The Guardians (MORE Trilogy) by T.M. Franklin Page B

his jacket, and grabbed his bag.
    “We go west.”
    “West? That’s it?” She crammed her feet into her shoes and swept up her backpack, following him out the door, only to slam into his back. He shoved her back into the room unceremoniously and whipped the door shut, leaving barely a crack to peek out.
    “What is it?” Ava whispered, trying to see under his arm and failing. She moved to the window to peer through a gap in the curtain.
    “Don’t let him see you,” Tiernan snapped.
    “Who?” Ava still couldn’t see anything—only the back of a car parked at the motel office.  
    A black and white car.
    “Oh no.” She yanked the curtains closed, panic rising in her chest. “Is that the police?”
    “It could be nothing.” Tiernan kept his voice low, still looking out the crack in the door. “Or  . . . ”
    “Or?”
    He glanced at her. “Or, it could be that the motel manager also watches the news.”
    “Crap.” Ava ran her hands through her hair, tugging lightly before pulling it into a ponytail. “What are we going to do?”
    Tiernan shut the door quickly, trying not to slam it. “He’s coming this way.” Tiernan headed for the bathroom, frowning when he spotted the tiny window over the toilet. Striding back into the room, he tossed his bag on the bed and squared his shoulders. “I’ll try not to hurt him too badly,” he said, meeting Ava’s frightened eyes.
    “No!” She hurried back to the window, thinking quickly. “I think there’s another way.” She willed her heart to slow, reaching for her Race gift through the layers of panic and fear and freaking out. “Give me a second.”
    “We don’t have a second.”  
    Ava ignored him, her gift swelling through her, responding to her call as she focused on the bumper of that black and white car. “Come on  . . . ” she murmured. She envisioned the brake releasing . . . the gearshift sliding down to neutral  . . .
    “Ava?”  
    They could hear the footsteps approaching now . . . low voices  . . .
    The police car began to roll backward, and Ava’s lips curled into a victorious smile. The car turned, coming to a quick stop then started rolling forward. “That’s right, a little faster  . . . ” she whispered, pushing it with her gift.  
    A startled cry outside told her the diversion had worked, and she saw the police officer and motel manager running toward the car, chasing it as it rolled into the street.  
    “Now.” Ava hitched her backpack higher onto her shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.” She kept her focus on the car, increasing the speed as they ducked out of the motel room and headed in the opposite direction, keeping to the shadows.
    “Nice job,” Tiernan said grumpily, as though it hurt him to say it.  
    Deciding that was the best she was going to get, she asked, “Where are we going?”  
    “I’m to check in every hour for directions,” he said, scanning the parking lot then setting off toward the center of town.  
    Ava trailed after him, hitching her backpack onto both shoulders and giving the police car one last push as it turned a corner heading away from town, the police officer running full speed behind it. “Shouldn’t we get out of town? That cop isn’t going to be kept busy for long.”
    “We need a ride,” Tiernan said tersely. “It’s the only place to get one.”
    “What about the sensor? I thought he was coming with us.”
    “Apparently, he doesn’t need to.”
    He strode quickly, but Ava knew he was holding back so she could keep up. Barely.  
    “He must be quite powerful. Andreas said he could track Caleb from where he is,” he said.
    “Wow. That’s pretty impressive.” She jogged alongside him, her pack bumping against her back. “Can a lot of sensors do that?”
    Tiernan was silent for a long moment. “He’s the first one I’ve heard of.”
    He seemed a bit uncomfortable about that, and Ava wondered if it was because he was leery of the sensor’s