Read Online Colliding Worlds Trilogy 03 - Explosion by Berinn Rae - Free Book Online

and handed the bottle back to her.
    He unfolded the paper and started scanning the green layout. “We should be safe here for an hour or two until we figure out our next step.”
    “Is that a map?” she asked, her mouth opening.
    “Yeah, I need to get a fix on our location. I had to ditch my phone so they couldn’t track it,” he replied without looking up.
    “But it’s
paper.
”
    “And your point?”
    “It doesn’t have GPS. It doesn’t show where you are or where you’re going. What good does it do?”
    He cocked his head and watched her for a moment. A smirk curled his lips. “You don’t always need technology.” Then he pulled out a small compass and laid the map over the emergency brake that separated them. “Here. I’ll show you.”
    Talla should have noticed its approach. She was off-balance, distracted, until the sound wouldn’t be denied. Two pairs of eyes widened at each other when they recognized the unmistakable small engine sound above them at the same time. Without even looking up, Jax and Talla shot from the Jeep in opposite directions, the instant the
pzoosh
of a small shell firing erupted from the drone overhead.
    The shell whistled through the air and slammed into the engine of the Jeep. Talla ducked behind a tree, covering her head with her arms and wings. An explosion shook the ground and sent a wave of hot wind past her, and she braced herself with a hand. A storm of leaves tumbled down upon her back.
    Coming to her feet, her ears ringing, she chanced a quick look at the drone. It now hovered just above the tree line, scanning the ground. A narrow red laser-line crossed over the wreckage and spanned a good ten feet on either side. After a second scan, the tiny camera disappeared with a
whir
inside the drone. Another, larger slot opened and something shot out and into the ground several feet from the wreckage.
    The drone moved off, and Jax jumped out. “Talla!”
    She was already running toward him. “I’m okay. You?”
    He nodded, and then glowered at the object the drone left behind. It reminded her of a chaos-charge connected to several arrows. The top round portion had several lights and indentations. It was attached to metal sticks stabilizing it above the ground. “What is it?” she asked.
    “A tracer. They’ll send a cleanup team here.”
    She pulled out her shiv. He held out a hand to stop her from approaching it. “No. If the tracer goes off-line, they’ll know we’re alive and send in a team right away. Either way, they’re coming. No need to tip them off any sooner.”
    “
Fyet
,” she sighed, looking around. But, while the vehicle was clearly out of commission, the blast had been contained. The engine area was gone and the seats were charcoaled, but the back end remained relatively intact. The cleanup crew would quickly notice the lack of bodies. “You don’t happen to have any explosives on hand to obliterate the Jeep and any proof — or lack of proof — so they’ll assume we’re dead?”
    He looked down and held out his arms, like he was saying,
does it look like I’m carrying anything?
    “How much time do you think we have?” she asked.
    “A couple hours, maybe more, depending on how things are going at the Etzee. The Ozarks cover a good chunk of land. It will help us evade troops longer. That they’re using drones right now instead of helicopters with troops for tracking runaways is a good sign. I’m betting on the fact that the Etzee is still keeping their hands full.”
    “I hope we’re not the only ones that got away,” she said quietly, the sense of loss all too fresh.
    Jax stood before her. “If there was anyone nearby, I would’ve taken them with us. You know that, right?”
    His expression was intense yet sympathetic at the same time, as though he was looking to her for forgiveness. Everything about that man was a dichotomy. Talla craved to discover the man hidden under the masks. “Yes,” she whispered, a small smile pulling on her