by J. D. Tyler
Page 27
Author: J. D. Tyler
He shook his head, seeking to reassure her. “I won’t do that unless it’s a matter of life and death. ”
“But then you’ll be the one at risk, don’t you see? I’m not going to stand by and say nothing while you kill yourself to save someone else!”
His heart sank. It seemed they were at a stalemate on the issue, and he didn’t know how to ease her fear, short of going against his own beliefs. “Baby, please. I can’t stand by and condemn someone to death if it’s in my power to prevent it. If I could, I wouldn’t be a man you could respect at all. ” Much less love. And he hoped one day she would, though he didn’t voice it.
Thankfully, her face softened and she released a long breath. “I know. God, this is so hard. I don’t want you anywhere near the fighting, but that’s who you are—a tough Navy SEAL turned wolf shifter and Healer. Something tells me the waiting and worrying doesn’t get any easier. ”
“Probably not. This is where you have to trust me. I know what I’m doing. ”
She was silent for a long moment, and finally she nodded. “Okay. I’m afraid, but I do trust you. I want to prove that to you. ”
“Sweetheart, it’s not about proving anything to me. ” Unable to help himself, he kissed her slowly. Then he drew back and curved his lips in a smile. “Whatever comes, we take it on together. All right?”
She made an attempt to relax. “Yeah. ”
That night, when they made love, it was beautiful. Intense. Zan poured his soul into loving her, and afterward whispered the words that meant so much to him. She still didn’t say them back, and he tried not to be disappointed. He knew she cared for him. That much was obvious from how scared she was for him.
I don’t need the words.
But it sure would be nice to hear them. Just once in my life.
He told himself to be patient. They had time. There wasn’t any need to rush something so good, so right.
If only he’d remembered the lesson he learned in Afghanistan—that life is brief and time waits for no man or beast.
The next evening, he gathered with his team and a few of the prince’s best men near the front entrance to the stronghold. They agreed to take several SUVs since not everyone could teleport and they preferred to remain together.
“Remember, this is a seek-and-destroy mission,” Nick called loudly, making sure all the men could hear him. “Recon first, assess the situation, and then take them down. ”
Tarron broke in. “We want Darrow alive. ” This was met with widespread disapproval. “We need to question him about what he knows, and after we’re satisfied, he will be put to death for his crimes. You have our word. ”
Grimly, Nick gave a nod. “Let’s go!”
Zan hugged Selene to him tightly, then set her back. “Be back as soon as I can, baby. ”
“I’m holding you to that. ”
She smiled, trying to be brave, but her eyes were moist. He hated leaving her, but they’d talked about this. He saw in her face that she understood, but she wasn’t happy.
With a last kiss, he got into the SUV that Ryon was driving, in the middle seat next to Phoenix. Jax got into the front. He didn’t see where the other members of both teams chose to ride—his mind was too occupied with how they were going to get this mission done quickly, with a minimum of bloodshed.
Right.
“Selene didn’t look too thrilled with you leaving,” Nix remarked, breaking into his thoughts.
“About as happy as Noah looked just a minute ago. ”
“Shit, that’s the truth. ”
“Trouble in paradise already?”
“Not as far as my being in the field, but . . . ” He shrugged, his normally bright, cocky smile noticeably absent. “It’s not easy, you know?”
“What’s not?” But he had a good idea. So did the occupants in the front of the vehicle, if their exchanged glances were any indication.
“I always thought my mate would be a woman,” he said quietly.
Oh, boy. So the man wasn’t quite as nonchalant about that fact as he appeared. “How does Noah feel about having a wolf shifter for a mate?”
Nix snorted. “Are you kidding? He’s ready to order a rainbow wedding cake and line up bridesmaids. ” That drew some snickers from the front. “Shut up, assholes. You guys got the ladies of your dreams. ”
“So, what?” Zan pressed. “You feel cheated?”
That word seemed to startle their friend, and he practically bristled. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just different than I expected. Noah has a good soul, and he’s one of the best people I know. ”
There. That was more like a mate defending what was his.
“I know that. I was just wondering if you did. ”
After that, they let the subject drop. They rode in near silence, the tension growing as it always did the closer they got to a dangerous target.
All too soon, the vehicle stopped, and Ryon turned off the ignition.
Time to bag a rogue. His mate was waiting for him to return to her arms.
Twelve
The Pack’s first move was to bring Kalen forward to do his thing.
All eyes, including Zan’s, were on the Sorcerer as he summoned his staff and closed his eyes, his body going very still. Then he uttered a few words in Latin, the sound of his voice almost musical. Zan thought it was so cool how the guy did that and found himself a little envious of the man’s gift.
“That is fuckin’ awesome,” Micah whispered from beside him.
“No shit,” one of the vampire soldiers replied, eyes wide. “Even I wouldn’t fuck with that dude. ”
Another vamp arched a brow. “Right?”
Yeah, a Goth guy all in black, right down to the ankle-length leather duster, who could actually turn you into a toad tended to impress people.
In moments Kalen was done, and he turned to the group at large. “I placed a cloak of invisibility around us as far as the humans are concerned, and the good news is there aren’t many. I’m thinking they were probably compelled to leave. The bad news is the cloaking spell won’t work on the rogues. ” He appeared troubled. “They’ll see us the second we move in, if they haven’t already. ”
Nick swore. “Then we need to move in fast to press whatever advantage we’ve got before it’s gone. Get into position. ”
“One more thing,” Kalen told them. “I unlocked the side and back entrances as well as all the interior doors to the rooms so we can go in quietly. ”
“Good job,” Nick said.
Tarron motioned for his men to go, and they all spread out to surround the motel. Zan headed for the back of the complex, along with Micah, Nick, Hammer, Jax, and Phoenix. Last-minute intelligence gathered from one of Tarron’s men showed that the rogues were concentrated at this end of the building, on the lower floor. Thank God for small favors. Their job would be hard enough without the creeps filling the whole motel.
There was scant cover, so they hurried to the outer wall and flattened themselves against it, near the back entrance. The door normally required a card key, but Nick pulled on the handle and the door opened, just as Kalen had claimed it would. He slipped inside first, Zan and the rest after him.
The first thing that struck his notice was that the inside was like a tomb—and in more ways than just the dead silence. The interior was dark. Lightbulbs were out, either naturally or unscrewed, in a few of the hallway sconces. He figured the rogues were trying to even the odds, make it harder for their enemies to see what was coming. There was also a bad smell permeating the air. Like stale garbage and rotten eggs. And old blood.
His stomach turned, and his wolf let out a low growl of disgust. He didn’t know how any vampire could choose this life, one of death and stink. Killing and hiding, rinse and repeat. It didn’t make sense to him how any creature derived pleasure from causing suffering and death.
Movi
ng fast, they split up and started a room-to-room search. Once again Kalen had come through, as none of the doors were locked. Zan simply twisted the handle and went inside the first room—only to find it empty.
Puzzled, he went through the small space in a matter of seconds, checking the bathroom as well. Nothing. Conscious of the possibility of an ambush from above, he even checked the ceiling, but found nothing unusual. There was nobody here.
He repeated the process along with Nick and the others, their search turning up no trace of rogues as they progressed. Other than the stench indicating they’d once been there, that is.
“Someone must’ve warned them we were coming,” Nick said, obviously pissed. “Goddammit!”
“Who?” Zan wondered aloud. “Nobody knew the plan but us!”
“Except Grant. ” The words caused their whole group to freeze.
Zan shoved a hand through his hair. “You don’t really think he’s involved, do you?”
“No. But someone close to him is, which supports what Daria’s uncle told us—someone in our own government is fucking us over. ”
“No, really?” Micah retorted sarcastically. “And that would be different from any other day, how?”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Come on. Let’s get this finished so we can get out of here and figure out what to do next. ”
Resuming the search, they checked the rest of the guest rooms on their wing and then eventually ran into the teams coming from the opposite direction. Tarron reported the same results, that they’d found no one. The whole scenario didn’t sit well with the group.
The last areas to check were the office, the conference room, the laundry room and workout room. As Zan and his team finished the office, one of the vampires jogged up to them and gestured excitedly down one corridor.
“We found something weird in the laundry area. The prince wants you guys to take a look. ”
Following him, Zan exchanged a curious glance with Nick. In his experience, “something weird” left in an abandoned building could not be a good thing. He was right.
As they entered the laundry room, Zan looked around at several industrial sized washers and dryers. Big rolling carts were sitting along one wall, waiting to transport towels and linens, and there were large cartons of detergent stacked nearby as well. But what dominated the space were the two big, round metal drums sitting in the middle of the concrete floor.
“Bleach?” Micah frowned, pointing at the block lettering on the drum. “Why would two huge containers of bleach be sitting in the middle of the floor like this?”
Nick held up a hand. “Everybody stop talking and moving around. Listen. ”
The room went quiet, and at first, Zan heard nothing. But gradually, a soft tick, tick, tick reached his ears. It was the one time he regretted that his hearing had returned.
Edging forward with Hammer, the commander carefully lifted a lid on one of the drums. Zan joined him as he set it aside, and they all peered down. A tangle of wires and a black box with a red digital readout met their shocked gazes. The numbers were counting down.
14 . . . 13 . . . 12 . . .
“Shit!” Nick shouted. “Clear the fucking building! Go! Go!”
He and Zan stepped back and let the others out first. It was a sacrifice that would cost them dearly.
They ran. Zan’s heart thundered in his chest as he sprinted for the outer doors, knowing he wouldn’t be fast enough. He could see the exit, so close. Saw the rest of his Pack and a group of vampires burst outside. He had a split second to feel relief that they’d made it—
And then the force of the detonation hit him from behind, hurling him into the air. He slammed into something hard, slid to the ground, the pain in his torso and skull hardly registering through the noise. The building came down all around him, pinning his body to the floor. All he could do was cover his head with his arms. Pray this wasn’t the end.
