Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Get to the emergency exit at the back of the stage!” Thomas yelled to the people in his section.

Vena appeared out of nowhere, grabbed my arm, and shoved me toward the stairs as the first feeder emerged from the swarm of bodies at the entrance.

“Get to his office,” Vena said as I scurried up the stairs.

I’d seen how the first feeder’s gaze had swept over the escaping people as if searching for something or someone.

We reached the office and bolted ourselves in. Pam was only a few seconds behind us, proving she’d listened. She joined me at the glass wall, and we watched the chaos below.

“I really need to find another job,” she said softly. “Working for werewolves is getting too risky.”

My gaze swung to hers, and she gave me a shaky smile. “Figured out they were werewolves after the last break-in.”

It made sense, considering the way Shepard and his guys were subduing the feeders.

The main area had just emptied of all Blur’s guests as they fled out the back exit when I saw a blip of movement near the stage door. It zipped from intruder to intruder, not interfering with the fight, just getting really close.

A second later, Cross stood in the middle of the room.

We couldn’t hear what he said, but all the fighting stopped.

“That can’t be good,” Pam said.

“It is. Trust me. It’s very good he’s here.”

“Who’s here?” Vena asked from her place by the door.

“Cross. He stopped them all from fighting.”

“Good. That means we can find out what’s going on.”

She didn’t open the door, though. We waited until they’d gathered and surrounded the compelled humans before leaving the office's safety. Shepard met us at the bottom of the stairs.

“It’s safe to clean your stations and shut down for the night. We’ll keep them on the dance floor until the police take them away.”

As the servers cleaned, both Anchor and Shepard stood a little outside of the ring of wolves. When I wiped down a table near the dance floor, I heard Cross tell Shepard one of the compelled had a message.

“What’s the message?” Shepard asked.

“We will never have a night of peace until the rings are handed over.”

Shepard’s jaw clenched. “Do you know where these people are from?”

“The one I spoke to is from D.C., but I’m sure the police can give you all the addresses once they run each person through the system.”

I occasionally felt Shepard’s gaze on me as I cleaned, but the police’s arrival distracted him. They removed the people with little fuss, and I finished my section and sat next to Pam at the bar to count my tips.

“It’s a sad night,” she said, looking at her tiny stack of cash. She went to pay the bartenders, but Tank and Buzz refused the money.

“Keep it,” Buzz said.

Pam didn’t argue. Instead, she said a quick thanks and headed out through the back.

“Think she’ll quit?” Tank asked.

“Maybe. Is everyone else okay?” I asked.

Tank nodded. “Thomas and Adrian headed to the kitchen, and we made sure to block it.”

I nodded and slid off the stool. “Tell Vena I’m by the lockers. Have a good night.”

After clocking out, I put my apron away and tucked my tip money inside my purse. As I waited for the guys, I glanced at my phone and saw I had two messages.

One was from my grandma. She sent a picture of my mom on a lounge chair, holding a mimosa in her hand.

The other was from an unknown number. There was no message, just pictures of my trashed house. My hands shook as I swiped through the pictures. Both the interior and exterior of the house were covered with graffiti. The windows were smashed. The furniture was ruined beyond repair. Our clothes were ripped to shreds. My kitchen looked like a hurricane had hit it, and I was pretty sure someone had defecated on the counter.

“What’s wrong?” Vena asked as she came over. “You look like you’re going to pass out or kill someone.”

I handed her the phone, unable to speak without succumbing to emotions I didn’t want to unleash here.

“They fucking trashed our house!” Vena yelled.

She was loud enough that I was sure every wolf and vampire within a five-mile radius heard her. So it was no surprise when Shepard, Cross, and Anchor strode through the kitchen door a few seconds later.

Vena handed the phone to Anchor. Anchor quickly passed off the phone to Shepard so he could hug, or maybe restrain, Vena. She turned to feral mode as Shepard called a crew to go to our house and pack what was salvageable.

Anchor whispered something in her ear, and she exhaled a defeated sigh, then nodded. Detaching from him, she hugged me.

“We’ll get the bastards.” After releasing me, she followed Anchor to the back lot.

“I’m heading to the station,” Shepard said to Cross. “Call if you need me. It’s going to be another long night.”

Before he left, he kissed me gently. “I’m sorry about your house, Everly. I should have had someone guarding it.”

“You needed people looking for the vampires, not babysitting an empty house. It’s not your fault.”

“Don’t worry about the damage or replacing things. I’ll take care of it. Just stay with me or Cross until I can deal with it.”

“Focus on the vampires. I’ll be fine.”

I felt queasy about the whole thing. Violated even. But I hadn’t lied. I would be fine…after a good cry session in the privacy of a warm, comforting shower where there were no witnesses or sensitive ears.

After he left, I convinced Cross to drive me to his hotel room for the night.

“Did the feeders have any other messages?” I asked after Cross closed the door to the room.

“Only the one. They didn’t seem to know anything else.”

“Do you need to get out there, too? I’ll be fine here. I’ll lock and bolt the door.”

“My only job tonight is to take care of you and to stay in touch with Shepard. And since I take my job seriously, you’ll find everything you need in the dresser and in the bathroom.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Take a look.”

I headed to the dresser to find it filled with clothes in my size, in styles I would have picked out for myself. They were all cute and comfortable looking.

My lower lip trembled at the thoughtfulness, fueling my already overwhelmed emotions. Cross stepped behind me and hugged me to him as he kissed my neck lightly.

I patted his arm instead of speaking. After taking a steady breath, I stepped out of his hold and went about my nightly routine. Then, I crawled into bed with Cross, who was waiting for me with open arms.

A shower of gentle kisses over my face and down my neck slowly woke me.

I made a pouty sound. “Sleep…”

He chuckled.

“I’ll feed you if you open your beautiful eyes.”

I did and saw the room was just barely lit by a crack in the blackout curtains.

“What are you going to feed me?” I asked.

He sat up and took a plate from the side table.

“Eggs Benedict with hash browns if you’re interested.”

“I’m interested.”

I hurried to sit. He kissed my forehead and handed over the plate. While I took my first bite, he propped pillows behind me so I could eat in bed.

“Would you like to hear the latest news?”

“Please,” I said, feeling decidedly royal with the breakfast and the personal news update.

“The police are identifying the people found at the dump sites. They aren’t just from the D.C. area. Although many were homeless, some were people traveling, and some were from surrounding areas. Only a very few were residents who’d been reported missing. The number of missing persons still unaccounted for concerns Shepard and the liaison.

“Shepard has told Hugh that the problem is too big for his people alone, even though he’s calling in for reinforcements. Don’t worry. Not whole packs. Just extra members from packs because he doesn’t want those cities left defenseless.

“Because of the extra manpower needed to continue the hunt, Blur will be closed for the foreseeable future.”

I stopped eating to stare at Cross.

“You won’t be idle. There’s still plenty of work for you to do at our place.”

It wasn’t just Blur closing that had me feeling like my world was falling apart.

“I know. It just sucks knowing I won't have any income.” Especially since I was officially homeless after last night’s break-in.

“There’s more,” Cross said, watching me closely.

“Go ahead. Pull the Band-Aid off quickly and tell me.”

“The mayor has publicly announced there’s a ‘health crisis’ and has asked citizens to watch for strange behavior and to report any missing persons, even if it’s a neighbor that hasn’t been seen in a few hours.”

I let out a long breath. “I wouldn’t want to be the police right now. I can imagine the calls they’re getting.”

My phone buzzed softly from its place on the chair positioned near my side of the bed.

“The police aren’t the only ones who’ve been getting calls. Vena and Anchor returned to your house earlier. They helped the cleaning crew pack whatever was salvageable. Based on her colorful texts to me, it’s not a lot.”

Having lost my appetite, I handed Cross my plate so I could lean over to grab my phone. His hand slightly touched my hip, and I caught his heated gaze when I straightened.

“I like when you look at me like that,” I admitted.

His eyes went black.

“And like that.”

He groaned and kissed my forehead before standing.

“You tempt me, Everly, but I must return you to the wolves for the time being. Shepard spent the night searching for answers and needs me to take over so he can rest.”

I nodded and accepted the clothes he handed me.

Cross had impeccable taste and had picked out a shirt that modestly flattered my curves. I felt cute when I walked out and gained his appreciative stare.

That feeling slipped away as I drove across town to the complex and my thoughts swirled with what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. I had no home. No job. No car of my own. No spare money to live off of, never mind any to replace what I’d lost. I still needed a huge chunk of money for my final year of college. And vampires were after me and those I loved because of the rings.

What in the fairy feces was I supposed to do?

I’d worked too hard to become independent to be okay living off of either Cross or Shepard. And going back to my parents wasn’t a viable option. At least, not for me. It would be like giving up.

By the time I pulled up in front of the complex, I was angry to the point of tears. Cross didn’t say anything, but I could feel his worried glances as I parked.

Shepard opened my door as Cross got out.

“Everly, I’m so sorry,” he said, wrapping me in a hug.

“Did something else happen?” I asked.

“No. Nothing. Just your house.”

Just?

But wasn’t he right? Sure, what we’d lost would be hard to replace, but Vena and I were both still here. It could have been worse. So I nodded, hugged him back, and tried to push away my negative thoughts.

After a moment, I let go. “You head to bed.”

“What will you do?” he asked.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll probably check in on the Hunters, call my parents, talk Vena down from whatever new way she wants to kill vampires, and bake something.”

He smiled and gave me one last hug before I shooed him away. When I looked back, I saw Cross was already gone.

As Shepard went to find his bed, I knocked on the Hunters’ door

“Come in.”

I peeked in to find them still researching.

“How are you both?” I asked as I stepped inside and closed the door.

Mrs. Hunter leaned back and rubbed at her tired eyes. “We’ve exhausted all our contacts and found no new leads. There are no records of any fae gifting a vampire with another form, so we cannot know what it would take to kill such a magical creature.

“I fear Miles might be lost to us forever.” She sniffled. “Unless we ask Cross to take over the thrall.”

Mr. Hunter frowned. “It would just be another vampire controlling Miles.”

“Except Cross would never control Miles,” I said. “Just think of it as a Plan B worst-case scenario. The first step is finding Adriel.”

Mrs. Hunter nodded.

“When was the last time you ate?” I asked.

They shook their heads as if not knowing.

“Slept?” I asked.

They shook their heads again.

“In bed. Both of you.”

“There’s so much more work,” Mrs. Hunter began.

“You said you’ve exhausted your contacts and research. You need to sleep. Weren’t you the one who lectured Vena and me about the correlation between the brain and lack of sleep? Something about lack of sleep would make us as dimwitted as trolls?”

She sighed and stood with a groan. “I might have. Very well. If you’re going to start quoting me, I can hardly argue with myself.”

Mrs. Hunter gave me a hug before falling into bed with her husband.

I closed the door and went to the dining hall. It was empty at this time of morning, which was exactly what I needed. Taking a seat, I checked my messages from Vena, which were pretty much telling me our house was beyond trashed. Knowing there was little I could do about that, I texted my mom, thanking her for the pictures and wishing them a good time for the remainder of their trip.

What would happen if their trip ended before this nightmare was over?

Restless, I stood. I needed to bake.

I found the kitchen was mostly empty as well. Lisa, the den mother, was in there with the lead cook, Cathy. They glanced at me with friendly smiles.

“You doing okay?” Lisa asked me.

“I need some baking therapy,” I said with a hopeful smile and a plea in my voice.

They both chuckled.

“You can bake to your heart’s content,” Cathy said as she took off her apron. “You know where everything is. Just make sure there’s room for lunch prep in an hour. We’ll need at least one of the prep tables and the cook range today. Otherwise, the kitchen is yours.”

“Thank you.”

Taking an apron from the many that were hung on the wall, I decided to make a dessert that my grandma used to make for me. I needed that bit of nostalgia to get me through the uncertainty.

Time passed quickly as I lost myself in the methodical rhythm that baking provided. By the time I was pulling the grape pie out of the oven, the ladies were arriving to prep the next meal.

I let the dessert cool to the side and stood out of the way as the ladies took their positions and seamlessly began to work together. I was about to offer to help when I felt my phone buzz.

The message wasn’t from any number I knew, which should have been enough to stop me from opening it, but I did. And I felt my heart drop.

Pivoting, I raced out of the kitchen, ignoring the ladies’ questioning calls. The image of the little girl from across the street tied to one of the kitchen chairs in our trashed house was burned into my brain. So was the message that had gone with it.

Unknown: You have fifteen minutes. Come alone or the girl dies.

I was out the front doors and in my SUV before some semblance of reasoning kicked in. As I started the engine, I sent a text to the group chat I had with Shepard and Cross.

Me: They have the little girl from across the street at my house. I’m headed there now. They said alone. It’s daylight, so I should be safe enough until one of you gets there. I can’t ignore this. I’m sorry.

My phone started ringing a second later. I didn’t answer. I was too focused on weaving in and out of traffic as I raced across town.

The minutes ticked by, and my phone quieted just as I pulled up in front of my house.

I was three minutes late.

Fumbling for the door handle, I spilled out of the SUV and raced for the front door.

The door to our house stood slightly ajar.

Without hesitating, I rushed in.

Harper sat on a single chair in the middle of our empty, graffitied living room. Her hair was in two cute pigtails, but she wasn’t tied or bound.

She smiled at me and said, “No bleeding.”

Pain exploded in the back of my head, and everything went dark.