Chapter Eighteen
Hacen paced the floor of the kitchen while Lucas stood in the middle of the room, staring at the wall absently. The house held a hint of Jules’ scent. It set his emotions on edge.
“Can he hurry up?” His voice sounded harsh even to his own ears.
Lucas stood in the middle of the room with his eyes closed. When Hacen spoke, he opened his eyes long enough to glare. “Can you not break my concentration?”
Hacen grunted. In terms of an apology, that was all he’d give the witch.
When he turned, Ramsey stood in his way. Hacen stopped, and their gazes met. “What do you want to do?”
“Kill everyone who touches them?”
Ramsey didn’t even blink. “Can I make a suggestion?”
Hacen waved his hand in Lucas’ direction. “I have nothing but time.”
Lucas flipped him off. “I’m not a machine, you know. Jules is too far away for me to just connect on a whim.”
Ramsey pointed to Bennett. “Take him into the other room where it’s quiet.”
Bennett nodded at the same time he wrapped his arm around Lucas’ waist and guided him out. As he passed Hacen, he patted him on the back. “We’ll get them both back.”
Hacen stared after him. He never expected the level of support he was getting. He expected help with Jules. They loved him enough not to let Nicolono have him without a fight, but Thomas was another matter.
They owed Hacen nothing and yet he still stood in their kitchen.
Hacen met Ramsey’s gaze. “I’m out of my depth here. And I…I can’t think straight anyway. It’s best if I follow your lead.” Hacen pressed his hand over his heart and rubbed the spot in an attempt to relieve the pain. By the gods, he hoped he’d just made the right decision.
Ramsey nodded. “Given the spell a warlock placed on your car, I think we should get Thomas first. He might be the only one who can combat any spell Nicolono has either on Jules or around him.”
“Tommy’s surrounded by warlocks. How are we going to get through them?”
Jules’ mother held up her finger. “I have a solution for that. A spell that will cast a barrier around you. It should allow you to slip in unseen. Any warlock or witch worth their salt will know the spells in place. It should hold until you rescue Thomas. After that, I’m hoping he’ll be able to take over.”
He sucked in a breath at just the thought of Thomas not being able to help because that implied he’d be too injured or worse. “He’s still alive. They both are. I can feel them in my mind.” He wasn’t sure who he was talking to but saying the words aloud soothed the pain in his chest just a little.
Jules’ mother walked across the room and forced a hug on him. Hacen’s body stiffened, but the gesture was soothing. Leaning on someone else for emotional strength was a new feeling and uncomfortable. At least it was at first and then his body rebelled against his brain. One muscle at a time relaxed, and his arms came around her. He closed his eyes and let her strength seep into his pores. “Thank you.”
“It’s what family does, Hacen.”
“Your son said the same thing.”
“I don’t need to ask you which son. They’d all say it, including Jules. He might have come to me as an adult, but he’s no less mine” She pulled back and met his gaze, giving him a pointed look. “Do you understand?”
Hacen grunted. “I’m family. Tommy too.”
She patted his cheek and smiled. “Now, work on getting my boys back.”
His resolve to hate these shifters slipped a bit more.
Ramsey looked over at Fane, who sat on the kitchen’s central counter with his hands on his knees and his legs folded as if he were meditating. He was fully alert, though. Hacen noticed that as well as the intelligence in his eyes. “What do you think about creating a diversion?” Ramsey asking his mate’s opinion had another piece of trust popping into place.
“I’d go in with Mom’s spell. Take out a bunch of warlocks while you and Hacen go find Thomas.” Fane looked at the door Lucas had just disappeared behind. “We need to keep Lucas protected.”
Hacen hadn’t thought of that, but it made sense. “Maybe everyone should stay except us.”
“No. The evil vampire would expect us to keep Lucas in Saint Lakes.” Fane met his gaze. “We all go, including Lucas.”
Hacen shook his head. “Not everyone.” Penny was just a girl. She saw enough with the battle. “Penny needs to stay.”
“Agreed. Vaughan, Kristin, Josh, Shawn, and Rocky stay at Magnus’ cabin with Penny. Thomas’ magic protects it. The first place Nicolono will come looking is the house. After a few hours they should move locations. Kristin and Vaughan are good fighters. Rocky will lead them well.” Fane spoke as if his word was law.
“Sage?” Ramsey raised an eyebrow as if he thought Fane had forgotten about him.
“Sage is a snake shifter. He can get into small places if the need arises. He’s a stronger shifter than he knows. He’ll do well as long as Garridan stays close.”
Ramsey smiled. “Good plan, sweet.”
Fane nodded. “I know.”
Ramsey chuckled and closed the distance between himself and Fane. When Ramsey covered Fane’s ears with both of his hands, the gesture confused Hacen, but then Ramsey whistled so loudly it echoed through Hacen’s head.
Hacen hissed, but even he knew there wasn’t any genuine anger behind it.
Everyone in the family filed in the room before Ramsey could comment on Hacen’s challenging behavior. Hacen gave Ramsey his best apologetic look for the disrespectful hiss.
A corner of Ramsey's mouth turned up as if that was his way of apologizing as well and accepting Hacen’s all at the same time.
Ramsey turned, leaning against the counter to face everyone. Fane wrapped his legs around Ramsey’s waist and hung onto his neck piggyback style. “Okay. Here’s the plan. Rocky, Vaughan, and Kristin take Penny and Shawn to Magnus’ cabin. Everyone else gather the weapons you’ll need and squeeze into as few vehicles as possible.”
Lucas held up his hand as if he were in school. His brow wrinkled. “Um…First of all, I still can’t connect with Jules. I think they might have a spell on him or something. Secondly, do I honestly get to go and how come Shawn doesn’t.”
Shawn shook his head. “I’m good, man. Someone needs to stay just in case they need information off the computer.”
Hacen knew that wasn’t actually why Shawn wasn’t allowed to go. He strongly suspected Shawn’s lack of fighting skills made him a liability more than an asset. Fane leaving him out for that reason made more sense than gathering information although the latter was also a possibility and could be useful.
“But I honestly get to go?”
“Yep. We think Stavros won’t be expecting it if this is all a ploy.”
“And here I expected, ‘you’re so helpful, Lucas. We need you out there.’”
“Once you pay attention during training we’ll say that. Until then, you’ll take what you can get.” Fane said it like a reprimand and probably meant it that way, but the way he clung to Ramsey like a baby monkey made it hard to take him seriously.
Apparently, Lucas didn’t have that problem. “Yes, Sensei.”
Hacen was the first one to head out the door. Ramsey’s question stopped him, though. “What weapon do you need?”
“My bare hands.” He’d snap the neck of anyone who tried to stop him from getting to his mates or he’d die trying because living without them wasn’t an option.
“He’ll take a gun. It’ll kill faster.” He heard Fane say. Hacen didn’t argue because he made a good point.