My phone chimed that I had a text message. It was from Nico:
Abi is alive and safe.Sebastian has her.
I huggedmy phone to my chest, fresh tears streaming down my cheeks. This time I did lower myself to my knees. Abi was okay. My best friend was alive and protected. Two of the three were okay. As happy and relieved as I was, I knew true peace wouldn't come until I knew whether or not my father was safe.
Carlos and Julia knelt on the ground beside me, wrapping me in their arms. I reminded myself again that they still had other sons out there in harm’s way. They were as invested in this as I was. I reached up and put an arm around each of them, trying to offer them some semblance of comfort.
Twenty minutes later, I had composed myself enough to begin pacing again. Carlos and Julia both had worry in their eyes. It had been too long. Why wasn’t there news from the third group? What could have happened? I texted Nico every three minutes, asking if he’d heard. Each response was the same. Nothing. I should have been overjoyed that Abi and my mother were safe, but Ineededmore. My daddy was still out there, along with Nico’s family and friends.
Julia and Carlos were sitting on the couch, holding hands, and I was standing at the kitchen counter when I felt it—a sudden and intense sense of foreboding. The feeling was so intense that the hair on the back of my neck rose. Somethingbad was going to happen. I glanced at my phone, thinking it was going to be a phone call. Was Nico going to call and tell me my father hadn’t survived? Or that one of his brothers had been killed trying to save my family?
Run!
I blinked. The thought had come from so deep inside my mind it was almost too hard to understand.
Run! Run! Run!
My wolf? She was screaming at me. I could feel her panic, almost hysteria. She wanted me to run. Something was coming here. Right now. I trusted her instincts and bolted, my feet slapping on the tile. I ran toward the stairs, remembering Nico’s safe room. If I could get there and lock the door, I’d be safe from anything.
I slid to a stop at the base of the stairs, at the last instant, remembering Nico’s parents. “Julia? Carlos? Follow?—”
My words were cut off by a heavy crash at the door. I heard yelling voices and ran. I was too far away to help them. All I could do was run for my life. My feet moved so fast I was afraid I would trip and fall, ending my escape. I turned the corner and ran into the bedroom. At the far side of the room, I slid the false bookshelf out of the way and opened the heavy vault-like door.
I climbed in and turned to close the door. A man in black fatigues and a balaclava was running into the bedroom. He’d been right behind me! An icy finger of abject terror stabbed into my chest as he turned and saw me. His eyes widened in surprise, and I tugged the heavy door shut as he started running toward me. I slammed my hand on the big red button that read:Secure.
The locks latched, and I sucked in panicked breaths as the light above automatically turned on, along with the small video panel to the left. The man outside was banging on the door, but it was so thick that it sounded like he was miles away. I glancedat it, covering my mouth with my hand when I saw what was transpiring in the living room. Julia and Carlos had shifted to their wolf forms and were stalking around the room. One of the black-clad figures was on the ground bleeding, but Carlos was holding up his front forepaw like he’d been hurt. I didn’t hear any blasting gunfire through the speakers, but I did hear thethap-thapof silenced weapons.
Glancing quickly at the other cameras, I saw there were three black SUVs outside the house. How had they gotten into the Lorenzo compound? I saw another video feed from the front gate of the community. A man lay unmoving on the ground. I clasped a hand to my mouth. Tears tracked down my cheeks. But they weren’t tears of sadness—no, they were tears of terror. The royals were here, and they were going to take me.
There were two yelps of pain, and I glanced again at the living room camera. My blood ran cold as I saw Julia and Carlos collapse to the floor, their forms still and unmoving. Were they dead? Dear God, had Nico’s parents died to protect me? I prayed that I was wrong.
On the video feed, a familiar form emerged from the front door—the slender, supermodel body and gorgeous face of Viola. Even though it was the middle of the night, she still wore massive designer sunglasses. As she stepped into the destroyed living room, she took the glasses off and glanced around at the destruction. My wolf growled in my head at the sight of her. I bared my own teeth in a silent snarl.
The man who must have chased me appeared on camera as he came down the stairs. He shared a few whispered words with Viola. I couldn’t make out what they were saying. They were too quiet for the microphones to pick up. Viola surprised me by rearing back and slapping the man, who stumbled sideways before catching himself.
“Idiot,” she spat at him.
Viola glanced around the room until she spotted the black bulb on the ceiling that contained the camera. She moved until she was directly below it and stared into the camera. I had the eerie feeling that she was staring directly into my eyes instead of a bundle of electronics.
“Hello, my dear Maddy. Can you speak through this pretty thing, or is this going to be a one-way conversation?”
I looked down and saw a button that readSpeaker. I chewed at my lip for a moment before pushing the button and speaking. “Go away. I’m not coming out.”
Viola’s eyes widened in pleased surprise, and she clapped her hands softly like a child who’d gotten exactly what she wanted for Christmas. “Fantastic. It appears even these shifter dogs know what they’re doing with technology. Now, Maddy, why don’t you come on down, so we can talk about this like ladies?” Viola turned to her men and swept a hand. “Search the house. See if there are any others hiding.”
I pressed the button again. “I’m not coming out. Just go!”
Viola knelt over the two wolf bodies at her feet and looked up at the camera again. “They aren’t dead, my dear. Only tranquilized. Now…” She gave a little shrug. “If you do want them to die…” She snapped her fingers, and two of the men stepped forward and pulled out pistols. They aimed the guns at the sleeping bodies.
My breath was hissing in and out of my nose. I was on the verge of hyperventilating. Every muscle in my body vibrated with fear. What did I do?
But I knew there was only one thing I could do.
“All I have to do is say the word,” Viola said. “But if you want them to stay alive, you’ll come out.” She shrugged. “My safe houses were breached. I wouldreallylove to know how you and all your little wolfy friends managed to accomplish that. Thankfully, I’ve been staying close, making sure I could keep aneye on you and the others. Lucky for me. Unlucky for you, it seems. Come now, sweetie, let’s get this over with.”
My finger hovered over the button to speak again, my hand trembling like a leaf. I should say no. I should tell her to go fuck herself. Except, that would sentence Nico’s parents to death. There was no way I could do that. I’d never be able to live with myself. Even if I could, Nico would always know his mother and father had been killed because I was a coward. He’d say all the right things, tell me he understood, that it wasn’t my fault, but deep down, he’d always resent me. Just like I’d resent myself. I couldn’t let anyone die for me.
Viola was getting impatient. She waved at the two men. They pulled the slides of their guns back, chambering a bullet. I slammed my finger into the button. “Stop!” I shouted. “Stop. I’ll come down. Please don’t hurt them. I promise I’ll come down.”
