Chapter 12 Daniel #2
“I can give you names,” Morren said quickly, his face filled with horror. “I can give you everything.”
“Yes, but will you?” Dalton replied, his eyes still on Adamson.
“Whatever you want,” Morren promised. “I’ll tell you everything.”
“Right, because you didn’t want to be here in the first place.”
“I didn’t,” he said quickly. “I didn’t want anything to do with this. I didn’t have any choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” Ian barked.
“There wasn’t. Once I knew, they would’ve killed me if I tried to back out. Once I knew, it was too late.”
“Fucking coward,” I ground out.
“I know.” His head nodded so fast he looked like one of those bobbleheads that people put on their dashboards. “I know, but I was forced.”
Dalton shot him. “I think one is plenty, don’t you?” He looked at Chance.
“More than enough,” Chance agreed. Lowering his rifle, he strode toward Adamson. “Come on, little fella. Time to get up.”
“You really think this is going to go well for you?” Adamson wheezed as Chance jerked him to his feet. “You broke in and killed two of the top generals in the United States. You think anyone will believe whatever bullshit story you try to spin?”
“Even if they don’t,” Dalton said, his smile all teeth. “I’ll take your head before this is through.” He looked to his son. “Make sure there’s no coming back for them.”
“Yep,” Ian said.
I should’ve done something—helped Chance with Adamson or taken the job from Ian—but I didn’t. I wasn’t sure that I could keep myself locked down. Listening to the three of them talk about what they’d done so casually had pushed me to the limits of my control.
I led the way back upstairs, ignoring the thumping behind me as Chance dragged Adamson up the stairs. The Vampire was completely unable to walk after Dalton had ruined his knee.
“Let’s take one of the SUVs,” Dalton said when we reached the front door. He pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “Better than running.”
“I’ll drive,” I replied, catching the keys when he tossed them.
I waited in the driver’s seat while Chance searched Adamson and then stuffed him into the trunk. Dalton and Ian disappeared into the woods to make sure that all the Vampires there were still tied up and hopefully still knocked out.
It took us about three minutes to get back to the helicopter, and in that time, Dalton was busy.
Bending over the back seat, he tied a tourniquet around Adamson’s leg while peppering him with questions.
Who had made the initial proposal? How had the three Vampires met Baudelaire?
What was the humans’ objective? Were there any other Vampires involved?
Question after question was voiced, but no answers were forthcoming.
At first, Adamson sat silently, but as soon as Dalton tied the tourniquet, he passed out from the pain.
“That mess won’t take long to find,” Dalton announced as we parked and climbed out of the vehicle. “I’m going to call Arthur.”
I just stared at him.
“He asked me to find the head of the snake,” Dalton reminded me. “We’ve found it. I need to apprise him of the situation before he finds out that two of his generals are dead and one is missing.”
“Do it,” Chance answered for me. “If Arthur wants to party, I’ll bring the disco ball.”
“You sure?” I asked him. If Arthur was dirty, we’d be fucked. There wasn’t a corner of the earth that he couldn’t reach. He had the entirety of the United States Vampire Command at his disposal.
Chance nodded.
My brother and I went to the back of the SUV and opened it, lifting Adamson’s limp body out, Chance at the head, and me at the feet. Halfway to the helicopter, he fucking let go.
“Whoops,” Chance said with a chuckle as my arms wrenched downward and Adamson’s head bounced off the ground.
“Stop fucking around,” I grunted, my lips twitching.
“He’s gonna have a headache,” Chance replied, lifting Adamson by his wrists. “What do you think? Should we swing him up?”
“You’re so annoying.” I tried to hide my smile. Fuck, he was funny. “Just put him in.”
We maneuvered Adamson’s body across the floorboard of the cabin and left him there. Turning around, I realized Dalton and Ian were still standing next to the SUV, completely frozen.
“That can’t be good,” Chance said as we set off at a jog back toward the others.
“What?” I snapped as we reached them.
Dalton pressed a button on his phone, and Gary’s voice filtered out.
“When you get this, come straight back. Got a call from Halle on the house phone. Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. We’re on our way.” The message repeated on a loop.
“What does that mean?” Chance asked as Dalton finally snapped out of it and started sprinting for the helicopter.
“Our house is being attacked,” Ian said as he threw open the door and climbed into the front seat.
I didn’t bother trying to step around Adamson as I climbed in the back. I just stepped right on top of him. The blades began to whirl as I closed the door.
“My mother and my brothers made it to the safe room.”
“How the hell did you get that from the message?” Chance asked once we had our headsets on.
“A call from my mom on the house phone,” Ian said as we began to rise. “That phone is only used for one thing. Do not pass Go—she’s in the safe room. Do not collect two hundred dollars—she has both my brothers.”
I braced as Dalton banked right, replaying the message from Gary in my mind.
We.
He’d said we. He hadn’t said, I’m on my way. He’d said we’re on our way.
Rosemary went with him.
“Text Ambrose,” I ordered Chance. “I’ll text Beau.”
Chance nodded. “They’re closer.”
It was the longest flight I’d ever taken. Every minute felt like a year. Neither of my brothers responded to their messages. My dad never answered his phone. My mother’s phone went straight to voicemail.
We flew blindly toward Dalton’s house. Clutching my rifle, I fought the urge to count my ammunition.
I hadn’t even fired my weapon at the Adamson house.
There was no reason to fidget. It wouldn’t get us there any faster.
It wouldn’t change anything that was happening, as I sat there without a scratch on me.
It hurt to breathe. My head pounded in sync with my heartbeat.
It felt like déjà vu, but this time, I had no control over how fast we got there.
It had been less than a month since we’d gotten the call that, while we were out, our house was being attacked. Then, I’d been afraid for my mother and my brothers’ mates, but my mate had been safely seated behind me.
I hadn’t realized how agonizing it had been for Beau and Ambrose back then.
How completely overwhelming the terror was.
My mate was there, in danger, and I was too far away to do anything about it.
Every muscle in my body was locked tight.
Sweat dripped off the end of my nose. Nausea wasn’t even the right word for the way my stomach churned and cramped.
It felt like someone had their hand in there and was twisting a fistful of my guts from side to side.
I’d been able to handle the symptoms up to that point. I’d pushed the discomfort aside, ignored it, pushed through it.
I couldn’t ignore it now. With every minute that passed, my fear fed the heat, and it felt like at any moment my body was going to begin shutting down. No one could survive that kind of pain.
Why the fuck had I thought putting any kind of distance between us was a good idea? I knew better. I’d lived through the consequences of it.
I’d just been so sure that Gary would keep Rosemary safe. Between the precautions he’d shown me while Rosemary was sleeping the week before, and his biological need to protect his offspring, I’d assumed that no matter what happened—if anything did—she’d survive it. He’d make sure of that.
I could’ve never imagined that he would take her off the property.
This was the only reason he would’ve.
Dalton’s mate Halle and their boys. It was the only possible reason that Gary would ever willingly risk Rosemary’s safety. He knew he couldn’t do it alone. He knew she could help.
He knew he’d never be able to keep her from going.
“How much longer?” I asked, looking out the window.
“Four minutes,” Ian answered.
Dalton hadn’t spoken once.
“She’s fine,” Chance said, reaching over to slap my chest. “Only a couple more minutes and you’ll see for yourself.”
“Don’t land at the house,” I ordered.
“The closest place to land is a quarter mile away,” Ian replied, looking at me in disbelief over his shoulder.
“If we land at the house, we’ll barely make it out of the helicopter,” I said, leaning forward. I knew Dalton could hear me through the headset, but I wasn’t sure he would actually listen.
“We need to go in quietly or they’ll be ready for us.”
“It could be over by now,” Chance said as he watched Dalton worriedly. “Did it say when that message was sent?”
Ian shook his head.
“If we land on your property, someone is going to notice,” I warned. “We’ll lose any element of surprise we have.”
“Dad?” Ian murmured.
Adamson groaned when Dalton took a sharp left and the helicopter swung sideways.
“Shut the fuck up,” Chance growled, stomping on Adamson’s back. “No one fucking cares.”
He pulled a piece of thin rope out of his pocket and leaned down to tie Adamson’s hands behind his back. By the time he’d finished, we were just setting down on a grassy piece of land. I wasn’t sure where we were, but there were no lights in the distance giving any indication of a house.
I had to throw myself out of the helicopter and land running to keep up with Dalton and Ian through the woods.
They leaped over small creeks and circumvented large rocks like they’d run that path a hundred times before and could do it with their eyes closed.
By the time they slowed, light was visible through the trees around us.