“Diego, find the nearest shifter clinic. We need to get Felipe some help, and I don’t trust any human doctors. They could have been paid off.”
Diego started searching on his phone and looked over at me as I got into the driver’s seat. “Couldn’t the shifters have been paid off too? I mean, Javi’s pack used to work for these people.”
I nodded. “Yeah, but the chances are lower. Look at him. We’ve got to get him help. He’s bleeding out.”
“Okay, there’s one about ten minutes from here. Says it’s a twenty-four-seven clinic.”
Diego gave me the address, and I punched the gas. We’d had a much harder time than I’d anticipated, which made meworry about the other teams. Were my friends or family dead somewhere? Had Abi or Maddy’s father been killed? So many thoughts and so many terrible possibilities. I needed to call Maddy, but I had to get Felipe to help first. If that knife had punctured an organ, we might lose him. First get him to the doctor, then call Maddy. Hopefully, the others would get in contact with me soon.
66
MADDY
Nothing could get me to relax. The whole day had been one giant stressful slog. Part of me felt like I was in purgatory, like I’d died and was now stuck in this one day, reliving it over and over again, never getting closure.
Carlos and Julia had done all they could to keep my mind off the mission. Julia and I had spent the whole day baking, and she’d shown me how to make a bunch of different recipes—yeast bread, empanada dough, homemade donuts, and biscuits, among other things. The guys would be coming home to one hell of a feast. I did all I could to convince myself that theywouldbe back.
There was only so much cooking you could do, though. After dinner, Carlos had spent a couple of hours telling me stories about Nico and his brothers when they’d been young. The stupid things he’d done, the broken bones and scraped knees. It had been a fun diversion, but even then, we were talking about Nico. My mind kept slipping away from the young Nico of the stories to the grown man who was halfway across the country trying to save everyone I held dear.
I knew they couldn't help it, but having his parents here with me made me think of my own mother and father, who’d been kidnapped. The stress was almost enough to make my skin crawl. Even my wolf was pacing nervously around inside my mind, waiting to hear the news.
I’d used all my remaining strength to try and push thoughts of Mom, Dad, and Abi out of my mind. If I dwelt on it too much, I’d become a mess—a non-functioning, debilitated, sobbing mess. Between what was going on with my wolf and trying not to have an utter breakdown thinking about my family, I was completely exhausted all the time. I wasn’t sure how some people went years with those kinds of mental walls built up. A few weeks and I was about ready for a Valium prescription.
Midnight came and went. We were an hour ahead of Nico and his teams, which meant I had another hour to wait. Carlos and Julia sat with me in the living room. There was zero chance I’d ever get any sleep, so why even bother? None of us were paying any attention to the movie on the television, each of us lost in thought. At one a.m., the tension became almost palpable. Julia got up and began walking around the house, straightening up and cleaning.
Carlos had a small pocket watch that he kept snapping open and closed—a nervous tic. I looked at him and asked, “How long until we hear?”
He sighed. “No telling. The rescues should take less than fifteen minutes if all goes well. They’ll need to extract, though. Get to safety. Who knows? An hour? Maybe two?” He gave a sad shake of his head. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
The minutes dragged on and on. My eyes continued to flick toward the clock on the wall. Fifteen minutes. Then half an hour. Still no word. After forty-five minutes, I stood and joined my wolf, pacing in the real world instead of just my head.
At five minutes to two, my cell phone rang. I yelped, and both Julia and Carlos gasped. I nearly tripped over my feet as I ran to the coffee table to snatch up my phone.
“Hello? Nico?” My voice was high-pitched and panicked.
“It’s me.” He sounded exhausted, but I almost collapsed in relief at the sound of his voice. “I’m safe. I’ve got your mom. She’s alive. I think they drugged her because she’s a bit out of it.”
I burst into tears. I couldn’t help it. Hearing that Mom was okay was too much. All the hope, worry, and terror I’d kept bottled up inside were too much to keep in. I was sobbing like a child, and I couldn’t stop.
“It’s okay,” Nico said, his voice a hushed coo. “Babe, it’s all right. Calm down.”
He did his best to settle me down. My sleeve was wet from wiping tears and snot off my face, but I finally managed to get myself under control. “How is everyone else?” I asked. “Daddy? Abi?”
“I don’t know. No word from the others yet,” Nico said.
That didn’t help my anxiety. Could they have run into trouble? Had things gone poorly for the other teams?
“Do you think they’re okay?”
Nico blew out a breath. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m a little worried. We had a bit of an issue getting your mom out, Felipe got hurt pretty bad, and we still were on the road less than twenty minutes after we pulled up at the house. We’re at a shifter clinic just outside Chicago right now, waiting on word. I’m not sure what’s taking the others so long. I have to believe they were successful. They had—” His voice froze mid-sentence. “Hang on, Maddy. I’m getting a call. It’s Sebastian. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
I almost cried out in anger and frustration. So much hung in the balance. All I wanted was to know. For the hundredth time, I wished I could have gone with them.
Julia touched my arm gently. “Nico? Diego?”
I nodded. “He’s good, sounds like they both are. Felipe was hurt, but he didn’t say anything about his brother. I think they’re both fine.”
“Praise God,” Carlos muttered behind us.
