“I know,” he said in that same gentle tone. “But you’re not going to have to. We’re all going out the back. Now get your shoes, amata. Please.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Fine, but I’m getting my gun, too.”
As Grace hurried past him, Maeve turned to Kato again. “Is there a way for you to get away through the back of the house, to get far enough away from here?”
“The dock. We can take the boat,” he said brusquely, more than half listening to Lili’s call to Nico. “Lili, tell him—”
A loud squeal suddenly shrieked through the house, drowning out everything else, climbing up and down the scale, from ear-piercing high to bone-rattling low, weaving in and out of the endless thundering in such a disjointed cacophony that Maeve could hardly put two thoughts together. “Christ,” she screamed, “why hasn’t anyone called the cops, at least?”
“They don’t hear it,” he shouted back, taking a set of headphones from Lili’s desk and placing them over Grace’s ears when she ran back into the office.
Maeve closed her eyes tightly, head lowered and fingers clenched in front of her as she struggled to think. “Lili,” she managed to say, “let’s get into the vault while we still can.”
“No promises,” Kato told her. “But I’ll stay here and monitor the video feed, while you two do that.” He stepped back so they could leave, but stopped Maeve when she would have followed Lili out of the office. He was big man, as all the warriors were, his tall frame and wide shoulders looming over her, dark eyes searching her face. “My brother loves you,” he just loud enough for her to hear. “Don’t make him bury you, Mae. He won’t survive it.”
Tears filled her eyes at this sign of the love these men had for each other, a love Dragan had somehow chosen to share with her. And one she wouldn’t betray. “I won’t.” Then, giving her eyes a quick swipe with the back of her fingers, she followed Lili.
NICK LISTENED TO Lili’s call for help, hearing the slight tremor in her voice, despite her obvious efforts to remain calm. But he didn’t need subtleties to know the situation. He could hear the resounding roar as Sotiris threw power against his wards, trying to get into the house, and as he stared at the sorcerer’s device for a moment, he was sickened by the realization that this was no coincidence. Sotiris had planned to test his device with the murder of all those people in the stadium, but as a bonus, he was taking advantage of the opportunity to reclaim what had been stolen from him. The hexagon.
Casey glanced up, when he stood without warning. “Boss, we’ve got to move on this thing before—”
“Agreed, but not yet. Don’t do anything until I get back.” Walking out of the damp closet and back to where the others waited, he turned to face Dragan, who was just striding down the hall, magic falling away as he shed the remnants that lingered after he’d collapsed his wings, remnants which had concealed him from casual detection when Nick had telepathed a request for his return.
Nick and Casey had decided on a plan to disable Sotiris’s device, but he wanted his people out of the building before they tried it. He’d known, however, that his warriors wouldn’t go without knowing what he planned. They’d always been devoted to one another, and to him, willing to die, if necessary. But now, he had a far more important reason for them to go.
“Dragan,” he said, walking to meet him halfway. “Sotiris is at the house. He’s trying to get through the wards. Go. The others will be right behind.”
Dragan didn’t hesitate, simply spun on his heel and ran, hitting the double doors and passing between them without missing a step.
“Gabriel, you and Hana, take Casey’s truck. We’ll follow when we finish this.”
Gabriel caught the keys Damian threw at him, listened to a quick description of where the truck was, then took off with Hana running beside him.
Nick turned to face his last warrior. “Damian—”
“Don’t even bother, brother. I’m not going anywhere until you and Cassandra are with me.”
“I know. But be prepared for a fast exit. There’s no guarantee this’ll work, and I won’t lose either one of you.”
“I’ll be ready,” the one-time god of war promised easily.
Nick walked back into the closet and sat next to Casey, waiting a silent moment before saying, “You ready, babe?”
She didn’t look over, just smiled and shook her head in amusement at the hated endearment. “My butt’s getting sore,” she whispered. “Let’s get rid of this fucker.”
DRAGAN HADN’T needed the order to “go.” He was turning before the final word of Sotiris’s attack made it past Nico’s lips. His Mae was brave, but she had no experience at war, not the way he’d fought it, with the stink of blood and spilled guts filling the air, the screams of dying men and women all around. And Sotiris . . . he was a slavering beast, with no thought for anyone who got in his way. He’d slaughter Maeve and everyone who stood with her.
He took the curve of the concourse without pausing, ignoring the angry cries that followed him, the insults. These people had no idea of the danger they were in. No idea of the lives being risked to save them. No fucking idea that the only woman he’d ever loved, the only human being who’d ever treated him with love and compassion, who’d seen him as a man first, and a warrior second, was in grave danger. And that she, too, might die to save their lives.
Racing up the ramp to the wide green sports field, he snapped his wings out the moment he cleared the seats, leaped onto the metal railing and . . . jumped. Screams of fear and excitement came from behind him, but he barely heard.
Swooping in a low glide over the field, he caught an updraft and soared higher, until the lights of the stadium were far below and he was the dark shadow he’d been born to be.
Chapter Seventeen
MAEVE WAITED impatiently as Lili slid a hand into the bookcase and did whatever she did to cause the vault door to pop open. Any other day, she’d have been curious about that. But now, she just wanted it open.
“It’s in a cabinet inside there,” she told Lili. “Do you have the keys?”
“Oh. Yes.” Lili dug into a pocket on one side of her voluminous pants and pulled out a small set of metal keys. She caught Maeve staring and said, “They look ordinary, but they’re not. Don’t touch them, okay?”
With that said, she stepped in front of Maeve and pushed the vault door open just wide enough for the two of them to slip inside, one at a time.