Chapter 29
Tori shimmied into the bulletproof vest, mildly surprised by how heavy the damn thing felt. How had Lexi actually run through drug houses and shot people wearing such a thing? Tori pulled down her jacket and watched the world spin by outside. Their father had texted a meeting location a mere twenty minutes ago, and they’d all jumped into a borrowed SUV to head toward the warehouse district.
Dage had come through with weapons, vests, and the late-model SUV, which was probably bulletproof.
Adam drove, with Tori in the passenger seat. Kellach and Lexi were in the back, checking and double-checking guns. Lexi had finally agreed that Tori could go, even though she’d truly had no choice.
But Adam. He’d stood up for Tori. He’d faced both his brother and her stubborn sister and said she had the right to go. At that moment, he’d pretty much stolen her heart.
He believed in her.
Tension swelled in the vehicle, and her heart kept beating faster in response. She tried to keep calm and not mess with the engine. She was definitely getting better at controlling her strange gift. Concentrating on the vibrations from the two witches helped, and now even Lexi had a different signature—not as strong as her mate’s, but definitely high and powerful.
Was this what it felt like before a raid? Tori didn’t like it. Her skin felt too tight. Adam seemed just fine, though. She watched him drive from beneath her lashes. His face was a hard mask of concentration, while his capable hand controlled the steering wheel. Interesting, true. But what made him absolutely fascinating was the way his other hand worked the computer set into the console and brought up the schematics for the warehouse district, and one metal building in particular.
“Is that a satellite feed?” she breathed, leaning closer to the screen, her stomach doing somersaults.
“Aye,” he said. “It’s live.” Glancing in the rearview mirror, he nodded at his brother. “I had to reposition the entire thing, so there may be fallout. If the Nine figures out it was me.”
“It would have to be you,” Kellach said. “I donna know anybody else who could do it. Well, anybody else who knows about the satellite’s existence, anyway.”
As darkness descended, clouds gathered across the sky and finished off what had been a fairly warm fall day, complete with sunshine. Tori shivered, even under the vest and jacket. Lexi had helped her to suit up, and she had a knife along her calf and a gun at her waist. She was much more familiar with the gun than the knife, and that wasn’t saying much. She may have exaggerated her training a bit.
Did shooting at a couple of trees count as training?
She bit her lip.
Adam widened the screen. “Snipers in positions three and four.” He took a sharp left turn.
His phone blared out the king’s song, and he pressed a button in the dash. “Dage. What’s up?”
“Got the video from Monzelle’s escape,” Dage said without preamble. “Definite immortal species, but I couldn’t tell which one. Didn’t use fire, enhanced abilities, or brain attacks.”
Adam shook his head. “Just strength and speed?”
“Yeah. So they could be any species. I also don’t recognize any of them but will forward you the video. Watch your backs. You’re not just fighting humans tonight.” The king clicked off.
“I know who hired them,” Adam said quietly.
Kellach coughed. “If it’s Gallagher, then he’s somehow involved with the Apollo drug. The drug harms witches, so I always thought the manufacturer of Apollo was some other enemy. Maybe it’s part of his grand power play for the Council.”
Adam snorted. “Gallagher is a dickhead, that’s for sure. But I don’t see him being the grand mastermind behind the Apollo strike. It’s too dangerous and too focused. Somebody is pulling his strings, too. He came at us through politics, and that’s where he dominates. Look what he’s managed to do in a very short time.”
“What has he done?” Tori asked, trying to keep track of the conversation.
Adam took another left turn just as a light rain began to fall. “He managed to clear the Council of two of our aunts and two of our cousins.” He flicked on the windshield wipers. “Then he got three of the four Enforcers, all from our family, fired. I’m next.”
Tori leaned back in her seat, her hands shaking so much she had to hide them. “Wow. That’s quite the plan.”
“Two more members of the Council were killed by Apollo darts, so that left only the current three,” Adam continued, as if working it all through in his own mind. “Gallagher is definitely in charge, and Sal seems to be a yes-man. Nessa is the wild card, though she’s young and inexperienced.”
“And probably in danger if she votes against him again,” Kellach said.
Adam nodded. “Agreed. When I meet with the Council, I’m thinking of locking her down somewhere safe.”
“You’re not meeting with the Council,” Kell snarled.
“Of course I am,” Adam said easily. “I have enough proof against Gallagher that the Guard will have to open an investigation.”
Kell half leaned over the seat. “Then send it to them. You can’t go into Council chambers. It’s suicide. The Guard still answers to Gallagher.”
Tori watched the interplay, noting how the more irritated Kell became, the calmer Adam grew. It was a hell of a way to fight—not getting emotional. She could learn a thing or two from him. Her cheeks heated. More than she’d already learned, that was.
He glanced her way. “You okay?”
She just nodded.
He turned his attention to the screen. “Listen, Kellach Gideon Dunne. We can fight about my plans after the current crisis, all right?”
“Fine,” Kell said.
Lexi patted Tori’s shoulder. “You can do this, Tor.” When Lexi decided to get on board, she did it wholeheartedly.
“I know,” Tori said. “Mom will be all right. She has to be.”
Adam tapped the screen. “Besides the snipers, I see two men guarding the front entrance and two at the rear.” He took another turn, this one down a long deserted street with abandoned buildings on both sides. “I’m guessing they can’t patrol because they don’t want to bring attention to the warehouse. They are armed and probably immortal.”
Kellach leaned over the seat and studied the screen. “What’s your plan?”
“I take out the sniper at position three, and you handle the guy at four. Then we go with the plan,” Adam said levelly. He eyed Tori. “Are you still all right with the strategy?”
She nodded, the lump in her throat making it impossible to speak. Thunder cracked the sky above, and she jumped.
Adam rolled the SUV to a stop near a rusting metal building with a damaged roof. “We walk from here,” he said.
Tori dutifully jumped out of the vehicle, her boots splashing water. The night took on a surreal haze. What was she doing? She wasn’t a cop or an Enforcer. But her mother was in one of those metal buildings, and she was probably terrified. Tori lifted her shoulders and tried not to wince as the vest pulled against her breasts with a painful thud.
Adam took lead with Lexi behind him. Tori followed her sister, and Kellach took up the rear. There was no doubt they were keeping her protected, but Tori noticed Adam also keeping Lexi covered. Was she immortal yet? Man. Tori hadn’t even had a chance to talk to her about the whole mating issue. What if Lexi wasn’t immortal? She probably wasn’t. God. If Lexi got shot, she could still die.
Tori bit her lip and tried to keep from screaming her head off. She could do this. She just needed to concentrate and keep the plan in her head. It was a good plan, because Adam had come up with it.
They finally reached a newly painted blue warehouse. Adam nodded for her and Lexi to hunker down. “We’ll be right back.”
Kellach gave Lexi a direct look, and something passed between them. Something oddly sweet. Then the Dunne men disappeared.
Water dripped down from the eaves. Lexi pulled Tori down in a crouch, her gun already out.
Tori followed suit, and for some reason, the gun felt heavier in her hand than it had earlier. Maybe because she was going to point it at people and not trees this time.
“Take a deep breath, count to five, and let it out, counting to seven,” Lexi whispered, her gun pointed down the long area between warehouse buildings.
Tori nodded and breathed in and out, noting that the night came back into focus.
“Good. Now relax your shoulders, and tell yourself you can do this,” Lexi said.
Tori rolled her shoulders, and the vest pulled again. Rain dripped down, plopping off quickly forming mud puddles and splashing the women. She grimaced. “I can’t believe you do this for a living.”
Her sister grinned. “I always loved a good raid.”
The past tense caught Tori up short. “You’re quitting.” The tone had been there.
Lexi leaned against the building, her strong thighs keeping her easily in the crouch. “Bernie is retiring, and Kellach has to stay out of Seattle for a while.”
Bernie was Lexi’s partner and had pretty much become a father figure to them both over the years. Still, it was impossible to think that Lexi was leaving the force for a man. Even a man as manly mannish as Kellach. “So you’re just going to follow Kell around?” That was not the sister she’d always known.
Lexi snorted. “Of course not. If we move somewhere else, I’ll still get a job as a cop.”
“If?” Tori asked.
Lexi breathed out and tugged her vest farther down, not taking her eyes off the alleyway at all. “This whole Council of the Coven Nine disaster has to break at some point. Either we’re taking the war to them, or Adam will be able to prove Simone’s innocence and get everybody their jobs back. If that happens, I’m thinking of the whole Enforcer bit.”
“Huh.” Tori could see that. “An Enforcer for the witch nation. Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think that’d be a possibility?”
“No.” Lexi cocked her head, stiffened, and then relaxed. “Can you believe witches exist?”
“Crazy, right?” Tori looked into the darkened night but couldn’t see anything. “You love him, don’t you? I mean, the real kind.”
“Yes,” Lexi said, without a second of hesitation. “With everything I am.”
Wow. That was huge for Lexi. Definitely huge. “Um, about the mating. You’re gonna live forever?”
Lexi looked pained. “Yeah, I guess.” Her shoulders hunched. “It’s weird. Don’t tell anybody, but I’ve been trying to figure out who you and Mom can mate.” She made a gagging sound. “Like I want to think about the two of you having sex with hot guys.” She grimaced. “I thought maybe you and Adam would’ve just done it.”
“Oh, we’ve done it plenty of times,” Tori retorted, her chest aching a little at the thought.
“Ew,” Lexi said. “Don’t make me shoot him.”
Tori forced a smile. “Does the mating hurt?”
“No, but there’s a fucking brand.” Lexi leaned to the side and tugged down her jeans. A beautiful Celtic knot, similar to but slightly different from the one on Adam’s hand, showed on her smooth skin. “Like a cow.”
Now Tori did bite back a real laugh. Oh, that had definitely pissed Lexi off. “Adam’s brand is a little sharper at the edges.”
Lexi stilled and swung her gaze toward Tori. “You’ve seen it?”
“On his hand,” Tori said, heat filling her face.
“Oh. Just oh.” Lexi checked her gun. “So, um. You guys are going to?”
“No.” How could her sister even ask that? “We couldn’t be more different. I mean, he’s probably the smartest guy in the whole witch nation.”
Lexi slowly turned her head back to Tori. “So?”
Geez. “So? I’m not.”
“You’re smart,” Lexi protested.
“Right.” The rain started falling harder and the spray shot wider. “I think he likes me, but that’s about it.” The words hurt to say.
Lexi nudged her with her shoulder. “You’ve fallen for the big bad witch, haven’t you?”
Tori shrugged her shoulders but didn’t answer.
A second later, a body fell from the rooftop with a sickening thud, and blood sprayed across the asphalt. Tori sucked in air and barely stopped herself from screaming. The man’s head was turned toward her, and his eyes were blank in death. His neck was twisted awkwardly.
Adam landed next to the body in a low crouch, his descent silent and deadly. He shoved a knife into a pocket of his cargo pants. “He was human.”
Tori gagged down bile and stood. “Um, okay.”
He held out his hand. “Are you sure you can do this?”
No. Definitely no. She took his hand. “I’m sure.”