Page 15

14

“T he son of a bitch is going to run,” Rapture warned through the comms.

“Let him,” Saint growled. “He won’t get far.”

Mist followed quickly behind her mate as he made his way down a back alley, ready to cut their target off if he did choose to make a run for it. Rapture and Heaven were in the bar just two buildings down, flushing out their prey. It wouldn’t be much longer.

“He spotted us,” Heaven said, her breath hitching as she took chase.

“Little fucker’s fast.”

Mist grinned at Zion’s words. He’d quickly become one of her favorite people with his gruff attitude and standoffish demeanor. Then there was Rapture and Angel. Brothers who were a lot alike but were so different as well. God was their leader and also their rock. And then there was Priest, the father figure to the MC. If you had a problem, you went to him and he would talk you through it. Even Genesis had a small piece of her heart, although she didn’t see him as much as the others. He tended to keep to himself and rarely went on the missions the Guardian MC was sent on. Missions she was thrilled to be a part of now.

“Here he comes!” Angel called out from the other end of the alley as the back door of the bar slammed open. “Going your way.”

The object of their mission flew down the alley toward them, his eyes widening when he saw Mist and Saint waiting for him. He looked left and right, then made a sharp turn and jumped up on top of a dumpster before slipping through the window of an abandoned building.

Saint shook his head and looked over at her, lifting his eyebrows. A slow smile spread across her face and she ran past him, leaped up onto the dumpster, and dove through the window. When she got inside, she dropped to the ground and crouched low, staying quiet as she got her bearings. The second Saint dropped down beside her, she took off across the hard concrete floor with her mate on her heels.

Mist inhaled, drawing the man’s scent into her lungs, and then turned quickly, slipping inside another room. They went through three more rooms before she held up a hand. Saint stopped immediately.

“What is it?” he muttered, pulling his Glock and glancing around looking for danger.

Mist didn’t answer right away. What she was looking at wasn’t anything he was going to be able to see. And it wasn’t something she’d gotten the nerve to share with her mate and new family yet. It was a gift that was hard to talk about. How did you tell others that you saw dead people?

There, not ten feet away, was an apparition. A ghostly presence that was insisting Mist stop and talk to her. Sighing, Mist reached out and placed a hand on Saint’s thigh as she whispered, “I’m listening.”

Saint looked down at her in confusion. She shook her head, her eyes glued onto the spirit in front of them.

Please, help him.

“Help who?” she asked softly. “The man we followed in here?”

Not a man. Just a boy. My son.

“He killed someone. We can’t just let that slide.”

No, it wasn’t him. The bad man did it.

“Who the fuck is she talking to?” God demanded through the comms.

“No idea,” Angel said as he slipped into the room they were in. “It’s just her and Saint in here.”

Mist ignored them and she tried to piece together what she was being told.

“Where is this bad man?”

Father.

“The boy’s father?”

The spirit shook her head, touching her chest with her hand

“Your father? The boy’s grandfather?”

Yes. Please, save my boy.

As the spirit began to fade away, Mist promised, “I’ll do everything I can.”

“What the fuck is going on?” God snarled. Most of the others had already caught up with them, but Prez wasn’t there just yet.

“We need to find him,” Mist said, rising from where she’d been crouching in the dark. “He’s just a boy and he needs help.”

“He’s a killer, Mist.”

Mist looked over at her mate and shook her head. “No, he isn’t.”

“And how the hell do you know that?” God demanded as he stalked into the room.

Mist shrugged, meeting his dark gaze. “His dead mother just told me.”

There was complete silence for a long moment, then Heaven grinned. “That is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard, sister.”

“Hell yeah,” Zion said, slipping an arm around her shoulder and winking at her. “You’re awesome, little sister.”

“So, what you are saying,” God interjected, “is that our mission has changed.”

“Yes,” Mist agreed. “Now, instead of finding and persecuting the target we were after, we are now finding him and protecting him from his grandfather who is the one who is the real murderer.”

God nodded slowly and then turned to move across the room. “Let’s get moving.”

Mist reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. When he glanced back at her, she held up a hand. “Give me a few minutes, okay?” When he frowned, she looked back behind her where there were some things piled up in a corner, then back to him meeting his gaze. His eyes filling with understanding, God nodded, and motioned for the others to leave the room.

Once they were gone, Mist lowered herself to the floor right where she’d been standing. Pulling her legs up, she wrapped her arms around them and said quietly, “They’re all gone now, buddy. It’s just me. I’d love to meet you. I promise, no one here will hurt you.”

She waited patiently, and finally there was a small scraping sound as something was moved across the floor. As she watched, a small figure rose from behind a pile of junk and stepped around it to look at her. A young boy with light blond hair and big blue eyes stared at her in fear, but there was also a hint of hope in his scent.

“Did you really talk to my mom?” he finally whispered.

“I did. She was very worried about you. My family and I would like to help you, Lukas.”

“How do you know my name,” the boy asked, taking a step closer to her.

“Someone very special told me,” Mist said, as she rose from the floor and held out a hand to him.

“My mom?”

Shaking her head, she slipped her arms around his thin shoulders. “No.”

“Then who?”

She laughed at his persistency but gave him the honest answer. “The Goddess told me, Lukas. She cares about you very much and brought me to you so I can help you find what you are looking for.”

“What’s that?” Lukas whispered, leaning into her.

“A family who will love you unconditionally.”

“Your family?”

Mist stepped outside with her arm still around Lukas and looked at the men and woman who waited for them.

“Yes, Lukas. My family is now your family.”