She felt the force of his frustration beat against him before he was slowly stepping back.
“Is it worth the sacrifice?” he demanded.
“Most of the time,” she muttered, her gaze still on the sleeping child, a wistful longing settling in her soul.
“Does it have to be a choice?”
Her decision to break all ties with family and friends had been a personal choice, not a moral or legal necessity. But she’d never second-guessed herself.
Or at least, she’d never admitted she questioned what might be....
“Yes,” she said, turning her head to meet Wolfe’s searing gaze.
He scowled, his expression hardening at her refusal to even consider a different choice.
“I need to get my shit together,” he muttered, whirling around to head for the door.
Lana knew his “shit” meant the dozen weapons he would have strapped to his body before he traveled to the Brotherhood compound.
Once again she was struck by a strange prickle of premonition.
“I wish you wouldn’t go, Wolfe” she said, the words clipped. “I have a bad feeling.”
He continued toward the door, his sleek form almost lost among the shadows.
“You have your job and I have mine.”
She grimaced, unable to argue. It was his decision who should be in charge of the raid on the Brotherhood compound.
“True.”
He halted at the door, glancing over his shoulder with an unreadable expression.
“Lana.”
“What?”
“You’re exhausted. Give Molly a kiss and go to bed,” he commanded.
She rolled her eyes, torn between the desire to scorch his fine ass with a blast of magic, or grab him by his hair and kiss him senseless.
In the end, she watched in silence as he walked away.
Chapter Fourteen
Kaede glanced around the group of males who seemed to take up far more space than was reasonable.
He’d gotten the text from Wolfe an hour ago that he was arriving with a few of his friends and demanding that Kaede meet them just beyond the perimeter of the ranch. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it hadn’t been the two dozen Sentinels who were dressed in black to blend into the night.
They ranged in size from extra-large to overly massive, with enough power to send tremors through the ground and heat the air. And all of them had a variety of lethal weapons strapped to their bodies. Kaede grimaced, feeling as if he were drowning in testosterone.
The Tagos clearly wasn’t there to screw around.
“Have you ever heard the term ‘overkill’?” he couldn’t resist taunting.
Wolfe stepped forward, the moonlight shimmering off the streak of silver in his hair.
“Don’t push my buttons,” the older man growled, the air prickling with warning. “If I had my way you would be locked in my dungeons.”
Kaede’s lips twitched. A wise male would avoid pissing off the Tagos. Wolfe could easily have him arrested and even executed if he decided he wanted to be rid of an aggravating enforcer.
Kaede, however, had a pathological need to mock authority.
“I thought the dungeons belonged to the lovely Lana?” he drawled.
Wolfe reached out with blinding speed, wrapping his fingers around Kaede’s throat.
“She’s the Mave,” he rasped, his fingers tightening until Kaede grunted in pain. “I hear her name on your lips again and I’ll rip them off. Got it?”
Kaede gave a grudging nod, sucking in a deep breath when Wolfe released his punishing grip. Still, he couldn’t resist one last jab.
“I sense a little frustration, Tagos,” he murmured.
The older man ignored his taunt, his expression hard as he pointed toward the nearby ranch.
“Tell me about the compound.”
Kaede instantly crouched down, his mocking smile fading as he concentrated on business.
Bas needed him to work with Valhalla.
For now, he would play nice.
“This is the bunkhouse and chow hall,” he said, using his finger to draw a map in the dust. Despite the darkness, each of the Sentinels would easily be able to see what he was creating. “That’s where the majority of the Brothers are located. There are six stationed guards.” He moved his finger to make a series of Xs to represent each sentry.
The men crowded around, each memorizing the layout of the compound.
“Weapons?” Wolfe at last demanded.
Kaede circled an area in the middle of the map. “In the training center.”
“What kind?”
“Mostly garden variety,” Kaede said. After he’d left Stella, he’d done a more thorough exploration of the area, including the locked rooms where they kept their guns. “A few high-powered rifles and a couple grenade launchers.”
Wolfe cocked a dark brow. “That’s all?”
“I’m not sure,” Kaede admitted, standing upright to point toward the rolling hills at the north side of the property.
“There are abandoned mines on the opposite side of the lake.”
Wolfe narrowed his gaze. “That must be where Myst was held.”
Kaede clenched his hands. The mere thought of the delicate female being tossed into a pit like she was nothing more than a piece of trash made him want to kill someone.
Slowly, and with as much pain as possible.
“Yeah. Bastards,” he muttered. “They told me it’s where they keep their hostages.”
Wolfe sent him a puzzled frown. “And?”
“And I managed to get close enough to be confident that there are no current prisoners,” he said. “So why do they have two Brothers on constant guard duty?”
“There must be something of value they’re protecting.” Wolfe easily leapt to the same conclusion as Kaede. “Weapons?”
“That would be my guess.”
Wolfe grimaced before turning his attention to the other possible threats.
“What about the leader?”
Kaede swept his hand toward the A-frame structure that was barely visible.
“As far as I can tell, Stella rarely leaves her house. She’s more of an opportunist than a true believer.”
Wolfe nodded. “How many guards?”
“I only sensed one.”
“Inside?”
“Nope. He’s stationed on the outside of the gate.”
Wolfe looked predictably confused. “She doesn’t trust her own men?”
“It could be that,” Kaede said with a shrug. “Or she doesn’t want any of them to guess she’s using a high-blood lover as her source of information.”
“True.” The Tagos gave a humorless laugh. “It’s always better PR to claim you have a direct link to God than admit you’re screwing the enemy,” he said, his voice thick with disdain. Whether it was directed at the leader of the Brotherhood or the traitorous clairvoyant was impossible to say. “Is she going to be a problem?”
Kaede hesitated before giving a shake of his head. He’d only spent a few minutes in Stella’s company, but he’d sensed she was the sort of female who was willing to sacrifice others while making sure her own pretty neck was never in danger.
“No.”
“What about the clairvoyant?” Wolfe demanded.
Kaede shrugged. “He was at a distance, but I couldn’t detect any unusual powers. He shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Weapons?”
“Impossible to say,” Kaede admitted. “I didn’t get inside the house.”
Wolfe considered his options in silence, then with concise movements he pivoted toward his warriors.
“Niko, take your crew and round up the Brothers,” he commanded. Instantly a tall, dark-haired hunter Sentinel turned to melt into the darkness, taking a dozen of the males with him. Wolfe pointed toward the young male with honey curls and golden eyes. “Arel, you’re on the weapons.” Wolfe waited for the group of six to head in the direction of the lake before he glanced a
t the remaining warriors. “The rest with me.”
The males instantly started to jog toward the A-frame house. Silently, Kaede fell into step beside them.
Or at least that was his intention.
He’d gone less than a hundred feet when his arm was grabbed by a ruthless hand that brought him to a halt. There was another tug and suddenly he was turned to meet Wolfe’s dark gaze.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the older man asked.
“I want my hands on the clairvoyant,” Kaede readily confessed.
Wolfe studied his grim expression. “Is this personal?”
Kaede didn’t hesitate. “Of course it’s personal,” he snapped. “I love Molly like she’s my own daughter.” He’d been a hard-ass enforcer who didn’t allow anyone to sneak past his guard. But the second Bas had settled the little girl in his arms . . . hell, he’d been a goner. “I’ll kill anyone who puts her mother in danger.”
Wolfe’s lips twitched. “Molly seems to have a magical ability to steal the hearts of others,” he muttered. “Not even the Mave is immune.”
Kaede gave a lift of his shoulder. “The world’s a better place because she’s in it.”
“I can’t argue with that,” Wolfe said, “but—”
“Shit,” Kaede interrupted, his patience at an end. He wanted to be done with the Brotherhood so he could go in search of Bas. He had a really bad feeling about his friend. “Are we going to do this or not?”
“The clairvoyant is to be taken alive,” Wolfe warned.
“Why?” He didn’t bother to disguise his revulsion for the traitor. Kaede might not agree with becoming an obedient soldier for Valhalla, but he would never work with their enemies. “He can’t track Myst if he’s missing his head.”
“We need to know if the Brotherhood have any traps set for Bas,” Wolfe said.
“Yeah right.” Kaede gave a grunt of disbelief. “I was in the hotel room. You growled at Bas like a dog in heat every time he got near the Mave. You would be happy as hell if he walked into a trap.”
“You’re treading on dangerous ground, enforcer.”
Kaede ignored the pinpricks of pain that bit into his skin as Wolfe released his powers. He’d been trained by the monks to endure endless days of torture.
“Tell me the real reason,” he insisted.
Wolfe hesitated, then, astonishingly, he loosened his grip on Kaede and answered the question.
“If the clairvoyant had a glimpse of the future, then he might have seen the weapon that’s supposed to cause destruction in Valhalla.”
It was an angle Kaede hadn’t considered. Probably because it was almost impossible to imagine the tiny, silver-haired female being capable of producing a weapon that could destroy the high-blood stronghold.
Now he felt a chill inch down his spine.
“Will you kill her?”
A bleak expression settled on the lean face. “Only if there’s no other option.” With a sharp shake of his head, Wolfe headed after his warriors. “Let’s go.”
Kaede followed, making a silent promise to contact Bas.
There was no way in hell he’d let anyone harm Myst. Not when it would destroy the male he’d come to consider more a brother than an employer.
By the time they reached the A-frame the lone guard was lying unconscious on the ground, and the front door open. Kaede picked up his speed as he caught the unmistakable smell of blood.
Jogging up the open staircase, he followed the scent down the hallway and into a room that might have been large for a master bedroom, but wasn’t built to hold six Sentinels plus an enforcer. The air was choked with a sizzling heat and the floor groaned beneath the combined weight.
Kaede’s attention, however, locked on the female with thick auburn hair tumbled around her heart-shaped face. Wearing nothing more than a satin camisole and matching shorts, she looked like a man’s fantasy.
Until he caught the cold glitter in the dark blue eyes.
It reminded him of a snake about to strike.
At his entrance that flat gaze turned in his direction, the lush lips twisting.
“You.”
He shrugged, moving forward. “Hello, Stella.”
“I should have listened to Peter. He tried to warn me you couldn’t be trusted,” she sneered, acting as if she didn’t notice the mountain of lethal warriors who had invaded her house.
Kaede rolled his eyes. He had to admit she had balls of steel. “Where is dear Peter?”
She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m afraid he wasn’t prepared to face his punishment.”
Kaede stepped to the side, gaining a clear view of the floor on the opposite side of the bed. He grimaced at the sight of the male lying face down with a large hole in his head.
That explained the scent of blood.
“You’re saying he killed himself?” Kaede demanded in blatant disbelief.
She heaved a deep sigh that was as fake as her tits. “He was always weak.”
Wolfe made a sound of frustration, waving a hand toward the leader of the Brotherhood.
“Take her,” he growled.
Stella gave a toss of her head, not bothering to struggle as the nearest Sentinel grabbed her by the arm and roughly hauled her toward the door.
“You can imprison me, but you’ll never defeat our cause,” she called over her shoulder. “The Brotherhood will eventually prevail.”
Wolfe gave a shake of his head, glancing toward Kaede. “Is she always so clichéd?”
“No.” Kaede shook his head, a frown tugging at his brows. Something felt . . . off.
The woman had not only watched her years of scheming come to a dismal end, but she was headed toward the dungeons of Valhalla. A place that would make the toughest criminal shit their pants in fear.
So why wasn’t she crying? Or screaming? Or at least pleading for mercy?
Wolfe moved to stand directly in front of him. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” he muttered, unable to shake off his sense of unease. “But that happened way too easy.”
“Maybe I’m just that good,” Wolfe taunted.
Kaede glanced toward the dead clairvoyant. “Or maybe she’s plotting something.”
With a shrug, Wolfe headed toward the door. “We’ll find out once we have her locked in the dungeons at Valhalla.”
Kaede waited until the room had cleared of Sentinels before he was turning toward the windows to make his escape. He had no intention of following Wolfe back to Valhalla. The Tagos might currently be occupied with dealing with the Brotherhood and the fear Myst might create some mysterious weapon. But eventually he would remember that Kaede was an outlaw.
He intended to be far away when that happened.
Before he could find a way to open the windows, however, there was a prickle of heat and he turned to discover Wolfe standing in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest.
“Don’t even think about it, enforcer,” he growled. “For now we’re all in this together. That means you’re coming back to Valhalla with me.”
Kaede’s breath hissed through his teeth in frustration.
Well, hell.
* * *
Myst hammered her fists against Bas’s unyielding chest. She wasn’t usually a violent person. Actually, she didn’t think she’d ever struck anyone in her life. Not even the monsters who’d imprisoned her.
But in this moment she needed some way to vent her rising panic.
“Answer me, damn you,” she snapped, wishing she was strong enough to shake some sense into his thick head.
What was wrong with him? He wasn’t stupid. He knew that with every tick of the clock, the risk increased she would fulfill her horrifying vision.
And now Molly was at Valhalla.
She had to put an end to it now.
So why was he shaking his head, his hands lifting to grasp her tight fists in a gentle grip?
“No.” His voice was low, unyielding.
She trembled wit
h frustration. “Because you know I’m right.”
He shook his head, his ebony hair glowing with a satin luster in the afternoon sunlight.
“Because I won’t be baited.”
“Bas . . .” Her words ended in a shriek as he grabbed her around the waist and tossed her over his shoulder.
“This subject is closed,” he informed her, heading down the narrow road.
Shocked at being so easily manhandled, Myst smacked her fists against his lower back, grimacing as she nearly broke her fingers.
“What are you doing?” she snarled.
He tightened his hold on her legs, picking up speed. “We’ve attracted the attention of the locals,” he muttered. “We need to get out of here.”
Her anger transformed to fear as she lifted her head to see the two men who were standing in the center of the road. They were shouting and waving their hands at someone behind the stone wall surrounding the village.
The Brotherhood?
She’d stupidly assumed she and Bas had managed to shake them, but now she felt a sick fear twist her stomach.
“I think someone is following us,” she rasped, watching in horror as a group of men charged out of the gate and headed in their direction.
“Shit,” Bas breathed. “We need a car.”
Leaving the road, Bas headed into the thick woods that had replaced the vineyards. It slowed their pace, but they were soon hidden from their pursuers.
Myst wrapped her arms around his waist, trying to keep her head from banging into his back. She was growing dizzy as he leaped over fallen trees and weaved between the thickening undergrowth, but she didn’t want him to stop long enough to let her down.
Nearly a half an hour later he came to a halt, his eyes narrowed as he studied the farm that was built on the banks of the nearby river.
At a distance it was impossible to see if there were any handy vehicles, but the farmhouse, with its red-tiled roof and painted shutters, was well tended, which meant there had to be someone currently living there. And the nearby stone barn was large enough to hold an assortment of farm equipment. Surely they had to have a truck?
Obviously coming to the same conclusion, Bas lowered her behind a large oak tree and brushed back her hair with gentle hands.
“Wait here while I check things out.”
She shook her head. It was ridiculous. She’d done her best to escape him, but now she couldn’t shake the fear that something very bad was going to happen if they split up.