Caleb let out a soft growl. “Dammit, I’m trying to keep you safe. Why can’t you understand that?”
“I do understand,” she said softly, reaching up to rest her hand against his scruffy jaw, not caring that they were going to have this conversation with her brother and Kiara standing right there. “But part of getting close to someone is accepting that the worry goes both ways. You don’t want me to get hurt, but I don’t want you to get hurt, either. So I’m going with you to watch out for you, because you never watch out for yourself.”
She couldn’t tell if Caleb was ready to capitulate or not, but before he could say anything one way or another, Julian spoke.
“Wait a minute,” her brother said, glaring first at Caleb, then at her. “You like this guy? I mean, I saw you holding hands before, but are you two sleeping together?”
Brielle returned his glare, furious that her brother had the nerve to say something about her choice in men when she’d been forced to deal with his questionable taste in girlfriends for years—up until now, of course. Kiara seemed like a really sweet girl.
“And what makes you think that the answer to either of those questions is any of your business?” she demanded.
“Because I’m your brother,” Julian replied. “I worry about you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Brielle’s anger immediately faded. Her brother would never have any say when it came to her and Caleb, but hearing him admit that he cared enough to be worried about her was nice. She only wished it weren’t the first time he’d said it out loud.
“I appreciate the concern,” she said, giving him a small smile. “But you don’t have to worry about me. Caleb is the man I’m supposed to be with.”
Caleb did a double take at that, regarding her with the most adorable stunned expression on his face. Julian seemed equally amazed, and for a moment, Brielle thought he was going to argue, but then he sighed.
“It looks like we’re all staying then,” he said, looking from Kiara to her. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re both making a big mistake, but I won’t let you make it alone.”
Kiara wrapped her arms around Julian, hugging him tightly. “Since we’re staying, maybe we should get a gun for you to carry.”
Julian nodded, letting Kiara take his hand and lead him away. But after a step or two, he stopped and turned back to pin Caleb with a look. “Just so you know, I don’t think you’re good enough for my sister, but she seems to like you anyway. You better not hurt her, or I’ll kill you.”
It was Brielle’s turn to be stunned. Speechless, she watched her brother and Kiara head toward the tables loaded down with more weapons than she could even identify, where Julian picked one up and handled it with way too much familiarity.
“I would never hurt you,” Caleb murmured. “Never.”
Brielle turned to smile at him. “I know.”
“That part you said…about me being the man you’re supposed to be with,” he said, the words as unexpected as they were soft. “Did you mean it? You truly think you’re supposed to be with me?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Caleb seemed to consider that for a moment. “Brielle, there’s something important I need to tell you. About these feelings you have for me, I mean. There’s a folk tale that says werewolves…”
Brielle had no doubt that Caleb was about to tell her about The One—and she was more than ready to listen—but before he could get the words out, McKay was shouting for everyone’s attention from the front of the warehouse.
“Okay, people, time to go!” he called. “There’s a number on the upper left corner of your envelope that corresponds to a vehicle outside. Grab weapons, ammo, explosives, and whatever food you need and get moving. And good luck.”
Caleb cursed, but Brielle put a finger to his lips. She didn’t want something as important as this conversation to be rushed.
“You can tell me later,” she promised. “Right now, why don’t you help me find a weapon? Until I touch someone who knows what the hell they’re doing with a gun, I’m clueless.”
Caleb hesitated but nodded. “Okay. But we do need to talk—and soon.”
Chapter 19
“According to the map, there’s supposed to be some kind of electrical room about half a dozen turns up ahead,” Brielle whispered, looking intently back and forth between the paper that detailed where they were supposed to be heading and a rough map that Kiara had drawn from memory, which McKay had copied for everyone. “I have no idea if there are people guarding the place, but according to the AI computer, if we blow up the room, it will cut power to most of the complex and hopefully end this whole crazy scheme before it starts.”
“Why do I have a hard time believing that ending this will be as simple as setting an explosive charge and running away?” Caleb murmured, his ears straining to pick up any sound that might suggest there were bad guys up ahead.
“Because you’re a naturally cynical person,” Hudson said.
Genevieve let out a soft snort of amusement at that.
“I’m only cynical because of how many times I’ve been right about crap like this,” Caleb quipped.
He focused his attention on the dimly lit tunnel ahead of them, occasionally glancing over his shoulder back the way they’d come. The idea that Xavier Harrington might already know they were here and that he had his goons sneaking up on them even now had crossed Caleb’s mind more than once. And from the tense expressions on everyone else’s faces, it was obvious they were worried about the same thing.
Caleb wondered again why McKay’s AI computer put Brielle, Hudson, and Genevieve together on their own. Because that was the way it was supposed to have played out—if he had been better at following directions.
He hadn’t bothered to open his envelope or even read the numbers written on the outside of it. When Brielle had headed for one of the vans near the front of the line of vehicles outside the warehouse, he’d followed as if it was the most natural thing in the world. When the vehicle’s GPS had led the driver to the building off Union Turnpike and Brielle, Craig, and Genevieve had gotten out, he’d climbed out with them.
Truthfully, he didn’t really care what some stupid computer thought he should do. Hell, he rarely did what people he respected told him to do, so why would he follow a computer’s instructions? Besides, there was no way in hell he was leaving his soul mate on her own. Or in this case, leaving her with Hudson and Genevieve as backup, which was almost as bad as leaving her alone.
As they moved along a dimly lit corridor, Caleb caught sight of Hudson dropping a small black box on the floor and nudging it into a corner, trying to make the thing as inconspicuous as possible. The box—a radio repeater pack—was designed to boost the strength of any radio signal it picked up. All the teams moving into the complex were dropping them at random locations, hoping it would allow everyone to stay in contact with each other as they moved deeper into the tunnels. Of course, no one had ever used the system underground like this, so no one was sure whether it would work.