CHAPTER TWELVE
A few hours later, about twenty shifters were seated around tables in a closed restaurant on the outskirts of town. The Redstone contingent had arrived by air in a private plane from Las Vegas. Collin Hastings had also arrived by air, but under his own wing-power. He was currently outfitted in clothing and weapons the cats had brought with them expressly for Collin’s use.
Steve Redstone was in charge of the Redstone operators. He was tall, sandy haired, and had that unmistakable military bearing to Gabe’s eyes. As did a number of the other men and women now gathered around, listening to Ezra make a short speech, thanking them for coming to help and outlining the slave-running operation as he understood it from Jonathan’s old business records.
Collin took the floor next, going through the information he had about the missing bear shifter, Theodora Jackson. He then turned the floor over to Margo, who had put together some slides on a slim laptop borrowed from Ezra, for a graphical presentation. They’d rigged up a projector along one wall and were able to display the photos she’d taken that morning. She described Gabe’s findings as she went through those four particular photos and ended with a map of the area. Then, she turned it back over to Ezra, who was the one in charge of the larger operation.
They’d decided among themselves earlier that Margo and Gabe would focus on Bolivar while Ezra interfaced with the other strike teams working the hotels and kept track of the overall operation. He’d been in Lake Tahoe longer than any of them, and the documentation leading to the various crooked business enterprises was all his, so this op was really his baby.
Gabe had no problem with that whatsoever. He was here for Bolivar. If they could stop him once and for all, Gabe would be satisfied. Knowing that others were working on freeing the abducted women was a relief because, if not for them, Gabe would’ve had to—in all good conscience—split his focus. He couldn’t have left those women to such horrible fates. He would’ve had to free them first before he went after Bolivar, and by then, it might’ve been too late. Given any sort of warning, Bolivar would head for the hills. Confrontation was not this particular mage’s style. He was more the cut-and-run type, as he’d proved over and over again.
A planning session followed the short presentation. Steve Redstone took charge of his people, breaking them into teams. There were three hotels to cover, so six people per team, plus two to coordinate—Steve and his mate, Trisha.
Trisha Redstone was an interesting person. She had an aura of power about her that Gabe could easily see, but he had no idea what kind of power she called her own. She didn’t read like a magic user. More like an elemental of some kind, but that sort of power was rare. Gabe had never run across a pureblooded elemental in his life. He’d been acquainted with a half-blood earth elemental once, but that hadn’t been a pleasant experience for either one of them.
Still, Trisha Redstone intrigued Gabe on a magical level. That she was fully committed to her shifter mate was easy to see. Gabe wondered how that worked for them. He was almost tempted to ask, considering the way his mind was thinking about Margo, but now was neither the time nor place. Maybe later, if he had a chance…but he couldn’t imagine how he’d work the subject into casual conversation.
As they got down to serious planning, Steve sent out three people to scout the locations. Margo, seated at Gabe’s side, noted to him that all three were bird shifters of some kind. Collin agreed, filling in that two were eagles and one was a raven.
“Birds like walking steel,” Collin confided, probably reading Gabe’s surprise on his face. “The construction company the Redstones run does a lot of iron work, so they’ve attracted several wings of flight shifters. Those three he just sent out on recon were all in the military a little after my time, but I’m sure they have the proper skills to get the details Steve will need, without being seen.”
“You talk as if you’re not going to be with them when they go in,” Ezra observed, raising one eyebrow.
“I’m not,” Collin answered easily. “My duty is to Theodora. Her folks hired me to find her, and that’s what I intend to do.”
The four of them were sitting at the table farthest from the door, toward the back of the room. The Redstone contingent was spread out, divided over three other large tables, each working on their own strategy for the location they had been assigned.
“Theodora is in that house,” Gabe said quietly, pointing to the printed photo Margo had brought along with her.
She’d transported the whiteboard she had been using in the hotel, along with the printed photographs and the paper map she’d marked up. Collin had been perusing the hardcopy, even as she’d been giving her talk along with the projected images. Gabe figured Margo had learned how to work a case from Collin, and he was probably more comfortable with her working copies than the presentation she’d created from them for the larger team.
“Yeah. I figured that. Which is why I’m going with you two, into that house.” Collin’s gaze was steady, daring Gabe to object.
“I’m hoping to wait until I’m sure Bolivar is in there,” Gabe told him. “All the signs I’ve been able to read so far say that’s the place, but I really want some sort of confirmation before we green light all the targets.”
“What happens if he disappears?” Ezra asked, clearly trying to suppress his animal instincts. He was growling a little, but Gabe wasn’t scared of the big man. “We can’t leave those women in that situation.”
“Of course not,” Gabe replied immediately. “If Bolivar isn’t there, we’ll have to strike anyway, but I’d rather give him a chance to show his face. If he’s feeding off the women in that house, then he’ll be nearby. We should give him a chance to show up before we blow the whistle. However, if it looks like they’re moving any of the women out of any of those other locations, we’ll have to go on that action, no matter what.”
“Glad to hear you talking sense,” Ezra muttered, giving Gabe a dark look. “I’m going with you too. Theodora will probably go bear on your asses, and I’m the only one who might have a chance at calming her.”
Gabe saw the sense in that and told Ezra so. Placated for the moment, Ezra went over to Steve Redstone and had a few words with the cougar shifter across the room. While her mate was occupied with the bear, Trisha Redstone came over to the table where Gabe, Margo and Collin were still sitting. She took Ezra’s empty chair and smiled at them all.
“I know we were introduced, but I suppose you’re wondering what help I can be,” she said with an air of self-consciousness. She seemed like a friendly soul, and power emanated from her to Gabe’s senses. He wondered if the others could feel it.
“We’re pretty sure Bolivar is the only mage,” Gabe told her, “but I’m happy to have you here in case we’re wrong.”
Trisha smiled wider. “I’ll be stationed near the lake while Steve oversees the strike teams.”
“Lake?” Gabe repeated, something clicking in his brain. “Of course. Your element must be water, right?”
Trisha looked a little surprised by his deduction but conceded gracefully. “Yeah. I can do stuff with water, so the lake is my safest place. That’s the only reason Steve let us both come, to be honest. I mean, he knows what I can do. He’s seen me in action. But he’s still rather protective. It’s kind of cute, actually.” She looked across the room, giving her mate a gooey-eyed look.
Gabe wondered if Margo would ever look at him that way. Yeah. Probably not. Margo wasn’t the gooey-eyed type of woman. She’d more likely slug him as a sign of affection. Come to think of it, he liked that about her.
“How’d you know?” Trisha asked Gabe. “Most people just assume I’m one hundred percent human or at most, some kind of low-level magic user.”
“Seriously?” Gabe was surprised by her words. To him, she was as vibrant as a fully lit Christmas tree.
“Well, yeah. I’ve spent most of my life hiding in plain sight among humans… Until I met Steve.” And there she went, looking gooey-eyed again at her mate.
This girl had it bad for the rangy ex-military shifter. Gabe followed her gaze and found that Redstone had taken a moment to return the look at his mate. It was clear Steve was just as bad, if not worse. Gabe looked away from the intimate moment between mates, but he doubted they noticed anyone in the big room except each other.
When she came back down to Earth, Gabe was waiting patiently. He’d glanced over at Margo to find her watching the couple, a grin on her kissable lips.
“You’ll have to tell me sometime how you managed to keep your light hidden,” Gabe told Trisha, picking up the conversation. “And that’s what it looks like to me, a light around you. Like an aura, but not quite the same. I’ve met one other elementally gifted person in my life, and they had the same kind of glow to my sight.”
“That must be some powerful vision you’ve got going on there, Gabe,” Trisha said with a friendly air, though she still seemed a little off-put that he’d recognized her talent. “You’re just a mage, right? Or, are you not fully human?” She blushed a bit. “Sorry for the nosey question, but I think it’s only fair since you know about me.”
“Fair enough,” Gabe allowed. “And we’re all on the same side here, so we should know what resources we have to call on in this situation. I’m a mage of the Llewellyn bloodline on my father’s side, but my mother is a priestess descendant of the High Priestess Bettina. This was all a closely kept secret in the family until just recently, so it still feels a little weird to say things like that out loud,” Gabe added, feeling a sort of odd kinship with the woman. She seemed discomfited by her revelations, as well.
“Then, we’re definitely in the same boat,” Trisha agreed. “My family was totally under wraps until recently, too. The boys still keep their secrets, but now that I’m part of the Redstone Clan through marriage, it feels like everybody I meet knows all about me. It’s a weird feeling.”
“Gabe’s family just mated into mine, so we have the same thing going on,” Margo put in, joining the conversation.
“You two?” Trisha asked, moving her finger in a circle at them, indicating she was asking if they were the mated pair.
Margo shook her head. “Oh, no. Not us. My cousin and his sister.”
She didn’t have to sound so adamant about it, Gabe thought. Or maybe the lady doth protest too much? That was probably just wishful thinking on his part.
“Bettina performed the ceremony,” Gabe put in.
“So, you’re part-fey.” Trisha finally seemed to understand and relaxed a bit. “That’s probably why you see what is hidden to all others.” He cocked his head at her odd phrasing but let it pass. She was probably right, after all. “Well, I’m your magical backup if you need any. Just sing out if you need me. I’ll be keeping an eye on everyone from my vantage point in the lake.”
In the lake? Gabe realized she was probably being literal and would actually be in the water. If that was her element, it was the best place for her.
“Do you think there are any mer in there right now?” Margo asked.
“None at present. I’d know,” she assured them. “But I’m pretty sure they had what amounts to a vacation home down in the deepest parts at one time.”
Gabe found that idea fascinating, but there was no time to pursue that line of conversation as the three reconnaissance scouts came back into the room. They made their reports to the room at large, and the serious planning began in earnest.
*
Margo stayed close to Gabe’s side as they staked out hidden positions in the alley that gave them a good view of the house Bolivar was using. It was the same alley she’d been in that morning. Same view, only the colorful cat was nowhere to be seen, and night was coming in fast.
Steve Redstone had given Ezra and Collin little radios that fit in their ears. Margo would’ve liked one, but there were only so many to go around, and her job was to stick with Gabe, not coordinate with the other teams. Plus, both Ezra and Collin had military backgrounds, so they were familiar with the equipment and didn’t need a training session just to learn how to use it. Margo was content to let her boss and their new bear shifter friend handle the communications.
The initial plan was for surveillance. The teams were all in place, but they would wait until the right conditions had been met. The right conditions being either Bolivar showing his face at the house or some kind of imminent threat of movement at the hotels where it was suspected women were being held against their wills.
More reconnaissance had been done on the ground, as well as in the air, and it was a pretty sure bet that those three locations were housing a few women each in their dingy rooms. There were a few armed men at each location. Sadistic-looking characters that were there to keep the women in line with threats or physical violence. If any of those bastards made a move on the women, that might also trigger the action. No one on any of the teams was willing to let any of those women be hurt any more while they were waiting to move.
Margo hoped Bolivar would be kind enough to just show up already so they could kick his ass and free those poor women, but she knew things seldom were that neat in the field. Her frustration must have showed because Gabe reached over and caught her hand, squeezing it with a reassuring pressure.
They were hidden behind a dumpster. Not the most romantic—or pleasant—place to be, but it was okay as long as she was with Gabe, and he kept doing things like that. A previously unrecognized romantic streak seemed to have come out in her psyche now that she and Gabe were lovers. She didn’t really understand it, but she also didn’t really care. She liked the way he made her feel, and that’s really all that mattered.
“We have movement,” Ezra said in a voice so low, only Margo heard him.
She squeezed Gabe’s hand back and nudged her chin toward the end of the alley. He got the message and let go, focusing on the house across the street.
Sure enough, a man was walking down the sidewalk, easy as you please, heading right for the house. Would he turn up the front path? Was it really Bolivar, striding around in the open, like he had not a care in the world?
“Son of a gun,” Gabe muttered. “That’s him. He reeks of blood magic.”
Margo couldn’t smell it from this far away, but maybe Gabe was speaking metaphorically. Maybe it was something he could see—like he’d seen Trisha’s magic earlier. Gabe sought Ezra’s eye and nodded. Ezra spoke into the small mic attached to his earpiece, as did Collin.
“We go in two minutes. The other teams are taking closer positions,” Collin reported loud enough for Gabe to hear now that he’d moved closer in the darkness of the alley. Gabe had checked the entire area for wards before they’d taken their spots and assured them the place was clean.
Well, not clean. The small space between buildings was actually rather filthy, but it hadn’t contained any hidden magic that Gabe could detect. That was good enough for Margo. She’d realized at that moment that she’d come to respect his magical ability. She still wasn’t exactly sure just how powerful he was, but he’d more than pulled his weight so far on this team, so that had to mean something. Her wolf was slowly coming around but wasn’t convinced yet.
As they watched from across the street, Bolivar went up the walk and into the house. Margo couldn’t see anything amiss, but Gabe frowned and looked at all three of them.
“He just put up a dark ward. I’ll have to go in first and nullify it, which will alert him to our presence,” Gabe told them.
“What does a dark ward do?” Collin wanted to know.
“It can kill you if you cross it. If the mage who set it is powerful enough. What I just saw go up was more than strong enough to seriously hurt or even kill any of you. Thing is, once I start hammering away at his ward, he’ll probably bolt out the back or something.”
“No, he won’t,” Ezra growled, looking mean. “I’ll take the back. He won’t get past me.”
Bears were tough, Margo knew, but could Ezra stand up against a fleeing mage? She wasn’t so sure. Gabe looked like he was considering Ezra’s offer seriously, though.
“I can make it visibly spark when the dark ward goes down. If anybody’s watching, they’ll see it, but hopefully, they won’t call the power company or anything. Watch for the spark and don’t close in on the house until you see it or you’ll regret it,” Gabe warned. “I’m going to make my approach from the left front corner of the house. I don’t want to face that door ward head on. An oblique angle is best.”
“I’ll be in back, covering the backyard and backdoor,” Ezra confirmed quickly. Time was running out. They had to move fast.
“I’ll take the front right and keep an eye on the right side in case he goes for a window or something,” Collin added. “And I’ll keep comms open.”
“I’ll be with Gabe, but watching the left side of the house,” Margo volunteered. She wasn’t letting Gabe out of her sight, but she would pull her weight with the team, too.
Collin nodded and headed out, moving like a shadow into the street. Ezra followed suit, going down the block a house or two before crossing the street and fading into the trees around the neighboring house, heading for Bolivar’s backyard. When Collin was in position, he nodded to Margo. She could see him clearly in the dark, though she doubted Gabe could.
She took his arm and they strolled out of the alley as if they were a couple taking a shortcut. They crossed the street, and she let go of his arm. She could hear Collin speaking into his radio, saying “Go, go, go,” and she knew the strike teams were moving, even as Gabe raised his hands and started to chant.
Wind rose up out of nowhere, bringing a fetid stink of old blood and decay toward her, but she stood her ground, watching the side of the house and Gabe’s back. Gabe was the center of the maelstrom, but he didn’t look concerned. He just kept speaking words she couldn’t decipher, gesturing only slightly with his raised hands. This was more than the simple flick or crook of his finger she’d seen before, but it wasn’t all that showy. Maybe he had even more magic than she’d suspected. He sure seemed to be handling the storm of evil that came against him with ease.
In a shower of sparks that zapped all around the house, the dark ward was no more. It looked like the spark of a downed electrical wire, so she understood his earlier comment. The only thing was, it wasn’t just one sparking location, but a rough circle all around the house. All at once. Like a massive ring of sparks.
Collin didn’t wait for the light to die before he was off and running across the lawn. Gabe was even faster, and he beat the hawk shifter to the door, giving Collin a look that spoke volumes. Collin actually stopped and let Gabe go in first.
Margo’s breath caught in her throat when Gabe flicked his finger and the solid wood door flew into the house like it had been hit with a giant battering ram. It was knocked completely off its hinges and splintered into a billion matchsticks. Wow.
Yeah, it was definitely time to rethink the level of power Gabe had at his command. But, really, what did it matter?
She felt a moment of revelation, following him into that house of horrors. If Gabe were injured—or, Goddess forbid, killed—Margo would mourn him the rest of her days. He was already part of her life in ways she had never expected. She wanted to see him every morning when she woke up and go to sleep, every night, wrapped in his arms.
She wanted to have babies with his lovely blue eyes. Now, that was a thought she’d never had before. Ever.
Gabe, strange as it seemed, was her mate. In a split second, she realized that simple truth. She loved him. He was her heart.
And he was walking into danger. Damn. Margo raced to keep up with him as he swept through the house, blowing doors into sawdust all along his path with the tiniest flick of his fingers.
They were almost through the entire ground floor of the place when they heard a roar from the backyard.
“That’s Ezra’s bear,” Collin said unnecessarily as they all raced for the backdoor.
There was a screened-in porch back there and a very angry, very gigantic bear blocking the exit. Between the bear and the backdoor, trapped in the screen porch, was Bolivar, looking angry and scared.
He was shorter than she’d expected. And gaunt. In fact, he looked somewhat sickly, but she could scent him now. The entire house reeked—as Gabe had put it—of evil, but he, especially, stank of it. Dried blood and pain and evil intent. It was enough to make her stomach turn, but there wasn’t even time to barf as the cornered mage started flinging dark red fire bolts at them all.
Gabe blocked every single one, encasing Bolivar in a circle that grew smaller and smaller as Gabe advanced. Would that hold the evil bastard? Margo had no idea. This was Gabe’s show, and she was there simply to back him up. Her inner wolf itched to push through her skin, but Margo resisted. Whatever happened next, she’d probably be better off in human form for now.
If she needed the wolf later, she promised her wild half that she wouldn’t hesitate to let loose with the fur and fangs, but their location was too close to human houses. It was bad enough Ezra had gone bear. He’d have to hightail it out of here real soon, before the police or animal control showed up with tranquilizer darts or, worse, shotguns.
With Bolivar contained for the moment in Gabe’s little circle, he turned to her. “Get the women. They’re in the basement,” he shouted to be heard above Bolivar’s screaming and Ezra’s growls. “Get them now!”
“I’m supposed to watch your back,” she shouted back at him, unwilling to leave him.
“I need to handle this alone. There’s nothing you can do to help, and when he breaks free, it’s going to be all I can do to protect myself. I don’t want any of you in the line of fire. You can help best by freeing those women and taking them to safety.”
Margo was torn, but she understood his logic and wanted to minimize any distractions she might cause. She touched his arm once, softly, and nodded. She turned to follow Collin. He’d already taken off, and she followed suit. When she got to the basement door, which was in sight of Gabe, she looked back in time to see a huge explosion of red fire as Bolivar crashed out of the circle Gabe had kept him in.
She shaded her eyes as a huge furry shape bounded in front of her and down the stairs after Collin. Ezra, in bear form. Margo followed, sending a prayer up to the Goddess to keep her mate safe.