The wails…reminded him of the sound Foxx had made in the hospital on waking up with that priest above him. Really it just brought back all of the times Foxx had lost all control of his fear and pain.
Those sounds, Foxx’s cries and screams…had made him feel so much, yet…right now…Harlow felt nothing. These people’s pain made him feel absolutely nothing. If he felt anything at all…it was worry, about how this was affecting Foxx. Which, well…he guessed if he was going to feel shit…at least it was priority driven. As in, he only felt shit for Foxx. He supposed it made catering to his emotions easier.
Honestly, if he felt as much as Foxx obviously did for mere strangers… Ugh…
Eventually, the wails grew distant, even if still present… Which probably meant that either Cardel had gone into a new room, or the other people had.
“I…” the werewolf started, his voice cracking.
Foxx jerked out of his hold, which pulled at Harlow’s wounds. He winced while the vampire blurted out, “I’m sorry, I should have said that…in a better way.”
“No… I…” Cardel cleared his throat. “You didn’t know I wasn’t alone. There is more you have to tell me, isn’t there?”
“Ah, yes. We feel it’s best that you and your pack stay where you are, and…play dead, for now. No phones, no outside contact, nothing. Because we believe…that the person responsible is targeting your pack. Santiago agreed, and he told us to call you because we have a secure line.”
“I see. If that is what Santiago wants us to do…then we will. Thank you. Goodbye.” The man hung up.
Foxx winced, just staring at his phone.
“Want me to call Tony?”
Sniffling, Foxx shook his head. “No, it’s the last call… I might as well make it too.”
“Okay.” Harlow cleared his throat awkwardly. Accepting that he had emotions…for Foxx, didn’t mean he was comfortablewithemotions. “Do you need another hug first?”
“Yes,” Foxx whimpered, his bottom lip wobbling.
He smiled hesitantly and opened his arms, again ignoring his pain. “Come here, brat.”
Harlow groaned in agony when the vampire slammed into his chest, but hugged him anyway, because he was a good boyfriend. “There, there.” He patted Foxx’s back.
The vampire snorted as he pulled back. “Very comforting.”
“I attempted, that should count for something,” Harlow said with a smirk.
Sniffling, Foxx rolled his eyes at him, but there was a small smile on his face, so Harlow decided that meant he had been successful in his endeavors.
Smile still in place, the vampire called Tony.
The human answered before the second ring. “Reports came in about another attack, but with the odd addition that two people were seen running towards the danger. Noting the location is near your cabin, am I right to assume the problem has been taken care of, and that sending hunters would be a pointless endeavor?”
“Yes,” Harlow stated blankly, before quickly summarizing everything, while leaving out why he was injured.
“It may work,” Tony said slowly after hearing the plan for the pack to play dead. “Go get your back stitched up, feed, or eat something, as it will likely be a long wait, and then head to Santiago’s pack lands. I’ll have Charity send you a layout. Look around, see what you can find out. Figure out a likely entrance they will use to come in, and be prepared to stake it out for hours until the bastard shows up.”
“Maybe you could send out the news early, and get whoever it is to come sooner?” Foxx suggested.
Tony grunted. “No… I doubt Maverick will send anyone at all if we do that. He’ll assume the place will be crawling with people. This could be our only decent chance of snagging one of the bastards.”
“If they report in about finding nothing before we find them, this plan will go to shit,” Harlow pointed out.
“It’s a risk we have to take.”
“Santiago and his people are the ones taking the risk,” Foxx grumbled.
“They are in hiding already. The only reason those six died was because they stayed. Whatever property the pack is currently staying at, it’s not known by any of our channels. They will be safe for now. And once Doc figures out whatever the hell Maverick has cooked up…we will be able to get doses to them to hopefully prevent it from harming them in the future. Now, unless you have more to say, I’m hanging up.”
“Ah…there is one more thing. I promised Santiago I’d have the ashes of the werewolves collected… Could you…” Foxx trailed off.
