Chapter Twenty-Six
Rip
“Does that mean what I think it means?” I asked, jumping to my feet and getting dressed in a flurry as I flung Laurie’s clothes to her.
“If you think it means something came through the front gate by force, then yes,” she said.
“Eric,” I surmised, shaking my head. “He’s getting desperate.”
“This will not end well for him,” Laurie pointed out. “The house is basically a bunker, and several of the grounds crew are … not just gardeners. Unless he’s using substantially better hardware, it’ll get ugly.”
My respect for her father went up another notch. I didn’t tell Laurie it wouldn’t matter even if Eric had brought that sort of backup. Nothing they had could prevent me from stopping them before they attacked.
Except not getting there in time.
“Come on,” I said, taking her hand and pulling her after me. “We have to go. Now.”
“Where? The house is locked down. The windows are extremely thick bullet-proof glass. The doors are reinforced with blast-proof metal. Locks have been engaged at the alert. There’s nothing to do.”
“I need to know what’s going on,” I said, not giving up.
“I’m not dressed yet,” she said, struggling to turn her shirt right-side out. “I’m not showing up in just a bra. My father doesn’t need to know what just happened.”
“I suppose not,” I agreed, briefly reminded of how she’d cleaned me off. I’d never experienced that before, and it was a memory that would stick with me for the rest of my life. That was hot, not to mention unexpected and unnecessary.
But fucking hot how her tongue had removed all traces of our activities, not just from my cock, but from all around it. I growled, my dick twitching from the memory.
This woman was absolutely perfect for me, and I vowed I would never do anything to lose her.
“Okay, let’s go,” she said after a delay that had my foot nearly tapping the floor with impatience.
I had to remember she was a human, and she had slower reflexes than I did. We raced up the stairs toward the front door, hand in hand.
A crowd had gathered, including her parents, the elderly man with the glasses who had accosted me on my first “intrusion,” and two men with automatic rifles who stood apart from the trio.
Her dad turned at our approach, taking note of our clasped hands. Laurie noted his pointed stare as well and let go of me.
The elderly man sized me up as well, and I saw him sniff slightly, but he nodded a greeting. I offered a similar nod. There was no need for words. He’d told me I’d better not hurt Laurie, and I’d said I would never do such a thing. An uneasy truce had been established.
“What is it?” Laurie asked as we entered the circle.
“An SUV crashed through the gates,” her father said, holding up a tablet that showed the driveway.
I frowned. “Can I see?” I asked somewhat sharply.
Mark looked at me, then shrugged. “Sure.”
I took the tablet, staring hard at the image on the screen. It was black and white, and with the snow coming down as hard as it was, it was difficult to make out the driver.
A gust of wind cleared the screen for a brief moment. The driver was obscured, but I noted something and sighed.
“Here,” I said, handing the tablet back. “No need to be alarmed. We’re not under attack. You can all relax.”
“We’re not?” Mark asked.
His two armed guards continued to watch the front warily. I upped my estimation of the quality of bodyguards the Stiller patriarch had hired.
“No. That is my, ah, assistant, I guess. You aren’t under any threat,” I said.
“Then why did he break through the gate?” Mark asked.
“That,” I said cautiously, “is a very good question. We will, of course, pay for the damages. But I can only imagine the reason is a good one. I will meet him. You all can stay here.”
I strode to the front door, but it wouldn’t open.
I glanced back at Mark, who was still evaluating me.
I could tell he expected me to explain, but I had no intention of doing so.
Whatever had brought Eb there was related to dragons, which was not a topic I would broach with any of them yet. Not even Laurie.
“Very well,” Mark said after a minute, gesturing at one of his men. “Open the door.”
One of them marched to a cleverly concealed keypad and entered a code. Several heavy thuds could be heard within the doors, and then the man nodded at me.
I swung the door open and slipped outside, closing it swiftly, so a minimal amount of snow and cold wind blew inside. Then I started jogging through the snow that was already halfway up my shins, hitting my knee. It really was coming down hard.
The cold didn’t bother me, but it was irritating to have to slog through the snow. It would have been much easier to walk on top of it, but that sort of trick was out of the question, given Mark’s video cameras.
It didn’t take long for the car to come into view.
“Hello, Eb,” I said, sliding into the passenger seat after he’d seen me in the headlights. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Fetching you, sir,” Eb said, starting to turn the SUV around, its tires crunching through the snow.
“Stop the vehicle,” I ordered. “And let me know where the hell we’re going and why?”
“To the Tidal Estates, sir. The Rift back to the realm. They need you there immediately. They struck again. It’s bad. Lord Crest is seriously wounded, sir, and the Bastion is under imminent attack.”
I swore mightily. That was bad. Very bad.
Glancing over my shoulder, I stared at the house, the front of it only vaguely visible through the snowstorm, and that was only because of the lights. I couldn’t just leave. Not without telling Laurie I was going. Nor did I want to leave her.
Shit.
“Take me to the house,” I said.
“Sir …” Eb protested.
“Now,” I ordered.
The SUV reversed course and resumed its trudge up the driveway to the house, Eb sullenly at the wheel, making his thoughts on the matter clear.
We arrived at the front door, and I dashed up the stairs. The door opened, and I slipped inside.
“I do apologize for this,” I said with a smile, taking Laurie by the elbow and pulling her away from everyone.
“What is going on, Rip?”
“I have to go,” I said.
“Now?” she asked. “In the middle of the night? We had so much more to talk about.”
“Unfortunately, yes,” I said, not happy about missing out on more time with my mate to discuss our future. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but I must. There’s no time.”
“You realize how sketchy that looks,” she pointed out.
“I do,” I said, looking at the door. “But I must go right now.”
“Okay.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, turning to go. Then I paused.
This is crazy. Don’t do it.
“Come with me,” I said, looking back at her, stretching out a hand.
She’s not ready for this.
I shoved that aside.
“W-where?” she asked nervously, fully aware her family was watching our conversations and making lots of assumptions about it.
“My house.”
“The city?” she asked.
“No. I have a place outside the city. Like this. Come with me.”
“The weather …”
“Laurie,” I said somewhat sternly. “I have to go now. The choice is yours. Are you coming with me or not?”