“Yes, I guess I do, but I do like having time with the girls. And I have to have my time to create my designs. Cosmo never bothers me when I’m in my office. And I understand that he has a job and he’s the beta of the Death Hunters. But if we are away from each other for long periods of time, we both get cranky and we’d almost flip out. It took me a while to find my groove, but we are doing pretty good. Now, if you don’t need me anymore. I need to get ready. Hey, you’re going to knock their socks off tonight.”
“This is wonderful. It’s more than I ever could dream of. Thank you, Haven.” She glanced up at her. “Thanks for being my friend.”
“Well, we are,” Haven said, hugging her.
She picked up her box for her mask and placed it inside. She didn’t want to damage it before the ball. Walking out the door, she saw Leo had just pulled up. He slowly got out of the truck and just stared at h
“What?” she stopped and looked down at her dress. “You don’t like it?”
The smile her brother gave her she hardly ever got from him. “You look beautiful. Stunning actually.”
Raven smiled as she looked down at her dress. “You really think so?”
Her brother stood in front of her staring at the dress. “Wow, little sis, when you clean up, you really clean up.”
“Well, big brother, you don’t look so bad yourself.” Fixing his tie, Raven acted like she was picking off a string on his jacket. “Never seen you in a suit before. You look good too.”
“Thanks. Are you ready? We need to do a couple of drive-bys.”
“And Caz, was he okay when you left him?” Raven asked her brother as he opened the door for her.
She watched as he closed the door and walked around the truck. As he got in, he still didn’t say anything. “Why are you stalling?”
“Because he’s going to be pissed off when he wakes up. I doubt he will ask questions first. The man is going to nut up when he sees you in that dress.”
“But...it’s so pretty,” Raven said, staring down at it.
Glancing at her, he placed his hand on top of hers. “No. You misunderstand. He’s going to nut up when he sees all the men in the room staring at you, little sis.”
Blushing, she smiled, then looked out the window, watching the world pass. Quicker than she anticipated, Leo slowed the truck to turn onto the narrow lane.
“Why do you think he picked this road?” she asked.
“Looks pretty dense out here. I don’t get it either. These are the coordinates he sent—"
Raven heard a whistling noise and grabbed the door. She knew something was coming at them and fast. She held on as the truck flipped, crashing it into a tree. They hung upside down. Smoke was making it impossible to breath. She had to get out now. Because she had been double crossed. “Leo?” she yelled.
“I’m here. Get out. They’re coming.” She felt the dart as it hit her in the shoulder and that was the last thing she remembered before it went dark.
Chapter Twenty
Caz shook his head again. He inhaled deeply trying to wake up but the smell of spice was all he inhaled. He could feel tingling all over his body. Immediately, he knew something was wrong. His tiger knew something was wrong. It was Raven.
Then it hit him, Leo had put something over his mouth and nose. The roar left his mouth as the pain speared into his chest. He gasped for air as the banging on his door increased. He stumbled up to open the door and fell to his knees.
His door was kicked open, his alpha and beta both searching the room for danger. “It’s Raven. She’s in trouble.” Helping him up, Lennox tried to calm him down.
“She went to town to get her dress; she’s fine. Leo went to pick her up.”
Grabbing his chest, Caz coughed and tried to take in a deep breath. “No, she’s not.”
Lennox motioned with his head and Cosmo ran out of the room. “She was with Haven at the store. Everything is fine. The plans for tonight at the ball are still on. It’s all covered. Just calm down until—”
“Leo picked her up a while ago. I called both their cell phones and no answer. This is not like them,” Cosmo admitted.
“Alert everyone,” Lennox said.
Grabbing his chest again, Caz could tell that Raven was out. “She’s unconscious. I can feel it. Track their phones.”
Having sent out a quick alert to the pack, Cosmo brought in his laptop and fired it up. As soon as it came alive, his fingers danced across the keys. Lennox was on the phone as he watched and waited to get a signal.
“Dixon and Crenshaw are sending out scouts now. We just need a place to search,” Lennox said, holding the phone out waiting for Cosmo to give him an address.
They both listened as Cosmo’s fingers pounded on his laptop. “Both are at…” He leaned in closer. “Old Tuscan County Road. Never heard of it.”
He heard Dixon say, “The road was washed out by a flood five years ago and nothing is there now. Nobody goes there. I’ve got guards going out now. I’ve put the pack on alert and guards at the store. You need to let Calum know.”
Caz already had his phone out and called his sister. He explained what was happening. “I want to help. We want to help. Tell us what to do,” Riley said.
“Let me talk to Calum.” Caz waited and his brother-in-law got on the other line. “Brother, Boris has been here the whole time and he never once used his phone. I don’t think it’s him.”
“Then that leaves one other.” Caz looked at his alpha.
“I’ll drive. You just concentrate on your breathing. You will know the moment she wakes. I feel a direct connection to my people and they are both unconscious. I feel it. Yours, however, will be stronger to Raven,” Lennox said. They helped him to his feet and out the door.
It didn’t take long to get to Wyatt Benjamin’s residence, but what had him concerned was the number of armed guards he had at the gate. Lennox demanded to see Benjamin and was immediately welcomed inside.
Caz never once felt Raven’s presence on the property. But she had been the day before. He was going to kill the man no matter what. He only needed him alive long enough to find out where he took his mate.
“Look at me,” Lennox commanded. Caz blinked and looked at his alpha. “Let me do the talking, Caz. If you want to get the information, then let me handle this. Do you understand?”
Caz stared at his alpha, not planning on obeying. That was until he felt it. The vibes from the alpha’s power rolled through. The demand in Lennox’s voice made him answer. “Yes.”
Wyatt walked outside. He already had a suit on and was getting ready for the party. As they approached, Caz only remembered the shirt she had on and he couldn’t see straight and ran for him. Even without shifting, Caz knew he would do some damage to the human and he didn’t care. All he cared about was his mate. And he was sure Wyatt knew something about what happened.
However, his body was flipped over and over as he slid into the yard. He shook his head and stared at the man who was supposed to be human, but had shifter strength.
Lennox and Cosmo both stood in front of him with their hands up. They looked around and they were all surrounded. Some armed, but most were not. The hissing sound was powerful as Wyatt came to stand in front of them.