The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) (41 page)

Laney stared at the man.
The decent thing to do would be to take him into custody. Let the government study him, find out his weaknesses, see the extent of his network.

That would be the decent thing to do.

Cleo met Laney’s eyes, awaiting her orders. In that moment, Cleo and Laney were of one mind.

Laney saw
Jake’s face, a bullet hole in his forehead. She felt Rocky’s hand going limp in her own, her life slipping away. And Laney caught a fleeting glimpse of another leopard: Cleo’s mate.

Anger, power, and need coursed through Laney.
Her eyes drew to a squint. “Take his head,” she ordered.

Laney turned
away as Cleo’s jaws closed around Amar’s head. As she strode back down the hall, Amar began to shriek in terror.

The decent thing to do would be to let him live.

She heard the wet rip as the giant cat ripped Amar’s head from his neck.

But this is war
.

CHAPTER 97

L
aney walked back down the hall to the ballroom. The sounds of the battle had all but died away. She stepped into the room and realized the fight was over.

The ballroom was a disaster.
All the windows were smashed. Glass and blood littered the wooden floor. Bodies lay across it as well, some in pieces.

Laney quickly looked around, seeing Laney, Jen, Yoni
, and the twins. She spotted Maddox in the back corner as well. She let out a breath. They were all right.

Jen walked up to her.
“You okay?”

Laney glanced around, trying not to stare at the large pools of blood that dotted the room.
“Did we lose anyone?”

Jen shook her head.
“No good guys. Couple of injuries, nothing life threatening.”

“
And the bad guys?”

“
Twelve were killed. Another three escaped. They’re being chased down now.”

Laney nodded. A gunshot pulled her attention to the right.
“What’s going on there?”

There was one gunman standing over each surviving Fallen.
Any time they moved, they were shot. At the back of the room, a group of paramedics bustled in the back door with stretchers and medical cases.

“
Clark’s orders. The Fallen who aren’t dead are to be kept immobilized until they can be drugged,” Jen said, before bending down to help an SIA agent who was wounded.

Laney walked over
to look as a paramedic inserted a needle into a Fallen’s arm. Laney read the label on the IV bag:
amobarbital.
A strong sedative.

Clark had come prepared.
And he had also borrowed a page from Helen’s book.

Clark caught sight of Laney and walked over, a clipboard in his hand.
The man had gone from warrior to bureaucrat in seconds.

“
What’s the plan with them?” Laney nodded at the Fallen.

“
We have a facility set up in West Virginia. It’s known only to the SIA. The captives will be held there, perpetually drugged, except for when we interrogate them. I’m hopeful they can tell us something.”

“
You’re sure this site is secure?”

He nodded.
“We’ve been preparing for this for a long time. The only people who know about it are completely trustworthy. We’ll interrogate each of them, find out what they know, where the other cells are. We need the intel.”

Laney knew he was right, but it was still a huge risk.
“And you’ll tell me what you find out?”

Clark nodded
, and Laney could see a newfound respect in his eyes. “If this is war, you’re the reason we’re going to win it. So yes, my paycheck may come from the U.S. government, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re in charge.”

“
And you’ll tell me where this place is?”

“
I’ve emailed you and Henry all the information you need to find it and access it. Like I said, you’re the boss.” He started to walk away before turning back. “Amar?”

Laney met his eyes without flinching.
“Taken care of.”

Clark nodded.
“Good.” He walked over to another sedated Fallen, making a mark on his clipboard.

Cleo slipped in the back door, licking her lips.
She looked around the room before padding over to Laney. Laney rubbed her head. “Good girl. Sit.”

The cat perched next to her and Laney leaned into her, surveying the scene.
Another bloody battle—and once again, she’d survived. But each time the cost increased. This latest battle had cost her Rocky and Jake.

What would the next one cost?
Because, regardless of Samyaza’s death, Laney knew another battle would be coming. She could feel it in her bones. This wasn’t over.

Henry walked up to her, giving Cleo a wide berth.
“Samyaza’s taken care of?”

“
Yes.” Laney looked up at Henry and then away. She should probably feel some guilt at how she’d killed the man. But she didn’t. What did that mean?

Henry nodded.
“You all right?”

Laney felt cold seep through her, despite the warmth radiating through the leopard
’s skin. The specter of the fight yet to come tempered any relief she might have felt at tonight’s success, and the responsibility of the ring weighed her down. “What if Clark’s right? What if we’re at war?”

Henry took her hand.
She looked up into his eyes, eyes like Victoria’s, and read the commitment and confidence there. “If we’re at war? Then we fight. And we win.” He paused. “What’s wrong?”

“
Are we sure Amar was Samyaza?”

Henry gestured around the room.
“Well, obviously he was planning something.”

“
Yeah but . . .”

“
Yeah but what?”

She sighed. “
It was too easy.”

“
Too easy?”

Laney nodded.
“He’s supposed to be
Samyaza
. The leader of the Fallen. It should have been . . . harder.”

“
We caught him unaware. And it wasn’t that easy. You and Yoni did almost get eaten by a cat.”

Laney rubbed Cleo head
’s. “Nah, not my little sweetheart.”

“
We got him, Laney. It’s over.”

Laney looked around, a chill creeping over her.
“Then why do I feel like it isn’t?”             

CHAPTER 98

I
t took hours to secure the farm and get all of the Fallen ready for transport, all while holding off the local police. By the time they were done, the sun was up.

T
hey were still hours from home, but Laney wasn’t up for another helicopter ride, and she could tell no one else was either. She stood next to the Suburban they were borrowing from Amar. Cleo had already been loaded inside, and was dozing.

“
Laney.”

She turned to see Maddox striding up to her.
She smiled, but her smile disappeared at his expression. “Maddox, what’s wrong?”

Maddox nodded
toward his cell. “I just spoke with Amanda.”

Laney smiled, feeling confused.
“She wasn’t happy to hear you’re okay?”

A smile replaced the frown.
“No, she was. She said to tell you thanks. She’s going to meet me in Baltimore.”

“
Good. But why Baltimore?”

The frown reappeared
. “Amanda uncovered an email. There were plans in place to go after some friends of yours: Max Simmons and Danny Wartowski.”

Laney felt her knees go weak.
“How?”

“
They were supposed to grab Max at his school, and Danny from some bookstore. If that didn’t work—bomb.”

Laney felt the ground shift
underneath her. She pictured Amar and wanted to kill him all over again.

Maddox touched her shoulder.
“It’s okay. Amanda intercepted the message. It never got through.”

Laney closed her eyes, sinking back against the SUV.
“Thank God. But they could still be in danger.”

“
What do you need, Laney? You saved my life. I owe you.”

Laney pictured Max and Danny.
“Does Henry know?”

Maddox nodded.
“He’s increased security around them at the estate.”

“
I need to find a way to keep them safe. Danny will have around-the-clock security on the estate. But Max and Kati are my responsibility. And I can’t keep them locked up in Dom’s bomb shelter forever.”

Maddox raised an eyebrow.
“Bomb shelter?”

She gave Maddox a small smile.
“It’s cozier than it sounds.”

“
Well, you’re in luck. It just so happens that I’m looking for a job. My last employer and I have recently . . . gone our separate ways.”

“
You want to hang out with a single mom and a four-year-old in the suburbs?”

“
Actually, right now that sounds like heaven. And like I said, I owe you. Big.”

“
Are you sure?”

Maddox nodded. “Yeah
. Besides, kids love me.”

Laney glanced up at Maddox
. He looked like a member of a really, really tough biker gang. Which, she realized, is exactly what she wanted anyone who glanced at Max and Kati to see.

“
Thanks, Maddox. It’ll just be for a little while until I can figure something else out.”

“It’ll be a nice change of pace
.”

“
But go see your sister first.”

Maddox shored up his shoulders, snapping out a crisp salute.
“Yes, General.” He winked before turning on his heel and marching off.

Laney shook her head.
General. Great.

Henry walked up a few seconds later and Cleo popped her head out of the window near Laney.

Henry jumped back.
“Um, I guess she’s coming with us?”

Laney nodded.
“I don’t think the local chapter of ASPCA is equipped to deal with her. Besides, she’s on our side.”

Henry shook his head.
“Figured you’d say that. So
I arranged for a cage from the local zoo to be delivered to the house, and another to the Baltimore estate.”

Laney smiled.
“You know me so well.”

“
Yes, I do. And you’re
sitting in the back with her.”

“
No problem,” Laney said, opening the back door. She climbed in, and Cleo shifted over to make room.

As Henry pulled out, Cleo placed her head in Laney
’s lap. Laney absentmindedly ran her hands over the big cat’s coat.
“Where are we going?”

“
Mom’s got a house about twenty minutes from here. Yoni and the Witts are going to follow us there.”

Laney knew she should be surprised that Victoria had a place nearby, but honestly, her
biological mother had ceased to amaze her. If she learned tomorrow that her mother was an alien, she’d probably just nod her head and say okay.

Laney was beginning, though, to realize how truly extensive her mother
’s resources were. It was a little intimidating.

But it was also comforting.
Maybe they
could
win this fight. Actually, with Samyaza dead, maybe they already had.

Henry glanced back at her.
“The SIA found something else in the house.”

“
What?”

“
The book that was stolen from Vegas.”

“
Really?”

Henry nodded, his attention on the road.
“It’s being shipped to Baltimore.”

“
You mean the Smithsonian?”

Henry shook his head.
“No. I figure if they went to all that trouble to steal it, we need to read it. Fast. Which means me.”

Laney felt the weight of responsibility settle back on her shoulders.
Whatever Henry found in that book, she hoped it was only an explanation of what had happened. Not a prediction of more danger to come.

Laney stared out the window, watching the Tennessee landscape fly by.
The numbness she’d built up during the flight to Tennessee, and maintained during the battle, had begun to wear off. Emptiness rushed in.