30. Chapter Thirty

When Landon brought Carey home, she took one look at our group, waved, then took off to her room.

"Smart kid," Miller pointed out.

"Smarter than most adults," I added.

We got to work, planning our attack. Miller used a laptop to check if our target was still in the motel, and once that was verified, we knew what to do. It was decided everyone would go in human form to keep it from drawing too much attention. I would have a sidearm, but I was strong enough in human form to put up a considerable fight against a few humans. I didn't need to be a werecat. A silver bullet would kill me either way. The same went for Heath and Landon.

"This way, we can flash our badges to get us in. You'll be part of the ‘team' instead of supernaturals. Even if someone gets a good look at any of you, it'll be late enough, we could say they're mistaken."

"I can shut down their security cameras just in case," Landon commented. "Or cut the power."

"Cameras. If you cut the power, it could create panic." Collins looked at the map and pointed to the main road. "We'll make this simple. Drive right up and hit the room while you cut the cameras and delete any footage that might catch us."

"It's an easy op," Heath said, nodding. "Landon and I have done similar with werewolves. Two humans aren't a problem. Even if there's more than two, Jacky and I are muscle. No one is going to beat us in a close-quarters fight unless they have time to get their weapons up."

"Then we need to hit fast, so they don't have a chance."

After that, we waited, going over the plan again. The agents revealed they had handcuffs on them, standard procedure, ready to make an arrest if it came to that. With that, we waited for dinner to be finished and for the sun to go down.

"Are you all going to do something dangerous tonight?" Carey asked as she ate, her curious and intelligent eyes looking around at us.

"Yes," Heath answered without missing a beat between bites of his casserole. That made both agents look up from their own meals.

"Well, be careful," she said, shrugging.

"You're okay with your father doing something dangerous?" Collins asked with a deep frown.

"My dad is a werewolf, so is my brother." Carey shrugged. "They'll be fine." Everyone with a useful nose could smell her worry, but she was a tough kid. She had seen her family betrayed from within, knew her father killed vampires, and rescued me from other werecats, then went to Russia. "No one beats my dad and Jacky unless they have lots of people or lots of guns."

Collins blinked several times. I enjoyed watching the exchange. It wasn't the most stable house for a young girl to grow up in, but Carey seemed well-adjusted.

"What if you get hurt?" he asked. Heath put his fork down at Collins's question and waited for his daughter's response.

"I won't. I mean, it's a possibility, but I know they'll do anything to stop that from happening. My dad is a werewolf Alpha. They do what's right, and they help people. People get hurt sometimes, but that doesn't mean he's a bad dad. I can break my neck on my horse, but that doesn't mean my horse is bad. That's called a risk." Carey finished her food and took her dishes to the sink. She stopped to kiss her dad, hug her brother, then me before she went upstairs. Before her door closed, we all got a chuckle.

"STAY SAFE!" she yelled across the house. "I'll lock the doors!"

"Thank you!" Heath called back.

The normalcy was a little strange, even to me, but Heath just smirked across the table at me. I knew Carey's feelings were more complex, but her willingness to put herself between us and outside judgment was touching, especially after the bombshell she had earlier in the week.

"The coup wasn't the first time she had a brush with her dad and something dangerous," Heath said for the table, but it was pointed at me.

"You were a werewolf Alpha. How many challenges did you get after she was born?" I leaned back, putting my own fork down.

"None, but I had to handle other things. Landon had challenges, though."

Landon growled in a vicious but oddly pleased way, making the agents a little stiffer.

Even Jabari gets weird vibes from Landon. Apparently, that's universal.

"Let me get that." Heath reached out for my plate, and I slid it closer to him. I didn't want to eat too much. He took the plate and my fork, putting them in the sink with Carey's and his own. Landon went next, offering to take the plates for the agents, who handed them over silently. Landon ended up doing the dishes.

"I think I'm going to look for my own place tomorrow. Finally give that realtor a call," he said while the water ran over the plate he was holding, then tucked it into the dishwasher.

"Good. I need space." Heath picked up a book and sat down, flipping it open to read. I pulled out my phone and checked for anything from my family, Dirk, or Oliver. Kick Shot was doing well, with no incidents so far. That was better than nothing.

"Are we going to act this normal until the sun goes down?" Miller asked, making me look up at him.

"A hunt is a hunt, no matter the prey. No reason to be anxious," I said softly before looking back at my phone. "Right, Heath?"

"Yup." I heard a page turn.

"I'm thinking of something small, two bedrooms, maybe three. Lots of space to run on the full moon. Close by, so I can take Carey when you need it."

"You've lived with me for nearly fourteen years. I don't care what you get as long as you get out of my house," Heath said, chuckling. "Plus, I think Carey will like having space away from you."

"If I had the chance to get away from my sister at her age…" I trailed off. "I don't know. Maybe I would have liked it, maybe not."

"Gwen is your twin," Heath said, looking over his book at me. "A lot different than an adult sibling from a different time."

"Touché."

"This is surreal," Miller whispered to Collins.

"This is supernaturals," Collins replied, unsurprised by this part of the evening.

"If you don't let the bad parts of your life become overwhelming, you can strike a surprising balance," Heath explained, putting his book down. "You're new, Miller?"

"Yes."

"Well, I can't give you a normal look into pack life, but this is…pretty close. Normally, there are no werecats and a lot more wolves. We deal with a hunt at least once a month. Either the full moon or any sort of late-night get-together. Hunting humans or hunting a rogue werewolf trying to commit some crime in the pack's city? No different. I'm at home, I have the authority of the territory with me, and I have my right-hand man." He picked up his book and continued reading.

"Unless someone gets shot, we'll be fine," Landon said as he came to sit back down, a new sound, the dishwasher's gurgling rumble, added to the background.

Carey came downstairs four hours later, close to ten o'clock.

"I'm going to bed."

"Good night. Sweet dreams," Heath said, smiling at his daughter and putting the book down once again. "Remember—"

"I already promised to lock the doors. I'll lock my door, too. You make sure to lock the front when you leave, so I don't have to come down again." She went to the back, checked the lock, then moved on to windows she could reach. I knew this was Heath making sure his daughter remembered the vital survival skills he taught her since she was little. I thought it was a touch excessive, but I didn't help her.

She came back, hugged him with a yawn, and headed back upstairs.

"Now, we can go," he declared. Standing, his benign expression turned hard.

We silently went to his garage, where he unlocked his gun safe, something I still didn't have the combination to, not that I wanted or needed it. He brought out holsters and sidearms for the three of us.

"I got one for you a while ago, just in case," he admitted softly as I put it on.

"Mm-hm." I took the handgun from him and put it in the holster, after checking the safety and, thankfully, finding it on. I had no intention of taking it out and using it. In fact, I was planning on avoiding it. The less firepower used, the more likely we would take someone alive.

Once everyone was armed, we got into our separate vehicles and rolled out, Heath locking the front door using his phone.

"You have smart locks?" I asked. "I never noticed."

"I got them over winter and never thought it was worth mentioning. Your key still works on the back door. Now, I can check the locks when I'm not home. All the windows, too," he admitted.

"And I thought I was paranoid," I teased. "But really, that's a good idea. Do I have those installed at Kick Shot?"

"Yes, Oliver has control of them. I think Dirk does, too. You were so attached to just using your keys, none of us wanted to disturb that."

"I see." I chuckled, nodding. "It's just an app? I'll get the information and add the thing to my phone for security reasons."

"I could add it to your house, too," he murmured, leaning toward me as he drove with a smile.

"Is this how you win my heart now? New security features?"

"I like to think of it as mutually beneficial. You feel safer, and I know you're safer without being an Alpha installing things without your approval."

I leaned into him with a smile. It didn't last long. This wasn't a cute date, that was something Heath and I didn't get to do.

We were going to capture humans who were trying to kill me and figure out why.

"I guess it's time to get serious," I whispered, losing the fleeting joy. "What do you think we'll find?"

"I'm hoping we find the BSA is the leak, and they can work a lot harder to be careful with information of supernaturals," he said with a long sigh. "But I think we both know what we're going to find, even though it's not the most likely option."

"I wonder which of your old friends is trying to kill me."

"I'm wondering the same thing."