Cole’s Redemption (18 page)

His heart sank. It seemed they were at a stalemate on the issue, and he didn’t know
how to ease her fear, short of going against his own beliefs. “Baby, please. I can’t
stand by and condemn someone to death if it’s in my power to prevent it. If I could,
I wouldn’t be a man you could respect at all.” Much less love. And he hoped one day
she would, though he didn’t voice it.

Thankfully, her face softened and she released a long breath. “I know. God, this is
so hard. I don’t want you anywhere near the fighting, but that’s who you are—a tough
Navy SEAL turned wolf shifter and Healer. Something tells me the waiting and worrying
doesn’t get any easier.”

“Probably not. This is where you have to trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

She was silent for a long moment, and finally she nodded. “Okay. I’m afraid, but I
do
trust you. I want to prove that to you.”

“Sweetheart, it’s not about proving anything to me.” Unable to help himself, he kissed
her slowly. Then he drew back and curved his lips in a smile. “Whatever comes, we
take it on together. All right?”

She made an attempt to relax. “Yeah.”

That night, when they made love, it was beautiful. Intense. Zan poured his soul into
loving her, and afterward whispered the words that meant so much to him. She still
didn’t say them back, and he tried not to be disappointed. He knew she cared for him.
That much was obvious from how scared she was for him.

I don’t need the words.

But it sure would be nice to hear them. Just once in my life.

He told himself to be patient. They had time. There wasn’t any need to rush something
so good, so right.

If only he’d remembered the lesson he learned in Afghanistan—that life is brief and
time waits for no man or beast.

The next evening, he gathered with his team and a few of the prince’s best men near
the front entrance to the stronghold. They agreed to take several SUVs since not everyone
could teleport and they preferred to remain together.

“Remember, this is a seek-and-destroy mission,” Nick called loudly, making sure all
the men could hear him. “Recon first, assess the situation, and then take them down.”

Tarron broke in. “We want Darrow alive.” This was met with widespread disapproval.
“We need to question him about what he knows, and after we’re satisfied, he will be
put to death for his crimes. You have our word.”

Grimly, Nick gave a nod. “Let’s go!”

Zan hugged Selene to him tightly, then set her back. “Be back as soon as I can, baby.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

She smiled, trying to be brave, but her eyes were moist. He hated leaving her, but
they’d talked about this. He saw in her face that she understood, but she wasn’t happy.

With a last kiss, he got into the SUV that Ryon was driving, in the middle seat next
to Phoenix. Jax got into the front. He didn’t see where the other members of both
teams chose to ride—his mind was too occupied with how they were going to get this
mission done quickly, with a minimum of bloodshed.

Right.

“Selene didn’t look too thrilled with you leaving,” Nix remarked, breaking into his
thoughts.

“About as happy as Noah looked just a minute ago.”

“Shit, that’s the truth.”

“Trouble in paradise already?”

“Not as far as my being in the field, but . . .” He shrugged, his normally bright,
cocky smile noticeably absent. “It’s not easy, you know?”

“What’s not?” But he had a good idea. So did the occupants in the front of the vehicle,
if their exchanged glances were any indication.

“I always thought my mate would be a woman,” he said quietly.

Oh, boy. So the man wasn’t quite as nonchalant about that fact as he appeared. “How
does Noah feel about having a wolf shifter for a mate?”

Nix snorted. “Are you kidding? He’s ready to order a rainbow wedding cake and line
up bridesmaids.” That drew some snickers from the front. “Shut up, assholes. You guys
got the ladies of your dreams.”

“So, what?” Zan pressed. “You feel cheated?”

That word seemed to startle their friend, and he practically bristled. “No, that’s
not what I meant. It’s just different than I expected. Noah has a good soul, and he’s
one of the best people I know.”

There. That was more like a mate defending what was his.

“I know that. I was just wondering if
you
did.”

After that, they let the subject drop. They rode in near silence, the tension growing
as it always did the closer they got to a dangerous target.

All too soon, the vehicle stopped, and Ryon turned off the ignition.

Time to bag a rogue. His mate was waiting for him to return to her arms.

T
he Pack’s first move was to bring Kalen forward to do his thing.

All eyes, including Zan’s, were on the Sorcerer as he summoned his staff and closed
his eyes, his body going very still. Then he uttered a few words in Latin, the sound
of his voice almost musical. Zan thought it was so cool how the guy did that and found
himself a little envious of the man’s gift.

“That is fuckin’ awesome,” Micah whispered from beside him.

“No shit,” one of the vampire soldiers replied, eyes wide. “Even
I
wouldn’t fuck with that dude.”

Another vamp arched a brow. “Right?”

Yeah, a Goth guy all in black, right down to the ankle-length leather duster, who
could actually turn you into a toad tended to impress people.

In moments Kalen was done, and he turned to the group at large. “I placed a cloak
of invisibility around us as far as the humans are concerned, and the good news is
there aren’t many. I’m thinking they were probably compelled to leave. The bad news
is the cloaking spell won’t work on the rogues.” He appeared troubled. “They’ll see
us the second we move in, if they haven’t already.”

Nick swore. “Then we need to move in fast to press whatever advantage we’ve got before
it’s gone. Get into position.”

“One more thing,” Kalen told them. “I unlocked the side and back entrances as well
as all the interior doors to the rooms so we can go in quietly.”

“Good job,” Nick said.

Tarron motioned for his men to go, and they all spread out to surround the motel.
Zan headed for the back of the complex, along with Micah, Nick, Hammer, Jax, and Phoenix.
Last-minute intelligence gathered from one of Tarron’s men showed that the rogues
were concentrated at this end of the building, on the lower floor. Thank God for small
favors. Their job would be hard enough without the creeps filling the whole motel.

There was scant cover, so they hurried to the outer wall and flattened themselves
against it, near the back entrance. The door normally required a card key, but Nick
pulled on the handle and the door opened, just as Kalen had claimed it would. He slipped
inside first, Zan and the rest after him.

The first thing that struck his notice was that the inside was like a tomb—and in
more ways than just the dead silence. The interior was dark. Lightbulbs were out,
either naturally or unscrewed, in a few of the hallway sconces. He figured the rogues
were trying to even the odds, make it harder for their enemies to see what was coming.
There was also a bad smell permeating the air. Like stale garbage and rotten eggs.
And old blood.

His stomach turned, and his wolf let out a low growl of disgust. He didn’t know how
any vampire could choose this life, one of death and stink. Killing and hiding, rinse
and repeat. It didn’t make sense to him how any creature derived pleasure from causing
suffering and death.

Moving fast, they split up and started a room-to-room search. Once again Kalen had
come through, as none of the doors were locked. Zan simply twisted the handle and
went inside the first room—only to find it empty.

Puzzled, he went through the small space in a matter of seconds, checking the bathroom
as well. Nothing. Conscious of the possibility of an ambush from above, he even checked
the ceiling, but found nothing unusual. There was nobody here.

He repeated the process along with Nick and the others, their search turning up no
trace of rogues as they progressed. Other than the stench indicating they’d once been
there, that is.

“Someone must’ve warned them we were coming,” Nick said, obviously pissed. “Goddammit!”

“Who?” Zan wondered aloud. “Nobody knew the plan but us!”

“Except Grant.” The words caused their whole group to freeze.

Zan shoved a hand through his hair. “You don’t really think he’s involved, do you?”

“No. But someone close to him is, which supports what Daria’s uncle told us—someone
in our own government is fucking us over.”

“No,
really
?” Micah retorted sarcastically. “And that would be different from any other day,
how?”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Come on. Let’s get this finished so we can get out of here
and figure out what to do next.”

Resuming the search, they checked the rest of the guest rooms on their wing and then
eventually ran into the teams coming from the opposite direction. Tarron reported
the same results, that they’d found no one. The whole scenario didn’t sit well with
the group.

The last areas to check were the office, the conference room, the laundry room and
workout room. As Zan and his team finished the office, one of the vampires jogged
up to them and gestured excitedly down one corridor.

“We found something weird in the laundry area. The prince wants you guys to take a
look.”

Following him, Zan exchanged a curious glance with Nick. In his experience, “something
weird” left in an abandoned building could not be a good thing. He was right.

As they entered the laundry room, Zan looked around at several industrial sized washers
and dryers. Big rolling carts were sitting along one wall, waiting to transport towels
and linens, and there were large cartons of detergent stacked nearby as well. But
what dominated the space were the two big, round metal drums sitting in the middle
of the concrete floor.

“Bleach?” Micah frowned, pointing at the block lettering on the drum. “Why would two
huge containers of bleach be sitting in the middle of the floor like this?”

Nick held up a hand. “Everybody stop talking and moving around. Listen.”

The room went quiet, and at first, Zan heard nothing. But gradually, a soft
tick, tick, tick
reached his ears. It was the one time he regretted that his hearing had returned.

Edging forward with Hammer, the commander carefully lifted a lid on one of the drums.
Zan joined him as he set it aside, and they all peered down. A tangle of wires and
a black box with a red digital readout met their shocked gazes. The numbers were counting
down.

14 . . . 13 . . . 12 . . .

“Shit!” Nick shouted. “Clear the fucking building! Go! Go!”

He and Zan stepped back and let the others out first. It was a sacrifice that would
cost them dearly.

They ran. Zan’s heart thundered in his chest as he sprinted for the outer doors, knowing
he wouldn’t be fast enough. He could see the exit, so close. Saw the rest of his Pack
and a group of vampires burst outside. He had a split second to feel relief that they’d
made it—

And then the force of the detonation hit him from behind, hurling him into the air.
He slammed into something hard, slid to the ground, the pain in his torso and skull
hardly registering through the noise. The building came down all around him, pinning
his body to the floor. All he could do was cover his head with his arms. Pray this
wasn’t the end.

He wanted to see his mate again.
Selene.

The word whispered through his mind, and he felt it connect with hers. He hadn’t meant
to actually reach out. He didn’t want her to be afraid, didn’t want her to be in his
head if he died. She was tough, but that would be too much.

Zan? What’s wrong? What’s happening?

It was a trap,
he sent to her.
There was a bomb and it went off. Baby, we need help.

Oh my God! Are you all right?

He paused, struggling to breathe through the dust and debris.

Zan?
Her voice in his mind was starting to panic.

I will be. I love you, baby.

Were you caught in the explosion?

I’m trapped. But I’ll keep until help comes.

You hang on. Do you hear me?

Yeah. Love you.

A buzzing started in his head, and his brain swam. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t
hold on to consciousness. With his mate’s cry of alarm fading, he went totally under.

•   •   •

Love you,
Zan said. He sounded tired, hoarse.

She started to reply, but felt him fade. “No!”

But the connection had been severed. Her heart leaped into her throat as panic threatened
to take over. She started to run from the room she shared with Zan, but realized she
was naked under one of her mate’s T-shirts. She had wanted to be ready to seduce him
when he returned. Now she just prayed he’d come back safe.

Quickly she dressed in jeans and one of her own T-shirts, and pulled on running shoes.
Then she dashed into the corridor, shouting for help. One of Tarron’s soldiers rounded
the corner, obviously seeking the source of concern.

“Get as many of your men together as you can,” she gasped, grabbing the man’s shoulders.
“They walked into a trap, and there was a bomb! Hurry!”

The soldier eyed her skeptically. “How do you know—”

“My mate is with them, and he contacted me through our link. Please, we have to go!”

“On it.” The vampire bolted in the opposite direction.

Heading for the wing that housed the infirmary, she poured on the preternatural speed.
In a matter of seconds, she reached the hospital, yelling at the top of her lungs.
“Noah! Melina!” As she shouted again, the two of them jogged from somewhere in the
back, followed by Victor Archer and a female nurse. The vampire doctor looked just
as alarmed as his own nurse and temporary staff.

“What is it?” Melina demanded, grabbing Selene’s arm.

“The men were led into a trap,” she informed them, pulse tripping. “There was a bomb
in the motel, and it detonated. They need help.”

Noah’s face turned white. “Nix.”

Melina snapped, “If you’re going to be of any assistance to your mate and the others,
you’ll have to keep it together. Can you do that?”

He nodded, making a visible effort to keep control. “I can.”

“Good.”

“We’ll take two ambulances and meet you all out front,” Victor said. “We need to hurry.”

Selene would have preferred to ride with them, but she needed to make sure the vampires
were mobilizing and let them know the medical staff was coming as well. She found
them out front, assembling and loading themselves and weapons into three vehicles.

Spotting the soldier she’d spoken to in the corridor just minutes ago, she marched
up to him. “Dr. Archer is coming around with their transports. I’m riding with you.”

He opened his mouth to possibly refuse, then reconsidered. “Fine. Just stay out of
the way when we get there.”

Like that would happen. But she wasn’t about to say that and risk being left behind.

The twenty-mile ride was the longest she’d ever endured. Every minute was fraught
with fear because that was another minute her mate was trapped in the rubble of the
motel. Unless the others had managed to dig him out.
Please, let him be safe!

But he hadn’t contacted her again, and that filled her with terror. Wouldn’t he have
let her know he’d been rescued? She knew the answer. As they pulled into the parking
lot and she got her first glimpse of the devastation, cold sickness gripped her stomach.
The building was in shambles, little more than the outer walls still standing. Vampires
and Pack team members were everywhere, tending to the injured.

She spotted Tarron and Jax first, standing at the edge of the debris field, bent over,
tossing aside bricks and Sheetrock. It struck her hard that they were looking for
more victims, and her breath caught. They looked up as she rushed to them.

“Where’s Zan? Is he all right?”

Jax’s face was pinched. “Selene, you should have stayed at the stronghold. There’s
nothing you can do here.”

Instantly, her internal alarm went off, and she reacted, shoving the wolf in the chest.
“Fuck you, Jax! Where is he?”

“Easy,” he said, his tone gentle. “We haven’t found him yet.”

“What? But he contacted me! You should have found him by now!”

“We’re doing everything we can. But . . .”

“But what? Don’t hold anything back from me,” she warned.

His voice was tortured. “He and Nick were bringing up the rear. They didn’t make it
out before the bomb went off. And now they’re both missing.”

She stared at Zan’s best friend, trying to process the last part of what he’d just
said. “Missing? They have to be here somewhere. I spoke to Zan through our mind link.
He said he was trapped.”

“I don’t doubt he was at one time. But we’ve been over almost every square inch of
the grounds and we haven’t seen any sign of them yet.”

Shaking her head, she looked out over the rubble. Cast her senses along their bond
and tried to feel him.
Zan? Honey, I’m here, and they’re looking for you and my dad. Are you still there?

No answer.
Zan?
The lack of response was more frightening than her mate saying he was trapped. Feeling
helpless, she glanced around and saw Noah wrapped tightly in Nix’s arms. She couldn’t
help the bolt of envy that shot through her at seeing the men reunited and immediately
felt shitty about it. Truly, she was glad the others were safe to return to their
loved ones. But she wanted hers safe, too.

She was about to lend a hand and start digging in the debris herself when a vampire
trotted over to Tarron. She listened intently.

“Your Highness, one of our wounded, Trace, has just come around and says he saw something
important. He’s on a stretcher over there.” The soldier pointed.

Selene accompanied the whole group to the fallen vampire’s side, eager to hear his
news. The young soldier’s face was covered in blood and his breath wheezed in his
chest. He gazed up at his prince, eyes wide.

“The rogues . . . have to stop them.” A cough rattled his body.

Tarron spoke kindly as he crouched next to the young vampire. “Tell me what you saw,
Trace.”

“They took the two shifters. Plucked them right from under our noses. Picked them
up and . . . vanished.”

“Oh, God,” she moaned. Suddenly her legs went weak and her mind whirled. Kidnapped.
Her mate and her father, taken by those bastards. This couldn’t be happening. “Where
would they take them? How do we find out?”