The tiniest of smirks appeared on his face, proving my point. “They’re upstairs. No, I won’t go see what they’re doing.”
“Thanks, Spence.”
He was staring off outside, no longer letting me disrupt his morning, but it was a rare moment alone with him, so I pushed a little more. “How are you doing with all this?” I asked.
Turning back toward me, his brow pinched. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. You don’t say much. You constantly help us keep our shit together. I just want to make sure someone takes the time to see that you’re doing okay, too.”
His bright smile was something rarer than even Jaxon’s. “Thank you, Cara, but I’m fine. I’ll spend the day outside, and you don’t need to worry about me.”
“What’s it like with the trees? Do they speak to you, or is it just feelings shared? I don’t know anything about dryads.” Hopefully, he wouldn’t get offended by my questions, but I’d been curious since the first time I’d seen him go all Groot.
Facing the window again, I thought maybe he was going to ignore me, so I took the glass I’d drank from and moved to the sink. By the time I’d rinsed it and was going to give Spencer his space, he was back to facing me.
His fist was outreached to me, and when I raised a brow at him thinking he wanted me to give him a fist bump, he flipped his hand over, and a tiny sprout was growing from his palm.
I reached out to touch the growing leaf and twig, and it was cool on my fingertips. “That’s truly amazing, Spence.”
“Thanks, Siren.” Breaking off the stick from his hand, he handed it to me. “It’s hard to explain what it’s like. I’ve been this way my whole life. I can’t speak to the trees or nature, but I can feel their emotions. The more in tune I am with my surroundings, the stronger I grow. I would have never survived in Mandora without my brothers.”
“The concrete walls made you weak?”
Nodding, he continued, “I was a target from the moment I entered the prison. To put it comically, I was built like a twig, but I’d been bunked with Mason, and he wasn’t having it. This was before we had our ‘lair,’ as you called it. I trained with them and learned how to defend myself without access to nature.”
My hand reached out to his forearm. “Thank you for sharing that. I know you don’t often do that, especially with anyone other than the guys.”
“You are one of us. Even if I’ve never said it, I’ve always known it.”
Warmth smacked me in the chest, and I had the unexpected urge to hug him. After moving back to his side of the counter, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “You’re a good man, Spence.” I had no idea where it came from, but I felt like he needed to know it.
“Uh, thanks, Siren.” He awkwardly patted my back, and I pulled away.
“You’re welcome. Now, go commune with nature, and say hi to Groot for me.”
He grumbled words I didn’t need to hear as I walked away to find Jaxon and Mason. Nixie was rambling on about something when I finally found them in a garage.
“The red one,” she insisted.
“These are not our cars, Nixie. We can’t just take one. I only came in here to look for weapons,” Jaxon droned.
“I don’t give a shit what you came in here for. I’m not going anywhere with you unless we take the Ferrari.”
My eyes moved about the five-car garage. There was a red Ferrari, a yellow Lambo, a black classic sports car I didn’t know the make of, a massive quad cab Chevy, and three motorcycles. Screw the Ferrari. I wanted to take the bikes for a spin.
Jaxon turned toward Nixie, clearly irritated with her demands. “Then don’t fucking come.”
Her head tilted to the side. “I thought you’d be happier this morning after I liquored up your woman last night, but apparently, I’ll be getting no thanks.” She flew slowly past me before leaving. “Maybe ride him a little harder next time?”
My mouth gaped open with no response before she disappeared. That fucking fairy had no boundaries with her words.
“Get that fairy to stay out of our sex life, or I’m going to squash her,” Jaxon grumbled, but I ignored him and tried to change the subject from our sexcapades.
“So, did you find any weapons?”
“Yeah, there’s a closet over there. Feel free to take whatever you can hide under your clothes.” Mason glanced over at me. “Which won’t be much.”
I was wearing skinny jeans, a tank, and my leather jacket. I’d be able to hide plenty. Walking over to the closet, I then understood what Mason meant. All I could see were a couple of pistols and plenty of rifles. Though, I didn’t really need weapons considering we were headed to a magical prison where, if I had to, I’d be able to use my powers, but curiosity got the better of me. There had to be something else, so I began moving things around until my nail caught on some fibers and a shelf moved.
By pulling harder, a box was exposed and plenty of small knives and darts, plus some bottles of liquid I didn’t dare touch. If I didn’t know what something did, I didn’t need to be messing with it. I was more apt to hurt myself than a potential attacker.
I tucked a few things into my jacket, then went back to the guys. They were done with whatever they had been doing, so we headed back inside. Blake and Jenna were on the couch, Spencer was nowhere to be seen, and Nixie was in the kitchen making a whole lot of noise.
“We’re going to head out. You guys sure you’re okay here?” Jaxon asked Blake.
“We’re good, Brother. Try not to cause any trouble without us, though.”
Mason whistled. “Come on, Fairy. Time to go.”
“Did you find the keys to the Ferrari?”
I sighed. “Nixie, get your ass in the SUV. We’re not stealing Zeke’s cars. No amount of arguing will change that.”
She huffed, flew toward my face, and threw fairy dust in it. “Fine, but I’m not happy about it.”
“When are you ever happy?” Mason grunted.
Her swords magically appeared. “When I’m cutting people. Would you like to see?”
He backed away slowly, shaking his head.
After Nixie smirked and put away her blades, we finally made our way to the SUV. Nixie stayed in the back with me, stating that if we couldn’t take a cool car, then Mason could do the dirty work. The wind was picking up outside, and he wasn’t happy about having to get out of the vehicle, but he did it anyway. Likely, the image of Nixie cutting him was urging him on.
When we went through the portal and popped out on the road to the prison, the sun was shining, and everything seemed calm. Snow was still on the ground, but grass poked through. The tranquility of it all freaked me out. Something wasn’t right. It was too still around us.
We pulled into the parking lot and shut off the SUV. It was midmorning on a nice day. The inmates should have been out in the yard making all sorts of noises while playing basketball, working out, or whatever else they did, but there was nothing. Just silence.
“Something’s not right,” Jaxon hissed from the front seat.
“Should we go back?” Mason asked, and Nixie flew to the front, ready to take action this time.
My head moved between the seats. “We have friends in there. If something is really wrong, we can’t leave them behind.”
Jaxon glared at me. Of course, he wouldn’t like walking into danger, but this was who they were. Who we were. I wasn’t willing to walk away without trying to get in.
“I can disguise us if you guys have a cover story,” Nixie offered.
“I’d love to say we do, but we don’t know enough about what’s going on in there to come up with anything decent,” Mason replied.
There had to be something. My hand rested on my cheek as my finger tapped against my temple. What would make the warden be unable to refuse our presence? I had it.
“You two can be yourselves, but not look like you,” I said, making absolutely no sense by the pinched expressions they shared. “Be trackers, take me in as your capture. I c
an be locked up. You can gain favor with the warden under new identities, and then Nixie will zap me out of there. Easy peasy.”
“Abso-fucking-lutely not, Flower.” Jaxon glowered at me, red seeping into his eyes.
“Why not?” I challenged.
“What if they have real magic blockers up? Ones that Nixie can’t break through and you get stuck in a cell? What then? I would tear this prison down to get you free, but at what cost? And could you live with it?”
Shit. He was right. The risk was too great, and I wouldn’t be okay if anyone else died while Jaxon tried to free me. Nixie hadn’t been able to break through the bands we’d been locked down with before. There was too high of a chance the new warden had upped the security.
“What if Cara is partially on to something?” Nixie suggested. “What if the three of you go in there posing as new trackers in the area and offer your services. You might get a job and we’ll be busy for the next day or two, but you’d be able to build that trust still and possibly see if anything is really amiss.”
Well, at least I hadn’t totally missed the mark. I just wasn’t exactly looking forward to going back to the tracking work.
Mason nodded. “That’s the only way we can go in and not risk being stuck there. If we’re going to do this, that’s the only way.”
Nixie puffed out her chest. Like she needed another reason to be full of herself.
After her ego had grown bigger, Nixie got to work on changing our identities again. Mason and Jaxon wore similar black shirts with khaki cargo pants and military-style boots while I was outfitted with a black V-neck and dark green pants, comparable to theirs, just tighter and with a few less pockets.
We hopped out of the SUV and headed for the back door. Jaxon put his hand out and stopped me. “Let me do the talking. I’m not saying you can’t speak, but let it be as little as possible. Men like Warden Parsons don’t respect women, and we need to do everything we can to get this done quickly and without incident.”
While it grated on my nerves to agree, I did anyway, because he was right. There were times for me to be agreeable and times to be whoever the fuck I wanted to be. I was going to choose the former this round, but only as long as it worked.
They better hope the warden was in a good mood.
Chapter 10
The main prison doors were locked, which was odd considering it was early afternoon. So, we pressed the buzzer and waited. A camera that hadn’t been there before moved from the corner of the doorframe, then a speaker sounded.
“What business do you have here?” a female voice asked.
“We’re trackers and new to the area. Looking to relocate and wanted to offer our services,” Jaxon replied, lowering his voice, probably trying to disguise it.
The camera circled around the three of us again, and I adjusted my hair, hoping Nixie was out of sight. If shit went sideways, she was our back-up plan.
“The warden will see you,” the voice answered just as the door popped open and Mason tugged on the handle.
“Stay together. Whatever happens, we don’t split up. They’re obviously not running things the same way any longer,” Jaxon hissed as we stepped through the frame.
I wanted to agree with him, but we were greeted by the old hag I remembered scolding me about the keys when Nixie and I had left to go see Greggor.
“Names?” she asked.
Oh, shit. We hadn’t discussed that. Who would I be? Something crazy or plain? Before I could decide, Mason answered for us.
“I’m Ryder, he’s Sven, and she’s Sadie.” He pointed to himself and then us. “Fae and demons. We’re the best trackers on the West Coast and are looking for a change in scenery.”
Mrs. Vin raised a brow. “Is that so? Well, I’m sure Warden Parsons will be pleased to meet you, then.” Her voice said otherwise, but I didn’t really care. She was just an office lady. She wouldn’t have the information we were looking for.
Following her, we headed toward Gillian’s old office, but passed by it and stopped two doors down. She knocked twice on the steel door before letting herself in. “Warden, you have unexpected guests.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Vin.” He stood from behind the desk.
She bumped into me on her way out and glared. Damn, she was surly to everyone, apparently, not just those who messed with her organizational skills.
Warden Parsons held his hand out and gestured to the four chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat and tell me how I can help you today.” He smiled, and it seemed genuine, but I wasn’t buying it.
“Thank you, sir. We were passing through and looking for a new place to settle and were wondering if you had any need for tracker services. We’ve been bounty hunting on the West Coast together for five years now and are looking for a change,” Jaxon answered, adding to the backstory Mason had already given.
The warden placed his hand under his chin. “Is that so? Well, it just so happens we’ve done some restructuring recently, but I don’t have anything at the moment for you. Normally, cases come down from the council, and they’ve been quiet lately.”
Hmm, did Jaxon and Mason know that? I had never questioned where the files came from before, but it would make sense that they were from the council. I didn’t really know anything about the leaders other than it was a good thing not to know them.
“Well, we could leave a card. We should be in the area for another few weeks to gauge the interest before we decide whether or not we’ll be staying,” Jaxon answered, and Mason produced a card he’d just magically created.
The warden kept glancing at me, and I held his stare every time. I didn’t want to look away and make it seem like we were hiding anything, but he was suspicious anyway, or so it seemed.
“Would the three of you like a tour of the prison before you leave? It’s the least I can offer considering I don’t have any work for you.”
“Yes, that would be great,” I answered before they could decline. Hopefully, we’d be able to get eyes on Ethan and Gabe; then, I could rest easier knowing they were really safe.
We stood from our chairs, and Jaxon eyed me like he didn’t think this was a good idea, but it was the only option. We’d come here to check on my friends, and I didn’t see any other way.
“The area you entered through is our administration. Not much to see there,” the warden began, and I glanced back. The old hag was standing at the closest desk with another woman I didn’t recognize, watching us walk further into the prison. Something told me maybe this wasn’t such a great idea, but it was too late to back out.
“Down here are some of the guards’ quarters. The rest are below on the sublevels. There are three floors total. This main level has four sections to it, the one we’re in currently and three cell blocks. Which would you prefer to see, the women’s, men’s, or inhuman blocks?”
I pretended to not be so interested as Mason answered the men’s block. Good thing. I would have castrated him if he’d said anything different.
“Great choice.” Parsons grinned, but it came out as more of a sneer. With every step we took, my gut further twisted. It was too quiet around the prison. We’d yet to see a single guard out, and they were always roaming during the day.
Just as the men’s entrance came into view, something plowed into me, hitting me directly between my shoulder blades. “What the fuck?” I snapped, turning to see my attacker.
“Hello, Cara.” The woman who had been with Mrs. Vin stood before me, an evil twinkle in her blue eyes that didn’t bode well for me.
“I’m sorry. Who’s Cara? I’m here with my friends, and the name is Sadie.” I turned back, wondering why neither Jaxon nor Mason hadn’t said anything yet, but they were nowhere in sight.
“Good try, but you can’t fool me. I know exactly who you are and who your friends are. As does the warden, so behave or they’ll pay the price for your actions. She flung a wave of forest green magic at me and the disguise Nixie had given me was no longer visible. “Now, come with me.�
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I wanted to refuse, but she had some sort of pull on me and my legs were moving without my consent. What the fuck is happening?
“And here, everyone thought it was going to be so hard to find you. I told them you were an idiot and not worth our time, but my boys never listen. Once they get an idea in their head, they’re like hound dogs until they get their catch.” She glanced back at me. “You are going to play nice with your uncles. They’ve waited a long time to meet you.”
My mind processed everything she was saying. Slower than I liked, but I also knew a big part of me was trying to refuse the truth that was smacking me in the face. Truth that I’d been trying to run from until I knew more.
This woman was a Luccovino, and not just any Luccovino, either. No, she was the mafia psychos’ mother, and she’d called them my uncles, meaning there was more than one of them. In that moment, I realized the hierarchy of the family had never been described to me, and I was standing face to face with someone I’d thought I’d never meet.
“You’re my grandmother,” I stated with little emotion.
“Unfortunately. I had such high hopes for Emilio, and he ruined everything when he met your whore of a mother. So much potential wasted.” The disdain in her voice made me want to choke the old bitty, but I refrained.
We were continuing down a hallway I’d never been through that was past the admin area. Even though this wasn’t how I wanted to get the information I so badly needed, I still had Nixie with me. I pretended to scratch my neck and confirmed she was hiding within my hair.
For the moment, I was still okay.
“Why aren’t the others coming for me? What did you do to them?” I asked, because there was no way my absence had been missed.
“They don’t even know you’re gone. Perks of original magic.”
I wanted to question her—I didn’t know what she meant by original magic—but before I could, she opened a door and the first thing I saw was the last thing I expected.
Owen sat in the corner of the room, his hair matted with blood, eyes swollen, and face varying shades of purple and green. I did my best to school my features. If they intended to use him to get to me, I needed to make sure they thought I didn’t care about his survival.
Escape (Elite Supernatural Trackers Book 3) Page 7