Chapter 13 Kyle #2
He led me to a room that was almost a mirror of the one I’d seen at Esmé’s house.
The walls were plastered with pictures of locations and people, and luckily Jason wasn’t here, either.
He and I appeared to have had a very lucky escape regarding attracting the kind of attention that would have made my infiltration into the Blackbloods impossible.
Brock strode around the room, jabbing his finger against various pictures. “This needs to be taken care of,” he muttered. “And this,” as he indicated a picture of Temple. “He’s always right in the thick of things. He needs to be stopped.”
He turned a circle and laughed before ripping a picture of Nic from the wall and tearing it into pieces, which he let flutter to the floor at the side of him.
“Total destruction,” he bellowed. “We’re all in. It ends tonight. We take out as many of them as we can.”
I sat in one of the chairs, watching him as I did. He was buzzing with an energy I’d never seen in him before — but he seemed totally out of control. I was more used to a Brock who at least appeared to think things through and have his tactics planned out.
“I thought we were starting small… Inconveniencing them?” I kept my tone casual, like I didn’t care either way.
He glared at me, and I shrugged.
“I mean, whatever, man. It’s your war. But this is a big change in tactics.
” The escalation worried me. Being organized enough to steal liquor from a container ship was one thing.
Taking on an entire army was another. And Sebastian had an entire army at his disposal, which Brock should have known on the back of all of this surveillance.
But Brock had surprise on his side, and that was enough to concern me, even with Seb’s army. Sometimes surprise was enough. I’d seen battles won on less than surprise and enthusiasm.
And Brock had both of those things today.
Damn Sebastian. If only he’d trusted me enough to let things play out rather than storming in and taking back his toys.
I sighed quietly. But this wasn’t Sebastian’s fault.
To sit quietly on his hands and be seen to do nothing would have aroused far more suspicion and made the Duponts look far weaker.
He’d only reacted in the same way he would have done whether I was here or not, and I probably would have been right at his side reclaiming the stolen alcohol at any other time. No one knew how delicately this mission was all balanced, and it certainly seemed especially delicate right now.
Brock didn’t even seem sane as he paced and muttered to himself.
I watched him move while I tried to figure out what I needed to do next, and how I could do anything without being discovered. Esmé would probably think nothing of taking me out now that I had Sam, no matter what her agreement with Temple was.
Temple. Shit. I’d need to warn him what Brock was doing.
As I made my own plans. Brock had pulled out his cell phone and clamped it to his ear. He was still ranting and raving, although now it was instructions as he summoned all his vampires to the house.
Soon, the meeting room was full of his ill-trained soldiers, their hoots and hollers as they hung off his every word a far cry from the way my men accepted their orders in silence.
At the thought of my men, my stomach churned at the way Esmé had ripped through the four who’d been captured. But I couldn’t afford sentimentality over them right now. They’d died as soldiers — in a war.
I needed to focus on Brock’s plans, so I had something to report to Temple or Jason. Jason was probably my best contact as he still seemed to be unknown, although I risked exposing him when I reached out.
Brock stepped back toward his pictures and thumped his fist against photographs of Nightfall and Sebastian’s mansion.
“We attack tonight,” he announced as if he hadn’t already told everyone that several times.
“And we’re going where they’d least expect us.
The Regent’s house.” He laughed and it was a cold, cruel sound.
“We know what time the club closes and we know what time they should all be tucked up at home in bed.”
Dread formed a small ball in the pit of my stomach. They were going after Sebastian and Kayla. Sebastian and Nic didn’t always see eye to eye, but the murder of his brother could bring Nic down.
I had to get word out somehow. My mind spun, and I almost started to stand, but Brock’s gaze suddenly met mine.
“You,” he said, the word boomed around the room. “You’re with me tonight. You’re my shadow, my second. You don’t leave my side.”
I lifted an eyebrow.
“You beat Demon,” he clarified. “You earned it.”
Which was great for running interference but…
How the hell was I going to warn everyone who needed to know about the attack when Brock had just shortened my leash right to heel?
There was no way I’d get to Temple or Jason without him wondering where I’d gone, and I’d find it hard to even make a call on my burner.
I drew a breath. Somehow, I’d keep Brock from doing too much damage to my family. I’d have to wing it and hope that Sam would manage to keep her head down and stay safe.
Brock’s side was the last place I wanted to be now that I’d found my mate and my family was in danger.
Unease trickled through me, icing my veins. Being at the center of a Blackblood mission right now was deadly. If Esmé blew my cover, Brock could kill me, and Sam —my mate—would be left all alone, without my protection, I controlled my shudder at that thought. Esmé would torture her to death.
We walked down Sebastian’s quiet street in Brock’s preferred battle formation, and I glanced at the men taking up their positions along the sides of the buildings, melting into the shadows like they might really make it as trained soldiers after all.
More soldiers had climbed onto nearby rooftops, and others were ready to do the same at the mansion.
I took note of their positions. I’d need to be sure everyone was where they were supposed to be so I could raise the alarm inside the mansion without alerting the Blackbloods to being a traitor to their cause.
Really, I just needed to slip away from Brock, but he kept leaning close to discuss strategy with me, and there was only so much misdirection I could throw out there.
He continued beckoning to men and pointing to where he wanted them to position themselves right up until we reached the gates of the mansion, a small band of Blackblood soldiers on our heels.
He drew us to a stop and pointed to some of the men.
“You, you, and you,” he said. The guy didn’t even know their names.
“You take first-floor windows.” He looked at me.
“I want you to go in the back. I’ll take the front and we can meet inside.
Destroy anyone you come across on the way. I have no use for Dupont loyalists.”
I nodded. Thank fuck. I didn’t need to try to slip away — Brock had just instructed me to go.
There was an alarm panel in the kitchen I could use to sound the panic alarm.
I needed to make sure Sebastian and Kayla would be okay — although I wasn’t na?ve enough to believe I could save everybody.
With Brock and his men in this mood, there would be some death tonight. Collateral damage.
“Got it.” I started to move away.
I needed to get inside before too many of Sebastian’s men got taken out by Blackbloods or simply noticed us here and attacked first.
Damn fine balances.
I crept toward the door that led into the kitchen, and the feeling of coming home washed over me, but a figure stepped out of the corridor.
“What the…?” The guard’s tone was one of disbelief. “Kyle?”
Well, shit. I hadn’t come this far to be given away. I leapt onto him and choked him until he passed out. To anyone else, he’d look dead long enough for me to at least warn Sebastian what was happening.
I crept to the alarm panel and pressed the panic button. Immediately, the siren rang through the house, and my walkie crackled at my hip.
“Shit,” Brock’s voice ground out. “We must have been made. Where are you?”
I silenced the walkie and headed to the back stairs. I didn’t have long to reach Sebastian. Brock would be even more desperate now his mission was in peril, and I couldn’t guarantee if he’d follow his plan or just start trying things out and issuing new instructions.
It was tempting to turn my walkie back on, but as much as it would allow me to listen in, it would also give away my position to anyone else who could hear it.
The plush carpeting was familiar underfoot as I rushed to Sebastian’s wing.
Hopefully knowing the layout of the house gave me an advantage but I had no way of knowing which of Sebastian’s men were also on Brock’s payroll.
Any one of them could have given away or sold valuable information, and we’d need to thoroughly clean house after all of this was put to bed.
There was no room for traitors in our group.
I pushed the door open to Sebastian’s bedroom and barged in. A loud roar of anger filled my ears, and something landed on my back, sharp fangs grazing my neck.
“It’s Kyle.” I spoke hastily, and the person released me.
“Shit, Kyle.” Kayla dropped to the floor next to me. “I nearly took you out.”
Before she’d finished speaking, there was a blur of motion and I was knocked to the floor, a pair of red eyes close to my face.
“Seb,” I said. “It’s me.”
Kayla grabbed his arm. “Get up,” she muttered. “It’s Kyle. We need to listen.” Then she looked at me. “Why are you here? What’s going on?”
“The Blackbloods are attacking. You need to get everyone to safety.” I glanced at the door.
I didn’t have time to fuck around telling them the whole story. Sebastian grasped the urgency first.
“Panic room,” he said to Kayla, pointing toward their closet, which led to the secure room. “Go in there and stay inside until I tell you it’s safe to come out.”
“Nope.” She lifted her chin. “I’m not some weak human you can order around. I’m going to fight.”
I sighed. We fucking didn’t have time for some sort of marital dispute right now. “Guys.”
“Panic room,” Sebastian repeated. “I can’t lose you.”
“No,” Kayla said again. “I stay at your side.”
“Guys.” Frustration laced my repeated word. “We don’t have time,” I hissed. “Argue later.” Brock was on his way.
He’d given up on a quiet entry and was yelling orders to people as they approached the bedroom.
“Look. They’re coming. Preserve my cover by knocking me out or blow my cover and stay and fight with each other instead of against your actual enemy.” I hissed the last words.
Sebastian grimaced. “I still need you on the inside,” he said. “We don’t know enough yet. They’re still too powerful.”
I shrugged. “Okay. He’s out of control and we need to stop him. He’s coming for you and for Nic.”
Without warning, Sebastian sprang toward me, and he snarled.
He whipped me around, taking hold of my wrists and dragged me out into the hallway.
“You’re going out the balcony doors,” he murmured into my ear.
“Might even make you a new scar. The fall won’t kill you, but it will make a good show for anyone who still isn’t sure how we handle our enemies. ”
I sighed then relaxed, signaling my agreement with his plan.
Sharp pain crashed over the back of my skull and the world went black.