32. Miles

THIRTY-TWO

MILES

I got Celina tucked into bed to sleep off the horrors of the day. Steff and Blayne came over to watch out for her. Once they were there, I jumped back into my truck and drove back to the scene of the accident. Tate and Jared were still there, but surprisingly, no cops or ambulances. I parked almost exactly where I'd left over an hour ago and walked toward them.

They stood about a hundred paces from the wrecked car. I pointed at the smoking wreckage. "Didn't you guys call the cops?" I asked.

Tate shook his head. "Jared declined."

"Yeah," Jared said. "My dad…er, Antonio would be livid. If you think he's angry now? Watch what happens if his daughter's death is broadcasted all over the TV and internet. He'll be pissed enough that she's dead. If the world knew, he might give up all pretense and send the entire hunter army against you. I called a clean-up crew."

The way he said it told me he was talking about something much more sinister than Molly Maids. "A clean-up crew?" I asked.

Jared sighed and looked across the clearing at the car holding his adoptive sister's body. "Yeah. They're trained to get rid of bodies. They were used in that attack on your old wolf pack." He barely managed to meet my gaze.

"Black bag guys?" I asked.

Jared nodded. "Basically. They're people Dad deemed unworthy of combat, but still useful to the cause. There was a crew waiting in the next town over in case things went bad on the hand-off." Jared again looked toward the crushed sedan. "Well, things did get bad. Just not in the way we'd anticipated." He lowered his head and wiped at his forehead.

Before Tate or I could ask any more questions, a black cargo van came crunching up the gravel road. Jared walked forward and waved the van on. I leaned in to Tate so I could whisper and not be heard. "Can we trust this kid? What if there's some damned special-forces team about to jump out of this van?"

Tate shook his head. "Nah, he's good. It's the truth. No worries. I can't guarantee the guys in this van won't fucking hate us, but the kid's getting things figured out."

The van stopped, and the side door slid open. Two guys stepped out, and two more got out of the front. The guy who'd been driving looked pissed and stomped toward me and Tate. "What the hell is this? I thought we were here to clean up some shifter carcasses?"

"No, leave them be. You're here for Mariana."

All four men's faces went white with shock and surprise. The driver glanced behind Jared to the wreck. "Holy shit. The old man's daughter? She's dead?" He glanced at me and Tate. "What did you goddamned animals do?"

All four men started walking toward us. Before I could say or do anything, Jared stepped in front of them. "Stop." He shouted the word, and it came out as part yell, part snarl, part roar. All four men slid to a stop, one of them actually falling on his ass. The anger that had been in their eyes a second before seeped away. Now all that could be seen was fear.

"You'll take care of Mariana's body. Then you'll send a tow truck from the organization to get rid of the car," Jared said. "Or my father will be the least of your worries. Got it?"

The four men glanced back and forth from Jared to me and Tate. There was some mental math going on there. Were they judging their chances against two shifters, or were they trying to figure out how the boss's son was maybe a shifter, too? Either way, the driver waved at his men to go to the car. All four of them took a wide berth around us, each giving us the stink-eye as they went, but once they got to the car, they got down to business. One of them cursed and ran back to the van. He returned with what looked like a compact version of the jaws-of-life.

Tate, Jared, and I huddled together. The cold finally started to seep in, chilling me down to my bones. One of the guys pulled out a cell phone, and I nudged Tate.

He glanced over at Jared. "What's with that?"

Jared sighed and shook his head. "I…well, it looks like I probably don't have a home anymore, if I had to guess."

I knew they'd find the thumb drive on Mariana's body––our only bit of evidence, gone. I'd have tried to get to it before the crew got there, but she'd been too wedged in. Even Tate and I wouldn't have been able to pry her out of the car. We were strong, but we weren't Superman. It galled me that the one bargaining chip we'd managed to get was gone. Also, my friend Chris had probably died getting me the information. My lip peeled back and I growled low in my throat in frustration.

Tate kept his eyes on the crew. The guy on the phone ended his call and walked back to the black van. He pulled out a thick, white body bag and draped it over his shoulder. He walked back to the scene but stopped in front of us and stared at Jared.

He pointed to him. "The old man is pissed. He said if you ever come back home, you're a dead man. And it won't be quick. Got it?"

He turned on his heel and walked away. Tate took Jared by the arm and led him back to my truck. He wasn't a captive per se, but we definitely didn't want him running off yet. There were things we needed to do. I drove us back to the office. On the way back, I called up a team of three of our security associates to relieve Steff and Blayne at Celina's. I needed them back at the office. We had a lot to go over.

The others met us almost as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. Steff and Blayne both raised a questioning eyebrow when they saw us leading Jared inside. I shook off any questions, wanting to wait until we were in a secure location. We got Jared a couple bottles of water and some snacks from the breakroom, then locked him in my office. He seemed remarkably chill about the whole POW treatment.

The four of us convened in Tate's office. Tate locked the door and looked at us. "Well…things have just escalated."

I nodded. "Antonio's daughter just died. There's no way this isn't going to fuel the fire. There could be an attack at any moment. We have to be ready. Here, look at this." I pulled Tate's tablet off the desk and logged into my email. "Chris sent another email before he got caught. It came in a separate email from everything else. I think the first had too many attachments. I didn't see the email until I was getting Celina settled at her apartment. It's the one thing we didn't give the hunters." I laid the tablet down so they could see it. "Schematics and a hand-drawn floor plan of the factory. Chris must have done it after infiltrating their base of operations."

"Holy shit," Blayne said, leaning in to see the image better.

"This is real? Not some trick? Could Antonio have sent it to fuck with us? He had Chris's phone," Steff said, studying the map.

I nodded. "It was sent at almost the same moment as the other email. I think there was some lag in the download. Plus, it got dumped in my spam filter for some reason. Pure luck I found it, but it has to be legit."

Tate stood above the table. He wasn't looking at the schematics, he was staring at me. "What's the plan?"

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for what I wanted to say. "We've been playing defense for a year-and-a-half now. I say we take the fight to them. Call in every favor any of us has and attack. Full offensive."

The room fell silent as what I said sank in. I was sure we'd all been thinking the same thought for over a year. Each of us had a stake in this. Three of us had mates, and Blayne was the next in line. Tate had kids, and we all had each other. The hunters were doing their level best to attack the only family any of us had. I could see in their eyes that the thought of going after them was appealing. It was also scary. Antonio had way more men, more weapons, and apparently drugs that could suppress a shifter's abilities. There was no guarantee any of us would make it back alive from a direct assault.

Before we could discuss the plan further, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw the caller ID was from Chris. Shit. "Hang on. I think Antonio's calling."

I answered with the phone on speaker. "This is Miles."

"You motherfuckers. God-cursed pieces of shit." Antonio's voice was full of pain and anguish. It was almost enough for me to pity the guy. Almost. "My baby. You fucking animals butchered my baby girl. I'll kill every one of you." His voice rose in volume and sounded more venomous than anything I'd ever heard. If Satan himself had called, I think he would have sounded more in control. "All you beasts have ever done is ruin my life. Now—" He broke down for several seconds, sobbing. Finally regaining control, he continued. "Six months, you sons of bitches. You hear me? In six months, I'm bringing hell to your doorstep. A few months to say goodbye to your miserable lives. I'll be there, gutting the ones you love in front of your eyes. I'll make sure you all die screaming. You hear me?"

The call disconnected. Goose flesh broke out over my skin. He'd sounded like a mad man––like a man who had nothing left to lose. The only time in my life I'd been this scared was a few hours ago when Mariana had put that gun to Celina's head. Even when I'd been bleeding out on Tate's bed, I hadn't been that scared. That had only been fear for myself. This was more visceral. An ancient fear of the unknown. A terror for the ones you loved. I looked at my friends, and they all had the same look of concern on their faces.

"Six months?" Steff asked. "Why six months? Why not bring the hammer down now?"

"He needs time to prepare. Consolidate his forces," Blayne said.

I shook my head. "This isn't medieval France. He could have every hunter in his employ in Lilly Valley in less than a week. I think he's going to try and recruit even more hunters and maybe finalize his attempt at creating super soldiers. We saw he's working on giving them speed and strength of our kind. That must be what he needs time to prepare."

Tate nodded. "Makes sense. Plus, for the next six months, we're going to be stressed the fuck out. Looking over our shoulders. Never getting a good night's sleep. We'll be worn out by the time his guys roll into town. Easy pickings." He looked at me. "Six months is a lot of time."

I knew what he was getting at. I nodded. "Plenty of time to hit him first."

Tate grinned. "Let's make the calls, boys. Any friend you have. Every shifter who wants a piece of these assholes, see what we can pull out of our asses. We'll need all the help we can get. I've got a few favors I can call in. How about you all?"

Steff nodded. "I'll see what I can pull up. I'll call my brother. See what strings he can pull with his alpha."

"Yeah…" Blayne said, "…I can think of a few numbers to call, but panther clans are even more rare than dragons. I can't make many promises."

"That's fine," I said. "Do your best. That's all we can do. I'm going to go home and check on Celina. Anything else?" No one said anything. "Tate? Are you good with our little visitor?" I asked and nodded toward my office where Jared was held.

"All good. I'll figure something out," Tate said with a shrug. I nodded and left, desperate to get back to the woman I loved with my entire being.

A couple of days later, I woke up to find her curled up on the couch, staring off into space. We'd spent the time since Mariana's death recovering and trying to work out our next steps. I'd done my best to keep Celina in a good mental space, but she hadn't been the same since that night. The entire situation must have been enough to overload her. My God, it overloaded me, and I'd already dealt with a lot of stuff. I couldn't imagine what was going through her mind. Mariana hadn't really been a friend, but she'd been the closest Celina had had in years. That betrayal alone must have hurt more than I could guess. I hadn't even told her about the call from Antonio. His threat would only make a bad situation even worse. I'd wait a few more days until she was ready to hear it.

I sat with her and rubbed her back. "You okay?" I asked.

She spun around and curled into me, not saying a word. I put an arm around her and watched the snow fall outside the window. She was starting to worry me. How could I get her back to herself?

"I can sense your feelings, Miles. I'm fine."

I blinked, chagrined at myself for forgetting the connection we had now from the mating bond. I could feel her emotions, so of course she could feel mine. Something else to get used to.

"Sorry," I said.

"I promise I'm fine, seriously. I'm only trying to process everything."

I kissed her. "I'm just happy to hear you talking again. I thought maybe you'd gone mute."

Celina frowned. "Have I really been that quiet?"

"This is the first time I've heard you talk in two days."

"Wow, sorry. Didn't realize."

"It's okay, for real. I'm good if you're good."

"I'm good. It's only…I keep thinking that there might have been something I could have done to prevent it. Mariana's death, I mean. The whole thing makes me so sad."

"Celina, you're a good person. Of course, you should be sad. No matter what, don't lose that compassion."

"When will this all be over?"

I stiffened. I had to tell her. It was now or never, and there was no way I could keep that secret. Celina must have noticed the way I'd reacted, and likely felt my anxiety.

"Don't keep things from me, Miles. I can tell you know something."

I smiled ruefully. "Antonio called the office the other day. I was waiting for you to be back to yourself before I told you."

Celina sat up and turned toward me. "After Mariana died, you mean?"

I nodded. "Yeah. A couple hours afterward. He…wasn't in a good place, to put it mildly. He unloaded on us. Mostly pissed-off and grief-stricken, which is to be expected. He also told us that we had six months before he brought the hammer down on us. We still aren't positive on why he put a timeframe on it. More than likely some plan he's had is in play. So, when you ask when will it all be over? It looks like sometime next summer. One way or another, things are coming to a head. He blames us, completely, for Mariana's death too. He didn't take any responsibility."

Celina leaned into the couch and gave a weary sigh. "Not surprising. Someone like him probably has no idea how to take accountability for anything. He's had so much money for so long, I bet he actually thinks every problem is caused by someone else. He hasn't heard the word ‘no' enough in his life."

"That sounds pretty accurate. Either way, we're doing everything we can to get this over with. It's got to end," I said, feeling the weight of the words.

Celina slid a hand up and caressed the stubble on my cheeks. "I know, but I need you to be safe. To come home at the end of all this, safe and sound." Her eyes started to get misty. "The thought of losing you…I can't even stomach it."

"I love you. Leaving you behind is not an option. I'm going to fight like hell to come back to you."

I pulled her to me and kissed her. It wasn't a sweet, gentle kiss. It was one of desperation and hunger. There was a feeling that every kiss after this had the possibility of being the last. That thought alone was almost enough to stop my heart. Celina kissed me back with equal passion. Our bond let me feel the same worry about the future. She was as scared as I was, and as desperate to have me as I was to have her.

She slid her hands down to my pajama bottoms, tugging them aside. Her fingers slipped under the waistband and took hold of my cock. The coolness of her fingers on my thickening shaft made me gasp. I pulled away from the kiss and pulled her shirt up over her head. Her breasts swung free, and I slid my thumbs across her nipples. I looked into her eyes. She bit her lower lip as she continued to stroke my cock. I gently pinched her nipples, and a whimper of pleasure escaped her lips. That sound sent me wild.

I stood, sliding my pants the rest of the way off, and quickly yanked her panties down. Celina looked at me as I pulled her to me. My cock slipped into her pussy, and I felt at home. I groaned in satisfaction. Celina sighed out a breath and wrapped her hands around my upper arms, nodding at me.

I thrust my hips up, burying my entire cock inside her. My eyes almost rolled back in my head, she felt so good. I did it again and again, moving faster with each thrust. I lowered my head and took one of her nipples in my mouth as I fucked her. Celina's fingers trailed up my arms and twined in my hair, pulling my head closer to her chest.

I sucked her nipples, matching the rhythm of my hips, and her breathing became heavier. I could tell she was getting close. Not only could I feel and hear what her body was doing, but I could actually sense it. Our bond was so deep that I could almost experience her pleasure. I raised myself and put a hand between us, rubbing her clit with my thumb as I slammed into her.

"Fuck," Celina murmured and arched her back, pushing her hips toward my hand and cock.

I moved faster, feeling sweat begin to sheen on my skin. Celina's face went red, veins bulging at her neck, mouth dropping open in an ‘oh' of ecstasy. She shuddered as she came. I wanted to give her more, wasn't ready for this to be over. I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her. On my knees on the floor, I positioned her so she was sitting on my lap, her legs wrapped around me. She put her arms around my neck, and rested her head on my shoulder, whimpering for me to go faster.

We rocked together, my cock deep, my hips grinding against her clit as we moved. I moved my hands down her sweaty back and clutched her gorgeous ass in my hands. My strength allowed me to lift her up and down on my dick. I couldn't even make out the words she was saying as I felt my own climax building. I thrust into her as fast as I could, our skin slippery with sweat. Then, like a bomb going off, I felt the explosion of pleasure. It erupted from my balls and pelvis and cascaded down the full length of my cock. I shouted, unable to control myself as my orgasm slammed into me—the strongest of my entire life. Celina dug her nails into my back and clenched her thighs around my waist as she came a second time.

I slid myself in and out of her, slower, letting myself feel every moment of climax. Celina pulled herself close to me, and I cradled her in my arms.

"Holy shit," she whispered.

"Yeah…same." I gasped.

"I love you, Miles."

I tightened the embrace we were already in. "I love you too, Celina. More than anything."