She hadn’t seen inside but heard the Kindred men talk about pinball and gambling machines at the back of the room. Two of the Mexicans were playing pool, and someone referenced a table tennis table. If this place was trying to be a family resort, it was in the wrong location.
Someone called order, and there was shouting about who was in charge. Devon guessed that if the meeting was getting started, everyone was present. Taking notes of names and relationships that she could figure out, she got so engrossed with writing everything down, that she paid no attention to what those huddled around her were doing.
Devon had a task, and she had to do it well. This was her first Kindred assignment and she had to prove herself.
It was maybe fifteen minutes later that she realized something was wrong. The Kindred around her were talking to each other and even Brodie took his eye away from his sight.
“It should’ve happened by now,” Zara said, crawling over to sit beside her love. “Shouldn’t it?”
“Yes,” Tuck said from his position on Brodie’s other side. He looked at his watch, “Finch, any signs of anyone feeling ill?”
Devon shook her head. “They’re arguing. Someone wants to join forces and share client lists,” she said. “No one’s sick or coughing or passing out. They’re just as loud as when they got there.”
“Then something is wrong,” Zara said. “Did you guys get the setup right?”
Tuck dropped onto his belly to pull a laptop from beneath a canvas. He opened it and began to tap away. Zave hunkered down at Tuck’s side, blocking most of her view with his back.
Farthest from the group, Devon was propped against a rock that gave her back support. With her knees up, serving as a desk, she propped her paper on her thighs to write on it. While everyone was so caught up in trying to figure out what went wrong, Devon went back to transcribing.
“The tech is good.” Devon heard Zave say. “It’s responsive. It’s working.
“Game Time always works. We tested it,” Tuck said, moving onto his elbows. “If the tech works, then it hasn’t been discovered, it’s been corrupted from the outside… someone knows we’re here.”
“Someone?” Zara said.
Devon was smart enough to understand the gravity of that and stopped writing.
“You think someone went in after us and sabotaged it?” Brodie asked.
The task at hand wasn’t enough to distract her. Fear chilled Devon despite the heat around them. She hadn’t asked about enemies. Any Kindred enemy could have told the cartels their plan if they somehow uncovered it.
But who would be watching the Kindred? Who would want to see them fail? Who would have a stake in sabotaging their mission?
Something brushed the side of her head. Thinking it was a bug, Devon turned to swipe it away. When she saw what it actually was, her scream was stifled by the hand that pressed over her mouth. An arm curled around her head, squeezing her skull to pull her onto her feet. Clawing at his arm, her pad and pencil tumbled to the ground, drawing the attention of the others.
Her assailant stayed crouched behind her once they were both on their feet. The barrel he pushed into her ear was his protection against the able people now glaring at them. “What the fuck?” Zara said. “Wren, what are you doing?”
Brodie’s arm moved, but Thad pulled back the hammer. “Don’t move, cuz, stay where you are.”
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Brodie asked.
This was Wren, Thad, the good doctor, the man who laughed with ease and had vowed to do no harm. Except now he was holding her tight against him and threatening her life with a gun. Walking backwards to the edge of the rocks that hid their vehicle, his face pressed into the back of her head, so he could only be peeking around her with one eye.
“You guys need to stay where you are. All of you, stay.”
“You wouldn’t do this,” Zara said. “What’s going on? If you’re in trouble—”
“Stay still,” Thad called out and prodded the gun into Devon so hard, her head tilted.
Her frantic eyes landed on Zave’s. She’d just married him, and now she was going to lose him.
“Put the fucking gun down, Wren,” Swift said.
“It was you,” Zave said in a cool, slow voice. “You sabotaged Game Time.”
Wren’s view couldn’t be great, but he’d be terrified that one of his relatives would get their hands on a weapon and take him out. Except he was blood, he was Kindred, would they shoot him to protect her: the newbie?
“It’s loaded with air,” Thad barked, lifting his mouth a fraction higher in her hair.
“Think about this,” Zara said. “Whatever you’re planning to do—”
“I’m planning to get the fuck out of here,” he said. “I’m taking Devon with me, and you all are staying here.”
“You’re a dead man,” Zave said in that same chilling tone.
“We’re all headed for one day, Falc, don’t tell me you forgot.”
He got them around the edge of the ridge, grabbed a handful of her hair and bolted, forcing her to run with him. Thad stuffed her into the car and gunned the engine. But instead of heading towards the road, he drove around the back of the ridge through a crevasse in the rocks and out cross-country.
Devon didn’t see if anyone tried to follow and couldn’t hear if there were gunshots. She was still face down on the seat beside him, trying to right herself.
“The ear piece, give me the ear piece,” he demanded, and she twisted to see his open, expectant hand.
Complying, Devon pulled it out and put it in his hand beside his own. He tossed both out the window and secured his hands on the wheel. Wherever they were going, he had something in his sights. He’d betrayed his kin, sabotaged their mission, and stolen her.
This wasn’t how Devon had planned to spend her honeymoon, but she had a feeling this situation was about to get a whole lot worse.
Thank you for sharing this adventure!
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Falcon (Kindred #5) Page 29