Page 86 of The Rebirth
SAM
The clock was ticking down. We had fifteen hours before Adam Emery followed through on his threat to whack off Jack Aberdeen’s head. Layla was as nervous as a drug addict who needed a fix. I wasn’t a fan of his, but he didn’t deserve to die.
The good news was we finally had confirmation on Adam’s new headquarters—a warehouse in the industrial district, the same one where Conrad had first spotted Draven Murphy and Adam. The bad news was that Adam hadn’t been seen there since we’d arrived in Chicago twenty-five hours ago. We were ninety-five percent sure Jack Aberdeen was being held at the warehouse, but we were hoping to kill two birds with one stone and take out Adam as we rescued Jack.
Layla bounced her knee in between Dane and me as we waited in the briefing room for Webb and my father to come in. Webb had called us down about ten minutes ago. The only other person in the room was Tripp, two seats over, and he was absorbed on his laptop as usual.
Olivia, Ben, and Kraft, the Vampire Navy SEALs on this mission with us, were keeping an eye on the building Fred Emery owned, which was located several blocks from the warehouse. But so far they hadn’t seen any signs of Adam nor had they found anything or anyone inside. Then we had two of Joan’s men joining us tonight. The same two who’d been sitting in a van, keeping an eye on our target.
Layla bit her nails. “I hope this meeting is to tell us Adam is at the warehouse. Time is running down, and I’m sick with worry that my uncle will die because of us. I also want this over with so we can go home and get on with our lives.”
Dane was dozing with his legs kicked out and crossed at the ankles. “Nothing would make me happier.”
I moved a wispy strand of hair off Layla’s face. “If Adam doesn’t show himself by four a.m., then we’re going in regardless.” Our missions were always better between midnight and four. There were fewer people around, and the darkness provided the best cover.
“That’s three hours from now,” she said. “By then, I’ll have chewed every one of my fingernails off.”
We knew the fucker was in Chicago. Joan’s men had tailed Draven picking up Adam at his apartment in the city and followed them to a restaurant. At the same time, Sawyer and his team were monitoring commercial and private flights to be sure Adam hadn’t flown to our city by the bay in Massachusetts.
I draped an arm around my wife and leaned close to her ear. “Maybe you can practice your mind control on Dane.”
“Hell no,” Dane fired at me like a heat-seeking missile.
“I’m good on that,” Layla said. “I’m going to call Jordyn. I want to make sure everything is okay with the babies.” She motioned to stand.
“I’m pretty sure your sister is asleep. It’s one in the morning, baby doll.”
She puffed out her cheeks. “Oh. I’ve had no sense of time since we’ve been holed up in this place.”
We were staying in a three-story brick structure that the vampire government owned in Chicago. It was mainly for storage, but Joan Chambers used the place on occasion for secret meetings with her scouts and guardians. The top floor had rooms with bunk beds or twin beds, just like military barracks.
Webb and my father finally strode in. Both appeared wiped out but dressed for battle like the rest of us—black uniforms with weapons attached and bulletproof vests.
Dane straightened in his seat, and Tripp closed his computer.
“It’s a go,” Webb said too excitedly. “Joan’s team trailed Adam and Draven from the restaurant they were at tonight to a house in Joliet where they picked up a gray-haired man named Rudolph Parsons. The background check we have on Mr. Parsons reveals that he’s a genetic scientist who was working for Lyle Biotech up until last month. The three men pulled into the warehouse about thirty minutes ago.”
Dane and I swapped an enthusiastic look. He and I were positively vibrating, almost unable to contain the primal urge to finally have the opportunity for vengeance against Adam Emery.
Everyone was on their feet, ready to get the show on the road.
Webb held up his hands. “Before we depart, a few last-minute reminders. As we’ve been studying and discussing for the last two days, this facility has several areas where they could be harboring Jack Aberdeen. The container yard is one of them. This will be our biggest challenge. There are a shitload of shipping containers stacked two to three high. Also, confiscate any hard drives, and if at all possible, we want the scientist alive. Outside of that, take no prisoners. If there aren’t any questions, then stay safe.”
“I’m assuming that you alerted Ben, Kraft, Olivia, and Conrad?” Tripp asked Webb.
“Conrad won’t be joining us,” my dad said. “He’s on his way to Europe to do some investigating on Draven’s father for me.”
“Tripp, to answer your question,” Webb said, “Ben, Kraft, and Olivia are heading to ground zero.”
“Any sign of Roman in the area?” Layla asked.
We hadn’t seen or heard anything from Roman. Then again, if he truly had escaped the farmhouse fire and was the naked blond man walking on the road behind the farm, he would need a blood bank and a few months to recover.
My father slipped his phone into the pocket of his bulletproof vest. “Negative. Nor have our scouts in North Dakota seen anyone fitting Roman’s description.”
“While all of us would love to capture Roman,” Webb bit out, his muscles tensing, “our mission is your uncle’s rescue and taking out Adam and Draven.”
Dane raised his hand. “I would like to add that this military operation is great, and I thank you for including me, but if anyone captures Adam, he’s mine to kill.” He narrowed his reddish-brown eyes at my father. “Steven, you owe me that much.”
