His father shrugged. “Like riding a bike, I’m sure.”
Our little group formed a circle. Each of us had a backpack and a small suitcase with clothes and personal items. Nico handed Sinthy a printout with the location and a satellite picture of the private airstrip.
She studied it for several seconds before nodding and tucking the paper away.
“Everyone, please touch the person beside you. The circle needs to be unbroken.”
We all grabbed a suitcase with one hand and placed our free hands on the person on our left. Sinthy closed her eyes, and it happened.
I had time to hear Felipe let out a surprised curse, and then we were standing outside beside a small airstrip. My head was a little woozy, but otherwise, I was fine. Felipe, not so much. He’d turned and puked his guts out the second our feet touched the ground.
Sinthy watched him with an apologetic frown. “Sorry. Some people… uh… well teleportation can be weird for some people.”
Felipe groaned and wiped his mouth. “That… was awful.”
“Come on,” Nico said.
He was glancing around in every direction, probably scared the royals had somehow discovered our location before we’d even arrived. We grabbed our things and walked onto the tarmac, where a pilot waved to us.
Sinthy bypassed the pilot and walked over to place a hand on the plane. Closing her eyes, she gave herself an affirmative nod before looking back at us.
“Checking to make sure there was nothing on the plane that could track us. We’re clear.”
The pilot showed us the seats and where to put our bags, then left to join his co-pilot in the cockpit. We hadn’t even gotten buckled up when every one of our new burner cell phones started chiming and ringing. I caught Nico’s eye, dread filling my stomach. This couldn’t be good.
Diego read the text. “It says we need to turn on the news. Like, now.”
Nico found a small, flat-screen TV on the wall and turned it on. As soon as the screen flashed on, I became nauseated. My face was staring back at me from the screen. My current driver’s license photo. The news anchor was speaking in the background.
“…again stating that Miss Maddison Sutton of Clearidge, Florida is the woman Viola Monroe is so desperate to apprehend. We want anyone with knowledge of Miss Sutton’s location to inform the police immediately so proper security measures can be taken.”
“Well, the best fucking security measure would have been to keep Maddy’s damned face off the news,” Nico hissed through clenched teeth.
The anchor went on. “We will now replay the video we received ten minutes ago.”
The anchor and my face vanished, only to be replaced with Viola’s face. Growls erupted all around the plane. If I didn’t know better, I thought even Sinthy may have growled.
“I’m done playing games,” Viola said. “Let’s get right to it. This is my quarry.” Viola held up a picture of my driver’s license. “Maddison Sutton of Clearidge, Florida. Bar owner andsexual consort,” she spat the words like they disgusted her, “of Nicolas Lorenzo, alpha of the Lorenzo pack. This woman is dangerous. I want all my followers, or any who are on the fence about our cause, to listen. She is a descendant of the legendary vicious and evil werewolf king Edemas. She has the power and strength to decimate whole towns on her own.
“With her blood, my scientists and I could create something that could end the shifter race once and for all. I implore anyone who knows where this woman is to send a message to me via the secure link that will be posted at the bottom of this screen. Anyone who gives me information that leads to the capture or death of Miss Sutton, or anyone that brings me this woman—alive or dead—will be rewarded with twenty-five million dollars. The money is good, but the main reward will be that you are preventing a disaster. If she is allowed to live, I don’t want to know what may happen to humanity. I look forward to hearing from you all very soon.” Viola smiled cruelly at the camera, then the video cut off, returning to the news desk.
“This video was uploaded fifteen minutes ago. Our team tells us it has already been shared more than forty million times and counting. Once again, anyone with knowledge of Maddison Sutton’s location needs to contact authorities or take her to the nearest law enforcement location for her own protection.”
Nico clicked the TV off right as the jet sped down the runway.
He locked his eyes on Sinthy. “You are totally sure the wards will hold, right? The entire country is about to descend on the pack lands to capture or kill Maddy. Are my people safe?” The imploring look in his eyes hurt my heart.
Sinthy met his eyes with a steely gaze of her own. “They’ll hold. I guarantee it. And once those assholes start dropping likeflies as they try to go through, they’ll get the point really fast.” She shrugged. “I’m not a killer by nature, but when it comes to my family, I make sure they are taken care of.”
Nico stared at her for several seconds before sighing and relaxing in his leather seat. “Good enough for me.”
128
NICO
The flight was short and uneventful, which was good. It was a struggle to keep my mind off the fact that Viola had once again upped the ante. Sinthy was certain my family, pack, and friends were safe, but that didn’t make things any less stressful. I was the alpha. It was my duty to protect my home, my lands, and all those who counted on me. Except, my other duty was to protect my mate. That took precedence above anything else. It was like I was getting pulled in two different directions. If I hadn’t left Dad in charge back home, I’d be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He’d been the pack alpha for decades before I took over. He would keep everyone in line and keep them prepared. That was all that I could hope for.
The plane descended toward a small private airstrip in the Keys. In the east, the barest glint of orange had started to color the horizon. Yet a while until night vanished, but I took it as a good sign that the world was still turning. Things continued to move along, even though it felt like everything was falling apart. It gave me some confidence.
