Page 16 of Sergi (Of Blood & Dreams #7)

Chapter Fifteen

Devon stood at the door of the plane and scanned the area. The sun was out, but the air was cool. The customs agents had processed the plane quickly, and he assumed some money had exchanged hands. He stepped down to the tarmac and strode to the two vans that waited for them.

The team followed him, taking their duffels to the back of the vans where they would be stored for travel. Although the jet belonged to Remus, its ownership and tail registration were listed under a private corporation that was mired within dozens of false companies. If anyone were interested, it would take days to uncover the true owner.

The team consisted of ten vampires and ten shifters, including Devon and Remus. Rafael added one more to the count. He wasn’t sure if it would be enough. Their plans depended on there being more scientists and lab workers than guards, but he'd brought extra toys to even the playing field.

“We’re clear to go.” Remus dropped his duffel next to the pile. “The plane will stay at a field south of Timisoara until they get the call to retrieve us.”

“So far so good.” Devon waved Bella over from where she was monitoring the duffels packed into the second van. “Have you contacted Rafael?”

She glanced around the tarmac then waved at one of the shifters and pointed to the first van. “He’s on his way to Deva. The road to the lab had been quiet until last night. A supply truck went up, but it hadn’t returned before he left.”

“Was it a cargo van or something larger?” Remus asked.

“It was a cargo van,” she answered.

“Could be anything.” Devon checked his satellite phone.

“Or more guards.” Remus finished for him.

“Increased security?” Bella asked the question, but her attention was focused on the extra supplies being loaded into the vans.

Devon understood. “Because they caught a vampire along with a shifter.”

Remus nodded.

“That makes sense.” Bella paused to answer a question from a team member, then said, “It’s possible other vampires might have wandered too close, but my guess is that Sergi has been their first vampire intruder. If that’s true, they have to be concerned that someone might come for him.”

“He was captured over a week ago.” Devon shrugged off the concern. If there had been more than one cargo van, he might have been more worried. “If they had concerns about their security, they would have done something before now.”

Remus, who had also checked for messages, pocketed his burner phone. “At this point, it’s all speculation. Maybe Rafael can tell us more when we get to our first checkpoint. Either way, we planned for this.”

They agreed, and once everyone was in the vans, they settled in for the two-hour drive to Deva. It was late afternoon, and while the team broke into general conversation, Devon pulled out his phone. Bella would have checked in with the manor once they’d touched down, but he wanted to speak with Cressa. It would be her first day as head of security.

It could be an overwhelming job for anyone’s first few days, regardless of how long they’d been there. Cressa kept up with the security protocols, but she bored easily with the fine nuances Simone and Sergi added to the daily updates for the manor, Oasis, and both safe houses.

She answered on the first ring. “Devon? Is everything alright?”

He chuckled. She sounded a bit frazzled. “Everything is fine. We just arrived, and we’re in the vans heading for Deva.”

“Oh, thank god. I thought maybe something happened since Bella checked in.”

“Which was only twenty minutes ago.”

“Exactly. What if someone attacked right after she hung up?”

He grinned but held back his laugh. “How’s your first day going?”

Her growl was low, but he heard how tired she was, and it wasn’t yet noon in California. “I don’t know how Sergi keeps up with all of this. It’s not just updating, reviewing, and communicating the protocols, but everyone has a million questions. I’ve never seen Sergi break a sweat with this, and thank the stars he keeps immaculate records.” She was silent a moment. “Don’t you dare tell him I said any of that.”

This time, he did laugh. “I won’t say a word, but I’ll give you one secret if you’re not already doing it. Delegate.”

He heard her heavy sigh. “I know that, but why don’t they call their team leads?”

“Sometimes, the team leads haven’t read the updates yet. Other times, the team leads aren’t available, and, in either scenario, the guards tend to be impatient and don’t like to wait. But I think the reason you’re getting more calls than Sergi is because the guards like you and want to talk to you.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize that.” She went silent for a moment. “Alright. I don’t mind helping them at least once, then I’ll direct them back to their team lead. Thank you.”

He would have hugged her had he been there. She made it sound like she was helping, which she was, but the truth was more that she didn’t want to hurt their feelings and felt guilty she didn’t know most of them. “No problem. How are you otherwise?”

“Worried about you. Worried about Sergi and Carlos.”

“We’ll get them back. We’re going to go dark soon. No communication except for emergencies. I wanted to call before that happened.”

“I know you’re in the van, so I’ll make this easy on you. I love you, and I miss you. You take care of yourself, and if I have to come find you? Well, no one will like it if I show up.”

“We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. And for everything you said before that—me too.”

“See you soon.” She hung up. Not surprising since he heard the tears in her voice, reminding him just how dangerous this mission was.

“Is everything alright with Cressa?” Remus didn’t bother hiding a grin when he asked the question.

“She’s fine and wishes us well.”

They fell into talk about the old days, the advancement of weapons, and how they both preferred hand-to-hand, or in Remus’s case, hand-to-fang combat over anything else.

As the afternoon waned toward dusk, the two fell silent, each experiencing the burden of the mission and what they would discover. Remus had lost many to secure the location of this facility, and Devon understood the pain of sending others to their deaths.

How did one put the life of one male over dozens of others? Sergi wasn’t just his friend, he had been a companion for centuries. He’d saved Devon’s life countless times. And while Sergi never wanted to be a House leader, his value to a House was immeasurable.

If it hadn’t been for the GPS trackers and Rafael’s survival, they wouldn’t have the slim advantage they had. They’d find Sergi and Carlos and, with any luck, maybe Remus’s other shifters.

When they reached Deva and the team stepped out of the van, Remus held Devon back.

“I have a request.”

Devon studied him, understanding whatever was coming was difficult for the shifter, but he could see The Wolf behind the haunted eyes, ready to fight—ready to die if need be.

“Anything.” Devon wasn’t sure what he was promising, but at this juncture, he didn’t see how he could deny the male who’d gotten Devon farther than he thought possible in his personal crusade.

“Whether we win or fail, I need this to be seen as a raid by the shifters.”

The request shocked Devon. “Are you sure you want that kind of heat from Venizi? He won’t take an attack instigated by shifters lightly, especially when we take what we came for.”

Remus laughed. “You know we’re going to do more than take the evidence we need. Our plan is to dismantle their entire infrastructure. Besides, if the heat is on us, Venizi won’t suspect you have the information he’s been hiding from the Council, assuming they don’t already know about it.”

“No shifter will be safe.”

Remus’s laugh was filled with contempt. “No shifter is safe. This is how we live our lives each day. But I’ve put all the packs on high alert. They know we’re in Romania and they know why.” He gave Devon a rueful smile. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but we need a win against vampires. The shifters I sent need a win.”

Devon considered the statement and the ramifications. Shifters were smart. They knew there was a divide among the vampires—those willing to work with shifters and those who hunted them. Trust had to be shared on both sides. There would always be shifters with a distaste for vampires. Cato, the recluse shifter who’d been a slave to Venizi for most of his life, was one of those, though he had provided critical information toward the successful raid of Shadow Island. Minds could be swayed through success. And that built trust.

Devon held out his hand, and Remus took it. “This mission will be a success, and the credit will fall to you. You have my word.”

Devon followed Remus out of the van and surveyed the area. Rafael had found a quiet location at an isolated, run-down inn on the far edge of the village. It was run by an older couple who were barely scraping by, and currently, the motel had no other guests.

Rafael had been getting by with English, but the couple was more comfortable with Romanian, and Remus was fluent enough to ease the couple’s minds. He advised them they were on a mission to find a friend lost in the Carpathian Mountains. They became more helpful when Remus handed them a couple stacks of Romanian leu that would last them for some time.

Before he walked the property, he found Rafael, who was carrying gear from the van to the inn.

He shook the male’s hand. “Thank you for following orders and escaping. I know it feels as if you failed the team, but your ability to get word to us gives us the upper hand in this mission.”

Rafael ducked his head. “It wasn’t easy to run away.”

Devon nodded. “It never is, but there are times when it’s the only solution. And I’ve had to do it more than once in my life. This was necessary.”

Rafael lifted his head to give Devon his eyes. “We’ll get them back.”

Devon grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. “Yes, we will. And you’ve done a great deal toward that success.”

Rafael walked away with a confident stride. Satisfied, Devon strolled the inn with Remus.

The inn had twelve rooms. There was a bungalow next door that Devon assumed belonged to the older couple. The closest buildings were a block away and hidden behind trees.

The rooms barely fit a bed, shower, and sink, but there was running water. A single meeting room had been turned into a spacious storage closet. There was enough room to use it as a dual command center and extra sleeping area. Their equipment had been brought in, and the weapons and ammunition were being divided among the defined teams.

When it was time to settle into their planning session, four of Remus’s team members shifted into wolves to secure the area.

The older couple, who cooked a meal for them even after being told it wasn’t necessary, became a wealth of information. They reviewed the team’s map and advised on which areas to avoid. Of course, the area where the lab was situated was one of those places.

“Many go missing in that area,” the old man told Remus, who then translated to Devon. The problem wasn’t the mountain but the wild creatures. The old man wasn’t stupid. He glanced at the duffels, and his last words before leaving the room were succinct. “You’ll need decent weapons to survive.”

Remus agreed there were an equal amount of wild wolves to wild shifters in the area, but the team determined most of the disappearances were more likely from those who wandered too close to the lab. But the warnings about wild shifters weren’t taken lightly. They were intelligent and ruthless and would have to be taken down if they got too close.

The plan for their attack on the facility was simple.

Team One, which consisted of one male vampire and one female shifter, would be stationed in the village as a couple preparing for a three-day hike into the mountains. They would monitor the dirt road that led to the labs. The road was concealed behind a warehouse, but Rafael had found a tiny cafe with a clear view of the area. They would remain in contact with Teams Two and Four.

Team Two, a three-member team of two shifters and one vampire, would travel up the mountain on dirt bikes. Their task was to prevent traffic from leaving or entering the area. They carried C4 with remote detonators and would set the trap a mile from the facility before Teams Three and Four reached their destination on foot.

Team Three had the most dangerous part of the mission. They would be the bait. It would be a four-member team with two shifters and two vampires. The team would wear mesh diving suits over their clothing so they could be removed once the darts were no longer a threat. The suits were too bulky to wear for the entire mission. Their goal was to trigger the alarm to open the blinds, allowing Team Four, the remaining twelve members, to overtake the guards, gain computer access, and take out the exterior security cameras, leaving the interior security teams blind to the size of their force.

Once the security team in the blinds was eliminated, and assuming there was a tunnel to the main lab, Teams Three and Four would reorganize into the preplanned eight-member teams. Team Three would enter the lab through the tunnel, and since they would be blind to what might be waiting for them, they would take most of the smoke grenades Devon was able to procure.

Team Four would blast the exterior doors with C4. Once inside, communication via wireless earbuds would be critical as the teams located and seized the command center, giving them control of communications and security.

Only then would the team move through the lab. Scientists and lab assistants would be safely secured so long as they didn’t pose a threat; otherwise, they would be eliminated. It was harsh, but Devon knew all too well how much damage a single individual could create, especially if they were able to send information out of the mountain.

They reviewed the plan three times before the members were divided into their initial teams to go over their gear. Then they slept, waking early to find a large breakfast waiting for them. The four wolves returned to their human forms, ate heartily, then crashed in the van for the ride to the village.

Devon glanced out the window as they left Deva. Old passions stirred. At one point in his long life, he’d wondered if the call of his ancestors and the excitement of battle would dull with time. He’d heard the roar of his blood and sensed the rise of the beast during the raid at Shadow Island and when they’d infiltrated Underwood’s home to retrieve Cressa’s mother and sister.

Remus nudged his shoulder. His grin was wide. “Do you feel it? The promise of victory.”

The last bits of worry drained from Devon, and he shouted, “To victory!”

His heart filled with pride when the van—filled with vampires and shifters on their first true mission as a team—shouted as one.

“To victory!”