Wild Tiger Chase | Book #2 (Complete)

57: a matter of will

— Rafa —

09:17h, ~1 hour before.

Satina was the first to see them. Before her gasp could warn the group, the horror in her eyes was enough to tell Rafa that there was something wrong. Rafa followed her line of sight to find Cae; before she could control herself, her muscles sprung to action and she got up, ready to follow them, but Satina stopped her.

Rob, though, jumped to his feet and hauled over the breakfast table.

"Roberto, stop!" Satina ordered. "Turn around. Not a word."

His muscles tensed and jerked to stop him in place. Satina raised the blue card in her hands, then flicked her wrist to make it disappear.

"He's taking Leo to Jackal," Satina said, getting up from her seat. "We have to follow them—without attracting attention."

"Follow them?" Rob echoed. "No! Why don't you want to help him? We have to free Léon and—"

"And then what?" Satina interrupted. "He's my cousin, Roberto. I love him like a brother; of course I want to help him." She got up and collected the remainder of their breakfast on her tray. "But we're locked inside this place, and our only way to get out is to stop Jackal from fucking with our world. This is not the time to lose our heads." She pushed the tray towards Rob and looked at Rafa. "Do you agree?"

Rafa swallowed hard and nodded.

"Your sister agrees." Satina pointed at the tray and then at the garbage bins at the back of the room. "We'll follow him from a safe distance. You two have our phones, don't you?" When they nodded, Satina continued, "Good. Rafa and I will update you on our position." She placed a heavy hand on Rob's shoulder. "Cool your head, Rob. Follow us when you're ready—we cannot do anything wrong. For Léon's sake... and for everyone's too."

Rob dried a rolling tear with a rough movement and took the tray. His hands were shaking. "Understood."

***

10:10 - now.

"Oh. No, no, no. Shit, what's happening in there?" Satina asked. For the first time since they met, Rafa heard her voice crack. Satina pummeled her hands against the dome. It didn't make any difference. "Isn't there any entrance at all? Are you sure Cae didn't leave yet?"

"I can't be sure, but we were here. We would have seen him."

"Fuck. What a stinky fuck!" Satina shouted, lips trembling and eyes watering. Her breathing quickened.

Rafa could understand the frustration. Until a moment ago, Jackal and Léon seemed to share a civil conversation. Now, she had a gun pointed at him. So yeah, they were not on edge anymore; they were desperate.

"We need to find a way around this," Rafa muttered.

The two women stepped away from the thick shield. Léon stood in the middle of a clearing with his hands raised, visible through thick tree trunks. Jackal gestured around her and the popped vein in her neck showed she was shouting. Toni's gun was still aimed at Léon. Around the two of them, Rio and the others watched the scene as if frozen in place.

"We don't need a way around this. We need a fucking way in." Satina sniffed and ran her hands through her hair. "Holy fuck, I should've let Rob take him back. I shouldn't've... it's my fault! If something happens to Leo, I'll—"

"Oi!" Rafa held her shoulders and turned her around to link their eyes. "You did the right thing, Satina. You thought about everyone, not only yourself and Léon. Being a leader isn't always easy." She swallowed hard and let her hands slip away. Rafa took in a deep breath, balled her hands, and furrowed her brows. "But I'll help. Now it's my time, all right?" She breathed in and out. "Nothing will happen to him, I promise."