CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

C raig ghosted around the outside of the building looking for a way in. It was a skill very few vampires had the ability to do. Moving faster and more silently than the average vampire, Craig could hear his team bashing down the doors.

Or attempting to.

The fucker had a tungsten bar across it; that shit was stronger than steel.

Unfortunately, Craig had caught a glimpse of what was going on in that fucking room and knew they were out of time. Smashing the glass windows was useless. They also had tungsten bars on, and while he could bend those fuckers, he couldn’t do it fast enough to catch Russo before he fled.

He was a clever bastard; he’d give him that.

Thank fuck Lance couldn’t see what he had, or he’d be out of his goddamn mind. More than he already was.

Poor guy.

Given the chance, he knew Lance would rip Russo’s head off. Would he stop him, if it was just the three of them in a room? It was a tough call. He was loyal to his king, but what he’d just seen made him want to do it himself. And hell, he wasn’t even mated to the female.

There was no way in.

Crap.

Craig moved further along the building as fast as he could, then teleported through an open window into a room behind them. It was empty.

Good.

That would save a bunch of someones from a headache tomorrow. Or, you know, meeting their maker.

He looked around quickly, getting his bearings, before walking into the wardrobe.

Bang, bang.

Yup, this would do.

We’re in, Brayden said, connecting telepathically with him. Russo is on the move.

I’m next door. Coming in!

He tested the wall, then punched it. His enormous fist ripped the plaster, revealing wooden beams. Vampire strength and speed allowed him to remove those annoying things with two punches, and then he was through the wall.

And hello there.

“Going somewhere, asshole?” He wrapped his big fucking arm around Stefano’s neck a split second before Brayden shoved his fist into the guy’s abdomen.

“Got you, you fucker,” the prince said.

Snap.

“Now you can fucking stay put.” Craig sneered at the guy as he slapped the P-Muter on his ankle.

The motherfucker had no way to escape. He couldn’t teleport out and his powers were substantially reduced. Stefano might be a strong vampire, but he was no match for him and Brayden. He’d just been a really clever, really sneaky, and really fucking lucky motherfucker until now.

Stefano screamed and slammed against them as the two big men dragged him into the main room.

“Fuck’s sake, stay still.”

“Knock him out,” Brayden commanded.

The bathroom door banged open, and Craig looked up. Lance stood with Sofia in his arms, her face tucked into his chest, his face lined with fury and a need Craig understood.

He wanted to be the one to knock the fucker out.

Craig nodded.

Stefano growled and wriggled in Craig’s grasp while he kept his hand over his mouth. Kurt gave Stefano a kick in the back of the leg.

Lance set Sofia on her feet and glanced at Brayden, who stepped forward and put his arm around her. A sure sign of trust for a male to allow another to hold his female. But this was a special moment, if one could call it that.

It was clear that, despite all the suffering Stefano had brought to their lives, Sofia had suffered the most. And it was Lance, as her mate, who deserved the honor right now. Craig loosened his grip around Stefano’s neck momentarily to give him access.

Lance took no time in walking forward.

“She’s my mate, you useless piece of shit,” Lance growled, his fangs fully elongated. “I will have your head next. That’s a fucking promise.”

Punch.

That’s all it took. One punch. And they all lived vicariously through Lance as he took the long, powerful swing and sucker punched Stefano.

Down he went.

“Nice work,” Craig said, giving Russo a solid kick to triple check he was out.

And for the pleasure of it.

“Take her home,” he instructed Lance before he turned to Kurt and Marcus. “Get another team in here to strip this place and round up these assholes. And a tech team. We need to find out who these other players are. And fast.”

With the black team scattered throughout the property, they already had vamps holding things down, but they’d need more. A lot more.

“These guys are military, you know that, right?” he said, turning to Brayden.

“Yeah, Vince is going to be fucking pissed,” Brayden answered, running his hand through his hair. Then he jutted his chin at the body on the floor. “But that should take the edge off.”

They both stared at the vampire they’d been trying to capture for a damn long time.

“True that.” Craig grinned.

It was good to take a moment to enjoy the win, but they had a lot of work ahead of them. Hopefully, the IP they found inside these walls would help to completely eliminate the vampire trafficking operation Stefano was involved with.

Or was the master of.

“I want to take Sofia back to the castle,” Lance said, looking between him and Brayden.

He wasn’t surprised by the request, but it also wasn’t his call to make. He knew his boundaries when it came to decisions about running the army and royal business.

Brayden was the only Moretti in the room and even then, the decision was probably Vincent’s. Not because they had to ask Dad if a girl could stay over, but because Sofia had been their enemy.

“Not my castle. Not my call.” Craig shrugged.

While she had pledged her loyalty to the king and more than proved herself tonight, it was still not his decision. Brayden could call it if he wanted.

“I just want to go home, Lance,” Sofia croaked as she raised her head from Lance’s chest.

“There’s your answer,” Brayden said. “Let’s talk when we’ve got all this shit sorted out.”

In other words, he wasn’t making the call.

Craig wasn’t surprised.

Lance nodded, a note of anger in his eyes, then he teleported out with his mate.

“He’s pissed,” Craig said.

“Yup. Hard night for the guy,” Brayden replied, pressing his lips together and nodding.

When Craig said nothing more, the prince stared at him pointedly. “Don’t give me shit. It’s a big fucking decision despite what we’ve just witnessed, Craig.”

He crossed his arms. “Sure, but you know Lance will leave us if she isn’t welcome. He’ll have to,” he reminded him. “He’s been loyal as fuck for a long damn time. One of our best.”

“You found him.” Brayden nodded. “And trained him.”

“So did you.”

“Fuck, Craig. It’s not my call, you know that.”

Craig dropped his arms.

“Yeah, but you have the king’s ear. Just...” Craig had to be careful about how he worded what he said next. His loyalty was to the Morettis always, but the four SLCs were his males. His mates. “We won’t get a second chance with him.”

The prince held his stare.

Brayden wasn’t a male you fucked with nor told what to do. But if anyone could get away with it, it was Craig. Not even Vincent—hell, especially not Vincent—directed Brayden’s life, unless he did so as king, and the guy was smart enough to do that only when needed.

Brayden was the alpha of all alphas.

It wasn’t something Craig took lightly. His relationship with Brayden was deep and went back centuries. They were closer than brothers—in his eyes, anyway—and he believed it was the same for the powerful male.

Was he fighting for Sofia? No. Although he knew Brianna would love to have her in the castle. She’d taken a liking to the Italian female, and so had Willow. God, adding another one to the mix would be double the trouble. These sassy females were taking over their lives.

And he loved it.

Mostly.

No, Craig wasn’t stepping close to the line for Sofia. This was for Lance. Hell, it was for all of them. They were a tight and fucking lethal team. The last thing they needed right now was a damn glitch in the matrix. So if he had to speak up and fight to keep the band together, he would...with one disclaimer. If there was anything which brought doubt in any of the shit they dug up after tonight, he’d step back and let Lance walk.

The prince’s eyes darkened. He gave a near imperceptible nod, then glanced around at the chaos. “Now get to fucking work while I take this piece of shit and lock him up.”

Craig returned the nod with one of his own. One that said he understood and appreciated the prince listening to him. It wasn’t often he got that close to the line of authority, but he knew Brayden would expect nothing less of him when it came to standing by his males.

He nodded to Marcus. “Go with the prince.”

“Yes, sir.”

Craig planted his hands on his hips as Brayden and Marcus teleported out of the room with Stefano’s body. Unfortunately, it was still living.

“Well, fuck.” He looked around at the mess, knowing he wasn’t going to be home for a long damn time.

He pulled out his phone to text Bri.