Page 28 of Blood & Bond (The Bouchers #2)

Ambrose

“ I t’s time,” my father said, standing in the doorway.

Lucy was out. It had taken less than a minute for her to fall asleep. I ran my hand down her arm and rose to my feet, following Charlie and Beau out of the room as Alice put little oxygen cannulas in the women’s noses.

Now it was time to see if the sedation had worked.

Danny and Chance were fully prepared when we walked into the armory, and they immediately moved to help Beau and me get ready.

I changed into black trousers and a long-sleeved black shirt, waiting for the familiar warmth as the minutes passed.

Chance handed me a vest and helped me with the straps.

He tossed me a thigh holster to put on. Then a shoulder holster.

Extra magazines that I stuffed into my pockets. A small med kit.

I moved over to the wall and chose my pistols and rifle. Each of us had our own preferences, and there were already open spaces where Chance, Danny, my father, and Sven’s choices had been. Grabbing more magazines, I loaded them all and put them in my holsters.

My skin itched, but it was the lack of heat that was starting to bother me.

We left the armory and strode through the house, stopping briefly to kiss our mother.

Fifteen minutes since I’d seen Lucy, and there was still nothing. I forced myself not to run back and check on her again. She was fine. Alice was with her. If something had gone wrong, she would’ve already come to get me. The lack of heat meant that the sedation was working, nothing more.

In the garage, we paused with my father and Charlie. Finau stood fidgeting by the cars. He was already dressed and armed to the teeth.

“Don’t get yourself killed,” Chance ordered, pulling my dad into a backslapping hug. “We’ll be close.”

“Not too close,” my father ordered. “Or we’re fucked.”

“We’ve been doing this a minute, old man,” Chance countered as he let go.

Danny was next.

I turned toward Charlie. “There’s no way for you to do anything wrong,” I told him as he stood, pale and tense. “They’ll take you. Don’t try to get back to my dad. He’ll be down by the time they’ve got you, all right? The sooner you leave with them, the faster Matthias and Josiah can get to him.”

“We’ve gone over this,” he replied, nodding. “I remember.”

“It’s worth going over again,” I said, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. “It’ll be easy to forget when you’re in the thick of it. You’re going to want to help him, but the best thing for you to do is leave.”

“I got it,” he said, glancing toward my father.

“We’ll never be far,” I told Charlie, bringing his attention back to me. “Even if it feels like it. You won’t see us, but we’re there, okay?”

Charlie nodded.

“They won’t expect much fight from you?—”

He scoffed.

“That’s a good thing,” I assured him. “The more you fight them, the greater chance of you getting hurt before we find Finau’s mate.”

“She has a name,” Charlie said, his chin rising a little. “It’s Evelina.”

“Evelina,” I conceded. “Keep yourself safe until we find Evelina. Cower if you have to.”

Charlie looked away, embarrassed, and I shoved his chest. He looked at me in surprise.

“You’re playing a role,” I told him firmly. “They think you’re weak? Let them. Play into that.”

“We know the truth,” my father said gruffly, with a nod at Charlie.

My stomach was in knots as we parted.

Chance and Beau climbed into one car with Finau, Danny, and I climbed into another, and my father and Charlie climbed into a third. Uncle Sven stood outside the garage as we pulled away, watching us go.

We were counting on a whole hell of a lot with the plan we’d thrown together, like the assumption that the fuckers were still in town. That they’d go for Charlie. That they’d bring him to wherever they were holding Finau’s mate. That she wasn’t already dead.

It was all we had.

We didn’t have enough information. Vague theories about who was in charge and why they were targeting mates were all we had to go on. Searching for Charlie had taken priority above researching, and we were feeling it now.

“How is it?” Danny asked as we took the long way to town.

“Fine,” I replied. The heat was barely flickering under my skin.

“She’s okay,” he said, his eyes on the road. He reached up to tap his earpiece. “We’d know if she wasn’t.”

“Yeah.”

We rode in silence until we’d hit our mark and parked the car two blocks from the grocery store. Holding my coat closed, I followed Danny into a pawn shop owned by the father-in-law of one of the Vampires currently patrolling our property.

“Through the back, first door on the right,” the man said quietly as we moved through the store. He didn’t look up from what he was doing. “End of the hallway is the exit door.”

“I’ve got cameras,” Matthias announced in my earpiece. “Erik and Charlie just parked.”

Danny and I hurried toward the exit door, dropping our long coats in the hallway. Just outside was a fire escape, and we climbed until we reached the roof. The sun had almost set as we crouched and made our way to the edge.

Across the street, my father was talking to Charlie as they walked toward the store. Beau had warned them not to park too close to the front doors. We needed them to be visible for as long as possible before they went inside.

“Inside,” Josiah announced.

“We’re in place,” Danny replied.

“In place,” Beau confirmed.

Then came the worst part. The waiting.

Goodman’s was an old mom and pop that had been around almost as long as we’d lived in Oregon.

A larger grocery chain had bought them out about twenty years before, but they’d known that the community was loyal, so they’d left the name and the employees alone while they stocked the shelves with their merchandise.

It was one of those rare takeovers that had worked out for everyone.

Tonight, it was working out well for us. Few people knew that the manager of the store’s sister was a Vampire’s mate, and that worked to our advantage. As it grew later and people came outside with their groceries, we watched as the parking lot emptied out but for a few cars.

“Employees are going out the back,” Josiah confirmed.

We still had half an hour before the store closed, and we couldn’t control all the variables, but it was a small town.

Most people wouldn’t try to slide in right before closing because they knew that meant the employees would have to stay later.

It was a courtesy that worked in our favor and made the gray minivan that parked right out front even more conspicuous.

“Hold,” Danny said as we stared at the van.

It could’ve been a mother with a last-minute need. We waited.

Two men climbed out of the front of the van. Three out of the back.

“We’re a go,” Matthias announced.

“We’ve got another,” Beau warned. “Hold.”

Another car pulled into the lot and parked a few rows away from the van. Three more men climbed out.

All humans. Thank the Gods.

“We’ve got eight,” Chance announced.

Danny scoffed and shot me a look. “Only eight?”

I smiled grimly. If we hadn’t planned for this, eight men would’ve ended up in the county morgue. My father was going to be insulted that they’d only sent that many.

I stared at the front of the store where the men had disappeared. If we were really fucking lucky, they wouldn’t notice that there wasn’t anyone at the check stands and my father and brother-in-law were the only people inside.

“Moving to cameras inside,” Matthias announced. “We have visual.”

Absentmindedly, I rubbed at the back of my neck. It was hot to the touch as my body started to recognize that I’d been away from my mate for too fucking long.

“Engagement,” Josiah announced grimly. “One, no, two down. Erik’s a fucking beast.”

“Where is Charles?” Beau demanded.

“In the meat section,” Matthias answered. “He’s crouched behind the refrigeration section in the middle. Fuck, there are mirrors. Worst possible hiding place.”

“They want him,” Chance replied grimly. “It’s fine if they know where he is?—”

“Erik’s been hit,” Josiah interrupted. “Another bogey down.”

“He doesn’t know how many there are,” I said tightly. It was one of the flaws. He wouldn’t know how many they’d sent, but he had to make it look believable when they were able to take Charles. He could kill some of them—but not all. He was playing a guessing game.

“Five left,” Danny replied.

“Erik’s hit again,” Josiah announced.

“They’re converging,” Matthias said quietly.

“Another down.”

“Four,” I murmured to myself.

“Erik is down,” Josiah said.

My stomach jolted like I’d been punched, but I held myself perfectly still. This was the plan.

“Steady,” Matthias ordered sharply through the earpieces.

“Another down,” Josiah announced.

“Tell us what the fuck is happening,” Chance ordered angrily.

“Humans are making their way over. Erik is fully down. He’s saying something to Charlie—no audio. Charlie is shaking his head,” Josiah replied. “Contact! One on Charlie, two on Erik. Motherfuckers. Kicking Erik. Charlie’s up.”

My pulse pounded.

“Knife,” Matthias said grimly.

I braced my hands on the edge of the roof.

“They’re going for Erik. Who’s closest?” Josiah said tightly.

“Wait,” Matthias said. “Charlie just knocked one of them out. The kid can fight. Why did no one tell us the kid could fight?”

“Lost interest in Erik,” Josiah announced. “His two are too busy trying to contain Charles.”

The training. Charles had downplayed how much he’d learned. I felt a smile pull at the corners of my mouth.

“He’s fighting like hell,” Matthias said, his voice filled with respect. “Shit. He’s down.”

“They’re bringing him out,” Josiah announced.

“Dad?” Danny asked.

“Left him,” Matthias replied. “Too busy carrying Charlie and the human he knocked out.”

I hesitated, wanting to get a look at Charlie as they carried him out, but I knew it would be a mistake. We needed every second if we were going to be on the ground in time to follow them. I had to trust Matthias and Josiah’s account of what had happened.