As Sam opened his fist, three things happened at once. A ring of fire surrounded Roman, who was clutching his throat, laboring for oxygen. The vampire military converged, seemingly coming out of the woodwork, and Uncle Ray took off in Jordyn’s direction.
Then as if a switch was turned off, the wind died, the ground stopped shaking, and Sam had Roman in his grasp. “If it weren’t for my superiors, I would burn you alive,” Sam growled the words through clenched teeth. Then he threw him across the field.
Roman coasted past me and landed at Tripp’s feet just as he ran out from the woods with Uncle Jack on his tail.
I took off to save Jordyn, but I didn’t get very far when Sam grabbed me from behind. “Not so fast. The last time you were confronted with a bomb, you almost blew up your other sister.”
“Back off, vampire,” I bit out.
Bones cracked before Vera shifted into wolf form, ready to eat Uncle Ray for her nightly snack.
My jaw landed at my feet. Seeing her shift was cool but weird on so many levels.
But then she bared her canines at Uncle Ray.
As much as I didn’t care about him, I didn’t want him to die. “Help my uncle Ray,” I said to Sam. “He’s thickheaded, and he’s about to do something stupid.” He’d already lost a body part, and if he didn’t back down from Vera, he was about to lose more.
Sam let go of me, and I ran up to Uncle Ray, who was maybe ten feet from Jordyn and Vera. Jordyn shook her head, tears running down her face and over the tape on her mouth.
I slid between Uncle Ray and Vera and addressed the shifter. “Look, I know you want revenge, but honestly, we’re sorry about your sister. We had no idea about the drug and how it reacted with shifters.” I didn’t think my apology would get me far, but I had to try.
Her wolf ears perked up as she twisted her dark head from one side to the other. She was a pretty wolf with a thick coat of dark fur that almost matched her human hair. In wolf form, she had spots of gold speckled throughout, and unlike the red eyes on the other wolf, hers were a shimmering amber.
Sam sidled up to me, and Vera growled. He held up his hands. “Our fight isn’t with you and your pack. I get the need for revenge, but we have a bigger problem.”
I gave Sam a sidelong glance. “We do?” I couldn’t see anything else other than Jordyn’s predicament.
Ignoring me, Sam continued. “Don’t you want to know what’s in that drug that killed your sister? If it kills shifters, then others of your kind will become a victim to it.”
Bones began to crack as Vera returned to her human form, which was very tall, curvy, and naked. “Are you threatening us, vampire?” She poked out her breasts, her nipples stiff, her jaw equally as hard as her amber eyes practically glowed with fire.
Ray all but pushed Sam out of the way. “Where’s the fucking timer for that vest?”
Vera pressed her lips into a thin line. “There is none. The detonator is embedded inside the vest, and Roman has the device to set it off.”
I whirled around, searching frantically for Roman. Webb was about to shove him into a van.
“No!” I sprinted as hard as I could, pumping my legs. “Wait!”
32
SAM
As soon as Layla bolted, I ripped the vest off Jordyn.
“Run,” I said to her and her uncle. “Now!”
As soon as I’d slung the vest, it exploded over the SUV.
Motherfucker.
Anger as hot as embers shot down my arms. I was tired of the bombs. Screw Roman going to a vampire prison. Screw the Council of Elders and their laws. Roman had to pay for the damage he’d done. Not in prison, but with his life. Right here. Right now.
I stormed in the direction of the van, the snowy wind at my face, and I was sure I wore an expression that would level a building. I tempered my elemental powers, although I was on the precipice of unleashing more than making the ground shake. I was ready to suck all the oxygen out of Roman and watch him suffer until he couldn’t breathe anymore.
One of our guards was about to jump into the driver’s seat as he nodded at Webb. I hurried, blowing past Layla and Jordyn as the two embraced.
The area was chaos. Kraft, Olivia, and other SEAL team members were checking the bodies strewn over the ground. Rianne was running toward her sisters as though she was being chased by one of the shifters. Upon closer inspection, I didn’t see Vera or the other wolf. Tripp was talking with the Aberdeen uncles, or rather arguing with them, and Webb was watching the van take off as he brought his phone to his ear.
