234

Six hours later, Maxim and I walked through the front door of my house where Ryder paced up and down talking on the phone. “I want the spell lifted, Marlo! And let me know the moment you have a location on her.”

“Dad, what happened?”

Ryder turned to look at me as fury swirled in his eyes. “She’s gone, Wynter, that’s what happened. Disappeared from her bed in the dead of night. Chandra’s shield was broken and we found Milo outside near the river with a broken neck.”

“She’s gone?” Maxim had paled and his bag fell to the floor.

“You brought their King here?”

“Dad, we know who has her. Marcel took her …”

“We need people, trackers, warriors, hackers. He’ll have her out of the country before nightfall.”

“My men are an hour behind us. I have all of that. Marcel was banished to Guatemala, he’ll have a stronghold there. This is an open declaration of war and it won’t go unpunished. Wynter, do you still have contacts inside the Unit?”

“Yes. I’ll call Clark, he can gather intelligence for us.”

“I’m sorry we had to meet like this, Mr Grey, I’m Maxim Williams and your daughter, Shae, was prophesied to me on my birth and my bonded half.”

“Not possible.” Ryder’s tone hadn’t changed and I could see Maxim’s eyes darkening.

“If she’s a half breed like Wynter claims, then she is my bonded half because that’s the only reason Marcel’s minions would take her.”

“I’m her father and I say no. Your so called connection to my daughter already got her taken and it might still get her killed which will get you killed.”

I stood in the kitchen half listening to their conversation as I spoke to Clark, first listening to him yell at me at being dead and then yelling at me at being alive and then promising me all the information and intelligence he had on Marcel Williams.

“Dad, Maxim didn’t even blink before joining me to come here to protect Shae and we will find her. Clark says if the prophecy is true and Marcel has Shae then he won’t kill her, he will want to bond with her when she turns seventeen. Having her as his bonded half would hurt Maxim more than killing her would and I agree with him.”

“He’ll keep her hidden and protected until her seventeenth birthday and then he’ll force her to bond with him. I’ll kill him before I let him touch her.”

“Then we have time to come up with a good plan and get her back.”

Ryder regarded Maxim as only a father would who was just told that his little girl would be bonded to the Vampire King who’s brother wanted nothing good for her. “He’ll have her taken out of the country by private jet.”

“Clark’s already having his guys hack the airports for all flights out of the States by private jet.”

I scented Milo and then heard his footsteps as he walked down the stairs. He stopped mid-stride in the living room as he looked at Maxim. “My King.” Milo took a knee and bowed his head.

“No time for pleasantries, Milo, we have work to do.”

The women were being kept at Chandra’s house where she, Lauren and Ally combined their fae power to shield just that house. There was nothing to be done for the moment but wait for more information. I had the Unit working on it, Ryder had his sources and old friends and Maxim had his people. Everyone was looking for Shae.

I headed over to Chandra’s house and opened the front door. Riley jumped up and ran into my arms as I picked her up and kissed the top of her head, a few times. I kept her in my arms and against my chest as I stood there with my eyes closed.

“I missed you, Daddy.”

“I missed you more, Princess.”

“Wynter …” Chandra and Lauren’s arms enveloped me at the same time as they hugged both of us. “We were so worried. Your note was a little cryptic you know!”

“Sorry. Is everyone okay?” I put Riley down as Hunter remained standing next to the couch and placed his hand protectively on her shoulder. “Hunter?”

“You made Mommy cry and you left us.”

“I had to go see the King of Vampires to find Shae. The way you feel about Riley is the way I feel about Shae, do you understand why I had to leave?”

“Did you kill the Vampire King?” His eyes were so innocent that I had to smile as I knelt down and he walked closer to me.

“No, the Vampire King isn’t a bad man, he came with me to help look for Shae.”

“Will Shae marry the King?” I looked at Riley and wondered what had prompted her to ask such a thing.

“Why do you ask that?”

“I had a dream about it. Shae’s going to look beautiful and I’m going to be her flower girl!” Excitement laced her voice and chills went down my spine.

“They probably will, Riley, since they’re bonded mates.”

“They’re what?” Ally’s voice was loud as she stood in the doorway leading from the kitchen.

“And he’s here? With Dad?” Abby’s eyes were wide with shock as I nodded.

I turned back to Chandra and Lauren and shoved my hands in my jeans’ pockets. I owed them a lot, taking in my family and using their fae magic to help protect them. “Thank you.”

“We’d do anything for you, Wynter.”

“They got what they came here for. There won’t be more coming.”

“They can stay here just in case, we don’t mind.” Lauren hugged me again and I saw a flash of jealousy in Ally’s eyes.

My eyes flashed yellow once as Riley looked at me with her own flashing eyes and a link opened in my mind as she reached out to me. “Daddy, I saw Shae in a tunnel under the grass. There’s many people there. A man bit her arm and slapped her. Her eyes turned yellow and I saw a lot of blood and then they stuck something in her arm. The message is for Grandpa.”

I nodded at Riley that I had heard her in my mind and I was amazed yet again that she could do that. I had no idea just how special she really was. “I need to go.”

I didn’t wait for a response from any of them but ran back to my house and barged through the front door. Riley had just told me exactly where to find Shae and I couldn’t believe that it was that easy. Somehow she had seen these things happen and was smart enough to tell me.

“I know where Shae is or at least you know where Shae is.” I looked at Ryder as a slight frown formed on his forehead.

“If I knew where she was don’t you think I’d be there already?” His anger could be felt by all of us and I took a step closer to him.

“Riley just told me she saw Shae in a tunnel under the grass and that the message was for you.”

Ryder’s eyes searched mine for a few seconds and then I saw as it clicked into place for him. “Guatemala … it’s where I found Felix in a bunker underground. We burned it, it exploded but I guess it would be easier to rebuild then build a new one.”

“Who’s Riley and did she say anything else?” Maxim looked pleadingly at me.

“My three year old. She saw blood, Shae fought back and someone fed on her and then drugged her. If I know Shae she would’ve waited for her chance and she probably killed someone.”

“She’s hurt …”

“It’s too soon for them to have reached Guatemala. Even speeding, it’ll take them an hour to reach Seattle. From there it’s a twelve hour flight to Guatemala City. That is if they moved her out of the country immediately. They have a nine hour head start on us. Whatever Riley saw is still going to happen.”

“She’s three years old. Wynter said so himself, do you really believe the mumblings of a child?”

“Yes, I do. She also saw your wedding, Maxim, without anybody telling her anything. Do you still think my daughter’s full of shit?”

Ryder’s jacket zipped closed and I looked at him. “I know the exact location. We need to get to the airport.”

We all pulled our phones from our pockets at the same time and moved to our respective corners as we made calls and got everyone focused on Guatemala. Clark said he’d send me five teams to help with perimeter control and anything else I might need. I would forever be in his debt I realized; fifteen men were a lot to pull from assignments.

Maxim called in more men and he’d leave ten here to watch the houses and the rest of our family, men he trusted with his life. He also had thirty more making their way to Guatemala City as we spoke. He couldn’t pull more men away from their other duties and leave himself exposed if Marcel had any other tricks up his sleeve.

Ryder hadn’t divulged who he had contacted but he only nodded his head as we heard cars pull up to the front of the house. Milo was also on the phone with his Uncle and I pulled the front door open and watched twenty men as they climbed from five SUV’s, all vampires.

Maxim joined me on the porch as his men all bowed their heads and five split off from the group and disappeared in blurs as they took up positions around our small perimeter. I felt myself slip into hunter mode, becoming Ghost once again.

“I know you’re anxious to get there, Dad, but we need to give everyone time to get there and regroup, to gather the intelligence that we need to take Marcel out. His place will be heavily guarded and if we act too soon we could push him to hurt her. None of us want that.”

“I know, Wynter. I was right here and he still took her, right from under my nose.”

“He might have witches that blocked everything out, it’s the only thing that makes sense especially given that they got to Milo too. Nobody’s playing the blaming game here, Shae’s smart and she’ll know when to keep quiet and when not to.”

“You should rest before we leave tonight. I know you haven’t slept yet and you’ll be useless to us if you’re not rested.” I wasn’t going to argue with him because it had been more than twenty-four hours since I last slept.

I nodded my head and took the stairs up to my room. If things had gone according to plan, they would’ve all moved out today. I fell down on my bed after discarding my clothes and I was gone the moment my head hit the pillow.

I woke up to the incessant thumping of Echo’s tail which only got louder as I fully woke up with a warm body tucked close against me and my hand on a butt cheek that I knew all too well. Ally looked at me intently and she leaned in closer and kissed me.

I could feel the pull of the bond as it inched closer and closer, tugging at my soul and wanting my acceptance. Echo’s mood changed too and I had to block him out because he was embracing said bond. Ally moved and straddled me without breaking off the kiss and I could feel her against me as she pressed herself against my groin.

I broke the kiss off and then swiftly moved her off me and sat up with my back turned towards her. “I can’t do this, Ally.”

“I’m sorry, Wynter. I wanted to tell you when you called me, I really did.”

“But you didn’t. That makes all the difference in the world. You broke my heart, Ally, but I accepted your rejection because you spouted your bullshit about some other guy you loved. I wanted to give you what you wanted even if it wasn’t me. I did that for you but all you did was lie.”

I got up from the bed and closed the bathroom door behind me and stood in the shower as the water ran over me. I had no idea what she was playing at, appearing in my bed at odd times and kissing me like nothing had gone wrong between us.