Page 103 of Claimed

“Everyone who doesn’t need to be here, clear out,” Tyson shouts. “Erica, do you have something of your sister’s so we can track her scent?”

“I already memorized her scent,” Lincoln says. “I can tell from here it dead ends in our parking lot.”

“I masked her scent,” my brother tells them and urges everyone to go, to follow him to the rendezvous point, suggesting he will trade Erica’s sister for time in the cabin with Sherry and then he looks at Sherry and talks to her about her becoming queen of Silver Hills like it’s a wonderful place and there’s a bejeweled crown and throne awaiting her.

And not a moment later, Sherry is agreeing to go with Wyatt, so she can help resolve things for everyone.

“I don’t want anything bad to happen to everyone. I’ll… I’ll go with him,” she offers.

Jase doesn’t like it, but Sherry argues that if he’s meant to be her mate, it’ll be evident by the morning.

I want to scream at her, to warn her about how awful Wyatt really is, but Greyson’s Aunt Mimi’s piercing gray eyes hit mine and I find myself speechless. I don’t know how I know but I know she doesn’t want me to speak up to Sherry right now.

Bailey makes some snide remarks about Sherry wanting to go be a queen somewhere where nobody knows her and hates her. And I don’t know Sherry, didn’t get a good vibe from her in the bathroom before my brother burst in, but Idoknow she’s in fora world of despair if she leaves here with my brother. No woman wants to be the queen of the Silver Hills scrap heap.

“Downstairs, Bailey. Girls,” Grey calls out, “Hurry.”

The next few minutes are a flurry of arguments over who goes downstairs and whether Sherry is really going with Wyatt or not.

And then it’s obvious by Wyatt’s next warning that the ‘tick tock’ refers to a home where somebody currently sleeps and Tyson explodes with anger, doing the half-shift thing Greyson did while threatening my brother and demanding to know if he fucked with his house. It’s severely amped, you can practically taste the testosterone in the room, and the next thing I know, the men are all following Wyatt in order to do an exchange.

I look at Grey with desperate urgency, wanting to warn him, but the way his eyes move over me and the expression on his face as well as the sensations in my chest let me know he reads me loud and clear before he looks past me and says, “Look after Stace for me? I’ll get Jessica back. Promise.”

He drops a quick peck on my mouth and I’m suddenly in his great Aunt’s embrace as she urges them to go and requests that Erica allow it.

I want to call out to the man I love, to plead with him to be careful of my brother, to let him know how much I love him, but not only am I paralyzed by fear and crying my eyes out, but there’s also the commotion of Tyson running out, Mason behind him, conversations among the other non-council men left here about who is going to do what. They’re quickly dividing tasks, working together, and discussing keeping watch outside and checking the rest of the interior and exterior of this building to make sure there are no explosive devices within it.

Before he’s out of the building, my brother shoots a smirk over his shoulder at me. Grey sees it.

I stare at the doorway with icy cold fear thrumming in my veins. Because it would be just like Wyatt to plant multiple explosives.

Quickly, Erica and her sisters Dani and Ronnie are plotting to help and rushing out, leaving me with Mimi and Vivica.

They leave and as soon as they’re gone, without saying a word, I watch Bailey slip out right behind them.

Vivica gets a panicked look on her face and urges me and Mimi into the library across the hall from the party space, where I sit down and cradle myself, weeping, feeling that just like I suspected, it’s all about to crumble.

Aunt Mimi squats in front of me and tips my chin up, shaking her head while fiercely stating, “No. Don’t send your mate any negativity right now. Not only will it trouble him, it’s not necessary. It’s all going to be okay. Trust me, girl.”

I hope she’s right.

She guides me through some deep-breathing exercises with a soothing voice that actually helps somewhat. Not too long later, I’m so focused on her voice and the breathing that I know my blood pressure has calmed, that my body isn’t strung so tight, but I suddenly smell fire just before the building shakes with fury, leaving it feeling like we’re in the midst of an earthquake happening during a tornado.

We’re in the library but me, Mimi, and Vivica step into the hall and look through the opened door to the space the party had been in, and I’m shocked to see massive holes in both the ceiling and the floor.

“What the heck was that?” I gawk at the hole in the roof.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Mimi reminds me, putting her hands on me. “Sit down. Greyson is coming back for you. He’ll be here soon.” She leads me to the table beside Erica’stable of birthday gifts, where the rest of her multi-layered pink birthday cake sits among other party supplies and drinks. I’m glad someone had the foresight to cover the gifts table with a tablecloth. I didn’t see anyone do that before we moved across the hall. I don’t linger on that thought for long, though.

“Shouldn’t we get outside?” I ask, unsure if more of this building is about to fly apart.

“No, child. He’ll come here to see to you,” Mimi says calmly and looks at the doorway just before Grey rushes in, eyes pointed at me. He still has blood-streaked cheeks, but he looks as big, strong, and whole as he always has.

I run to him, and he catches me, burying his nose into my hair and taking in a big breath. I feel that he’s shaking, too. Likely with fury.

“Wh-what happened?” I ask. “Is everyone okay?”

He pulls in another big breath and lets it out slowly as he stares at the hole in the floor, eyes traveling to the hole in the roof for a beat before his eyes return to my face. “Gotta go see what’s what. Had to see you first. Make sure you’re all right.”

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