Page 76 of Ignited

“Always.” He kissed her, then clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Take care of my girl.”

“As long as you need me to. Take care of yourself, little Bro.” He hadn’t called Boomer that in years. They exchanged one last look, and then it was time.

Chapter 32

Half an hour later, DB had worldwalked all the teams into position, and Karisma was on her way to Maximilian’s lair.

She was in the back of a van that Bro had driven through one of the magic gateways, straight from the Ridge to a road near their rendezvous point with Riker. Bound hand and foot, lying uncomfortably on the cold metal floor.

“You all could have at least put a little carpet down,” she complained. “This fucking floor has ridges in it, and one of them is digging into my hip.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t insist on gagging you.”

She didn’t know if he was kidding or not. With the bro, it was impossible to tell, except maybe for Boomer.

She didn’t bitch at him any more, though. She knew he was taking his life in his hands, just being here. They were pretty sure that Maximilian wouldn’t let him walk out after the exchange, but they were counting on the sorcerer wanting to get his hands on another member of the pack, to shore up his connection with them, so he probably wouldn’t kill him.

But that didn’t mean Riker wouldn’t defy orders and try to do it, just for spite.

She closed her eyes and tried not to think about all the ways this could turn into a disaster. Instead, she tried to picture everything going perfectly—the entire plan working like a well-oiled machine. This is what they do, she reminded herself. And they’re damn good at it.

The dozens of photos on Boomer’s corkboard were proof of that.

So she pictured Maximilian in chains; herself, with the precious crystal ball holding the stolen piece of her soul in her hands; and most of all, all the people she cared about coming back in one piece.

And she hoped that this time, Thanatos really had told them everything.

She thought of him, standing by with the last piece of the Orb in his hands. Maximilian had three pieces, and Karisma’s three were in the box next to her, in the back of the van.

No one had seen the seventh piece except Thanatos. What would happen when all the pieces were in the same room? Did Thanatos intend to assemble the Orb and use its power? And what if Maximilian was stronger, and grabbed it away from him?

Don’t think about that, she told herself for the millionth time. Visualize it all going perfectly.

All too soon, they were at the rendezvous point—the gates to Maximilian’s estate. Bro pulled over and parked the van with a crunch of gravel. Pulling out his Sig, he got out, came around to the back, and opened the door of the van.

The interior lights came on and freezing air rushed in, making her shiver after the warmth of the heated van.

A moment later, she heard more footsteps, and then a glow of flashlights as Maximilian’s people approached. They turned them off, and Bro moved aside to let them see into the van.

Their leader was a tall man with blond hair, cold blue eyes like a winter sky, and a scar on his neck running from ear to ear.

Whoa. This must be Riker.

“Hello, old friend,” he said to Bro, his voice anything but friendly. “We meet again. I only wish I could kill you right away, but Maximilian wants you alive. Such a disappointment.”

“Back at you,” Bro said. “Too bad the first time I killed you, it didn’t take.”

“You never were as good as you think you are.”

Bro didn’t answer that, just gave Riker that flat, intimidating stare that made even the Outlaw Ridge wolves give him a wide berth.

“There’s the tiger,” he said, jerking his head at Karisma. “I gave her something so she couldn’t Change, but that could wear off any time.” He reached over and picked up the box that held the Orb crystals, opening it so that Riker could see what was inside. “And here are the items.” He snapped the box shut, and that shimmery glow surrounded it. “So let’s get this show on the road. I’ve got a hot date later.”

Riker reached for the box, and Bro pulled it back. “See that shimmer on the box? That’s a lock spell. If anyone but me tries to open this, kaboom.” He gave Riker a feral smile. “So see, even if your emotions get the better of you—which they always did—you can’t kill me, or your boss doesn’t get what he wants. And you get turned into a toad, or whatever he does to people he doesn’t like.”

Riker gazed at him for a long moment, probably trying to gauge whether Bro was telling the truth. Karisma held her breath.

Finally Riker shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. My orders are to bring you both. Come on. But leave the gun.”