“You might be surprised.”
“Maybe we should all step back and let the detective and his team handle this,” Allie said.
“This is our town, orc jurisdiction,” Dungar said. “We’re involved. The treaty gives us this right.”
“I don’t want anyone hurt.”
I leaned in close. “Trust us. Please.”
Biting her lower lip, she nodded.
“Communication check,” Dungar announced, activating his radio. “Everyone confirm your channel.”
One by one, we tested the equipment that would keep us connected during the operation. Static-filled voices confirming positions, creating the network that would theoretically keep Allie safe when the trap sprung.
Theoretically. The word tasted bitter on my tongue.
“Backup plans,” Detective Fernandez said, pulling up another map on his tablet. “If the primary location becomes compromised, we have three secondary positions prepared. If the situation goes completely sideways…”
He outlined extraction procedures, emergency protocols, contingencies for every disaster scenario I could imagine and several I hadn’t thought of. Professional. Thorough. Completely inadequate to quiet the screaming in my head that demanded I grab Allie and run as far from this place as possible.
“Questions?” Dungar asked when he’d finished.
I had a thousand, but most were generated by my worry about my mate.
“I think we’re as ready as we can be,” Allie said when I remained silent.
Everyone appeared confident in this plan. They believed in Allie’s strength and our ability to protect her.
“Positions in three hours,” Dungar said, starting to pack up the maps and equipment. “Everyone check your gear one more time. If things go well, it’ll be over by this afternoon or tomorrow.”
The group began to leave, brothers and their mates to their homes, taking the passage through the side door of the kitchen that continued along the back portion of the connected buildings. Aunt Inla would go to the general store, Greel and Jessi to the saloon. The rest would slowly leave from various exits, then take sorhoxes to where they’d wait for this to begin.
Detective Fernandez took an éclair, biting down and moaning at how amazing it tasted. “I need to fill a box with these things, bring them back to the crew waiting to get underway.”
“I’ll make sure you have two boxes,” Sel said.
“Ready to head to your car?” I asked Allie. This was part of the plan. It had been tucked into a barn on the edge of town.She’d climb inside and drive into the downtown area, parking in full view in front of the saloon, then meander through town, acting as if she felt confident she was now safe.
I hated putting her in danger, but she had a right to be involved. Besides, this may be the only way they might finally catch Will.
She met my gaze and while I could see she was nervous, she also appeared resolute. “I am.”
Inside the kitchen, she climbed back into the box, and I secured the lid, hefting it and carrying it back out to the wagon with my cowboy hat low to shield my face. Tark had purposefully worn the same clothing as me with the assumption they couldn’t tell us apart.
The eastern sky was brightening toward full dawn, painting the world in soft pinks and golds. It would be a pretty day. I could only hope today would see a successful and safe end to this threat.
Tressa scooted through the darkness and hopped up into the back of the wagon, where I covered her with hay. I turned the sorhox pulling the wagon in the alley, guiding him along the back of the buildings, taking the vehicle past the pottery barn, the larger barn where we held functions, and along the road leading out of town.
Greel would follow at a distance, providing cover, and two of my other brothers would be hiding in locations along the way to give assistance as needed. The plan sounded good. It should work.
It had better work.
The barn felt bigger somehow with Allie’s little car sitting in the middle of it. The familiar scents of hay and wood shavings mixed with the faint smell of motor oil from the car. Greel and Tark had done good work getting it here without being seen, but now came the hard part.
After being released from the back of the wagon, Allie stood beside the car, keys jingling softly in her hand, her jaw set in that determined way she got when she was scared but ready to face the situation anyway. Tressa stood by the cracked-open barn door, watching everything outside with sharp eyes.
“It’s going to be alright,” I told Allie.
