Chapter six
Lark’s heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear Gage giving orders to both the SWAT werewolves and the members of her pack over the radio.
And he was standing a few feet away from her in the huge RV the SWAT team had converted into what they called an operations truck.
With all the various racks for equipment, weapons, radios, computers, and cameras, it didn’t look anything like an RV anymore.
There were even two whiteboards and a corkboard.
And while she might not be listening to most of what Gage was saying at the moment, she didn’t know how he could be so calm.
She felt like she was about to lose her mind, she was so worried Roman might hurt Kal.
The more she tried to focus on what it would be like to see him again, the more she panicked.
She only prayed Mike could keep their son safe until she could get there to help.
“Lark, you need to calm down and breathe,” Khaki Blake said as the vehicle swayed under them, picking up speed as they moved closer to Griggs Park.
Khaki was one of Mike’s SWAT pack mates, and even though Lark had just met the woman, she already had a good feeling about her.
“You won’t be able to help Kal if you don’t get control of your emotions. ”
“I’m calm,” Lark lied, taking a deep breath and doing her best to regain control. She wasn’t doing a very good job of it.
“Right,” Khaki said, her attention momentarily focused on the radio as people started calling in their position on the perimeter they’d established around the park. “That’s why your heart is beating a hundred miles an hour, and your hands are clenched so tightly you’re about to snap a finger.”
“Sorry,” Lark muttered, deciding it was a waste of time trying to hide it.
“I’m just freaking out a little right now.
It seems like forever since I’ve seen my son.
In my darkest moments, I wasn’t even sure he was alive, and now, he’s so close.
I have to get him back. It’s the only thing that matters. ”
“You are going to get him back,” Khaki promised, her dark gaze fierce.
“And we’re going to get you to him. But to make that happen, you need to stay in control.
The park is going to be crowded, so we can’t have you losing it and accidentally shifting in public, partial or otherwise.
It’d make things that much more complicated if we also had to worry about getting you out of there at the same time. ”
Lark opened her mouth to ask what Khaki meant by a partial shift, but was interrupted by Mike’s worried voice coming over the radio again.
“We might have a problem. Roman has three big guys with him, and they all smell as strange as he does. It looks like we’ll be facing at least four supernaturals.”
“Roman is a supernatural?” Lark asked in surprise, turning to look at Gage and Khaki in confusion. “What kind?”
“We’re not sure,” Gage admitted. “All we know is that he can move fast enough to avoid a gunshot, which seems like one hell of a dangerous supernatural.”
Lark’s head spun as she tried to think of what kind of supernaturals possessed that kind of speed. The problem was that she could think of several. She wasn’t an expert on the supernatural world, though. There could be dozens of possibilities for all she knew.
“We’re pulling into a parking lot one block from the southwest corner of the park,” Carter announced from the driver’s seat. “We’ll be ready to move in thirty seconds.”
Lark took a deep breath and glanced over at Khaki, who was checking a small handgun before sliding it into a holster behind her back.
Khaki was dressed in jeans, a sweater with a light jacket, and tennis shoes.
According to the part of Gage’s plan that she’d overheard on the way over, most of the SWAT team would be dressed in civilian clothes so they could blend in.
Lark put on a slouch beanie cap and donned sunglasses as she checked to make sure her radio was firmly attached to her belt, the microphone routed inside her coat to her lapel, and the bud secure in her ear.
The plan was for Lark and Khaki to slip into the park and put themselves in a position to be close when Mike made the exchange with Roman in case things went sideways.
If that happened, seeing her there would be a calming presence for Kal.
She only hoped Roman didn’t recognize her. Between the hat and the glasses, he shouldn’t notice her in the crowded park, at least not until she was at her son’s side.
“Do you think Roman has people outside the park?” Lark asked as she and Khaki casually headed up the street. “To make sure no one interrupts the exchange, I mean.”
“We have to assume he does,” Khaki said, walking slowly, as if the two of them were in no particular hurry to get anywhere.
“Look for anyone who seems to be focused on people entering the park. Use your nose, too, in case we’re dealing with more of those supernaturals with that weird chemical scent. ”
Lark nodded as they moved toward the southwest entrance to the park, with the historical monument Mike had mentioned, but didn’t see anyone acting suspicious.
At this time of the year, all the leaves were off the trees, so she should have been able to see Kal from here, but she couldn’t.
That worried her, even as she realized there were other people, and the monument, blocking her vision.
The urge to move faster and finally see her son was hard to resist, but she forced herself to keep walking slowly, knowing that a move like that would attract too much attention and put Kal at risk.
“Kal is going to be okay,” Khaki said softly, clearly knowing exactly where her head was at the moment.
That was when Lark finally spotted Mike.
He was standing in front of Roman, the two of them squaring off, while one of Roman’s goons held Kal in place with a threatening hand on his shoulder.
The sight was enough to draw a soft growl from her throat, and the urge to shift into a wolf and launch herself at the man was nearly impossible to ignore.
She might have done just that if Khaki hadn’t put a hand on her arm.
“I have a visual on Mike,” Khaki whispered into her radio, her lips barely moving. “Roman has three men with him, and one of them is holding onto Kal. I don’t see any other obvious players nearby, but they’re probably out there somewhere. Lark and I are moving closer.”
As they did, Lark heard the other members of Mike’s pack calling in to report their positions around the park. Violet and Jasper were already in the park as well, coming their way from the northwest entrance.
Lark and Khaki slowed when they got about twenty feet away from Mike.
He was facing them, while Roman and his three goons were looking the other way.
Even against the breeze, Lark could pick up the strange scent Mike had described coming off them.
It was sharp and astringent, and reminded her of a chemistry lab.
Yeah, these four were definitely supernaturals.
But unlike any she’d ever smelled before.
“Give me the flash drive,” Roman said, holding out his hand. “After I confirm it contains the data I’m looking for, I’ll release your son, and you can leave.”
Lark didn’t need to see Roman’s face to know he was lying. From the little she knew about him, he didn’t like loose ends. Once he got what he wanted, he’d have no use for Mike or Kal.
Not that Roman had any chance of getting what he wanted. On the ride over, Gage told her Mike still had no idea what flash drive Roman was talking about. Lark couldn’t imagine how this whole thing wasn’t going to end badly.
She held her breath as Mike handed the thumb drive over to Roman, who grabbed it and immediately gave it to one of his men, who was already taking a small laptop out of the bag he was carrying.
“Get ready, everyone,” Gage’s voice was soft in Lark’s earbud. “The moment that guy realizes the drive is blank, the crap will hit the fan.”
Lark wasn’t sure how Mike did it, but he didn’t glance in her direction even once.
She wouldn’t have been able to do it. Kal must have somehow sensed she was there, though, because he slowly turned his head in her direction, his eyes going wide.
She quickly shook her head, afraid Kal might say or do something to alert Roman or his men that she was there.
Kal must have figured out what she was trying to tell him because he turned back around, focusing on Mike. She was so proud of her son right then that she wanted to run over and hug him. But obviously, now really wasn’t the time for that.
The man with the laptop and flash drive lifted his head, gaze narrowing as he clearly figured out there wasn’t anything on it.
But before he could say anything, Mike moved, charging at Roman.
At the same time, Khaki launched herself at the man holding onto Kal’s shoulder, who was even now reaching for the gun hidden in his jacket.
As a werewolf, Lark was fast. But she’d never been in a fight before, much less one with guns. Still, this was her son they were talking about here. She’d do whatever she needed to do to keep him safe.
Kal stumbled and fell, knocked aside as Khaki took down the guy who’d been holding him.
Lark was immediately at his side, pulling him upright.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding onto her tightly.
Lark wanted that hug more than anything else in the world, but as gunshots started going off around her and people all over the park began running and screaming, she knew this wasn’t the time or the place.
“We need to go!” she said urgently.
Kal didn’t hesitate, holding tightly onto her hand as they ran for the park exit.
Unfortunately, her ten-year-old son wasn’t old enough to go through the transition from child to wolf yet, which meant he couldn’t run much faster than any other kid his age.
Getting away from the park and back to the safety of the SWAT ops truck would take longer than she preferred.
But it wasn’t far. They’d get there okay.
“Mom, that was Dad, right?” Kal asked excitedly. “Shouldn’t we help him?”
“Yes, that was him,” Lark said, quickly blending the two of them in with the other people running from the park, heading back down Hallsville toward the parking lot where they’d left the RV. “He’ll catch up as soon as he can.”
She could tell Kal didn’t really like that idea, but he kept going, even as Lark threw a quick look over her shoulder, needing to know if Mike truly was okay. But the area around the monument was flooded with people, and she couldn’t see Mike at all. That worried her.
Part of her wanted to shout into her radio, to make sure Mike was okay. But if he was busy fighting Roman, any distraction could get him hurt—or worse. So, she hurried Kal along, reaching the end of the block and turning toward the parking lot where Carter had parked the ops vehicle.
But Lark was forced to stop at the sight of a large man standing right in the middle of the parking lot driveway, blocking their path, one hand hidden under his coat. She had no doubt what he was holding in that hand.
Then she caught a whiff of that acrid chemical scent. The guy was one of Roman’s supernaturals.
“What’s wrong?” Kal asked as Lark spun them both around to head back toward the park.
Another one of Roman’s men stood in the middle of Hallsville Street to block their path in that direction, too.
She glanced around, desperate for a way to escape, her gaze locking on a tall, brick wall at the far end of the street.
Lark could have gotten over it easily on her own, but Kal definitely couldn’t.
Taking the only escape route left open, Lark tugged her son to the left, down the gravel path between the two closest apartment complexes.
“Mike!” she shouted, hoping he heard her on the radio. “Kal and I are running down Clyde Street toward a gravel road between two apartment buildings. Roman’s men are behind us. We need help. Fast!”