables. She could see through the living room, back into a kitchen area where other people were congregating, telling stories and drinking alcohol. Her brother was there, alongside that Dax fellow and another couple she didn’t recognize she thought might be part of the Asian team her dad had mentioned. No one was using any of those seats--no one except for Scott. He was sitting on a chair placed directly across from the door, as if he had been watching for her arrival for hours. When he saw her, his right eye narrowed slightly, a small twitch, and then, he got up and walked into the kitchen.
“Jo? Are you going in?” Zane asked, a crooked grin on his face. He had been looking at her and had no idea what had just transpired with Scott.
“Yeah, I’m going in,” Jo replied, wishing she had another option. Inhaling the crisp Russian air, she walked into the cabin, hoping she could find a way to blend in, to fit in, and to lead this group of killers to the ultimate prize. Otherwise, she was about to let a whole lot of people down, including herself.