by Bree Younger
Cade looked puzzled. “What?”
“It’s when a kidnapped victim begins to feel attachment to his or her captors. They depend on them for so much, and the captors become the stable figure in their lives. They actually sometimes defend the people who kidnapped them. She might not want to leave.”
“No shit?” Cade exclaimed.
“No shit,” Ace told him before turning to Hawk. “Maybe you could compromise with Claire. She could stay with me in the van until you’ve cleared the way in. Then someone could take her in after everything is under control. She’d be out of the way during the most dangerous part of the mission, but she could get to her sister pretty fast and wouldn’t feel like she’d been left out of everything.”
Hawk considered Ace’s suggestion. It was a reasonable one. Since Ace was the medic on the team, he always stayed back with the van. He hadn’t really given much credence to Claire’s assertion that they might need her to keep Cassidy calm, but it was something to think about. Of course, they could tranquilize Cassidy if she gave them any trouble, but he’d rather not do that if he didn’t have to.
Hawk looked at Ace. “Good idea. I’ll tell Claire that she can come but has to wait at the van until we’re sure it’s safe.”
“You’re welcome.” Ace grinned. “I just got your ass out of the doghouse, Hawk. You owe me big time, and I definitely plan on collecting.”
Hawk laughed. “Figures. Now, tell me, is there anything else we should be doing to get ready for this? Anything we’ve missed?”
Cade shrugged. “Not really. I’m just a little concerned that we have enough men for the strike. I’d feel comfortable with a couple more. If we are wrong about where Cassidy is located, it’s gonna slow us down doing the room to room. And the longer we’re there, the bigger the chance that something’s going to go all to hell.”
Hawk agreed. “I’d like an extra guard to stay back at the van with you and Claire, as well. Especially if you have to medic on someone. We just don’t know what we’re going to be looking at. If there are others in there. What kind of shape they might be in. Or if Cassidy is hurt. Or, hell, if one of our team gets injured. If that’s the case, Claire will be on her own, basically.”
“Can we get some more men here before Saturday?” Ace asked.
“The Buchanans offered to help. I’ll give Ty a call and see if he can round up some extra guys and send them this way.”
“Sounds good. Other than that, I think everything is under control.” Cade looked inquiringly at Ace, who nodded in agreement.
Hawk stood. “All right. I’ll let you two get back to work. I’m going to go tell Claire the good news, and then I’ll get on the phone to Biloxi.”
Ace shot him a grin. “All right. Just remember, you owe me.”
Hawk shook his head and left the room, swiftly running up the stairs. When he opened the door to the room he shared with Claire, he immediately saw her curled up in the middle of the huge bed.
She didn’t turn when he entered, but he could tell she wasn’t sleeping. He sat down on the bed beside her, and she stiffened. He stifled a grin. She was definitely one stubborn lady. He was glad she was mad at him and not crying instead. Anger he could handle. The tears, though, they screwed him up and made him feel like a helpless idiot.
He reached out and pulled on her shoulder, wanting her to face him when he told her the news. She resisted for a moment but finally allowed him to push her flat on the bed. She lay there looking up at him, her mouth a firm line of resentment.
“What do you want?” Her chin jutted out mutinously.
“Look, Claire, I know you think I’m being unreasonable. And I do understand your need to be there for your sister. So we’ve come up with a compromise that I hope you’ll agree to.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she propped herself up on her elbows. The action brought her face closer to his, and he had to resist the urge to kiss that pouting mouth. He really did have it bad. Leaning back to put a little more room between them before he did something he shouldn’t, he told her, “Ace agreed that Cassidy might come more willingly with us if she saw a familiar face. So…”—he held up his hand as she opened her mouth and started to speak—“so…I’ve agreed that you can come, but you have to wait in the van with Ace until we give the all clear. Is that agreeable to you?”
She lay there without speaking for several seconds before a huge smile broke out on her face. She threw her arms around Hawk’s neck and hugged him to her tightly. “Thank you, Hawk. Oh, thank you so much.”
He leaned back to look down into her face. “Swear to me that you will do exactly what we tell you to do. No arguments. No hesitation. Swear it, Claire, or you won’t go at all.”
“I swear.” She nodded solemnly. “I’ll do whatever you tell me to do.”
“Excellent. Not mad anymore?” he teased her after she had hugged him again.
She gave him a sheepish grin. “I wasn’t really mad. I mean, I understood what you were saying. I really did. I just didn’t want to accept it. So I got pissed. More at myself than anything else. You just happened to be a convenient target.”
“Figures.” He rolled his eyes. “Now, I need to call Ty Buchanan and get him to send us a few more men. Why don’t you get up and go downstairs and get to know some of the guys.”
“All right. Oh, Hawk, thanks again. I do love you so much.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart. Even when you’re acting like a brat.” He bent to cover her mouth with his in what was meant to be a quick kiss. When her lips parted against his and her tongue darted out, he moaned and pulled her closer. The kiss went on and on. Hawk finally broke the kiss, pulling back with a wry smile on his lips.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish, babe.”
She laughed. “Oh, I can finish it, sexy man. Any time you like.”
He shook his head. “I think I’ve created a monster. I’ve got work to do, and you know it. Now get your butt downstairs and let me make my call.”
She gave him a last hard peck before jumping up and rushing out of the room, obviously in a much better mood than when he’d entered. He just hoped she’d always be that easy to please.
Hawk grabbed his cell phone and pushed the button that would connect him to Ty.
Chapter Sixteen
Claire looked up from where she sat studying the blueprints with Brady when the front doorbell rang. Again. The guys were great, but happy homemakers they were not. She sighed. “Let me go get the door, Brady. I’ll be right back.”
Occupied with something he was studying, he barely acknowledged her. She shook her head and walked over to open the door. The past few days had been very interesting. As the lone female, living in a house with eight males made for a very interesting time. It was a good thing they were all vampires and didn’t expect her to cook and wash dishes for them. She’d drawn the line at washing laundry, but she couldn’t take the clutter, so she found herself picking up after them in self-preservation. It wasn’t that they were a bunch of male chauvinists who thought it was a woman’s job to clean. They just really didn’t care if their shoes were scattered all over the floor in the living area. Or that the magazines were piled so high on the coffee table they threatened to fall over. As someone who’d grown up in a household of mostly females, Claire was finding the entire experience enlightening.
She reached the door and looked through the peephole, as the men had drilled into her head. The face looking back at her was very familiar, though she’d never personally met the man before. She pulled open the door and smiled in greeting. “Mr. Buchanan. I’m Claire Landry. This is unexpected. Hawk didn’t tell me that you would be coming personally.”
Ty Buchanan stepped into the foyer, followed by two other men and a cute, black-haired woman whose hand he was holding. He took the hand she offered to shake and grinned down at her. “Please, it’s Ty. This is my wife, Libby. And he didn’t know. I decided at the last minute that I wanted in on some of the action,
so here I am.”
“Well, I’m sure that he’ll be thrilled that you’re here. And I’m Claire. Hi, Libby.” Claire was curious about the woman who’d married the eligible Ty Buchanan. The casino had been buzzing about their marriage and all the harrowing events leading up to it.
“Nice to meet you, Claire. I’ve heard a lot of interesting things about you. Mainly that you have managed to somehow catch the most uncatchable vampire I know.”
Ty winked. “No, babe. That was you.”
Claire laughed when Libby punched her husband in the shoulder. “Congratulations on your recent marriage.”
“Thanks,” Libby responded.
Ty gestured to the other two men. “This is Jason Callahan and Eddie Lemoyne. They’re werewolves who work for Ricardo Diaz. When I told Diaz that Hawk asked for help, he volunteered to send these two guys.”
She nodded at the men, surprised and touched that Diaz would want to help free her sister. “Thanks so much for coming. And please, call me Claire. Won’t you guys come on in to the great room? That’s kind of ‘command central’ around here, and I’ll see if I can scare up Hawk.”
She led the new arrivals into the great room and left them with Brady, who greeted Ty like a long-lost friend. She searched through the house and finally found Hawk on the back porch with Cade. They were deep in conversation but stopped talking as soon as Claire stepped out of the door. “Hawk, Ty Buchanan is here with his wife and a couple of werewolves. Ricardo Diaz sent them to help out.”
“Ty’s here himself? That is unexpected. And he brought Libby with him? Good. At least you won’t feel quite so outnumbered here with her around. Maybe she can help you tidy up and make the beds.” He stood and grinned, and Claire realized that he’d been quite aware of how annoyed she’d been over the past few days. He just hadn’t said anything, probably knowing it would just piss her off.
She shot him a cool look. “You men are a bunch of slobs, so yeah, it’ll be nice to have someone around who isn’t a nasty pig.” She turned her back and flounced back into the house, hearing Cade’s laughter as she slammed the door, stifling a grin of her own. The expression on Hawk’s face had been priceless.
She heard the door open and close, and then a warm hand slid around her waist. Hawk squeezed her and leaned down to whisper, “But you love me anyway, right? Even if I am a nasty pig.”
“I guess so.” He squeezed harder, and she chuckled. “Okay, okay. Yeah, I do. I love you anyway.”
“Good thing.” He gave her a quick kiss. “So where is Ty?”
“I took them to the great room, and Brady was talking to them.”
“Good.” He linked his hand with hers and strode down the hall and into the great room. Claire immediately spotted Ty and Libby and the two werewolves standing with Brady in front of the big board.
“Tyler Buchanan, you sorry piece of shit, what are you doing here?”
Ty looked up and smiled. “I heard you needed somebody with some brains to help you out, so here I am.”
The two men shook hands and then did that one-handed hug that macho men always did. Then Hawk was greeting Libby, giving her a kiss on the cheek and a big hug. “You’re getting prettier every time I see you. I guess that sorry dog must be doing something right.”
Libby grinned. “Occasionally. I’m having to train him, though, and it’s taking some time.”
Ty added, “I’m a slow learner. So, I hear you’ve got a lady to rescue. What’s the plan?”
Hawk said, “Come out on the back porch with me. Cade’s out there, and he’s really the man with the plan.”
Libby tugged on Claire’s sleeve. “Claire, would you mind if you and I skipped that conversation and maybe had a bottle of blood and got to know one another instead? We’ve got some A positive in the car.”
Claire agreed, looking forward to getting to know the woman better. “Absolutely. I’ve had enough testosterone to last me for a while. It will be great to have some female company for a change.” She turned to Hawk. “Libby and I are going to the kitchen to chitchat while you guys are filling Ty in, okay? And we can sort out the sleeping arrangements with all the extra bodies.”
One of the werewolves spoke up. “We brought some camping equipment. We’ll just pitch a tent in the backyard, and that will suit us just fine.”
Claire was relieved. Space was already tight in the house. It was big, but having to accommodate a lot of vampires who had to be shielded from the sun had presented some definite challenges.
“Okay. Then I’ll just find a spot for Ty and Libby, then.”
“Give them that apartment over the garage that I’ve been using. I can bunk with Brady and Chris,” Ace volunteered.
“Sounds good. I’ll just show Libby where it is and help her get her stuff from her car.”
Hawk nodded and dropped a kiss on the top of her head before leading Ty and the weres out to the porch where Cade waited.
Claire and Libby went to get her luggage, and Claire showed Libby the cozy little efficiency apartment. As soon as that was taken care of, she turned to Libby. “You say you have some A positive?”
Libby smiled and nodded. “Yep. And some tequila, too. Have you ever had a Bloody Shooter?”
Claire grimaced. “Ah, no. I’ve never been much of a drinker.”
Libby hooked her arm through Claire’s and tugged her toward the front door. “Babe, let me corrupt you.”
With a giggle, Claire let Libby pull her outside and to the fancy, red pickup truck that Libby and Ty had arrived in.
“Nice truck,” Claire observed, admiring all the fancy chrome trim.
“Thanks. It’s Ty’s. I swear, sometimes I feel like he loves this damn truck more than he does me.”
Claire studied the truck with a curious eye. “Somehow I doubt that.”
“Well, maybe not quite that much, but he treats it like it’s his baby.” Libby tugged open the door and stepped up into the cab. She reached behind the seat and in a moment was passing two bottles of blood to Claire. “Now, where is that tequila? Ah, here it is.” She stepped back down with a bottle in her hand. “Claire, meet Jose. I’m pretty sure you’re going to like him a lot.”
About fifteen minutes later, Claire and Libby were sitting at the kitchen table toasting each other with juice glasses containing a shot of tequila and a splash of A positive. “Here’s looking at you, kid.” Claire watched Libby lift her drink and toss it back in one quick gulp. “Smooth.” Libby tossed her a grin. “Now you.”
Tentatively Claire took a small sniff of the liquid in her own glass and almost gagged. “I don’t know about this, Libby.” Claire’s life had not been filled with a lot of partying and drinking. In fact, she’d never been drunk. Or even close. She’d had an occasional glass of wine or two with dinner, or some social drinks at business events. That was about it.
“Come on, Claire, go for it. Don’t sip it. Down it. Don’t be a chicken.”
So with Libby egging her on, she took a breath and turned up the glass. It felt like someone had lit a fire in her throat. She couldn’t catch her breath, and her eyes were watering so much she couldn’t see. When she could finally breathe, she coughed and coughed until she thought she might hack up a lung, with Libby laughing the whole time.
At last she was able to speak, and she shot an evil glare at Libby. “That was not funny. My God, you ought to warn people that you’re trying to kill them.” Claire shook her head and then held out her glass. “How about another?”
“Claire, I can tell we’re going to be great friends.” Libby reached out to pour them both another drink.
Claire grinned.
* * * *
“I’m really glad you’re here, Ty,” Hawk told his friend as the men sat down around the table on the back patio.
“I was glad to come. And to tell the truth, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a Council Shield here when the rescue went down, just in case any questions came up about the whole thing later. Tell me again how you pinpointe
d this as the location Claire’s sister is being held?”
Hawk went over the entire series of events and interviews, step by step. Ty nodded when Hawk mentioned the two vampires that Hawk had sent back to Biloxi. “I can’t wait to get them into an interview. No telling what they’ll be able to give us about Simone.” He smiled wickedly. “That bitch is going down if I have anything to say about it.”
Hawk agreed.
Then Ty wanted to know the rest. “All right, now. How are we going to get this girl out?” Since Cade had come up with most of the details, Hawk let him explain to Ty and the two weres the plan to rescue Claire’s sister. Ty nodded his head several times, offering a suggestion here and there to make things run smoother. The weres had a few ideas of their own. Hawk was glad to have them. They had skills and abilities that the vampires didn’t, and he planned to use that to his advantage. After they’d studied and analyzed everything as much as possible, the men finally decided that they’d done everything they could in preparation for Saturday. Cade asked to be excused so that he could go show the werewolves where they would be staying.
Once they’d left the porch, Ty leaned back in his seat, and Hawk felt himself being examined like a bug under a microscope. He arched a brow at his friend. “What?”
“I was trying to figure out how it happened. You know, hell freezing over.”
“Funny.”
“Seriously, congratulations, man. I’m happy for you. I know it’s been hard for you, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer or more deserving guy.”
“I still can’t believe it. To tell you the truth, it all happened so fast that I’m afraid once all this shit is over, Claire might decide that she doesn’t love me after all.”
Ty snorted. “That’s bullshit. It was fast for me and Libby, too. Sometimes the circumstances dictate the speed. You’ve been together nonstop for the past few days. That kind of closeness is bound to speed things up. I mean, how long does a regular date last? Three, four hours tops? So twenty-four hours would be eight dates?”