Page 40 of The Dawning
The wind howled, blowing leaves and snapping branches. The smell of wet pine and moist earth floated around me. Then, for a mere second, the rain slowed, and the ringing of my phone echoed in the night.
My eyes widened at the caller ID on my screen. “Carly Aberdeen,” I said her name as I answered. “If you so much as touched Layla—”
“Save your threats, Sam,” she volleyed back, irritation in her tone coming through loud and clear. “I don’t have much time. When you called, I was talking to Junior. He told me you were in the area. Not surprised about that either. In fact, Adam and the others, especially Rianne and Harriet, were banking on your arrival, although not this soon.”
“That bastard,” I mumbled. There went the element of surprise.
“Junior is helping you. So save your disdain for my husband.” She said the wordhusbandas if she was proud of Junior.
“There’s a greenhouse outside the lab building on the northwest corner of the property. It’s 9:00 p.m. Meet me there at ten thirty sharp. The only way in is over the wall. The cameras sweep the area every five minutes. You won’t have much time.”
I wasn’t concerned about cameras. Wyman, the great hacker that he claimed to be, would be our ace in the hole when it came to shutting down the power.
“Where’s Layla?” I demanded, gritting my teeth.
“I’ll be frank,” Carly said. “I didn’t sign up to use pregnant women. Layla doesn’t belong in this fight, Sam. She almost coded. Her heart is weak.”
Dizziness hit me faster than a plane at Mach speed. Carly wasn’t pulling my leg either. I could hear the urgency in her tone. “Did you inject her with whatever the fuck it is you’re whipping up?” My nerves went haywire as nausea crept into my throat.
“No,” she said emphatically. “I’ve managed to stabilize her. She needs the help of your vampire experts. If I’m correct, she’s carrying a nonhuman. That and the stress of what she’s been through the last few days has caught up with her. I’ll do what I can to help you get her out of here. I would bring her to you, but Harriet, Rianne, and Noah are hovering.”
A savagery that I’d packed away in childhood rose from the depths of my soul, provoking the beast who’d been dormant for many years. Growling, I stomped my foot on the ground, calling Mother Nature to fill me to the brim once more. The earth shook, trees swayed, and the energy thrashed about like a caged animal struggling to get free so that it could hunt down Harriet, Rianne, and Noah and annihilate them.
“Sam, are you still there?” Carly asked. “I promise, Layla is fine. Do you want my help or not?”
“She’d better be the fuck okay,” I bit out. “And I don’tneedyour help. Have you forgotten what I can do?”
“You do need me.” Her voice sizzled with confidence. “You have a chip in your head. I can make sure it doesn’t engage.”
I believed her about Layla but not so much about the chip—though maybe I was too outraged and not thinking clearly when it came to Layla. “Why should I believe you?” I demanded, though her answer didn’t matter. One way or another, we were bringing my huntress home tonight—with Carly’s help or without it.
“I’ve always liked Layla. And I’m trying to help you, Sam.”
“Then I also want a vampire by the name of Matthew Costner and two shifters, Ross Gray and also a recent victim of yours whose name is Tucker.”
“I have no idea who those people are. They’re not here,” she said matter-of-factly. “Look, Sam. There are different agendas at play here. I’m not privy to everything Adam, Roman, or Harriet have up their sleeves. I have to go.”
“Wait. One more question: Why did you slip me your phone number?”
“Because I need you, and I knew your curiosity would get the better of you. I didn’t have a chance to add my name to the note because Adam came in. I’d cut the feed to the cameras in the glass room, so he thought something happened.”
“Need me? For what? More of my DNA? And if you were certain I would call, why shut off your phone?”
“A story for another day, Sam. Time is ticking away. Ten thirty sharp.” Then she was gone.
I was inside the ranger’s station in a flash and practically nose to nose with Rebekah. “Why didn’t you tell me Layla’s heart is weak?”
Dane pulled me away from the pretty shifter with the multicolored hair. No longer naked, she was now dressed in army fatigues.
Rebekah pushed off the desk she’d been leaning against. “Layla’s heart was fine when I examined her. I promise.”
Tripp and my father surrounded me as I glared at Rebekah.
“What happened, son?” my father asked, placing a hand on my chest and urging me to take a step backward.
Growling through a sigh, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Carly called. Layla almost coded. Her heart is weak. Layla’s stable for now. Carly wants me to meet her at the greenhouse outside the lab building at ten thirty.” I regarded Dane and Rebekah, who stood next to each other by the desk. “Carly says Ross and Tucker aren’t there.”
Confusion crossed Dane’s face. “Then Roman has Ross. Fuck!”
