Webb dug his elbows into his thighs. “If we meet Jack, it has to be in an unpopulated area. Chicago or any big city is off-limits.”
My mind scrambled to sift through what Jack could possibly be up to. He wanted Layla there, which told me he would try and whisk her away from me. “Any idea why now? I’m guessing he wants to test out his new weapon.”
My father relaxed. “Or it has something to do with your visit to the ranch.”
My focus was still glued on Layla. Jack didn’t want anything to do with her if she sided with vampires, so why include her?
“This is a bad idea,” Tripp added. “Fucking bad idea.”
My old man had a deep crease between his green eyes.
I traded the arm of the couch for a cushion beside Webb. “What’s going on, Pops? You’re thinking really hard.”
He swiped a hand over his black hair. “There’s something all of you should know.” He groaned out a heavy sigh. “I’m still trying to understand it.” He glanced anywhere but at us for a few seconds. “When I was under, I saw my father.”
Tripp, Webb, and I exchanged a frightened look. Anytime my grandfather had graced Jo’s dreams, it was never good. The air in the office thickened with a fear that we had buried five years ago.
Dad pressed his hands together in a prayerlike position against his mouth. “A war is coming. One that could wipe out our existence.”
“You mean erase vampires, humanity, and all supernaturals?” Webb asked.
Dad straightened. “I don’t know. The last thing he told me before I woke up was that I couldn’t die. I had to help my son.”
I sucked in a breath. “Me? Are you saying I have something to do with a war breaking out?”
Dad lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know, Sam. But it sounds to me like you’ll be in the thick of it.”
“Aren’t we always?” I asked. “We’re Navy SEALs. We fight. We protect. I don’t see the big deal here.” Unless I was the one to start a war. Maybe I would. With the exception of Jordyn and Layla, the Aberdeens were hanging on by a thread with me. It wasn’tifI did something to stop them or end their hunting business—it waswhen. Same went for Roman. If we faced off, and we would, no one would kill him but me.
Tripp scratched his neck. “Sir, you said ‘could wipe out’—‘could’ being the key word. It leads me to believe there’s a way to stop whatever is coming.”
Dad nodded. “I got that feeling from my father. I just wish I could fall into a deep enough sleep to see if I could talk to him. But I think I would have to come close to death again to have that happen.”
“You have a point, Steven,” Webb said. “Remember when Jo talked to your father in one of her dreams? She was close to death as well.” Webb slid to the edge of the couch, clearly ready to stand. “Let’s deal with Jack Aberdeen first. We need to keep the peace, as hard as that might be. And he may surprise us and want to help. After all, didn’t Jordyn and Layla say the sole reason for Jack reviving the hunting business was because of Roman? That leads me to believe he doesn’t want a war.”
I eyed Webb. “His son, Noah, does.”
“Jack will deal with his son,” my father said with surety.
Instantly, I thought of my kid. “I’ll do whatever it takes to broker peace. Layla’s about to have my child, and I’ll be damned if I’ll have anything in the way of me seeing him grow up.”
All heads swiveled my way with mouths ajar.
“What?” I asked them.
Tripp touched his chest with the tips of his fingers. “I’ll speak for myself, but it sounds freaky to hear you saymy kid. Just saying.”
“Also,” Webb said. “It’s the conviction in your voice. You’ve always been a straight shooter and take no prisoners, Sam, but that’s been your code because you were angry with the world. Now, you have a purpose. You’re fighting for someone.”
I could feel my forehead creasing. “I’ve always fought for someone. My sister. I also fight to protect humanity.”
“Sure, son,” Dad chimed in. “But now, you have a baby on the way, and I can tell you that’s a different love altogether. Not to mention the love you have for Layla. I’m not discounting how you feel about Jo, but your own family brings on much deeper emotions. And if you’re not careful about how you approach things, you could get yourself killed.”
I gritted my teeth. “How did this go from Jack Aberdeen and war to me?”
“Sam, you have a kid on the way,” Webb said.
“That doesn’t mean I’ll stop fighting. It means I’ll be more vigilant in protecting those I love.”
