Page 38 of The Dawning
My dad put two hands on the wheel. “So be strong for Layla, son,” he said, reading my mind. Normally, my dad had to be touching the person to read his mind but not when it came to Jo and me.
I stared out the windshield, the wipers swishing back and forth at high speed. The coordinates that shifter Rebekah had texted to Jordyn’s phone were leading us down a dark two-lane mountain road. But the torrential rain was making it difficult to see three feet in front of us. Thankfully, my sharp vampire vision still worked. My hearing wasn’t back to normal yet. Peter thought it would return once the chip shifted again—if it did.
We were about a mile from the ranger’s station. My nerves were making me jittery. I was tempted to jump out and scour the area or do anything to keep my mind from spiraling into a tornado of darkness. As it was, an anxious clawing scratched my insides. I couldn’t pinpoint why. The only good news so far had been hearing Layla’s voice and knowing she was alive. The rest of the day had gone to hell.
I shoved my hands through my hair, then checked my cell. The signal fluctuated from two bars to three. Nevertheless, we were prepared with all our gear—sat phones, computers, weapons, night goggles, a supply of blood, and the special antidote Dr. Vieira had developed to counteract certain sedatives. It hadn’t worked on the ketamine that Carly had used in the drug-filled darts. However, I believed the antidote blocked gelsemium, another drug that she’d used to stop my elemental powers from working.
My phone buzzed with Victor’s name flashing on screen. I hit the speaker button. “Any word from Nathan Dupont?”
We weren’t sure of the connection between Roman and the Duponts or what their role was with Intech. One thing we knew for sure was that Roman’s endgame was Abbey.
“Sadly, yes.” Victor’s baritone voice thundered in the cab of the SUV. “Nathan is dead, and Sierra is missing. Carmen found Nathan’s bludgeoned body in his study early this morning. I learned that Roman and Nathan had worked together many years ago at a pharmaceutical company. Send me your location. I’m coming to help. I can’t stand by and wait for news on my grandson. This shit has to stop.”
No lie there. But if my father thought I was a wild card, Victor was worse. Five years ago, when his grandson Matthew had been human and taken by Edmund Rain, Victor had gone psycho. He’d joined our fight to hunt down Edmund and my uncle Patrick. When we finally had Edmund cornered, Victor became a madman. He’d wielded his sword like a baseball batter swinging for the fence, primed to slice off Edmund’s head. But our formidable enemy had been one step quicker. Edmund had dived through a window and disappeared. Nevertheless, Victor was a warrior centuries old and had fought in battles where he’d been one of a handful left standing.
My father eyed my phone. “Victor, do me a favor. I need you there. Take your men and Carmen and head to the naval base. Your daughter is there anyway. We’re down soldiers. And I would feel comfortable knowing I have a warrior such as yourself helping to protect our civilians and military. The council will owe you. Can you do that for us?”
He growled through the phone. “Fine. I want updates. I’ll have my plane fueled and ready to go if need be.” Then he hung up.
The sign we’d just passed indicated that the ranger’s station was up ahead. I gnawed on the inside of my cheek, my stomach in knots, excitement holding steady. Just minutes away from seeing Layla, her gorgeous face, ball-squeezing blue eyes, and a smile that always made my heart fill with love. I couldn’t wait to wrap her in my arms and inhale her cherry scent that promised passionate nights and smelled like home.
I tapped my foot on the floorboard. “We could use Victor’s sword skills.”
“He’s even more quick-tempered than you, son. I don’t need that right now.”
Victor was exactly what we needed, but I didn’t press the issue.
All of us were wound tight, especially my dad. He hadn’t had a chance to breathe since the chaos at the hospital. He’d been on the firing line with reporters. His response to them had been, “Until I can assess the situation, I have no comment.”
But the media and what had happened was the least of our worries. Humanity was in crisis. If we didn’t do something about Intech, the world as we knew it would be a dark and dangerous place. First, though, Layla was all that mattered. Once she was safe, then I would do whatever I could to take out Intech, Roman, and Harriet Aberdeen.
My father flipped on the blinker, braking as he finally wheeled into the ranger’s station. The minute he slowed, I jumped out into the pouring rain, sharpening my senses, scanning, sniffing, and listening, even though that particular sharp sense was broken for the moment. The rain sounded like a chorus of chaos, and if I had my normal vampire hearing, it would be possible to detect even the faintest of sounds over Mother Nature.
I marched over to the only car in the lot. The Toyota Highlander was empty save for a blanket, a cooler, and a duffel bag that sat on the back seat.
Tripp pulled in alongside my father, both cars shining high beams on the dark and eerie building. An ominous prickle skated along my spine. Something wasn’t right.
My fangs slid out, my eyes flashing silver, and my elemental powers on the brink of competing with the thunder and lightning. This was the perfect weather to strengthen my abilities.
Dane sidled up to me. “I only hear one heartbeat. Whoever’s inside is in distress.”
With quick movements, I wrenched open the door, tearing it off its hinges. The second I crossed the threshold, the scent of blood pierced my nostrils.
Motherfucker.
Absolute panic hurtled through me. “Layla,” I called, even though the scent hanging in the air smelled like a wet dog.
Dane flicked on a switch, and the two-room office space was bathed in light—a desk, a couch, pamphlets scattered on a table, and a blood trail that led to what the sign on the door indicated was the bathroom.
“Layla,” I called again, my heart about to punch through my ribs as I hauled ass into the bathroom.
I shook my head, blinked, and focused on the unconscious naked woman who wasn’t Layla.
Dane pulled me out of the doorway. “Move.”
I stumbled back as my mind scrambled like eggs in a frying pan. Where the fuck was my baby mama?
Dane carried the woman out and set her on the striped couch. Her dog scent told me she was Rebekah or another shifter, at least. Unless the ranger was a shifter. But we’d already learned the ranger was a he and not a she.
