Gabriel was silent for a moment. “Done.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Chay flapped his wings and took to the air again, this time staying close to the ground. He floated on the breeze as much as possible, hoping the lack of wing flaps would help keep him clear until they reached their prey.
When he spotted movement high up in one of the trees, he let out a loud caw and dove straight at the man aiming a rifle at the house. He flapped his wings madly and struck out with his talons. The man lost his balance and crashed through the branches, landing hard on the ground. Gabriel was on him in seconds, tearing him apart.
As soon as Gabriel started moving, stalking through the forest, Chay took to the sky again. They repeated this maneuver several times before they reached a small group of men hiding in the trees directly across the street from the house. Chay hadn’t spotted any cars, so he wasn’t sure how they had gotten there.
As he went to swoop in and land on a branch of one of the surrounding trees, he hit something solid and started to plummet to the ground. He shifted right before he hit the hard earth and grabbed onto a branch, but not before sustaining several scratches.
Chay dropped the rest of the way down to the ground, landing in a crouch. When he went to stand, he heard the very distinctive sound of a gun cocking and felt cold metal press against the back of his head.
“Mr. Garon, I believe?”
* * * *
Gabriel growled when he spotted Mr. Peterson walking Chay through the woods. The only reason he didn’t charge the man and rip him to shreds was due to the gun he had pointed at Chay’s head.
“Dom,” he whispered silently.
“I see them,” Dom replied.
“Where are you?”
“On the other side of the clearing.”
Gabriel peered through the shadows created by the trees and underbrush, spotting his brother hunkered down under some brush. “I can’t let anything happen to Chay.” Gabriel was pretty sure he’d die without the man.
“I’m open to suggestions.”
“Are anymore of Peterson’s men out there?”
“I’m not sure. I took several down, but I might have missed some.”
“Look high up. They’ve been hiding in the trees.”
“We need to eliminate them before we can go in after Chay. If we don’t, they could cut us down before we have time to reach him.”
“Agreed.” As much as Gabriel hated the idea, he knew his brother was right. “Chay?” he whispered, using the mate link instead of the one he had with his brother. “Dom and I are going to eliminate everyone we can find before coming for you. Don’t get dead.”
“Be quick,” Chay replied. “I’m not sure how long I can keep this guy talking.”
Gabriel paused for a moment, staring at his mate and the man he planned to kill. “He’s talking?”
“Oh yeah.”
“About what?”
“You.”
Huh.
Gabriel crept a little closer, wanting to hear what the man had to say. He still didn’t understand why Mr. Peterson was after him. He knew it had something to do with his search for his brothers, but trying to kill him? That seemed a little extreme.
“I know you’re out there, Gabriel,” Mr. Peterson called out. “Come on out.”
Gabriel tried not to breathe.
Mr. Peterson moved his gun up and pressed it to the back of Chay’s head. “Gabriel, I won’t tell you again.”
