Chapter 43
Chapter
Forty-Three
ZANDER
An hour later, we were all packed into vehicles and traveling in a convoy to the site. I’d had the fucking fright of my life when Reid called in a panic because the warlocks were working on breaking the wards at the Omega House.
I’d kept him on the line while Nathaniel warded the vehicles, and then we rushed over.
Everett drove straight at the row of warlocks—three, as Nathaniel had guessed—and when they scrambled, unable to attack the warded vehicle, I parked right at the gate so Reid could dart from the warded property to the warded car.
We’d screeched away, but as I looked in the rearview mirror, I’d noticed the warlocks running for a nearby car. They probably thought to follow us, knowing we couldn’t stay in the vehicle forever.
Momma soothed my scared mate while Nathaniel leaned out the window and worked some sort of magic—hopefully to earn us a better headstart. If we could put some distance between us and the warlocks, they might not be able to hunt us down.
I had no doubt that we could take on three warlocks if the need arose, but the trafficked omegas needed us to get there quickly and in good shape. Battling warlocks would jeopardize that.
“I can’t see them,” Nathaniel said, closing the window and belting himself in. “I think we’ve got a solid lead.”
“Thank the Gods,” Dad muttered from the passenger seat. He had his phone out and was messaging with someone from the other vehicle. “Knox can’t see them either.”
“Good.”
Hawk reported in. He’d set up spikes on the road outside the property in case they tried to leave before we arrived. Hopefully we’d get there before that became an issue.
Reid was quiet. So much so that it worried me, but unfortunately, we’d have to deal with the fallout of facing his old coven again later.
I was grateful to Momma for keeping a close eye on him.
She’d insisted on coming and serving as his protector while everyone else went onto the compound.
She had teeth and claws and knew how to use them.
There was nothing Momma wouldn’t do to protect Reid now that she considered him one of her own.
We made good time to Grayton, cruising around the edge of the city, and turned toward the address Hawk had confirmed. He called again on his “borrowed” phone and confirmed that the omegas were still on site. The traffickers seemed to be waiting for something.
Nathaniel reported sensing a seeking spell at one point, but there was no more sign of the warlocks. We were lucky. There were only so many enemies we could deal with at a time.
When we arrived at the compound, it was after midnight. I turned off the car’s headlights a couple of miles from the property and parked a few hundred yards down the road, behind a stand of trees.
I turned toward the back seat just as Reid opened his mouth to say something. I motioned for him to be quiet. Nathaniel had spelled the vehicles to be less obvious than usual, but until we were all subjected to silencing spells, I didn’t want anyone to make more noise than necessary.
Nathaniel’s lips moved and he did something I didn’t quite catch. My ears popped.
“I’ve silenced noises you make so they won’t be heard by anyone more than five feet away,” he said, speaking at his normal volume.
“They also won’t be able to smell you until you get close.
Wait here. I need to do the same for the others, then we’ll have to move as quickly as possible because maintaining the spell at this level of potency—as well as the wards on the vehicle—will quickly use up my magic reserves. ”
“Is it too much?” I didn’t want him to risk his health—or his life. Especially not with him being newly mated to George. He was part of our clan now and that made him our responsibility to care for.
He shook his head. “As long as we’ve done what we need to within thirty minutes of casting the spell, it should be fine. At that point, the efficacy of the spell will begin to wane.”
He opened the door and ducked outside. I glanced in the mirror and squinted as he made for the vehicle behind us, which carried Everett, Garrick, Knox, Clay, and Bea. Farther back, Angela, Yuri, Francis, Li, and Dr. Black were squeezed into the last car in the convoy.
Yuri and Francis weren’t trained to fight like the rest of us, but they were strong shifters and could hold their own. Li, Yuri’s mate, was skilled with healing poultices and energy transfer magic so he and Dr. Black were also to remain in the car but be available if there were any casualties.
I returned my attention to Reid, who was sitting upright and very much awake now, his bright eyes sharp with focus. “Promise you’ll stay here?”
He nodded, wide-eyed. “I don’t want to endanger my baby. I’m staying right here.”
“I’ll be with him,” Momma reminded me.
“Thank you.”
I had to trust them to be sensible. If I allowed myself to worry about Reid, it would distract me from the mission, and I couldn’t afford to be distracted. Dad had decided to have him here, and I’d gone along with it. Too late for second thoughts now.
Nathaniel tapped on the window and I opened the door and got out. The others were already assembling their gear so I checked that my bulletproof vest was in place and that my gun was in its holster. I didn’t bother carrying a knife because my claws could shred flesh just as easily.
“Ready to move in?” Dad asked quietly.
I looked around at the brave souls who’d volunteered for this unauthorized and dangerous task. “Looks like it. Let’s go.”
Knox and I each led a team as we snuck up the road and onto the property. With Knox’s military training and prior career as a mercenary, he was also well-placed to make decisions under pressure.
We moved in from the sides like a scorpion’s pincers.
There was a guard walking the length of the driveway and I took him down with a blow to the head.
A bullet would have been more effective, but we were trying to keep as many traffickers alive as possible so we could gather intel from them afterward. Clay cuffed and gagged him.
Another guard stood beside the cab of a massive cargo truck. Knox swept in like a fucking ninja and choked him until he fell unconscious, then stepped aside for Bea to secure him.
There were noises coming from inside the truck. Muffled conversation and some scuffling, as if people were moving around.
Hawk hadn’t touched base in a while so we couldn’t be certain, but I suspected the omegas were all loaded into the truck, awaiting transport.
I led my team down the right side of the truck while Knox led his down the other. There were a pair of guards positioned at the far end. We moved in tandem to take them out—Knox a little more efficiently than me.
I stepped up to the back of the truck. The doors were metal and bolted shut in the middle. A heavy padlock held the bolt in place.
I grimaced. Shifter strength wouldn’t be enough to break a lock like that and I didn’t think the bolt cutters we’d brought would either.
I tapped Dad’s arm. “Get Nathaniel.”
Dad turned and motioned Nathaniel forward. I moved out of the way, but as I was turning to address Knox, a bright light burst into existence a short distance away. I cringed at the intensity and blinked as my eyes struggled to adjust.
When my vision cleared, my gut plummeted to the soles of my boots.
A ring of men surrounded us.
Each was armed, and the guns looked military-grade.
In the center stood a well-dressed man, and slumped against him, with an arm that looked like it had gone through a wood chipper and a gun to his head, was Hawk.