“I’m sorry, sweetie,” she said, kissing his temple. “I’m so sorry.”
“Did the bad men get us again?”
She nodded. “I’m afraid so. But I’m not going to let them hurt you or put you in a cage again.”
“How, Mommy?”
Good question.
“Is Luke gonna come rescue us? Or Auntie Kate and Sybil?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. They might not … know we’re in trouble.” The lie sounded better than the truth, which was they might not even care about them. Luke had been hurt by her supposed betrayal. Surely, they would side with him?
The look on Grayson’s face made her heart clench. “I think they will,” he said in a small but confident voice.
Oh God, they might not even live long enough to rescue them. What Regina was planning—
She curled her fingers into fists. No, she couldn’t let her win. She couldn’t let Luke and everyone in Blackstone die. But what could she do?
“Mommy?”
Grayson! A plan formed in her head. It could be risky, but it would give him a chance to live, too. It would give everyone a fighting chance.
“Wait here,” Georgina said, placing him on the floor. She walked over to the only window in the attic. It was dirty and rusty, but the glass slid open. Hope surged in her. “Grayson!” she called. There was no time to lose.
Grayson got up and scampered toward her. “Mommy? Are we going to excape through the window?”
She knelt down and caressed his face. “Mommy’s too big, Grayson, but you’ll fit.”
It took a second, but the little boy realized what she was trying to say. “No, Mommy! I won’t leave you!”
“Shhh!” She hugged him close. “You have to escape, sweetie; it’s the only way.”
“But—”
Another idea struck her. She hoped it would work. “I have an important mission for you. Everyone in Blackstone is in danger.”
His eyes went wide. “The bad men?”
She nodded. “Yeah, the bad men want to hurt the people in Blackstone, but you can help save them.”
“How?”
“When you go out that window, you shift into your bear, okay?” She knew he would be protected in that form. “And then you run. There are guards everywhere, but they might think you’re just a lost cub.”
“Where should I go? To the police?”
“No!” Damn, that was the kink in her plan. Regina could have the local police in the area in her pockets. That was their modus. It was how they were able to track down Mark. “Wait.” There was one place they wouldn’t have thought to infiltrate. “If you find a town, go to their Fire Department. You remember what that looks like in Blackstone, right?”
He thought for a moment. “That’s the big brick building we drive by, right? With the red trucks and the men in hats?”
“Smart boy,” she said proudly. “Ask them to call Chief Will Mason of the Blackstone Fire Department. Tell them you’ll only speak to him.” Hopefully that would be enough.
“Mommy, I don’t know if I can do it.”
“You can, sweetie. I believe in you.” She hugged him tight. “You’re smart and strong. Just like Luke said, right?”
He nodded. “I’ll try.”
“When you talk to Will, tell him everyone in Blackstone is in danger.” She lowered her voice. “Tell them there are bombs planted everywhere. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Mommy.”
“Good. We’ll wait until the sun sets before you escape.”
Georgina closed the window and walked back to the other side of the room. At one point, some surly-looking guard came up to bring them food. Georgina gave all hers to Grayson, knowing he was probably starving and would need the energy. They waited until it was dark outside before they walked back to the window.
Georgina made him recite everything twice. When she was satisfied, she lifted him up to the window. “Crawl down to the roof, then—see that pipe?—use it to shimmy down.” She buried her nose in his hair and breathed deep, trying to memorize his scent. “I love you, Grayson.”
“I love you, Mommy.”
She swallowed the tears in her throat as she helped him out of the window. It was hard to see through the small opening and the dirty glass, but she watched him shimmy down, crawl across the roof, and disappear off the edge.
A few seconds later, a small brown, furry blur scampered across the field. Her heart leapt into her throat and she gripped the window tight. When Grayson’s bear dashed into the trees, Georgina allowed herself to breathe.
Run, Grayson. Run as fast as you can.
Sheer exhaustion made Georgina fall asleep. She stayed up all night, pacing the attic, until finally, she curled up in a corner and closed her eyes. She didn’t wake up until she felt a kick to her side.
“You stupid slut!” Regina raged.
Georgina clutched at her middle, the pain blooming over her side. She looked up. Faint light was filtering into the attic from the window. It was morning. Hopefully Grayson had made it.
Regina’s fingers dug into Georgina’s arms like talons and hauled her to her feet. “Where is the boy?”
“Somewhere you’ll never find him!” she screamed back.
“Why you—” Regina let out a frustrated sound. “It doesn’t matter anyway. One boy is of no consequence, especially when we’re about to make thousands more like him disappear.” She gave a cruel laugh. “And guess what, dear daughter? I have front row tickets for you to the show. You’re going to watch Blackstone turn to nothing but a crumbling pile of ash.” She nodded to Adrian. “Take her to the car.”
She felt the blood drain from her face. Oh God. Regina really was an evil bitch.
Chapter Fourteen
“I’d tell you to go home and get some rest,” Matthew said as he sat down next to Luke, “but I know that—a—you don’t really sleep and—b—you’d never listen to me.”
“Would you, if it were Catherine?” Luke asked.
“I wouldn’t.” Matthew put a hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t.”
Luke didn’t fail to see the irony of the two of them switching positions. It wasn’t too long ago that Matthew refused to rest when Catherine was in danger. Luke had known Matthew would never leave her side, so he kept him company at the hospital as they waited.
“We’ll find them.” Matthew gave him a squeeze.
“I know.” We have to, he added to himself.
They worked all night, trying to find any trace of the truck that had taken Georgina and Grayson away. The Organization had somehow stolen the truck from one of their regular cafeteria suppliers and snuck into the building. They were able to follow the vehicle as it left Lennox and drove down the road, but, as they suspected, the truck turned onto the old highway that didn’t have any surveillance cameras. They expanded their search but knew the trail was getting cold with each moment they were gone.
Twenty-three hours, thirty-six minutes, forty-five seconds. That was how long Georgina and Grayson had been gone. His lion let out an angry roar. It wanted them back. I want them back too. And when he got his hands on The Chief, he was going to rip him in two.
“Any news?” Matthew asked Jason as he came up to them. They had all camped out in Christina’s office.
Jason shook his head. “No, sorry. Except that Mom and Dad and everyone are almost here. They’ll be touching down in thirty minutes. Ari Stavros’ jet just landed at the airstrip. They were able to pick up Nathan and Violet in Eritana.”
“Do we have any ideas or clues as to what The Organization is planning? What do Mendle’s diaries say?”
Jason shook his head. “Nothing yet.” Jason glanced at Luke. “But don’t worry, we’re all working on it.”
“I know.” Everyone had been working hard. He knew that even Blackstone P.D. was working overtime to try and find clues as to where Georgina or Grayson could have gone. A couple of people had spotted the truck outside town, but that was the last they heard.
“Luke!” Christina rushed into the office with Sybil right behind her. “You have a call.”
“Me?”
“They tried you at the mines. Ben routed the call to me.” She shoved her phone at him.
“Who is it?”
“A Chief Will Mason.”
Mason? Why would he call me? He took the phone from Christina. “Hello.”
“Luke Lennox?” came the voice on the other line.
“Yeah.”
“My name is Will Mason. I’m the Chief of the Blackstone Fire Department.”
“I know who you are. What do you want?”
“I got a call from the chief over at Meadow Falls. They’re about two hundred miles south of us. They said a young cub came into their station and asked them to call me.”
Luke shot to his feet. “Grayson!”
“Is this the cub P.D.’s been looking for?” Mason asked.
“Was there a woman with him? You know her. Georgina.”
Mason paused. “Mills? Georgina Mills? Kate’s friend?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“Let me ask. Hold on.” There was a pause. “Yeah. Grayson Mills. But no, he arrived alone.”
Luke realized that Grayson either escaped somehow or Georgina helped him. His mate was smart too, making him go to the Fire Department instead of the police. “The boy’s safe?”
“He’s fine, they said. Do you want us to pick him up?”
It would probably take hours to drive there and they didn’t have that kind of time. “We’ll get him. If you could tell Meadow Falls to expect us, that would be great.”
“Roger that. I’ll let them know. And if you need anything, just call.”
When the line went dead, he handed the phone back to Christina. “They found Grayson.” He quickly explained what happened.
“We need to go get him now,” Sybil said. “I’ll go. It shouldn’t take me too long.”
“I’ll go with you,” Luke said. “If you don’t mind having a passenger.”
Sybil smiled warmly at him. “Not at all. Let’s go get him!”
It didn’t take more than fifteen minutes of flying to get to Meadow Springs. The dragon gently laid Luke down in front of the Meadow Falls F.D. Headquarters. It disappeared behind the firehouse, and a minute later, Sybil emerged, buttoning up her blouse.
They didn’t waste any more time before heading into the firehouse. Luke immediately spotted Grayson, wrapped up in a blanket on one of the bunks in the corner.
“Luke!” he cried as he threw the blanket off and jumped into his arms.
Luke caught him and held him close, breathing in his familiar scent. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
“They have Mommy,” he cried, tears pouring down his cheeks. “She made me excape. I wanted to be smart and strong.”
“You were,” he said, pressing his lips to his hair. “Where is she?”
“They still have her,” he whispered. “The bad men.”
“We need to find her. Do you remember where she is?”
“I can’t,” he cried. “I’m sorry. Mommy said to just run and find the nearest fire station.”
“It’s all right,” he soothed. “We can figure it out.” He looked over at Sybil, who was talking to an older man, most likely the fire chief. She gave Luke a nod, indicating she was taking care of things. With her background as a social worker, she was probably used to these kind of situations, which is why he was glad she was here.
“Mommy told me to tell you something else,” Grayson said. “She said there were bombs. Everywhere in Blackstone.”
Fear, real and palpable, coursed through him, followed by a shot of adrenaline. “Sybil!” he called, dashing toward her. “We need to go. Now.”
Sybil looked surprised but nodded. “Thanks for your help, Chief Watson,” she said.
Luke was already on his way out, Grayson in his arms. “Have you flown before?”
Grayson’s eyes became as wide as saucers. “No! Are we flying?”
Luke nodded. “We’re catching a ride with Auntie Sybil.” He nodded toward the figure who darted behind the firehouse building. Seconds later, a large golden dragon emerged.
“Hold on to me,” he said to Grayson. “Close your eyes if you get scared.”
Small arms wrapped around his neck as Luke ran toward the middle of the parking lot. Sybil’s dragon landed on the asphalt, and though only half the size of a male dragon, it was still quite large.
“Ready,” he said with a nod.
The dragon flapped its wings and hovered a few feet off the ground. A scaly hand wrapped around Luke and Grayson. With a loud whoosh, they lifted off into the sky.
It was a good thing they were both shifters and their bodies easily adjusted to the cold air. Sybil flew relatively low, perhaps to not shock Grayson too much with the height. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived outside Lennox Corp. headquarters. Sybil set them down gently on the ground.
“You okay, buddy?” Luke asked Grayson as he set the boy down. He handed the clothes back to the dragon, wrapping them around one claw.
“That. Was. Awesome!” Grayson cried. “Can we go flying again? Please Auntie Sybil?”
The dragon tossed its head and let out a cry.
“I think that means yes,” Luke said, unable to stop the smile from spreading on his face. The dragon snorted, steam coming out of its nose, and then lifted off the ground to fly away. “But not right now.”
“Luke!” He turned his head. Christina was running toward them. “Is he safe? Where’s Georgina?” She let out a cry of relief when her eyes landed on Grayson.
Luke picked up Grayson again. “We need to talk.”
“Everyone’s here,” she said. “Let’s go.”
They went inside and headed straight to the fifteenth floor. When Christina said everyone was here, she wasn’t kidding. Hank, Riva, Clark Caldwell, James Walker, Ben, Nathan, Violet, Ari Stavros and his three sons, Petros, and of course, Matthew and Jason, were crammed into the office.
Riva’s gaze flickered at Grayson, then she looked at Luke. He sighed. He didn’t have time for this now. He set the boy down. “We’re all in danger,” he said. “Georgina sent a message through Grayson. The Organization has planted bombs all over Blackstone. Enough to level the entire town, I’m guessing.”
“How could that be?” Hank said. “How could no one notice?”
“We weren’t expecting it,” Ari Stavros said. “They’ve probably been doing it for weeks.”
“What should we do?” Clark asked.
“The bombs probably aren’t like the one at the wedding,” Nikos, the youngest Stavros, offered. “If they wanted something they could easily hide but would cause a lot of damage, then they would plant smaller bombs. The last time they tried to do it, the timer tipped us off, so the explosives would most likely have to be remotely detonated, one by one in waves so as not to disrupt the radio signals. They would also have to be in the area. Anywhere from a hundred to a thousand yards from each bomb.”
“We need to start searching,” Petros said. “We take a map of Blackstone, divide it into grids and break up into teams.”
“We don’t have enough manpower to search everywhere,” Hank pointed out.
“We ask for volunteers,” Petros suggested. “From the able-bodied citizens of your town. But we should also evacuate the children, the old, and the sick.”
“Definitely,” Hank agreed.
“This could work,” Jason said. “Plus, with me, Matthew, Dad, and Sybil overhead, we can widen the search.”
Time was running out, but Luke had to admit this was the best way to go about this. They had to save Blackstone. And then, he was going to find Georgina.
“Nikos, Hank, Matthew,” Petros began. “You three should find a map and figure out if there are any areas which may be better to hide a bomb and could do the most damage. Bridges, dams, transportation depots, high rises and—”
“Sorry we’re late!” Kate breezed
in with Sybil right behind her. “Motherfuckin’ client wouldn’t let me off the phone. Kept droning on and on about how he hated the GUI I made. I told him to stick it up his ass and—” She stopped in her tracks, her mouth hanging open.
Luke frowned and followed Kate’s gaze, which was fixed on Petros. The wolf shifter tensed and a muscle in his jaw ticked. Kate, on the other hand, went red and quickly shut her mouth.
“Petros?” Christina said. “You were saying?”
The wolf shifter shook his head. “Yes. I mean,” he cleared his throat, “while they do that, we should break up into teams of two. We should lead teams of volunteers to scout the grids.”
Christina nodded in agreement. “Let’s get started.”
Chapter Fifteen
Georgina sat in the car, shifting her weight to relieve her discomfort. They had been driving for hours, first through small back roads, then country highways. When they hopped on the expressway, she started recognizing the signs and figured out where they were—somewhere south of Blackstone. If she had to guess their current location, she’d say they were just on the outskirts of town.
“Many of our people would give their right arm to be here,” Regina said. “To witness the destruction of this Godforsaken town.”
Georgina remained quiet, refusing to engage her mother. No, she had to save her strength. The cogs in her brain were moving a mile a minute, trying to find a way to escape or to stop them.
The car drove up the mountain pass, going higher and higher, and veering off onto a small back road. A few minutes later, they emerged onto a lookout with a clear view of Blackstone below.
Regina dragged her out of the car and shoved her toward the edge. “Go ahead and watch, dear daughter.”
Oh God, this was it. She was going to watch Blackstone’s destruction as it happened.
Adrian stood beside them and took out his phone. “Detonators ready? First wave on standby. All right, on my signal. Three. Two. One.”
The Blackstone Lion: Blackstone Mountain Book 5 Page 15