This was terrible. Not just the individual attacks on everyone—but the sheer scale of it, people getting hurt because of him.
“Bunny?” Crush looked over his shoulder at Killian, concerned.
“Aww!” Hansel said. The next thing Killian knew, the butler had taken out his phone, cupping his cheek with one hand as he snapped several photos of them.
“Hansel! People are in trouble,” Crush barked.
“Yes, and a Buttler Brother is always ready to multitask. I’m waiting for my next orders.” Hansel was still holding up his phone. Was hetaking a video?
Crush growled loudly. Then he flattened himself against the floor. “Kil.”
Killian shifted back into a human, scrambling off so Crush could shift too.
“Full sitrep, Hansel,” Crush said as his fangs and fur disappeared back into his human body. He hurried through the cabin, picking up his guns. Hansel followed him, rattling off names and locations at great speed. Crush returned to Killian’s side. “Bunny, you’ll stay here and watch Naddie.”
It didn’t sit right with Killian. “But this is my problem. And they’re afterme,not Naddie. Naddie shouldn’t be with me right now.”
Crush’s gaze fell to the coyote pup, who was now chasing her tail. He turned to the open front door and barked, “Ottis!”
Somewhere in the forest, Crush’s omega brother replied, “Yeah?”
“You wanted a bigger part in things,” Crush said. “I have a job for you. Come to my cabin, make it quick. Bring your pup. We’re running out of time.” To Killian, he said, “Get dressed.”
Killian scrambled for his clothes on the side table, where Hansel must’ve put them. Then he grabbed the Secret Agent Gadget Bag, rummaging through it.
Ottis arrived panting, shoving someone else through the front door.
It was Mathlin.
Killian gaped in dismay. “Math! What’re you doing back here? This is too dangerous for you! We literally dropped you off so you could bebrought back to safety!”
Mathlin winced, but stood straighter. “I couldn’t just sit around waiting to hear if you’d solved your problem. I overheard Doc saying you’re still in trouble. So I stowed away in Doc’s car and followed him here.”
“Didn’t he hear you?” Crush asked incredulously. Doc had sharp hearing, too.
Mathlin shuffled sheepishly. “I might have, um, broken his stereo system so he couldn’t hear us. It was too loud.”
“Wow. Respect,” Ottis said, tapping his chest with his fist. Mathlin perked up and smiled.
Crush sighed. “And you brought your baby.”
“I couldn’t leave my baby behind,” Mathlin said indignantly.
Now wasn’t the time to question Mathlin’s logic. Mathlin had his baby strapped to his back; so did Ottis.
Killian scooped Naddie up and shoved a towel into Wonder Cart’s cargo basket, before setting her in there. To Mathlin and Ottis, he said, “This is Naddie, and this is Wonder Cart. Naddie’s a coyote-rabbit hybrid; she’ll get along with you if you do wolfy things with her. The cloak and earmuffs will protect her hearing. There are spells in this bag if you need them, activated by blood.”
“Hansel will stay with you in here,” Crush added. “Your mission is to keep yourselves and Naddie safe.”
“What about you, Kils?” Mathlin asked worriedly.
Crush tucked a gun into Killian’s hand, along with two spare magazines. “He’s with me.”
Mathlin’s eyes grew so wide, they almost fell out of his head. “You know how to use a gun?”
Aaand... That was the understatement of the century.
Killian coughed. “Uh, you just point it and pull the trigger, right?”
