Chapter 10 #2
“She managed to pull up all the surveillance footage. It was definitely Garret.” Sloane pulled out her phone and scrolled.
“Lizzie tracked him from the moment he arrived outside the building.” She held the phone up.
The footage was grainy but clear enough.
A large man in a baseball cap, skulking outside on the street.
“Took the emergency stairs to avoid the lobby cameras, though Lizzie picked him up on the stairwell feeds. Got into the offices by slipping in behind the evening cleaning crew, then hid in the utility closet in the pantry.”
“Outside janitorial company,” Jacob said. “They come in after hours.”
“Once the crew left, he started prowling around,” Sloane continued.
“But he couldn’t get into any of the individual offices since those are all locked up with biometrics, not to mention, reinforced with steel.
The footage shows him trying doors for hours.
At one point he just sat down on the floor and stayed there. ”
On the small screen, Garret’s massive figure was cross-legged on the carpet of Lone Wolf’s lobby, eerily still.
“Then he set a small fire in a lobby trash can,” Sloane said as she fast-forwarded the footage. “Enough to trip the alarm and the emergency door releases. Walked out the same stairwell he came in.”
“So, he was looking for something,” Ransom said, his eyes narrowing.
“Or someone,” Jacob replied, glancing at Eli.
Eli’s face was unreadable. Olivia put her hand on his forearm. He didn’t pull away, but his muscles were rigid under her fingers.
“He’s old school,” Eli said. “He wouldn’t know how to hack a system. He’d go for paper files. Personnel records.”
“Killian’s overhauling security,” Jacob said. “New protocols, new crew. Lizzie’s running a full digital audit, but it’s looking like he didn’t have the tools for electronic access.”
Cross checked his watch then nodded at Jacob and Olivia. “We should go.”
“So soon?” Isabelle sighed. “All right, well give my love to Sabrina,” she said to Cross. “How is she holding up with the pregnancy?”
The hybrid’s face brightened. “Surprisingly well. She hardly ever complains, but that’s Sabrina.”
“I can’t wait to see you guys again though that’s probably not until after both babies are born,” she said with a laugh.
Cross and Ransom gripped each other’s forearms and gave each other that hug men who were as close as brothers do. “See you soon, take care,” the Alpha said.
“Will do.” Cross held his hand out to Jacob and Sloane. “Ready?”
Sloane pulled Olivia into a hug. “Call me. Every day.”
“I will.”
“I mean it, Olivia.”
“I know.”
Sloane released her and turned to Eli. For a moment, she just looked at him, and whatever passed between them was silent and built on years of shared history Olivia would never fully understand. Then Sloane punched his arm and walked away without a word.
Jacob pulled Olivia into a hug. “Take care of yourself. And eat.”
“Working on it.”
Jacob wrapped an arm around Sloane, then gripped Cross’s hand. “Ready.”
They shimmered away, slowly fading before completely disappearing. A sense of loss crept into her chest at their absence, as well as the sense that this chapter was over. Eli probably did, too, as he covered her hand with his.
Isabelle broke the silence. “Let’s go in and get you settled. You must be exhausted after that long drive.”
The cabin was small but warm with hardwood floors, a double bed with a thick quilt, a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a back room where an easel stood near a window overlooking the valley. A few of canvases leaned against the wall, showing mountain landscapes in soft, dreamy colors.
“This is Cross and Sabrina’s cabin. They come here on the weekends when they can,” Isabelle explained.
“Sabrina’s a painter, so there’s a little studio in the back room.
Cross had it set up for her. That’s the only place I would say to keep out of.
Other than that, please do make yourselves at home”
“It’s beautiful,” Olivia said. “Thank you.”
The Lupa pulled the fridge open. “Fully stocked. Arlene saw to it this morning. Eggs, bacon, bread, everything you’d need. And the lodge restaurant is always open if you’d rather eat there.”
Olivia peeked inside. It was packed with food. Her stomach gave a low rumble despite the hours of highway takeout.
“The property’s protected,” Ransom said from the doorway. He leaned against the frame, arms folded. “Magical barriers around the full perimeter. Witches put them up during the mage crisis and they’ve held solid.”
The shift in Eli was so subtle, Olivia barely felt it. She couldn’t put her finger on it—perhaps it was in the way his breathing changed or a slight tension built in his shoulders. But it seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
“Witches?” Eli asked.
“Local coven,” Isabelle said. “According to Silke, they’ve been in these parts a long time.
We don’t really mix socially, but we’re on good terms. Silke lets them hold events at the lodge.
Solstice celebrations, ceremonies. They had a beautiful wedding here a while back for the matriarch’s older daughter, and already penciled in a booking next year for the middle one. ”
Ransom continued, “They come through regularly to strengthen the protections and spells around the property.”
“How close are they?” Eli asked.
“Their compound is deeper in the mountains. Maybe twenty, thirty minutes by road. They mostly keep to themselves, but you’ll see a few of them around the lodge when it’s time to refresh the wards.”
“Good to know,” Eli said, his expression giving nothing away. However, Ransom’s gaze lingered on Eli for a beat longer than necessary.
“Well, we should let you get some rest,” Isabelle said, her arm wrapping around Ransom’s.
“Fair warning. The rest of the clan is going to want to meet you. These guys are worse than a bunch of gossipy grandmas. Once Axle finds out we’ve got guests, expect a welcome party.
And by welcome party I mean grown men with no concept of personal space. ” And with that, they left.
Olivia turned to Eli. She wanted to ask, wanted to push him.
But with what happened during the last time she did, she knew that was not the way to deal with him.
Besides, her body had other plans. Eight hours in a car with no real sleep, the residual exhaustion from being shot and healed, the fatigue all hit her at once.
“I can’t keep my eyes open,” she whispered.
“Then don’t.” He led them toward the bed, and pulled back the quilt. “Come on.”
She managed to kick off her shoes and crawl into bed. Eli slid in beside her. She turned into him, pressing her face against his chest, and his arms came around her. Despite all the questions in her head, she still lost the fight against the exhaustion and was asleep in seconds.
The sunlight streaming through the curtains woke Olivia up, her eyes fluttering open. She stared up at the ceiling, disoriented.
Where … oh.
The events of the last forty-eight hours crept into her brain.
Boston, the diner, the bullets, and the long drive to Kentucky.
Her keen Lycan senses immediate picked up the pine-scent in the air, and of course, that of the rum, spices and leather.
Eli was behind her, one heavy arm slung across her waist, his breathing deep and even.
She relaxed, pushing back to snuggle deeper against him.
I wish we could stay like this forever.
A shrill ring cut through her thoughts.
Untangling herself from Eli, she padded to the kitchenette in bare feet. An old-fashioned landline hung on the wall. She picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Oh, thank God.” Isabelle sounded relieved. “I was about to send someone over. No one’s heard from you since yesterday, and we were starting to worry.”
Olivia glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly noon. “We’re fine. We just passed out.”
“That makes sense. You looked like you could barely stand when you got here.” There was a crash in the background, followed by a toddler’s squeal. “Evan, put that down. Sorry. Listen, why don’t you come over for lunch? I’m sure you’re hardly in the mood to cook now.”
No, she was not. “That sounds great, actually.”
“Bo will come get you in about thirty minutes. Our place is a bit of a walk from there and I doubt you know the roads yet.”
Olivia thanked her and hung up. When she turned around, Eli was propped up on one elbow, watching her with those mossy green eyes.
“Who was that?” His voice was still rough from sleep.
“That was Isabelle. She’s invited us for lunch. Someone named Bo is picking us up in thirty minutes.”
He glanced down at the empty spot next to him on the bed. “So. Thirty minutes.”
“Twenty-five now.” Still, heat coiled in her belly.
“I can work with twenty-five.”
As it turned out, he could work with considerably less than that.
Twenty-five minutes and a very fast shower later, they were dressed and standing on the porch when a rusty Ford pickup truck rumbled up the gravel path, stopping right at their porch, the windows rolling down.
The man behind the wheel was in his fifties, maybe older, with thick forearms and salt-and-pepper hair.
“You must be our guests.” His smile deepened the wrinkles on his weathered face. “I’m Bo. Isabelle sent me.”
Olivia introduced herself and Eli, then climbed into the truck.
Bo drove them past the other cabins, making easy conversation along the way.
The truck rumbled along, easing up a gentle hill, and further into the private part of the property.
The lone cabin there was larger than the others, with a wraparound porch and set against the breathtaking view of the mountains behind it.