by Susan Illene
“I’ll get them out,” Lucas said.
He went inside and started grabbing women and children one by one to flash them away to the nearby woods. It wasn’t an instant process and the farther he went the longer it took to get there and back. Dropping them off close by allowed him to move people faster.
I started working my way around the house, urging people to go out the back door. The hardest part was getting the children to leave. Many of them were separated from their mothers and looking for them rather than fleeing.
We hadn’t cleared more than half of them before Jerome and his cronies pulled up, slamming to a halt behind a row of parked cars. I caught sight of them through the window and rushed to the front porch, ready to stop them by myself if I had to.
Until I saw what they’d brought with them.
Four men leaped out of their vehicle with RPGs and machine guns in their arms. Jerome, wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying his own weapon, came striding toward the house. He stopped once to glance at Kerbasi—who gave a friendly little wave from the Jeep—and kept going. Yeah, no threat there. Word had spread that the guardian couldn’t harm anyone unless provoked. As well-connected as Jerome seemed to be, he must have known that.
“Lucas!” I yelled as soon as I sensed him return to the house.
He came out to join me on the porch.
“I could go over and break all their necks,” he suggested.
“Not if you want Melena to live, you won’t,” Jerome said. He now stood twenty feet away next to an old Cadillac.
I put a hand on my hip. “And how do you plan to do that?”
He let out a slow smile. “My guy back there has an RPG trained on you, but he’s not the only one. I’ve got friends out in the woods—humans you can’t detect—who have rockets aimed in this direction. Their instructions are to fire if anyone makes a move on me or my guys. As a final precaution, this house is wired with explosives and one of my men has the detonator. Does that spell it out for you simply enough?”
“Is he telling the truth?” Lucas asked in a low tone.
“Yes,” I hissed out.
And there was no way to be sure if I could survive an RPG attack or bombs any better than Charlie. Who knew what they’d wired up or how much explosives they’d used when they’d broken Zoe out.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What do you want?”
“Would you believe I missed my daughter and wanted to check up on her?”
The sorry bastard stood there making jokes while threatening innocent people.
“If you wanted to talk, I could think of about a hundred ways that would be better than this.” I glared at him.
“Maybe for you.” He looked beyond the house and his jaw hardened. “You better tell your nephilim to stop those people from leaving or I’ll have my guys detonate the bombs now.”
Damn. I was hoping we could stall him long enough for them to get free. Standing outside with the ability to run away, I had a chance of surviving, but not the humans.
“Do it,” I said to Lucas. “He isn’t kidding. He’ll blow them up if we don’t keep them from leaving.”
He flashed away and my senses caught him resurfacing behind the house. It was too bad Lucas couldn’t have grabbed the whole group and gotten them out of the line of fire before Jerome’s arrival, but even his magic had limits. Now he had to herd the stragglers back inside, though I couldn’t be sure how many were left.
“You’re supposed to protect humans. Not threaten their lives,” I accused.
“I don’t want to kill them.” Jerome took a step forward. “But this was the only safe way I could find to talk to you face-to-face. It’s up to you to keep the folks in there from dying.”
Oh, sure. My decision. What a bunch of crap.
I balled my fists. “Then how about you say what you want to say and get the hell away from here?”
“If I’d raised you…” He shook his head. “You’d never talk to me like that.”
Lucas flashed back onto the porch. I didn’t glance at him and neither did Jerome.
“If you’d raised me, I wouldn’t have talked to you like that because I would have slit your throat by the time I was ten.” Maybe younger. I barely knew him and I hated him.
Jerome’s face hardened. “Then I’ll get to the point. Don’t look for Zoe if you know what’s good for you. She’s long gone and you ain’t gonna get her.”
“That’s what you came here to tell me?” I lifted a brow.
He took a step forward. “There’s one more thing. Tell the alpha to call off his wolves from the airstrip. If he doesn’t, this house blows and everyone in it. Don’t any of you try to leave during that time, either. My guys out in the woods will hang around until they either get confirmation from me that we’re good—or they don’t. Then you and your friends die.”
He’d been smart, putting humans as his back-up in the woods. No easy way to find them.
“Do you swear they’ll back off once the werewolves are gone?” I asked. No way was I taking chances on this one if I had to let him escape.
“As soon as I’m in the air, I’ll give them the all-clear.”
In that moment I hated my father even more than I thought possible. How could I have come from such an evil man? The very thought of it made me want to take a long, hot shower and scrub myself clean of him.
“Fine. I’ll call Derrick.”
He looked at Lucas. “You both stay right here on the porch where my men can see you. If you move from it or go inside, they will fire. While you might survive, your woman and the rest of the people here probably won’t.”
A muscle ticked in Lucas’ jaw. That was the only outward sign he gave of his anger, but on the inside rage blasted at my senses and scorched them.
“Very well,” he said. That was about as good an answer as Jerome could expect to get from him.
“Ya’ll take care now.” My ultimate nemesis walked away as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
As soon as he and his buddies left, I took out my phone. It was the new burner Kariann had gotten me and hopefully wouldn’t be tracked by DHS since I’d been careful not to use it yet. I called Derrick on his emergency line. It was a pre-paid as well.
He answered on the second ring. “Yes.”
“I need you to call the werewolves off whichever airstrip you have them on,” I said in an urgent tone.
“Why?” His voice came out gruff.
“Because if you don’t a whole bunch of people at Charlie’s are going to die, including me. Jerome’s got explosives on the place and he’s threatening to let them loose if your guys aren’t gone within the hour.”
“That bastard.” Derrick let out a slew of curses he’d never say under normal circumstances. “Is he still there?”
“No, he and his buddies just left. He’s got humans somewhere nearby watching us. We can’t leave the house until they don’t sense anyone near the airstrip—and make it into the air.” Which sucked. Jerome had all his bases covered, except maybe his human affiliates. There was a chance we could grab them once this was over.
“I’m going to kill that man,” the alpha growled out.
“Not before I do. The best I can offer you is his remains.”
“No,” Lucas said. “I’ve got those.”
“Anyway, just get your guys out of there as soon as possible. I’m in no mood to test my new immortality or risk a lot of innocent people dying. Jerome’s not worth it.”
“I’ll call you as soon as it’s done,” Derrick replied and hung up.
Kerbasi walked up to us about fifteen minutes later—invisible to everyone except Lucas and me. “Your father and the other sensors are gone, correct?”
I ducked my head so no one watching could see my lips moving. “Yeah. Why?”
“I heard that awful man talking to you and decided I didn’t like him.” He shifted on his feet. “If you wish it, I could relocate the people inside without the human observ
ers noticing.”
“And what are you going to want in return?” The guardian never did anything for free.
“Well, since you’re offering, I would like some chocolate chip mint ice cream.” A hopeful note came over his voice.
“You’re demanding ice cream in exchange for saving human lives?” The guardian never ceased to amaze me.
He cleared his throat. “I must demand something or you’ll begin to think I’ll help every time you are in trouble—which is appallingly often.”
“Fine. I’ll pick up some ice cream for you, later.” And I’d take my time about it, too.
“Where would you like me to take the people?”
I looked at Lucas since he was the one who’d moved the others.
He kept his body turned toward me as he spoke. “Take them into the woods behind the house—far enough they won’t be visible from here. None of Jerome’s men were there when I relocated the others.”
That sounded like the safest option. If the observers could see us on the porch they’d have to be in a position with a view of the front. Due to Kerbasi’s range limitations, it was best to go with what Lucas had already done and keep the humans together.
“I will do as you ask.” He flashed into the house.
“How many are left in there?” I asked Lucas.
“There were about a dozen of them I had to force back inside, but there could have been more that hadn’t made it out yet.”
I sensed Kerbasi take the first person away. He was on the third when my phone rang. I answered it.
“My guys have pulled back. We’re watching from a safe distance and it looks like a plane is coming in for landing, but it’s still a few miles away.”
My fingers curled around the phone. “Which airstrip is it?”
“The one about a mile from Charlie’s. As soon as I heard about the attack last night I sent my closest guys there, assumin’ he might use it. We didn’t see them then. I’m guessing Jerome backed off when he sensed my people coming.”
I sighed. “Probably.”
The sound of the plane’s engine reached my ears. I’d ramped up my hearing to catch it.
“It’s descending now,” Derrick informed me. “Are you sure there ain’t a way to get everyone out of the house? I wanna take this bastard down.”
Kerbasi had flashed six people over now, but that was half at best. If he could just get the rest out soon I could run as fast as possible and maybe get away before Jerome’s guys set off the explosives. But not yet.
“Don’t try anything,” I warned. “We’ve got the guardian moving people to the woods out back, but he needs more time and I can’t leave until they’re clear.”
Derrick grunted. “Can’t see the plane anymore. If it’s already on the ground they won’t need much time to get on board.”
“I know. Just be ready to act as soon as I give you the word.”
Kerbasi had moved eight people. I practically danced on my feet waiting for him to get the rest out. The minutes were ticking by and our window of opportunity was closing. Lucas and I exchanged looks as I continued to hold the phone to my ear.
He leaned toward me. “I will grab you as soon as you give the alpha the word. It will be faster.”
He left no room to argue, but I didn’t want to anyway. Lucas could move quicker even without being able to flash me. I nodded, letting him know with my eyes that I trusted him.
Kerbasi moved the twelfth person. I peeked through the window to see if anyone else was in there and found Beth alone, pacing in the middle of the living room. Of course Beth would insist on going last. When the guardian returned she shook her head and pointed at her grandfather’s body. Crap. She wouldn’t leave without taking him, too. I understood the need to preserve what was left of him, but we didn’t have the time.
After a moment of arguing, the guardian gave in and took the body. In tense silence I waited for him to return. As soon as he did, I straightened.
“Get ready,” I said into the phone.
The guardian grabbed Beth and flashed away. I went into Lucas’ arms and let him wrap them around me.
“Go!”
With lightning speed Lucas moved me across the yard, around the cars, and toward the free-standing garage. Explosions lit up the house seconds later. The shock of them reverberated around us, piercing my ears. A whistling noise rent the air next and another blast hit the garage right after we passed it.
I was cocooned in Lucas’ arms and felt the concussive force, but nothing hit me. He kept going, heading in the direction of the landing strip. I sensed the werewolves closing in on it, but the sensors weren’t standing still. Everyone was moving, making it impossible to keep track.
Lucas came to a halt at the edge of the strip and we looked at the far end. The plane was already in the air and clearing the trees. It was a small Cessna that probably couldn’t hold more than six people, including the pilot. Just enough for Jerome’s group.
“Can you flash into it?”
He closed his eyes and his face became a mask of concentration. “No, it is difficult enough to flash into an aircraft when it is moving, but I believe he’s laced the plane with sensor blood. I can’t even focus on it.”
Virulent curses came from behind us. I turned to find Kerbasi limping our way, holding his arm close to his chest. His clothes were torn and dirty and he had pine needles stuck in his hair. As he got closer, I noticed cuts and bruises across his skin.
“Could you not have warned me before you took off like that?” He gave me an accusatory look.
Oh, right. I’d forgotten to consider the guardian when I let Lucas take me away. The man must have hit half the trees between Charlie’s and the airstrip. Normally I wouldn’t have felt all that bad, but he had been helping us. It wasn’t the best way to reward his efforts.
“Sorry.” I injected a note of apology into my voice. “We were kind of in a hurry.”
“I can see that.” He gazed into the distance where the plane grew smaller.
Derrick joined us, anger flashing in his eyes. “We’re too late.”
“So it seems,” Lucas said, rubbing his chin. “But perhaps I can compel the aviation authorities into tracking the plane.”
Hope sprang inside of me. Maybe we still had a chance of getting to my father.
“Do you think that will work?” I asked.
“It is a possibility, assuming Jerome doesn’t do anything unexpected.” He pulled me close and kissed me deeply. “Call if anything comes up.”
“I will, but you better let me know if you learn anything.” I gave him a warning look.
“There is no guarantee my plan will work, but if it does I’ll inform you of what I learn.” Lucas flashed away.
The question was whether he informed me before or after he got hold of Jerome.
Chapter Thirty-five
“You better hope your man finds something,” Derrick said, giving me a hard look.
“This isn’t my fault.”
“Maybe not,” he conceded. “But if you’d let me see Zoe sooner we might not be in this mess.”
His bad mood was making him come to some rather ridiculous conclusions.
“Yeah, I’m sure if you’d just talked to her first that would have kept the sensors from attacking.” I stalked off, heading back toward Charlie’s house. Kerbasi limped behind me, grumbling about his injuries.
“Melena, wait,” Derrick called.
I turned back. “What?”
“I’ve got a truck on the other side of these trees. It’ll take less time to get there if you ride with me.”
I thought about refusing, but then he’d get there first. We needed to assess the damage and see what it would take to cover it up. The authorities would have heard something with the multiple explosions going off. Our only consolation was that it would be getting dark in a couple hours and the vampires could help compel them into letting the incident go.
“Kerbasi has to ride, too,” I said, nodding
at the hopeful guardian.
I was pretty sure he’d broken a bone or two during his flight through the woods.
Derrick gave me a martyred look. “He can ride in the back.”
“Fine.”
We followed him along the tree line that bordered the landing strip until we came to a dirt road. His truck was waiting there, along with a few werewolves. I waved Kerbasi to the back of the vehicle.
The guardian hauled himself in there without having to be told twice. Since he knew where I was going he might have been able to flash ahead of us, but his reserve powers were running low. It took a lot out of him to move all those people from the house. He’d need time to recover and healing from major injuries didn’t help.
After settling into the passenger seat, I slammed the door. “Let’s go.”
Derrick pressed on the gas and we sailed down the bumpy road. I pulled my phone out and called Nik. Like Derrick, he had an emergency cell where we could talk freely.
“Things didn’t go very well at Charlie’s,” I said after he answered.
“What happened?”
“They blew up just about everything and took off before we could catch up to them. Lucas is trying to track them down and I’m with Derrick checking out the damage.” Which was coming up ahead.
Black smoke was visible in the sky, and I gasped as we came around the bend. Other than the foundation and some smoldering debris, Charlie’s house was gone. Parts of the garage still stood, but I suspected that was because Jerome’s goons had hit it with RPGs rather than well-placed bombs.
The cars closest to the two structures had heavy damage, too, but my Jeep was farther back along the road. Other than a crack in the windshield where a piece of wood had fallen on it, the vehicle had weathered the explosions okay.
“Melena?” Nik’s voice came through the line.
I’d forgotten about him.
“Uh, I gotta go. Get here as soon as you can.” I hung up.
Derrick parked his truck close to my Jeep and we climbed out to survey the wreckage. Some of Charlie’s family was returning from wherever Lucas and Kerbasi had taken them. Horror and grief filled their eyes as they took in what was left of their beloved relative’s home.