Snow fluttered to the ground, and I was quickly reminded of that crazy night when Roman cut off my uncle Ray’s thumb and had Jordyn wrapped in C-4. It had been snowing then too.
I glanced skyward at the gray clouds. At least it was midafternoon, so we could see our surroundings and enemies coming at us. With the open fields on all sides, it would be hard for anyone to hide unless they were lying flat on their stomach, hidden by the tall grass and dense brush.
As I inhaled the fresh air, I descended the plane’s short staircase behind Jo. She seemed ready for war, and not because she was dressed in skintight leggings or had daggers strapped to her legs, or even because of the gun on her hip. She had an aura about her that dared anyone to fuck with her.
Webb held out his hand to her at the bottom of the stairs. It was at that moment that I realized how in love they were, from the way he flashed his striking blue eyes at her to the smile that wasn’t meant for anyone else on the planet.
My heart skipped a beat. I wanted that. I wanted to feel the rush of my heart and the wild flutters of butterflies when a man looked at me that way.
Sam loves you, that voice in my head supplied.
He said he did, but I had yet to notice him looking at me as though I was the only woman for him. Or maybe he did look at me like that, and I hadn’t noticed. After all, I’d been too busy worrying about my sisters, the baby, and my uncle… and feeling sorry for myself. I needed to take off the self-pitying glasses, straighten my ass out, hold my head high, and tell everyone to fuck off.
When I reached the bottom, strong hands landed on my shoulders from behind, severing me from the stern talk I was giving myself.
Sam grabbed my hand. “You’re nervous. I can smell your fear.”
I wrinkled my nose, sizing up the imposing vampire. His ebony hair was tied at the nape. His green eyes glistened even on such a cloudy day. He was dressed to fight like a badass motherfucker, and not an ounce of trepidation showed on his handsome mug. It was as though he lived for the battles, the fights, the war. Then again, I would, too, if I knew I couldn’t die easily.
“What does fear smell like?” My curious mind wanted to know, even though he was right. The last time I was among family, it didn’t go well.
He smirked, showing his dimples. “Each person is different. But you have a salty scent that mixes with your deodorant when you perspire.”
I snorted, not quite sure how to take that.
A gust of wind whipped around us and ruffled my hair to the point where I couldn’t see for a moment.
Sam brushed my strands out of my face before he produced a leather strap from one of his pockets. Then he tied my hair back. “My dad always scolds us if our hair isn’t secure before going into battle.”
I giggled. “First, you wash my hair, and now, you’re my stylist? Who are you, Sam Mason?”
He peered down at me with a serious expression. “I’m a man who is hopelessly in love with you. A man who wants you around for eternity.”
A swarm of butterflies had taken flight inside me until he said that last part. I wouldn’t be around forever, and those flutters died a quick death in my stomach. “Sam—”
He placed a finger on my lips. “Shh. Whatever you’re about to say, you can say it when we’re back on the plane. Right now, I need you to be alert. Fear is good. It keeps you on your toes, but only if you have one thing on your mind, and that’s staying alive.” He flattened his strong hands on my cold cheeks. “Can you do that for me?”
I didn’t want to believe my uncles would harm me. But I’d never thought my sister would, either, or even my cousin, for that matter.
“Jack is a wild card,” Sam said. “Your aunt might believe he wants our help to find Noah, but we need to operate like he doesn’t until Jo reads his mind.”
I agreed. Jack Aberdeen could be a loose cannon. He could also be working with Lester Worthington and using the meeting as a ploy to get the SEALs in one place.
“What if—” I swallowed a big boulder. “What if Jack shoots everyone with that drug? What if Dr. Vieira is right, and it burns all of you from the inside out?” I blew out a breath. “Maybe that’s why I’m here. So he can take me back after all of you are dead.” The nausea swished around, and suddenly, I wanted to hop on that plane and fly it out of there myself.
“That won’t happen,” he assured me. “He can’t take all of us down at once, even if he has backup.”
He might be right, but my stomach didn’t agree. Still, I wasn’t one to cower. So I gave him the best confident smile I could, knowing he could feel my true feelings since he was an empath. “I can handle my uncle.” I had to. Besides, like Jo, I was dressed to fight, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use my daggers or gun if I had to, despite family ties.
Sam studied me as his lips curled at the ends. “There’s the feisty vampire huntress I love.”
Warmth spread through my chest.
“Sam,” Webb called. “Time to go.”
He brushed his lips over mine.
“If you find Rianne lurking around here, bring her to me.” We still hadn’t heard from or found Rianne. If I knew my sister, she had her eyes on our every move. “I’ll handle her.” I was ready to go two more rounds with her. Fuck talking.
He checked that my bulletproof vest was secure. “We’ll find anyone who’s around here. And if Noah is out there,” he growled, “he’ll leave in a body bag.” He gave me a chaste kiss. “Be safe.” He started to walk backward. “Remember, you and the baby come first.” He blew me a kiss, spun on his heel, and jogged over to Tripp and Webb, who were huddled together.
I pushed out a breath, ready to get the show over with. I was ready to return to Jo’s house in Maine, tell Sam how I felt, and figure out what to do next. Of course, I didn’t think things would go back to normal after our meeting with Jack. Hell, I knew the battle was just beginning. But a girl could hope.
“Layla.” Jo’s sweet voice penetrated through my haze as I watched Sam disappear around the hangar building. “We need to go inside.”
Blinking, I shuddered as a sinking feeling gripped my stomach.
Steven broke the lock on one of six bay doors. “We’ll wait in here.”
The snow began to fall more heavily, and the wind whipped around.
The moment Steven rolled up the door, a foul odor rushed out.
“Did someone die in there?” I pressed the back of my hand to my nose and swallowed the bile that was ready to burst free. A large wooden box sat ominously in the middle of the somewhat empty hangar. “Do you think there’s a body in there?” There had to have been, judging by the stench.
Steven tore the top off the box with his bare hands, and the disgusting smell increased tenfold.
Vomit was about to hurtle out of my mouth, but I shuffled in anyway, holding my breath. I wouldn’t put it past Jack to drop something off before he arrived. Maybe that was the reason he wanted me there, to send me a present—as in a vampire or…. Kendra came to mind.
Jo gave me a nod as though she couldn’t smell a thing, which was odd, given her acute senses.
The blood drained from me.
Steven examined the body like he was the official coroner. “Whoever it was has been dead for quite some time.”
I sidled up to Jo who was also inspecting the corpse. “You don’t think my uncle dropped this off here?”
Steven’s head shot up as his green eyes bled to silver. “Why would you think that?”
“He’s been looking for a vampire my father dated. He told me the PI he hired found a lead on her recently. Maybe he wanted me here to show me. I know that’s a long shot.” But that idea vanished when I laid eyes on a decomposed body that looked male, not female.
“Jack wouldn’t know what hangar we were in, anyway,” Jo offered before she walked around the space. In addition to the coffin, several crates were scattered about.
The sound of a vehicle’s engine whirred in the distance.
Steven closed the box just as the dark-blue car drove past then backed up.
Jack wheeled up to the open bay door then cut the engine. He and Uncle Ray looked at each other. Then Uncle Ray’s mouth moved as he said something to Jack from the passenger’s seat.
A violent storm surged in my stomach. My uncles were up to something. “I don’t like this,” I mumbled.
Jo and I flanked Steven as we stood behind the wooden box as if it would keep Jack and Ray from attacking us. The stench didn’t smell as strong. Maybe because it had burned the hairs in my nostrils.
My uncles got out, and Ray opened the back door while Jack strutted in.
“What’s this?” Jack waved a hand at the coffin. “Please tell me my son isn’t in there.” His face turned dark red.
I was about to respond when Ray dragged a woman out of the car and yanked her along with him. “Move.” If there was anyone among my clan I despised, it was Ray. He was more irritating than Jack, to the point that I hated even to look at the man who resembled my father with his red hair and blue eyes.
Jo and I exchanged a surprised look. Even Steven had questions written on his pinched features.
“Do you know her?” Jo asked me. “Is that your aunt?”
I wanted to be snarky and say Jack would never allow Ray to drag his wife around like she was the scum of the Earth, and my aunt wouldn’t put up with Ray’s shit. She never had in the past. In fact, Ray had only talked down to Aunt Tab once, and after she grasped his balls like she was twisting them off, Ray learned his lesson.
“My aunt isn’t blond,” I replied.
The shackled, handcuffed woman almost fell when Ray pushed her.
Her fangs shot out. “Shove me again,” the woman said with a sneer, “and I’ll chop off your other fingers.”
Ray narrowed his blue eyes to slits. “You can try.”
“When are you ever going to learn your lesson, Uncle Ray?” Sarcasm dripped from my voice.
He pushed out his rangy chest. Where Jack was bulky and beefy, Ray was a beanpole. “When are you going to stop hanging out with bloodsuckers?”
Steven growled, stopping any further argument between Ray and me. “Who’s this?”
Jack’s nostrils flared. “You first, Mason. Who the fuck is in the box?”
The woman gawked at me. “The resemblance to your father is uncanny.” The blonde had hair down to her shoulders. Her eyelashes were covered with a thick coat of black mascara, bringing out her green eyes even more. Her makeup was painted on to perfection, and she had a beauty mark near the corner of her right eye.
“And you must be Kendra,” I replied.
Her light-brown eyebrows rose. “You know who I am?”
“Enough,” Jack snapped. “Who is in this box?” His tone was colder than the day outside.
Steven crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not your son. This was here when we came in. Now tell us why this young lady is here.”
“He brought Kendra for me,” I said. “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it, Jack?”
“You wanted to talk to her,” Jack said. “I’m giving you that opportunity.”
“Yeah, before we burn her to a crisp,” Ray added quickly.
I was itching to lunge for him, which would have been easy since he stood across from me.
He jerked his head at Jo as he clutched his throat.
It took me a second to realize what Jo was doing.
She had her hand raised, palm facing up, fingers slightly curled and aimed at Ray. “We’re not here to throw threats around. I suggest you keep your mouth shut, or I’ll make sure you leave here in this box.”
As he choked, Ray’s face deepened to red.
“Ease up, Jo,” Steven said.
She lowered her arms. “Next time a derogatory comment comes out of his mouth, he won’t like my next move.”
The lethal tone she used gave me chills, and if Ray didn’t heed the warning, he was an idiot.
Jack glared daggers at Ray, who hadn’t stopped rubbing his throat. “Take the restraints off her.”
Reluctantly, Ray obeyed as he coughed.
“Kendra, can you wait outside? Or rather in the plane, which will be better for you,” Steven said in a polite, gentlemanly tone.
She massaged her wrists, giving Steven a warm smile. “Thank you.” Then she left at the speed of light. Whether she would wait or not, it didn’t matter. My intuition told me she would find me when she thought it was safe for her.
“You wanted to meet. You said we had many things to discuss,” Steven said to Jack. “So talk.”
“Where’s your son?” Ray tossed a look over his shoulder. “I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.”
Jo shook her head. “He’s here to kill Sam. Unbelievable.”
“What? Is that what you read in his mind?” I gaped at Jack. “Is that the real reason you’re here? To start a war?”
A muscle ticked in Jack’s jaw. “I’m here to ask for help and to discuss other matters. And Layla, you should know I never ask for help.”
“Stupidest thing ever,” Ray mumbled.
“Jack is telling the truth,” Jo said, not taking her eyes off Ray.
Ray was about to suffer a worse fate than a severed limb if he didn’t shut his brain down.
Jack regarded Steven with concern. “I’m worried Roman took Noah and Rianne. Let’s face it. Ray and I can hunt all day long, but we don’t have the tools you do to find Roman. Which is another topic for discussion. I want to help you find Roman regardless of whether he has my son and niece or not.”
Jo placed her hand on one of the daggers on her leg. “Ray knows where Noah is. Don’t you?”
Lines dented Ray’s forehead. “I do not.”
I rolled my eyes. “Are you that stupid? She is reading your mind.”
“What’s going on?” Jack asked, completely oblivious to whatever Ray was scheming. At least the shock on Jack’s face told me so.
Jo stayed quiet, as did Steven. I was ready to pull my gun out and shoot Ray’s foot just so he would stop acting like we were the morons.
“Start talking, Ray,” Jack ordered with venom in his voice.
“What else is going through that pea-size brain of his?” I asked Jo.
Ray belted out a laugh that needled my nerves. I was ready to hurt my uncle in the same ways we maimed vampires.
I clenched my hands into fists before the ground beneath me shook. I could feel my eyebrows drawing down. I didn’t know whether it was Jo, Steven, or me causing the vibration. I recalled a lamp crashing to the floor when Sam and I argued at Jo’s house in Maine. He’d seemed to think I’d been responsible since I’d been drinking his blood.
“Talk!” Jack shouted at Ray. “Do you know where Noah is?”
Jo leaned in and whispered something to her father.
Ray studied his brother with a calculating glare. “These bloodsuckers will never help you. You’re as bad as our dead brother. Our family has hunted them for centuries, and now, you want their help. Sorry, bro. But I’m not jumping on board with that.”
“What have you done?” Jack asked through gritted teeth. “Where’s Noah? Rianne?”
“What’s he thinking, Jo?” I asked.
“He’s blocking me now,” Jo replied.
“This meeting is over,” Steven said. “Jack, before you ask me for help, check with your brother first.”
Ray slowly backed toward the open bay door. “You’re right. We’re done here.”
Steven’s growl was deathly. “Do you want to die today?”
Ray saluted Steven. “Not my day to die. But it is for your son.” Then he ran out like the building was on fire.
Oh hell no. “Sam!” I sprinted out of the hangar and banked left behind Ray when the chuff, chuff, chuff of a helicopter echoed in the distance.
I pumped my legs hard, keeping my eye on Ray, who was running like the wind. Murder came to mind.
“Layla!” Webb shouted my name from somewhere nearby.
But I kept going, breathing heavily, my legs burning, and my heart on a collision course with hell.
Ray’s beanstalk body was fading fast as he ran farther and farther away from me.
Jo rushed up beside me and grabbed my arm. “Stop, Layla. He’s not worth it.”
I labored for breath as I snarled at the pretty vampire. “He is. He’s up to something that involves Sam.”
Webb finally came into view.
“Where’s my brother?” Jo asked him.
Webb shook his snow-covered hair. “He’s patrolling the north end of the airport, last I saw him.”
The helicopter’s engine grew louder.
I didn’t know which way was north. “We have to find him. Ray is going to kill him.”
Webb’s face twisted as he pressed a finger to his ear. “Sam, come in.”
I wasn’t waiting. I took off in Ray’s direction once again just as the helicopter approached.
“Layla, come back!” Jo yelled at the top of her lungs. “We’ll get Ray.”
I couldn’t give a shit about my uncle. I needed to find Sam. I pumped my legs as hard as I could as that rainy night when I was running to save Sam flashed before me.
We would never be able to live freely, not with my family around.
I kept up my pace, searching the open landscape in all directions. Not a person in sight. Not even Ray. He’d probably darted around the hangar building.
That damn helicopter was annoying as hell as it lowered a basket as though they were about to rescue someone.
I stopped cold. Or capture someone.
My heart rammed against my ribs. Holy fuck! Maybe Sam wasn’t the target. I was.
I started to turn around and retreat when a voice that awakened those butterflies shouted my name over the whirr of the helicopter blades.
My gaze darted ahead and slightly to the right.
Sam jogged toward me as the helicopter seemed to chase him.
Then that pounding in my ears blasted as though I was standing next to a bomb. I rushed up to Sam just as the basket swung behind him. It was like the jaws of life were about to capture him.
“Run, Sam!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
But he didn’t. He stopped, turned, and raised his arms high above his head. Then he lowered one arm and closed his hand into a fist.
He was about to unleash his elemental powers. That was the same move he’d done to Roman that night on the naval base. But when Sam opened his fist, nothing happened. He quickly tried again. No fire. No wild weather. Nothing.
He looked at his hand a little too long.
I was about to bolt over to him when someone grabbed me from behind.
Ray laughed in my ear. “You’ll never see your vampire lover again.”
I screamed like a banshee, and when I did, Ray collapsed. I was ready to kick him in the throat when I noticed blood coming out of his ears. He wasn’t moving, but I couldn’t worry about him.
I sprinted toward Sam, only it was too late. A guy dressed in full SWAT gear was shooting at Sam from the helicopter while another propelled down and shot Sam several more times.
“Noooooooooo!” I was about to run into the fray until another set of hands came around me.
“It’s too dangerous,” Steven said in my ear.
Jo came to a halt beside me and raised her arms, ready to use her elemental powers, but when she whipped her arms around, nothing happened. “My powers aren’t working.” She tried again but failed. “They must have something stopping us,” Jo said.
Steven tried to use his powers, but he failed too.
Sam stumbled to his feet and roared. The men just kept shooting and shooting and shooting until he became a rag doll. Then one of the men in the helicopter aimed his gun at us while his partner loaded Sam in the basket.
I shrugged out of Steven’s hold. Screw this. I pulled out my gun and started shooting at the man on the ground. It took me three shots until he fell.
I rushed over to Sam, whose limp body was sprawled inside the basket. I reached in to drag him out when the helicopter lifted. If they were taking him, then they were taking me too.
I was about to hop in with Sam’s lifeless body, but fate had other plans. The basket’s door snagged the sleeve of my sweater, and I tried frantically to get free as the helicopter took off. But my fucking sweater wouldn’t come loose. I scrambled to climb in, but the wind was too strong, and the helicopter was moving faster now. I grabbed onto the grated door, hanging on for dear life.
But the higher the copter climbed, the more the wind thrashed me around. My fingers began slipping as pain careened up my arms. It felt as though my shoulders had popped out of their sockets.
Oh God. The baby. We’re going to die. I promised Sam I would protect our child and me.
My heart beat wildly as my sweater ripped, and I lost my grip. “I love you, Sam. I’m hopelessly in love with you too.”
Then I was free falling, and as gravity took the wheel, I prayed and prayed and prayed that fate was on my side.
To be continued…
Sam and Layla’s story continues in The Union. You can preorder it here.