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waist and pulled her back. Samantha grunted in frustration and swung her elbow into his face. It caught him in the jaw, but he kept moving. She twisted her hips to the side so she could put her leg behind Nik’s and trip him, but he yanked her feet off the ground before she could. Samantha continued to struggle, kicking and punching to break away, but Nik held on tight and moved faster.
    When Samantha heard the collapsing dirt quickly coming their way, she slumped in defeat. There was no way to help her friend now. The walls around them vibrated violently and dirt clouded the air, seeping into her lungs. Nik ran at his super speed with Samantha in tow, making her stomach feel like it was pushing through her esophagus. Then, they were coming out of the tunnel, emerging into the church down the block from their house.
    Liam closed the door behind them, loose dirt puffing around him. Samantha coughed, her mouth filling with the gritty earth taste. Nik lowered her until she was standing on her own. He patted her back gently, but she shrugged him off. Her throat finally stopped convulsing and she took a deep breath.
    “There’s a car in the parking lot,” Liam was telling Nik. “The key is magnetized and hidden under the front bumper. I know where.”
    Samantha studied him. To anyone else, the boy probably still looked serene and unconcerned, but Samantha, who had literally known him his entire life, could spot the telltale signs of nervousness. His lips were pinched, his cheeks drawn, making his eyes seem too big. It was then that Samantha accepted they wouldn’t be able to get to Leisha.
    Blinking back tears, she put her arm around Liam and pulled him in for a hug. He squeezed her back before pulling away and turning to show Nik where the car was. It didn’t even compare to her beloved Jaguar, but it was inconspicuous and the title was under a different alias than the ones they had been using until today. Samantha knew that if Leisha survived, she’d happily buy Samantha a new sports car. How callous am I to think of my car when Leisha might not even make it out of there alive? Her throat threatened to convulse around a sob, and Samantha coughed past it. Now was not the time to get emotional.
    Once they were on the road, Samantha drove them across the entire stretch of Australia. Nik stayed in the back, covered with a blanket so he wouldn’t burn. I never want to see him go through that again. The last time had been when Liam was hours old and the immortals had found them. Nik had been key in helping them get away. She wasn’t sure how long it had taken him to heal from those injuries because he’d vanished the next day. Turning onto her exit, she was relieved that the vampire had to stay hidden and Liam was sitting up front with her. It meant she didn’t have to try and force a conversation with him. How do people stay friends after they break up?
    She pulled into the parking lot of a cheap hotel that she and Leisha had scoped out months before to be prepared for a scenario just like they’d experienced today. Once she checked in and helped sneak Nik into the room, she placed a call that Leisha would have dialed if she’d been with them. It was to one of Leisha’s contacts who owned a shipping company. He agreed to smuggle them to India on the next departure, which was early the following morning.
    The trunk of their car had a hidden compartment filled with various weapons and some food. They pulled everything out and decided to get some rest while they waited to go to the docks.
    Samantha couldn’t sleep, but stayed in the lumpy bed anyway. Though she’d paid for a non-smoking room, her pillow reeked of stale cigarette smoke. She forced herself to lay still and breathe in the foul scent. She didn’t want to sit up and talk with Nik.
    The vampire sat on the ground in front of the door, a machine gun in his lap and a sword resting on the floor next to him. All that could be heard in the darkness were Liam’s