42

We had arrived at the exact location and left the vans on the other side of the thick grove of trees and we silently made our way forward. Rev had looked up and smiled and I realized what he was thinking. I nodded to him and we started climbing.
We sat in the branches of the trees hidden from view and we watched as four SUV’s made their way to the location spot. These were obviously the buyers but we couldn’t be sure since nobody made an effort to climb out of their cars.
We waited another fifteen minutes before we saw a van similar to ours drive up. It circled the four other vehicles and then parked in the middle. The driver and passenger doors opened simultaneously and two men climbed out surveying the area.
“Let’s get this over with,” the first man said loudly. I didn’t know his face and I wasn’t sure if he was McIntyre or not. We waited patiently for the buyers to climb out and the side door of the van opened. The other cars had switched off their lights and I saw that Rev had already climbed down the tree and he stood several feet closer. I hadn’t even heard him move.
“Mr. Roth, special delivery of your package just as you requested, she’s out and will wake up in about six hours,” the second man said. A lean man with tattoos that covered the back of his neck stepped forward and leaned into the van as if inspecting his goods.
Two more men climbed out of the van and by this time we were all at the border of the trees. We were less than thirty feet away from them when one man sniffed the air and turned to look around him.
“What is that godawful smell?” he asked.
“Smells like something died out here,” another man said.
“Probably a deer in the forest,” the driver of the van said.
We spread out through the trees so that we would be able to half surround them. I gave the signal and we all stepped forward quickly with our guns drawn. Rev was the first one to shoot as he went for the driver of the van. He shot him in the leg and we all followed suit. The men went down quickly and without much of a fight.
“This was really way too easy,” Preston said as we looked around.
“Get the girls,” I said to him.
Jasper’s warriors stepped forward and they each carried an unconscious girl from their van as one warrior and Preston brought our vans closer. Rev had the driver of the van up on his feet and tied his hands behind his back.
“Interrogation,” he said as he walked past me.
“Pick up all your shell casings,” Brandon said and I saw him and Nate as they started looking around.
After we made sure that we had picked up all the shell casings we climbed back into the two vans and drove off towards the other side, taking the long way home, fewer people would notice the two vans with the route we took.
We drove in silence and Brandon kept staring at one of the girls. We all had mixed emotions about this but I didn’t regret it for one second. Now we would just have to wait and hope that we did everything right and not get caught.
“What’s going on with you?” I asked Brandon.
“I’ll talk to you later,” he said as he finally tore his gaze away from the girl.
The vans finally parked in the driveway after two and a half hours and it was near midnight now but I saw the lights were on in the guest house and Rylee and Hannah stood on the steps waiting for us. Tessa stood slightly behind Hannah and she ran forward as we opened the doors.
“What took you so long?” she asked me.
“Keep your pants on, we’re here now and everyone’s fine,” I said to her.
Brandon climbed out first carrying the girl he’d been staring at and three of Jasper’s warriors carried the rest of them into the house. Stella was in the living room with Tina and Nadia and they all followed us as we carried the girls to the infirmary first.
“Put them down on the beds and then you can go and wait outside,” Stella said and we followed her orders. Rylee and Hannah stayed with her to help and Rev closed the door behind him as we all went to the living room.
“We’ve prepared rooms and clothes for them,” Tessa said when she saw me near the living room.
“Thanks, they’re going to be traumatized and afraid when they wake up,” I said to her.
“Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of them,” Nadia said and I smiled at her.
“Guys, let’s go over to the main house and get cleaned up. Between Hannah and Tessa they know what to do,” I said and led everyone outside. The scent had faded and we didn’t smell as bad as before.
“We’re going to head back to Chicago. I’ll phone you in the morning for an update,” Jasper said as we shook hands.
“Thanks for your help,” I said as he climbed into the back of his SUV.
“Anytime, I’m sure we’ll be doing this again next month,” he said and closed his window.
Brandon and Nate stood to one side and I walked towards him and saw Timothy sitting on the steps. His hand was still covered in blood from where he had ripped everyone’s hearts out just to make sure that the dead stayed dead.
“You guys are welcome to spend the night,” I said as Brandon turned around.
“I’m going to have to spend a few days,” he said as he looked at me.
“Ah shit really?” I asked him as he nodded.
“Nate will shower and then fly back to take care of lair business but I can’t leave now,” he said to me.
“I’m sorry man, this is really screwed up,” I said to him.
“Shit I know right, but this is how it is,” he said and smiled sadly at me.
“What’s going on?” Timothy asked.
“One of the girls in there is Brandon’s bonded half,” I said to him and his eyes flickered to Brandon.
“Think of it this way Brandon, at least the rest of her life will be good.” Timothy said.
“Of course, I’ll make damned sure of that,” he said with a smile.
“I also need to get home and eat, Lucas thank you for an eventful evening, I look forward to the next one. I’ve put an alert on the site and it’ll notify me when it’s active again,” Timothy said.
“Thanks to you Timothy, it was mainly a success because of you,” I said and we shook hands as he smiled shyly.
“I’ll check in with you in a few days,” he said and climbed into his sleek sports car and drove off.
“Let’s get you settled in a room,” I said to Brandon and we filed into the house.
Martha walked out of the kitchen with a tray and handed us all coffee. She was such a blessing in our lives and I still hadn’t figured out how Martha knew when to have coffee ready for us at all hours.
“Martha, you’re an angel,” Brandon said and I winked at her.
“You boys have had a long night, I can heat up some leftovers if you’re hungry,” she said.
“I’m hungry,” Preston said and I shook my head.
Brandon and Nate went into their rooms and forty minutes later I heard Nate leave. I was lying on my bed waiting for a message from Stella about the girls. I felt restless but exhaustion soon took over and I slept until the sun rose.
The smell of death had gone but I still washed everything twice in the shower and then got dressed. I needed to speak to Stella and check on the new girls. They would probably be awake by now and I needed to find information to be able to contact their families.
Preston, Rev, Brandon and I ate breakfast alone and I could see that Brandon was eager to go next door and check on his bonded half. He would have a hell of a road ahead of him but he seemed happy at just finding her.
“Let’s go check on them,” I said to Brandon and he jumped up eagerly.
“Take it easy man, she’ll run straight for the hills if you barge in there looking all wild,” Preston said as he and Rev walked to his car to go to The Drake.
“He’s right, slow movements, don’t barge in there and announce she’s your mate,” I said to him.
“I know, but you know how it is, I just want to be close to her,” he said hanging his head.
“We’ll figure it out,” I said to him.
I knocked on the front door and Tessa opened it with a smile. She motioned for us to come inside and I could hear voices in the living room. We stood in the doorway as the four new girls all grew quiet and watched us.
“Morning everyone, I’m Lucas and this is Brandon, I assume you’ve been told about everything that happened yesterday?” I asked.
“Thank you so much,” one girl said as she jumped up and suddenly hugged me.
“None of them were assaulted, Stella confirmed that it was just sedatives in their systems,” Hannah said as she joined us in the living room.
“What happens now?” the girl that Brandon was staring at asked me.
“What’s your name?” I asked her.
“Kimberley,” she said and her eyes snapped to Brandon’s.
“Now we contact your families and make arrangements for you to go home or wherever you want to go, you can also stay here until other arrangements can be made, just know that you’re all safe now and nobody here is going to hurt you,” I said.
“I think we should talk,” Kimberley said to Brandon and he smiled.
“We should,” he said.
“Bonded halves,” I whispered to Hannah as she looked at me questioningly.
“Oh wow! That’s fantastic!” she said loudly.
“This is Marcia, Charlene and Jamie,” Tessa said as she introduced the other girls.
“Please take your time and settle in and then give Tessa all your relevant information and what you want to do so we can help you get where you want to be,” I said.
“I already have all their information,” Rylee said from behind me and I turned to look at her. She looked tired and still wore yesterday’s clothes. She handed me a small notebook and I opened it.
“Thank you,” I said to her and she looked at me intently for a few moments before walking back to the kitchen.
“We got really lucky this time Lucas, I’m just so thankful that nothing awful happened to any of these girls,” Tessa said and I nodded.
“How’s Nadia doing?” I asked her.
“She was a real star last night. Helping these girls have given her a purpose and I was actually wondering if you’d allow her to stay here and help me with this. She’s really good with them and this is helping her heal,” Tessa said.
“Do it,” I said with a smile.