by Kim Schubert
“Four?” Logan asked.
Darren nodded.
“Fuck, we missed one.”
Peter edged toward the open doorway. “I’m sorry — sorry to interrupt, but Tommy is talking over the car.” He held out Jerry’s cell phone tentatively.
Jerry took it from him. Peter looked around and swallowed.
“Good job, Peter,” Logan praised him. Peter straightened up, giving him a rare smile.
“They hacked Darren’s computer and cell phone and stole one of his vehicles. I’ve taken the liberty of reporting it.” Tommy’s furious typing could be heard in the background
“Darren, why the fuck don’t you have a better cell phone?” Tommy grumbled.
“Get him one, Tommy,” Logan commanded.
“You don’t have two kids to feed and a new business. Fuck, this is going to ruin me.” Darren rubbed his forehead, the bruises gone.
“I want you back as the East Compass Alpha.” Darren’s head snapped up to meet his brother’s gaze.
“What about Alec?” he asked.
Logan shrugged. “I’m going to offer him the West; if he wants it, the East is yours.”
Darren’s gaze swung to Hudson.
“Yeah, I kinda screwed up my gig,” Hudson admitted.
“He’s lucky to be alive,” Mark clarified.
“Why?” Darren’s light brown eyes bored into Logan’s caramel ones.
Logan leaned back on his heels. “Because I removed you for the wrong reasons and I’m sorry.”
Darren blinked a few times. “Okay, but only if Alec wants to move.”
“That boy will be packed by tomorrow. He gets to spend his days on a secluded beach with women in bikinis?” Jerry finished by muttering a few words under his breath while holding Darren’s abused head. “That should help with the headache.”
Darren nodded. “Yeah, that’s a lot better. Thanks.”
“Easy Jerry, you’ve been hitting the magic hard the past few days,” Mark warned, watching his boyfriend closely.
Jerry shrugged. “It’s worth it. Just think how jealous Olie will be when we tell her about our escapades.”
Logan smiled. She would be jealous she didn’t get to kill the asshole that shot her.
“Peter, who shot the gun?” Logan asked, turning.
“The alpha,” Peter answered easily. Logan nodded, he didn’t know his name, and he didn’t care enough to find out.
“Dammit,” Tommy cursed, “whoever is loading Olie into the ambulance, with Darren’s stolen car escorting them, isn’t giving me a shot of his face.”
“Male?” Logan asked.
“Yes, male, expensive taste, vampire,” Anna’s voice came over the phone. “Master Vampire.”
“How can you tell?” Tommy asked, impressed.
“Look at his clothing; that’s not off the rack, it’s tailored, watch how it moves around his knee and ankle. That has to be a custom fabric to flow in that manor. As for vampire, watch his chest, it doesn’t move with a breath. Also, he stands perfectly still, humans and shifters don’t hold themselves in that way.
“Zachariah?” Jerry voiced Logan's suspicions.
Logan rubbed his temple. “We are coming to you. I need shoes.”
…
The pain was getting worse. My breathing was labored, my skin felt on fire, and my head throbbed.
I landed hard on my knees, bracing my hands against the red desert. My vision blacked out.
“Daughter,” my father whispered, running his hands over my face.
“I can’t see,” I whispered, feeling his hand on my cheek. “Am I dying?” Fear and pain coursed through me, making me weak.
“No,” he offered, his voice raw. “Not yet.”
“Doyle, take her back to my study. I can transport myself to the high desert,” The Magician stated.
I felt his kiss on my forehead as Doyle picked me up. “Stay with me, daughter.”
…
It was a cramped ride to the manor, for the vampires in the trunk that is. Hudson hadn’t killed his vampire, though he had come very close. Darren took his own vehicle, which was left untouched, to check in on Kass and the children.
Logan had removed the glass from his feet, Peter was being transported to his child, and Jerry and Mark were on their way home. Logan went to Tommy’s room, holding his shoes in his hand.
He sat on Tommy’s bed. “Show me the video.”
Tommy hit play, scooting back out of the way of his large monitors.
Logan finished with his shoes, leaning his forearms on his knees.
He saw the nurse wheel Olivia out, another accompanying her with the machines. They checked the paperwork handed to them by the Master Vampire, the main nurse flipping through the documents. It was dark. Even with the filtering Tommy had done, Logan couldn’t tell much.
The paperwork was in order and the nurses walked away. Darren’s black SUV led the private ambulance away from the hospital.
“Did you track down the private ambulance?” Logan asked Tommy.
“It’s fake. I’m searching all stolen and recently sold ambulances and tracking down those that have LoJack, which so far has been all of them. What did you do with the vampires?”
“Blue took them to the basement.”
“Oh geez.” Tommy shook his head. “You should have waited on changing.”
Logan stood, clasping a hand on his shoulder. “Good point. I just hope he hasn’t had all the fun without me. Have you seen Anna?” Logan really wanted to beat a valid point into that red head.
“Naw, she went to the hospital to shake down some leads. She’s not that bad, Logan.”
“She’s not Olie.”
Tommy smiled sadly. “No one is.”
…
I wasn’t sure I was breathing any more or if Doyle was still carrying me. I was lost in an endless sea of throbbing pain.
…
Logan padded down the stairs to the scent of blood, a painful wail on the air.
He smiled, turning the corner. “How are they coming along?”
Blue used a rag saturated with blood to wipe off his blade.
“They belong to Tate’s house.” Blue cast him a knowing look.
“Then let’s return them.”
Blue returned Logan’s smile, stowing his blades.
“Let me get the silver.”
…
I could feel my heart struggling to beat, the death rattle in my chest.
“Logan,” I whispered.
…
“Are you sure you don’t want more backup?” Hudson asked, riding shotgun in the SUV. Blue sat smirking in the back, the thin silver chains around the vampires sending up tendrils of smoke.
“Don’t tell me ye be afraid of a few vampires,” Blue scoffed.
Hudson shifted in his seat. “A few, no, but an entire House full?”
Blue leaned forward, resting a hand on Hudson’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
Logan laughed, surprised, but a pang of longing hit him hard. That was a line from Olivia’s playbook.
Hudson grunted, shoving Blue’s hand off him. Blue sat back, laughing.
Logan rolled down his window at the guard gate.
“Logan, here to see Tate,” he announced. He was looking forward to this fight.
“I’m sorry, you have been banned from the House.”
“Huh, then what do you suppose I do with these two?” Logan asked, rolling down the backseat window.
“Shit,” the guard muttered. “What are you two doing back there?”
The vampires shifted silently.
“You see we have a problem. These two attacked my brother and kidnapped my mate. So when I tell you that Tate will see me, I mean if I have to kill every vampire who crosses my path, I. Will. See. Him,” Logan finished in a growl.
The guard looked terrified for a moment, but then straightened his back, opening his mouth to give a retort. Logan unbuckled his seatbelt, his hand l
anding on the door handle when the guard burst into ash.
He coughed, looking through the debris at Anna’s emerald gaze.
“Tommy disabled security. They know you are here.” She hit a button in the guard’s station and the wooden arm rose, the tire spikes pulling into the ground. She disappeared before Logan could ask what the hell she was doing there.
He settled back into the seat, leaving his seatbelt off, slamming the SUV into drive.
“Did we know she was going to be here?” Hudson asked.
“No,” Blue answered, clipped, drumming his fingers against the door handle. “I haven’t made up my mind if I like her.”
Logan cast him a short look as he pulled up in front of the Centennial House. “I do not. She lost Olivia. Some things are not forgivable.”
Blue inclined his head, agreeing. Logan opened his door.
“You cannot park here. What the hell? How did you get past the gate?” the guard at the front door asked.
Logan landed a solid right hook, the vamp’s head snapping back before he crumpled to the ground. The other guard pointed his gun, his finger on the trigger.
“Not another fucking step,” he warned.
Blue landed an impressively high kick, followed by a left hook, dropping the guard to the ground.
“Let’s go, these fuckers smell,” Hudson complained, dragging the two bound vampires behind him.
“Really, Hudson, I didn’t even get to properly play with them. I promise I can make them smell worse,” Blue chuckled.
Hudson grunted, bouncing the vamps’ heads against the concrete steps. Logan smiled, holding one of the double doors open.
“What the hell?” Hudson grunted.
Logan moved back in front of Hudson, Blue right beside him. Anna had quite the gathering, piles of ash at her feet.
“Looks like we missed the official greeting party,” Blue muttered. Logan and Blue fanned out on each side of her. Logan didn’t like it, showing her support, but he wasn’t seeing any other options.
“You side with this monster?!” Tate bellowed, standing in front of his own support, the entire House, less the dead ones. His chest heaved, his body vibrating with rage.
Logan scanned the group behind Tate, looking for Mal.
“Please tell me you didn’t kill Mal,” Logan whispered to Anna.
“No, I warned her we were coming and to take cover,” Anna answered, twirling a blade in her left hand. Logan took a second look at her, having seen that same predatory gleam and dexterity with weapons in Olivia.
Blue leaned forward, too short to be seen over Anna’s head, looking at Logan with, Logan imagined, the same disturbed look he was trying very hard to cover.
“ANSWER ME!” Tate screamed.
Logan turned his attention back to the small vampire in front of him. He knew his eyes glowed with his beast.
“You will be the one delivering answers,” Logan growled. Hudson dropped the two chained vampires in front of Tate.
“These two harmed my brother and helped kidnap Olivia. They belong to you.” Logan’s voice dripped with venom. His shoulders were tense, his beast not caring what Tate had to say, caring only for the taste of his blood.
“They aren’t mine,” Tate denied.
The captive vampire in front of Logan looked up at Tate with a smirk. “You deny your allegiance to the House of Zachariah?”
Logan kicked him, his heel connecting with the back of the asshole’s skull, concaving it. Blood and brain seeped into the Persian rug under Logan’s feet.
Logan turned his attention to the look of shock and horror on Tate’s face.
“Someone killed the Executioner?” a voice whispered.
Logan’s beast bellowed, “There will be silence!” His neck twisted, fur breaking out down his arms, his chest heaving with the effort of restraining his beast.
“Tate, I’d suggest a private meeting, before Logan and I kill your entire House,” Anna said, her arms crossed over her chest.
Tate turned his attention to her, vibrating with rage. His eyes blazed, completely amber.
The vampire Logan had kicked pulled himself up. Logan kicked him again.
“Where is my mate?” Logan hissed. He held a hand up when Tate instantly opened his mouth.
“If the answer is, ‘I don’t know,’ I will kill everyone.”
“We will,” Anna amended.
“I don’t really think Logan needs any help in this state,” Blue commented.
“Although Anna was doing a fine job on her own,” Hudson smiled, adding his brilliant insight.
“He doesn’t know, Logan,” a voice called from behind him.
Logan growled, slowly turning. Raphael stood under one of the limited lighting fixtures, the glow casting his dark hair with a blue tint, his pronounced cheekbones giving him a sunken look.
Having made his grand entrance, he continued his leisurely stroll.
“We have been patrolling this House, due to the drought it has endured.” Raphael raised a disapproving eyebrow at Tate before turning back to Logan.
“These two haven’t set foot in here. Nor has anyone who left gone close to the hospital,” Raphael finished.
Logan grunted, looking at Tate before turning back to the vampires in front of him.
“Do you want more time with them, Blue?” Logan asked.
“I’d love it. Since Tate is denying they are his, I do believe that makes them unprotected,” Blue smiled.
“Zachariah will not be pleased,” hissed the vampire Logan kept kicking.
Raphael bent down to the vampire, still on the ground. “Would you like to call him and inform him of such?”
The vampire’s mouth sealed shut.
“Don’t fret, I’ll get it out of you,” Blue promised. Logan was glad that smile wasn’t pointed at him.
“That’s it?” Anna asked, disappointed. “We still don’t know where Olivia is.”
Logan didn’t need the reminder. He took a breath, turning to Anna. “The Oracle will.”
Anna’s eyes widened slightly. She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind, her gaze swinging back to Tate.
“Do not imagine for a moment this situation has been properly rectified. You have put ALL of us in danger with your poor allegiances and your inability to keep your House safe. You have made powerful enemies on this day,” Anna regally informed Tate.
His disbelief was evident.
Hudson pulled up a vampire, Blue taking the other one.
“Let’s go play, boys,” he sang to them merrily.
With the vampires loaded back up, Anna stopped Logan. “I’m coming with you.”
He grunted, “I don’t need you to.”
Her eyes flashed, before her gaze shot back inside the House. “This isn’t over,” she hissed at him.
Logan slammed the SUV door and revved the engine. Of course it wasn’t.
…
Logan took Blue and the two vampires to the farmhouse.
Becky was waiting for them, smoking on the wrap around porch.
“Those things will kill you,” Hudson commented, trying for a smile as he followed Blue inside with the vampires.
Becky’s eyes flicked to him, her mouth blowing out the smoke as she held the door for them.
“Room four is clean, Blue,” she called over her shoulder.
“My favorite, thank you darlin’,” he called back to her.
“What’s wrong?” Logan asked.
Becky’s eyes flashed with emotion. “I can’t find her,” she confessed, her voice breaking as she flicked ash from her cigarette.
Logan reached out, resting a hand on her shoulder as she continued. “I’ve looked everywhere. I’ve scoured hours of footage, grainy to clear, enhanced images, focused on reflections, reversed images, looked for any deleted images. Nothing.” Becky took another long drag.
“If she is gone, there is no one to protect us,” she whispered, pushing away a tear.
“I’m
still here, Becky, I will keep everyone safe,” Logan tried to reassure her.
Becky looked at him, a sad smile on her lips. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Logan. I appreciate your attempt at easing my fears, but your first priority will always be the shifters. Our band of misfits would be hard pressed to find our place within your packs.”
He knew she was right, but he wasn’t one to give up. Olivia wasn’t the only one with a stubborn streak.
“Besides, she isn’t gone. The Oracle will know where she is.”
“Logan, you cannot go to The Oracle,” Becky warned. “Your packs need you. If you both fall, the fucking vampires win it all.”
Logan jerked his head at her words. “I don’t like the vampires,” Becky stated before flicking her cigarette away.
“It’s not that, …“
“He isn’t going alone,” Anna chirped up from the corner.
Logan groaned, turning to face her.
“Who are you?” Becky questioned.
“I’m Anna.”
“Oh.” Apparently Becky had heard of her. “Way to go, letting Olivia get kidnapped.”
“Everyone’s a critic,” Anna mumbled.
Becky opened her mouth to say something else but Hudson arrived.
“To The Oracle, you say?” Hudson asked, exiting the screen door.
“You will not be joining us,” Anna informed him.
Logan agreed, but he was curious.
“Why?” Hudson asked.
“The Oracle will have you for lunch. You are not strong enough to resist her allure,” Anna belittled him.
“But you are?” Hudson tossed back.
“I have proven myself capable,” Anna hissed.
Logan watched Hudson flick his eyes to him, restraining his annoyance.
“I need you to stay at the manor with the kids,” Logan stated.
Hudson’s eyes flared at that answer, Logan’s beast stirring in response. Hudson was quick to look away.
“Lovely, now that’s settled.” Anna began walking. “We’ll be taking my vehicle.”
Hudson raised an eyebrow at Logan. He watched Anna’s small form walking away with annoyance. She was testing him, and he’d bet money she knew it.
Logan tossed the keys to Hudson and followed Anna. The hellion wasn’t giving him much choice.