Lilly blinked. “But why? Why would any of that even happen?”
Sly grinned. “Your book deal.”
“My what?”
Kane understood immediately. He had to admit it was a damn good plan. “He’s going to put the word out that you’ve signed a major book deal to tell your story. This will infuriate the Sanctuary people and might make them act less rationally.”
“As if they were ever rational.” Lilly lifted her chin, her blue eyes blazing. “I like it. When do you want to do this?”
“How about now?” Sly asked.
“No. Tomorrow is the big Labor Day celebration and parade,” Kane put in. “There’ll be too many people in town, which will not only make it difficult to keep on top of things, but will put too many civilians in danger of getting hurt.”
Though he looked as if he wanted to argue, eventually, Sly capitulated. “Two days after the parade,” Sly said.
Kane agreed. The remainder of the team watched the debate in silence, apparently willing to go along with whatever Kane and Sly decided.
“What do I do until then?” Lilly asked.
“For one thing, we’re going to continue your self-defense classes,” Kane told her, hating how she looked like a wild animal caught in a trap. “And I really wish you’d reconsider learning to handle a firearm.”
“No.” Lilly had begun shaking her head before Kane even finished. “No guns. I can fight with my hands or change into a wolf and fight with teeth and claws.”
Looking from her to Kane and back again, Sly frowned. “But what if they have guns?” he pointed out. “You’d stand a much better chance if you were armed.”
“That’s what I have you for.” Lilly’s icy tone made the other man cock his head. “I want you and your team to make sure it doesn’t come to that.”
The hell with it. Kane pushed back his chair. Crouching in front of her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her right in the eye. “You have my word, Lilly. There’s no way I’m letting those nuts get their hands on you ever again.”
Gaze locked on his, slowly she nodded.
Sly’s eyes gleamed as he looked from one to the other. “In the meantime, we’ll continue to work the town. Since this parade is such a big deal, we’ll fan out and keep searching the crowd. Maybe we’ll get lucky and grab those cult members before we have to resort to our other plan.”
* * *
The morning of the parade dawned with an overcast sky, the dark gray clouds threatening rain. Despite that, Kane seemed cheerful.
“It won’t dare rain,” he promised. “As far as I know, our Labor Day parade has never been rained out.”
Though Lilly was skeptical, she decided to go with the flow. “I’ve never been to a parade before.”
From the shocked expression on Kane’s handsome face, she might as well have confessed to never having eaten ice cream, or something equally unbelievable.
“I thought you and Lucas were allowed to occasionally go into town. Surely even small Texas towns have the occasional parade.”
She shrugged. “I imagine they do, but we were never there when they had one. I remember watching the big Macy’s one at Thanksgiving, but I’ve never seen one in real life.”
“That’s a crime,” he said, his silver eyes going briefly gray. “Well, that’s about to change today.”
Since attending the parade would mean going into town, Lilly’s heart fluttered. “Did you change your mind then? Is today when we’re going to implement our plan to use me as bait?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Sly kept pressing for that, even after our meeting, but I overruled them. The town is too crowded. There’ll be hundreds of civilians there. Kids and elderly people. Families. I don’t want to take a chance on someone getting hurt.”
Relieved, she nodded. “Then how are you going to disguise me so I can watch the parade? If I go into town, even with a ball cap and dark glasses, people will know who I am.”
Now he grinned, a wicked, wolfish light coming into his eyes. “Kathy helped me put together a costume.” He brandished a shopping bag. “Once we get you decked out in this, there’s no way anyone is going to recognize you.”
Wary and also resigned, she looked at the bag. “Hand it over. I might as well see what you two have in store for me.”
Amusement still shone in his face as he passed her the bag. “You might need some help with part of that. If you do, just yell.”
“I will.” More curious than anything else, she carried the bag into the bathroom. When she pulled out the getup Kane and his sister had assembled, she couldn’t help but laugh. A curly red wig, maternity dress and sensible shoes were the first things she saw. Lastly, there was some sort of stuffed pillow with straps. As she puzzled over that, she realized it was a pretend baby bump.
Kane was right. No one would recognize her, not even his family.
She got dressed with mirth bubbling up inside of her. She’d always heard pregnant women glowed. Maybe, just maybe, she could actually pull this disguise off. It would be absolutely heavenly to go out in public and not have to worry about some crazy from Sanctuary snatching her.
The maternity dress Kathy had chosen for her was a matronly navy color, with an empire waist. The sensible flats were also dark blue and they made up in comfort for their ugliness.
After putting on the red frizzy wig, Lilly almost took it right back off. But after she adjusted it, picking at the curls, she realized she looked like an adult—and pregnant—version of Little Orphan Annie.
When she emerged, waddling slightly, Kane took one look at her and cracked up. She loved the way he laughed, all husky and rich and, oh, so masculine. The sound made her want to hug him...and she might have if her enormous belly hadn’t been in the way.
“So now that I’m a pregnant lady, who are you going to be?” she asked, fluttering her long eyelashes.
His smile faded as he gave her a long, serious look. “I’m escorting you and Kathy, since Tom is working the parade. You’re Kathy’s pregnant girlfriend from the city.”
“Perfect!” She clapped. “I’m ready, let’s go.”
All the way into town, Kane kept shooting sideways glances at her. At first, she thought he was still marveling over the costume. Then she wondered if her wig had slipped, or she’d misapplied her makeup. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore.
“What?” she asked. “Why do you keep looking at me?”
“I’m wondering if that disguise will even fool anyone. Especially if the cultists are watching me.”
She gave him her most gentle smile. “If it doesn’t, then we’ll have to implement our plan early. You’re still going to have me surrounded, just in case, right?”
“Yes.” He still sounded glum. “The entire team is in plain clothes and in place. No one will be able to get within a few feet of you.”
“Perfect. Then if someone makes an attempt...”
“We’ll grab them. The only problem is there’s three of them. I don’t want to take a chance on any of them getting away.”
“We’ll be fine.” She wished she could lend him some of her newfound confidence. For whatever reason, the fear and trepidation that had dogged her most of her life had disappeared. “I want those creeps caught.”
“I do, too.” His fervent reply made her smile.
“And if they are going to make some sort of move today, then I really, really hope they wait until after I’ve seen the parade.”
Though the town had already begun to fill up and parking was at a premium, Kane’s brother had saved him a spot in the grassy field behind the high school. He’d actually removed a lawn chair from his van and parked himself in the spot, so no one else could park there.
“Here we are,” Kane said, grinning at his brother.
Lilly couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s nice of him.”
Kris laughed when he caught sight of Lilly in her disguise. “Nice,” he said. “You and Kathy look like two of a kind.”
“We ought to,” Lilly replied. “This is her dress, after all.”
Once Kane had parked his Corvette and Kris had stowed his chair back in his van, the three of them headed toward Main Street. In the distance, they could hear the sound of the high school band playing. And the closer they got, the stronger the scent of burgers and hot dogs cooking became.
“This is the biggest crowd yet,” Kris said, glancing to his left.
Kane nodded, though he didn’t respond. Lilly eyed them. He and Kris were busy casting furtive glances around them, clearly trying not to be noticeable. The way they were acting made her wonder if they expected someone to jump out from behind every parked car.
Once they crossed from the alley onto Main Street, the crowded sidewalk made walking slow. They moved through throngs of people, sidestepping babies in strollers and the occasional dog on a leash. Her fake baby bump made walking a bit difficult, and she soon found herself out of breath.
“Will you two please wait up?” she chided. “Being pregnant forces me to move much more slowly.”
The two men slowed their steps for her. Lilly found herself wondering what it was like to really be pregnant. She couldn’t imagine how it must feel to know a little life was growing inside you. For the first time, she wondered if she’d ever experience such a miracle.
All along the sidewalk, vendors had set up little booths with brightly colored awnings. All kinds of goods were for sale, from homemade jewelry and baked goods to artwork made by local artists. In between these were booths selling freshly made burgers or hot dogs, turkey legs and funnel cake.
People were everywhere, dressed in shorts and T-shirts. There were strollers and toddlers and children running and playing, laughing as they dodged in and out of the crowd. The noise and the scent were overwhelming. But delicious, too. Lilly wanted to stop and take it all in.
But Kane and Kyle continued to plow determinedly through the throngs of people. Lilly finally had to take hold of Kane’s back belt loop to keep from being left behind. He turned and smiled at her, the brightness of that smile nearly making her lean in for a quick, unthinking kiss. Luckily, she caught herself in time.
“Where are we going?” she finally asked, huffing a little.
“Where the family is waiting for us,” Kane answered. “Everyone’s staked out our usual spot in front of the shoe store,” Kris elaborated. He glanced at Lilly, his gray eyes a paler imitation of Kane’s, and then winked. “Kathy wants you right next to her.”
The festive air and the happy vibes everyone gave off made her want to laugh. Still feeling giddy despite her breathlessness, she nodded. “Where else would I be? We pregnant women have to stick together.”
“There they are.” Kris waved. “They haven’t seen us yet.”
Though Lilly squinted, she couldn’t make out where they were.
“Over there.” Kane pointed. “See the sign that says Frunter’s Shoes?”
As she stood on tiptoe to try to see over the sea of heads in front of her, she heard a boom, a crack, a loud explosion or something. The earth shook, a rolling wave of sound and pressure. Somehow, she found herself on the ground, her ears ringing.
Dazed, she lay there, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Gradually, she realized there was smoke. Fire? People were screaming. Shouting, crying and wailing. As she tried to push to her elbows, she saw her hands were scraped and bleeding.
What had just happened? Had someone set off a bomb?
Another pop, almost like a gunshot, immediately followed. The billowing black smoke stung her eyes. Disoriented, she heard more screams of pain and terror, faint as if coming from a distance. Weakly, she pushed up onto her hands and knees, trying to stand. Finally, she managed to do so, shaky and confused, her mouth dry with shock and tasting of ashes.
Kane appeared in her wavering line of vision. “Lilly.” He reached for her, gently pulling her close. “Are you okay?”
Before she could answer, she saw Kris, staggering toward them. “What happened?” she asked, her voice weak and shaky. “What on earth was that?”
“I don’t know,” Kane answered, grabbing for his brother with his other arm. “It sounded like an explosion.”
“A bomb?” Kris moaned, wiping ineffectively a trickle of blood running from his forehead down his cheek. “Damn.” He squinted, trying to see through the smoke. “Debi and the kids are out there. And Mom and Dad and Kyle and Sharon.”
Jerking away from Kane, he staggered in the direction they’d initially been heading. “Come on. We’ve got to find them and make sure everyone is all right.”
Without waiting for an answer, he lurched away, trying to get to the spot where, moments before, the entire McGraw family had been standing.
Kane started after him, then hauled Lilly against him, his gaze searching the crowd. “Are you hurt?”
Numb, she looked down at herself. While she might be bruised, she didn’t see blood except on her hands and both her knees, where they’d hit the concrete. Minor stuff. “No,” she croaked. “Please. Let’s go check on your family.”
“Not you. I need to leave you with one of the Protectors,” he said, soot-stained expression grim and desperate. “I’ve got to go help Kris and make sure my family is safe.”
In the distance, sirens sounded. As Kane looked around them, trying to locate one of the Protectors, just like that, Bronwyn materialized. Despite the ash in her hair and on her clothes, with her big floppy hat and denim overalls, she looked as if she’d just come into town directly from the farm. Her disguise was so at odds with her true personality that Lilly could only stare in dazed wonder.
“Bronwyn?”
“Yeah.” She grimaced. “I was pretty close to where it detonated, but I think I’m okay.”
“Where’d it go off?” Kane stared at her, unable to mask his desperation.
“Over there.” Bronwyn pointed. “Kind of in between the shoe store and the ice-cream place.”
In other words, close to where Kane’s family had been standing. Kane blanched, going pale.
“Can you guard Lilly?” he asked, balancing on the balls of his feet as if about to take flight.
About to protest, Lilly bit her tongue. She’d do whatever was needed to help ensure Kane got his family to safety. She could only hope no one had been hurt.
Bronwyn glanced at her as if she expected her to object. When Lilly didn’t, the other woman nodded.
“I’ve got her,” she told Kane, low-voiced. “Sly and the others are helping set up a triage area for the wounded. Go!”
Kane nodded, planted a quick kiss on Lilly’s mouth, and took off. Lilly watched him go, her entire body aching.
“Come with me,” Bronwyn said, all business and appearing completely unruffled by the chaos around them. The wail of sirens had grown closer, and then stopped. People were still shouting, weeping and running in every direction. The keens of pain and grief were the worst, cutting Lilly to the bone.
Bronwyn took a step, and her knees almost buckled. She grabbed Lilly’s arm to steady herself.
“I want to help the McGraws,” Lilly rasped, staring as she realized a huge bloodstain was spreading on Bronwyn’s side. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s nothing,” the other woman said, her face pale but determined. “Come with me. Remember what Kane said.”
Watching as Bronwyn’s bloodstain grew larger, Lilly started to protest, and then finally nodded and followed the Protector.
Weaving on her feet, Bronwyn led her around a corner, to an area where several police cars, ambulances and fire trucks were parked, lights flashing. “This is probably the safest spot right now,” she said, using the brick wall at her back to support herself. “We’ll wait here.”
The instant she finished speaking, she slid to the ground in a crumpled heap, the bloodstain spreading from her to the concrete.
“Help,” Lilly shouted, motioning to one of the ambulance workers. “We need help.”
Two men c
ame running over. Taking in the situation instantaneously, they lifted a now unconscious Bronwyn onto a stretcher and carried her off to one of the ambulances. A moment later, the lights started flashing. The siren whoop-whooped and the vehicle roared off, leaving Lilly alone.
Now what? The McGraws. She needed to make sure Kane’s family was safe. Thankful for her disguise, Lilly turned and began staggering back the way she’d come. Though she didn’t think she’d been hurt, she believed she might be in shock. It didn’t matter. She needed to find Kane and his family.
As she rounded the corner, a third explosion went off. In the distance, flames roared toward the smoky sky. The acrid scent hurt Lilly’s nose. The awful cries from the wounded hurt Lilly’s heart.
“Help me,” someone moaned, staggering out of the dusky cloud toward her. With a jolt of recognition, Lilly realized it was Anabel, holding her torn and bloody dress closed around her waist. Blood trickled from a deep gash on one arm, and part of her hat appeared to have been singed.
Forgetting her disguise, Lilly stepped toward her. “Anabel. Are you hurt?”
Raising her head, Anabel squinted at her with a bleary gaze. “You look familiar,” she croaked. “Please, help me get away from here.”
Thoroughly disoriented, nonetheless Lilly nodded. “Come on. Let’s go find the McGraws.”
Anabel stared. Covering her mouth with her hands, she began making a keening sound. “The entire McGraw family was there, right by where the bomb went off. I don’t know if they made it.”
As she looked at Anabel, Lilly felt bile rise in her throat. “No,” she managed. “They have to be all right. Kane and Kris went to go check.” She gasped, trying to catch her breath. “Come on, Anabel. Let’s go find them. They’ll know.”
Anabel didn’t move. Despite her obvious injuries, she stared at Lilly as if she thought her insane. “Who are you?” Anabel asked. “Are the McGraws friends of yours?”
“It’s me, Lilly Green. I’m wearing this because...” She waved her hands, wincing as she saw spots. “Long story. Now come with me. We ought to be safe together.”
The Wolf Siren Page 23