Chapter 43
“Too soon. It’s too soon,” Jamie’s wolf lamented.
“We don’t have much of a choice,” Jamie silently responded. His vision went fuzzy momentarily before he forced himself to focus on the face right in front of him. Aiden. He needed his support, and Jamie needed to be strong for him. He wouldn’t be a burden. He wouldn’t be weak. His gaze dropped, and he was surprised to observe he still had Aiden’s forearms in a vice-like grip. He followed those forearms back up and to Aiden’s face. His jaw was tight, and the skin around his eyes was pulled taut. His eyes were searching.
“Jamie, I’m here getting these people out. I’ll take them to the Jensens’ house. The others are there,” Leah spoke into his mind.
“Good. Bring them all,” Jamie answered. “There’s a bear shifter up front here with Aiden and me.”
“Send him down with the others.”
Screech! Screech!
The noise was so loud Jamie had to force himself not to cover his ears with his hands. He turned to the bear shifter. “Go turn off all the lights.” When the man didn’t budge, he added “Now!”
The man shook his head. “Got it.” The man was off, moving with the speed of a much younger human.
“Then get yourself in the back with the others. Our friend’ll be coming to take you somewhere safe.”
Jamie forced any trace of uncertainty from his expression and swung his gaze to Aiden. He kept his voice low. “Leah’s moving everyone out right now. Let’s push some tables and chairs up against the glass. Then we’ll make a plan.”
Aiden’s eyes were still unfocused.
“Help him,” his wolf snapped.
“Aiden, let’s move!”
That did it. Aiden blinked twice and then moved toward the tables in the center of the room. They moved as many tables as they could fit up on their sides in front of the large glass front window. There remained a small, uncovered square of glass they could peek through to see what was happening outside.
Jamie positioned himself against the wall next to the window and adjusted his view so he could see what was happening.
“Hey,” Aiden said. “Get away from there!”
“I’m just trying to see if it’s him.” The sky was darker than it should have been for morning, but there was nothing flying in the skies that he could see.
“Jamie, they’re all out and safely at Heath’s parents’ place. Call me back when you want an evac for you and Aiden.”
Jamie turned his head toward Aiden. “Leah just messaged me. She got them all out. It’s just us left.”
Screech! Screech!
“Ahh!” Jamie jolted back about a foot. That sounded too close. “Hey!” he yelped as Aiden yanked him away from the window and into his arms.
“I told you to get back,” Aiden huffed.
“I was just trying to see where he is,” he muttered. Aiden’s arms were wrapped tightly around him, his back to Aiden’s front. He wriggled, but Aiden refused to budge.
“Stop it. Just stay still. I need to think,” he said.
Screech! Screech!
“Are you sure that’s your Dad? You haven’t made that sound before.”
Aiden sighed loudly. “Pretty sure. That sound is making my phoenix go crazy. He’s trying to get out. He wants to fight.” He groaned. “I’m holding him back, but it’s hard.”
Jamie leaned back against his mate, resting his head against his neck. “Please stay calm for him,” Jamie said silently to Aiden’s phoenix.
He felt the beast’s anger within Aiden. He was enraged.
“What do you think your dad wants?” Jamie asked.
Screech !!!!… Screech !!!!
“Destruction?”
Jamie turned enough so he could see Aiden’s face. “No, I mean why now? Why attack in the middle of the morning instead of at night? Why today?”
Aiden frowned. “I don’t know. Another distraction?”
“We need to get out of here. I’ll ask Leah to—”
Whoosh!
A wall of bright orange and white flames appeared in front of them right where the front wall of the diner used to be. The gray-orange sky was clearly visible where the diner’s structure had been incinerated.
Before he could make sense of what he was seeing, his view went crimson.
Jamie sucked in a breath. He blinked slowly and gasped. A wall of bright red feathers was positioned in front of him like a shield. He lifted his head to see a partially shifted Aiden scowling at the flames. His right arm was shifted into his beast’s wing and his eyes were bright yellow; the remainder of his body remained human. The flames didn’t touch Aiden, but they were very close.
“Leah, come get us now,” Jamie pleaded.
“Just finishing up a quick side mission first,” Leah said.
Side mission? What was she talking about?
“Leah?” Aiden snarled, his voice a mix of his two halves. Flames licked up above the top of his wing. Aiden hissed.
So weird. The heat coming off the white-hot flames should have felt hot, but they didn’t, at least not to Jamie. “She’s coming,” he croaked. Aiden cupped the edge of his wing over Jamie’s head. “You OK?”
Whoosh! Another wall of flames appeared behind them.
They were being flanked. “We could really use an evac right now, Leah,” he murmured silently to her.
“What?” Aiden whispered.
“The flames? Do they hurt?”
Aiden frowned. “Yeah. Stings like a mother. If I were human, it’d hurt a hell of a lot more.” His eyes darted around the remains of the diner, scanning. “Where is she?”
“She—she—”
Pop!
Leah appeared hunched over at Aiden’s more human side. She no sooner placed a hand on Jamie’s shoulder before he heard another pop and his vision went black.