Chapter 66 Maddy
MADDY
Nothing could get me to relax. The whole day had been one giant stressful slog. Part of me felt like I was in purgatory, like I’d died and was now stuck in this one day, reliving it over and over again, never getting closure.
Carlos and Julia had done all they could to keep my mind off the mission.
Julia and I had spent the whole day baking, and she’d shown me how to make a bunch of different recipes—yeast bread, empanada dough, homemade donuts, and biscuits, among other things.
The guys would be coming home to one hell of a feast. I did all I could to convince myself that they would be back.
There was only so much cooking you could do, though.
After dinner, Carlos had spent a couple of hours telling me stories about Nico and his brothers when they’d been young.
The stupid things he’d done, the broken bones and scraped knees.
It had been a fun diversion, but even then, we were talking about Nico.
My mind kept slipping away from the young Nico of the stories to the grown man who was halfway across the country trying to save everyone I held dear.
I knew they couldn't help it, but having his parents here with me made me think of my own mother and father, who’d been kidnapped. The stress was almost enough to make my skin crawl. Even my wolf was pacing nervously around inside my mind, waiting to hear the news.
I’d used all my remaining strength to try and push thoughts of Mom, Dad, and Abi out of my mind.
If I dwelt on it too much, I’d become a mess—a non-functioning, debilitated, sobbing mess.
Between what was going on with my wolf and trying not to have an utter breakdown thinking about my family, I was completely exhausted all the time.
I wasn’t sure how some people went years with those kinds of mental walls built up.
A few weeks and I was about ready for a Valium prescription.
Midnight came and went. We were an hour ahead of Nico and his teams, which meant I had another hour to wait.
Carlos and Julia sat with me in the living room.
There was zero chance I’d ever get any sleep, so why even bother?
None of us were paying any attention to the movie on the television, each of us lost in thought.
At one a.m., the tension became almost palpable.
Julia got up and began walking around the house, straightening up and cleaning.
Carlos had a small pocket watch that he kept snapping open and closed—a nervous tic. I looked at him and asked, “How long until we hear?”
He sighed. “No telling. The rescues should take less than fifteen minutes if all goes well. They’ll need to extract, though. Get to safety. Who knows? An hour? Maybe two?” He gave a sad shake of his head. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
The minutes dragged on and on. My eyes continued to flick toward the clock on the wall. Fifteen minutes. Then half an hour. Still no word. After forty-five minutes, I stood and joined my wolf, pacing in the real world instead of just my head.
At five minutes to two, my cell phone rang. I yelped, and both Julia and Carlos gasped. I nearly tripped over my feet as I ran to the coffee table to snatch up my phone.
“Hello? Nico?” My voice was high-pitched and panicked.
“It’s me.” He sounded exhausted, but I almost collapsed in relief at the sound of his voice. “I’m safe. I’ve got your mom. She’s alive. I think they drugged her because she’s a bit out of it.”
I burst into tears. I couldn’t help it. Hearing that Mom was okay was too much. All the hope, worry, and terror I’d kept bottled up inside were too much to keep in. I was sobbing like a child, and I couldn’t stop.
“It’s okay,” Nico said, his voice a hushed coo. “Babe, it’s all right. Calm down.”
He did his best to settle me down. My sleeve was wet from wiping tears and snot off my face, but I finally managed to get myself under control. “How is everyone else?” I asked. “Daddy? Abi?”
“I don’t know. No word from the others yet,” Nico said.
That didn’t help my anxiety. Could they have run into trouble? Had things gone poorly for the other teams?
“Do you think they’re okay?”
Nico blew out a breath. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m a little worried.
We had a bit of an issue getting your mom out, Felipe got hurt pretty bad, and we still were on the road less than twenty minutes after we pulled up at the house.
We’re at a shifter clinic just outside Chicago right now, waiting on word.
I’m not sure what’s taking the others so long.
I have to believe they were successful. They had—” His voice froze mid-sentence.
“Hang on, Maddy. I’m getting a call. It’s Sebastian. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
I almost cried out in anger and frustration. So much hung in the balance. All I wanted was to know. For the hundredth time, I wished I could have gone with them.
Julia touched my arm gently. “Nico? Diego?”
I nodded. “He’s good, sounds like they both are. Felipe was hurt, but he didn’t say anything about his brother. I think they’re both fine.”
“Praise God,” Carlos muttered behind us.
My phone chimed that I had a text message. It was from Nico:
Abi is alive and safe. Sebastian has her.
I hugged my phone to my chest, fresh tears streaming down my cheeks.
This time I did lower myself to my knees.
Abi was okay. My best friend was alive and protected.
Two of the three were okay. As happy and relieved as I was, I knew true peace wouldn't come until I knew whether or not my father was safe.
Carlos and Julia knelt on the ground beside me, wrapping me in their arms. I reminded myself again that they still had other sons out there in harm’s way. They were as invested in this as I was. I reached up and put an arm around each of them, trying to offer them some semblance of comfort.
Twenty minutes later, I had composed myself enough to begin pacing again.
Carlos and Julia both had worry in their eyes.
It had been too long. Why wasn’t there news from the third group?
What could have happened? I texted Nico every three minutes, asking if he’d heard.
Each response was the same. Nothing. I should have been overjoyed that Abi and my mother were safe, but I needed more.
My daddy was still out there, along with Nico’s family and friends.
Julia and Carlos were sitting on the couch, holding hands, and I was standing at the kitchen counter when I felt it—a sudden and intense sense of foreboding.
The feeling was so intense that the hair on the back of my neck rose.
Something bad was going to happen. I glanced at my phone, thinking it was going to be a phone call.
Was Nico going to call and tell me my father hadn’t survived?
Or that one of his brothers had been killed trying to save my family?
Run!
I blinked. The thought had come from so deep inside my mind it was almost too hard to understand.
Run! Run! Run!
My wolf? She was screaming at me. I could feel her panic, almost hysteria.
She wanted me to run. Something was coming here.
Right now. I trusted her instincts and bolted, my feet slapping on the tile.
I ran toward the stairs, remembering Nico’s safe room.
If I could get there and lock the door, I’d be safe from anything.
I slid to a stop at the base of the stairs, at the last instant, remembering Nico’s parents. “Julia? Carlos? Follow—”
My words were cut off by a heavy crash at the door.
I heard yelling voices and ran. I was too far away to help them.
All I could do was run for my life. My feet moved so fast I was afraid I would trip and fall, ending my escape.
I turned the corner and ran into the bedroom.
At the far side of the room, I slid the false bookshelf out of the way and opened the heavy vault-like door.
I climbed in and turned to close the door.
A man in black fatigues and a balaclava was running into the bedroom.
He’d been right behind me! An icy finger of abject terror stabbed into my chest as he turned and saw me.
His eyes widened in surprise, and I tugged the heavy door shut as he started running toward me.
I slammed my hand on the big red button that read: Secure.
The locks latched, and I sucked in panicked breaths as the light above automatically turned on, along with the small video panel to the left.
The man outside was banging on the door, but it was so thick that it sounded like he was miles away.
I glanced at it, covering my mouth with my hand when I saw what was transpiring in the living room.
Julia and Carlos had shifted to their wolf forms and were stalking around the room.
One of the black-clad figures was on the ground bleeding, but Carlos was holding up his front forepaw like he’d been hurt.
I didn’t hear any blasting gunfire through the speakers, but I did hear the thap-thap of silenced weapons.
Glancing quickly at the other cameras, I saw there were three black SUVs outside the house.
How had they gotten into the Lorenzo compound?
I saw another video feed from the front gate of the community.
A man lay unmoving on the ground. I clasped a hand to my mouth.
Tears tracked down my cheeks. But they weren’t tears of sadness—no, they were tears of terror.
The royals were here, and they were going to take me.
There were two yelps of pain, and I glanced again at the living room camera. My blood ran cold as I saw Julia and Carlos collapse to the floor, their forms still and unmoving. Were they dead? Dear God, had Nico’s parents died to protect me? I prayed that I was wrong.