Page 136

The driver was fine, just slightly lightheaded and dazed, but fully able to continue his day. Taking pity on him, Juniper doused him with a quick abundance spell.

Lilias then drank from Lazarus’s vein in theback of the SUV, which reminded Juniper of how much she missed Adriel. She closed her eyes, quelling the anxiety pumping through her veins and focusing on the happy outcome. They would collect Christian, find Adriel, and then kill Cerberus.

That seemed straightforward enough.

The closer they drove to the farm the more anxious Juniper felt. After vowing never to return, she wasn’t sure she had the strength to visit again. Her eyes found Dane’s, and they exchanged a nervous glance.

He reached for her hand and squeezed. “You don’t have to come.”

Was that the coward’s way out? Adriel needed her. They needed her son.

Dane squeezed her hand again. “We can do this part without you, June. We’ll be fine.”

She hated any sign of fragility.

The couple in the back shifted as Lazarus leaned forward. “What has you worried?”

Juniper glanced over her shoulder, but quickly averted her eyes as Lilias continued to feed from his neck. “Sorry, I don’t mean to disrupt.”

He frowned and whispered something in a different language to his mate. Lilias pulled her fangs from his vein and licked the wound shut. Her pupils dilated, and her lashes lowered as she sat back.

She knew that warm daze that came fromfeeding from a partner and missed Adriel even more.

“Juniper’s sitting this next part out,” Dane said before she could decide.

“Hey—”

“It is what it is, June. There’s no reason for you to get upset. We need you calm and focused.”

“Why would she get upset?” Lilias asked, joining the conversation.

“She was a prisoner there.”

“Dane!”

“What? It’s true.”

The energy of the car shifted. “I thought this was a place of decency.”

“Juniper attacked an immortal and cast a spell on him, so they imprisoned her.”

“Why?” There was no accusation in Lazarus’s tone, only curiosity. “I’m sure you had a valid reason.”

She didn’t like talking about her time at The Order or what happened with Jonas. “He killed my aunt.”

Lazarus nodded and sat back. “The females will stay at a hotel while Dane and I retrieve my grandson.”

Juniper looked at Dane. She wasn’t the only one who promised not to go back there. “Do you think you’ll see her?” There was no need to specify she was asking about Grace.

He shrugged. “I’d rather not. She wouldn’t approve of what we’re doing.”

Juniper sat back in her seat. “Well, she doesn’t get a say.”

He folded his hand in his lap and stared out the window as the landscape opened to a patchwork of fields and farmland. “Be nice.”

“I’m always nice.”

Dane chuckled. “Sure you are.”