Chapter 41

CHAPTER 41

H e should probably be concerned that she’d reverted to grumbling to herself, Logan thought, watching Jill’s eyes narrow as she abruptly stopped grumbling so that she could suckle on the plastic straw she’d shoved into a bag of cold blood and-

God, she was so fucking adorable, Logan thought only to decide that it was probably a bad idea to smile when she started grumbling around her straw when Caleb climbed onto his lap. “I love cookies,” Caleb said with a heartfelt sigh as he helped himself to one of the gourmet chocolate chunk cookies that he asked Tomas to buy for the children when he went into town to pick up their lunch.

“I know you do, mīn swēte sunu,” Logan said, only to chuckle when Caleb said, “Kissy” around a bite of cookie.

“Are you ready to get to work?” Logan asked Emma as he leaned down to kiss the top of Caleb’s head.

Nodding, Emma took another bite of her sandwich before placing it on the paper plate and climbed off her chair, grabbed her paper plate and tossed it in the trash before racing back to his side.

“Let’s get to work, mīn smael,” Logan said, finishing his imaginary tea before he placed Caleb down on his feet and was forced to bite back a smile when the grumbling continued.

Taking Emma’s small hand in his, Logan shot Jill a wink, noted the way that she went still as her silver eyes narrowed on him and decided that it would probably be a good idea to get to work. With that, he took Caleb’s hand and started making his way to the servants’ stairs and led them upstairs, absently noting everything that needed to be fixed along the way.

When they reached the landing, Logan released the children’s hands so that they could race down the hallway to their room while he took his time looking in rooms along the way while he decided how he wanted to do this. After he saw that list this morning, he’d realized that he couldn’t leave Jill and the children here like this. He needed to have the house renovated, which was going to be a problem.

He had his men install the black shades on the windows after he bought the house and made sure that Jill and the children had everything that they needed, but he never got the chance to have the house renovated. Now that they were here, hiring shifters to renovate the house was no longer an option. He could hire human contractors to handle the renovations, but that would take longer, which left him with no choice but to handle the renovations himself.

He really didn’t have a choice, Logan decided as he made his way down the long hallway, picking out three bedrooms to renovate for the children as he went until he came to the room they were currently sharing. He found the twins sitting on their beds, working on their lists while Shane sat on his bed, glaring down at the iPad in his hands.

“You want to give me a hand with this, Shane?” Logan asked as he took a closer look at the closet door.

“I’m good where I am. Thanks,” Shane said on a bored sigh as he shifted to get more comfortable.

“I can see that,” Logan said, chuckling as he grabbed the closet door and pulled it away from the wall only to bite back a curse when the move caused one of the hinges to fall off along with the rusted screws that secured it to the door.

After carefully placing the door back against the wall, Logan knelt down and picked up the hinge and the screws. Making sure there weren’t any screws left on the floor for the kids to step on, Logan leaned over to see if any of the screws rolled under the bed and-

Swallowed hard when he saw the snacks that Tomas picked up for the children shoved into the corner beneath the bed. Standing up, Logan tossed the hinge and screws in the small wastebasket by the bathroom door before he glanced back at Shane to find him still glaring down at the iPad in his hands. Logan took in the boy’s panicked gaze to the muscle clenched in his jaw and the way that his hands trembled as he struggled to hold onto the iPad before his gaze shifted to the empty plate by Shane’s side, noting that there were no signs of the bottle of water and chips that Jill brought him earlier.

He watched as Shane’s panicked gaze flickered in his direction and-

He was going to tear Magnus apart with his fucking hands, Logan decided as he grabbed the closet door without a word and headed for the door. He felt his fangs rip through his gums as he headed downstairs, the need to hunt Magnus down and make him pay for what he put those children through, becoming stronger with every step.

“They found everything on your list,” Tomas said, not bothering to look up from the list in his hands as Logan walked past him and made his way into the parlor where everything that he’d ordered had been placed.

“Did they find anything under Shane’s bed at the penthouse?” Logan asked as he leaned the door against the wall and took in everything from the stack of sheetrock by the windows to the stack of plywood next it, the two-by-fours, saws, drills, and everything that he was going to need to get started before turning his gaze to the other side of the room where a long workbench had been set up.

“Enough food to feed an army,” Tomas said as Logan grabbed a drop cloth off the bench and shook it open before tossing it over the faded rug that was going to have to be thrown out.

Absently nodding, Logan said, “Put a mini fridge in their room along with a cabinet and keep it filled with food,” as he grabbed one of the folded sawhorses and set it up on top of the drop cloth.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Tomas said, grabbing the second sawhorse and set it up.

“Any updates?” Logan asked, needing a distraction.

“They raided the building an hour ago,” Tomas said with a bored sigh as he took in the large room that Logan had turned into a workroom.

“They find anything?” Logan asked, grabbing the closet door and placed it across the sawhorses.

“Just some really pissed-off humans that threatened to call the police if they didn’t keep the noise down,” Tomas drawled. “By the time they reached the penthouse, your scent had been completely destroyed by the scents of body odor, cheap cologne, sex, alcohol, and about a hundred other things that I’d rather not think about.”

At Logan’s questioning look, Tomas said, “I rented the penthouse to a frat house for the night so that they could throw a party.”

“That works,” Logan said, chuckling as he debated putting new hinges on the door and putting it back up only to decide to refinish it first. “What else?” he murmured absently as a chime alerted him to a text message.

He pulled out his phone and-

Well done, asshole.

-felt his lips twitch when he saw the message Kale sent him, letting him know that he saw the penthouse.

“It looks like they’re renovating the brownstone,” Tomas said, grabbing his attention. “They started replacing the windows and doors last night.”

“They’re settling in for the long haul,” Logan said, nodding absently as he sorted through the tools covering the workbench and grabbed a scraper.

“Looks like it,” Tomas said, watching him curiously as he leaned back against the wall. “They’ve raised the bounty on your head.”

“How much?” Logan asked, examining the scraper in his hand as he made his way to the door.

“Ten million.”

“And the children?” Logan asked, placing the metal edge of the scraper flat against the door and slowly pushed, taking several layers of paint off in the process.

“Twenty million,” Tomas said, only to hesitate before adding, “on Shane.”

“They’re getting desperate,” Logan said, pulling the scraper back before pushing it over the door, losing himself in the familiar move as he thought about his next move.

“Yes, they are,” Tomas murmured, sounding lost in thought.

“Contact the Callish and Aillack Packs and offer them a million dollars a month to make sure that no one gets past the Sentinels,” Logan said, knowing that it was a risk involving shifters to protect the children.

“What if they ask questions?” Tomas asked as Logan watched the paint peel off in one long ribbon.

“Double it,” Logan said, leaning down and blew the paint chips off the door.

“That should do it,” Tomas said, pulling out his phone and began swiping through his contacts. “Anything else?”

“Let them know that if anyone gets past the Sentinels, they’ll have their fucking throats ripped out,” Logan said, moving to stand up and-

Nearly fucking dropped to his knees when excruciating pain suddenly tore through his right arm.

“What the hell are you doing?” came the curious question that managed to scare the hell out of her!

Pressing a hand against her chest, Jill glanced over her shoulder to find Shane frowning down at her. “Besides wondering why you’re trying to scare the hell out of me?”

“Besides that,” Shane said, shrugging it off as he gestured to the locked door that she was currently trying to find a way to break into. “What are you doing?”

“Putting my questionable skills to good use,” Jill said as she shifted her attention back to the lock that refused to cooperate.

“What’s behind the door?” Shane asked as he knelt down next to her to get a better look at what she was doing.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Jill murmured absently as she focused on straightening out the metal coat hanger she managed to find in one of the upstairs closets.

“Why didn’t you just ask the leech?” Shane asked, watching as she ran her hand over the coat hanger before focusing on the sharp tip.

“Because I like to keep him on his toes,” Jill said, eyeing the skeletal keyhole as she carefully bent the tip into a small hook.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Shane asked as he watched her reach down and pick up the small file she helped herself to from the toolbox this morning and set to work.

“Sometimes,” Jill said as she slid the file into the keyhole and pushed the tip down before she slid the coat hanger inside.

“Why didn’t you just break the lock with your hand?” Shane asked, making her frown as he stood up.

“Because it’s an antique lock and the original door from the looks of it,” Jill said with a sad shake of her head, wondering what was wrong with this generation.

There was a pause, and then, Shane asked, “How long ago were you changed?”

“Why are you judging me?” Jill asked, glancing up to blink up at the teenage boy as his eyes narrowed on her.

“You’re newly turned,” Shane said, shaking his head in disgust as he took in the rest of the door.

“Does it really matter?” Jill asked, watching as he reached up to run his fingertips along the side of the door frame.

“It means you’re weak,” Shane said with a heavy sigh as she shifted her attention back to what she was doing.

“It means that I have potential, Shane,” she pointed out, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she shifted the angle of the file.

“It really doesn’t, though,” Shane said as Jill moved the hook until she felt it latch onto something and-

“Here,” Shane said as he held a black skeletal key in front of her.

When she threw him a questioning look, he said, “It was above the door.”

Sighing, Jill said, “No one likes a showoff,” as she reluctantly pulled her tools free and placed them on the floor before taking the key out of his hand and-

“Are you okay?” Shane asked when Jill stood there, pressing her hand against her chest as a flutter of something that she couldn’t quite explain spread over her chest only to disappear just as suddenly as it started.

When it happened the other night, she’d shrugged it off, not really thinking much of it. But then it happened this morning and a few times last night, making her wonder if it had something to do with Logan’s blood.

“I’m fine,” she promised him, sliding the key into the lock and turned it as she stood up. “How do you know so much about vampires?”

“They were in charge of the compound,” Shane said as he reached past her and opened the door, revealing the pitch-black stairwell below.

“Makes sense,” Jill murmured absently as her gaze sharpened so that she could see the stairwell.

“What’s down there?” Shane said, moving to stand next to her.

“No clue,” Jill said as she reached over and flicked the switch on. Seconds later, the lights came on, illuminating the stone stairs below. Not really sure that this was a good idea, Jill released a shaky breath as she headed down the stairs.

“Do you think this is a good idea?” Shane asked as he followed her.

“Probably not,” Jill said as she cautiously made her way down the stairs and-

“Go back upstairs, Shane,” Jill said, swallowing hard as she took in the cells lining both sides of the cavernous basement.

“No,” Shane said, stepping past her to take a closer look at the cells. She watched as he slowly made his way past the cells, taking in everything from the thick bars to the steel grates built into the stone floors in the first few cells before he came to a stop in front of the last cell on the right.

“Do you think he’s reinforced the chains with silver?” Shane asked, staring at the chains hanging from the ceiling as she joined him.

“I don’t know,” Jill said, reaching over to run her fingertips over one of the black bars, looking any signs of silver only to feel rough metal against her skin as a sweet scent caught her attention before she dropped her hand away.

“Do you think he’s planning on putting us in there?” Shane asked hollowly as his gaze dropped to the chains attached to the wall.

“No,” she said with absolutely no hesitation

“Promise?” Shane asked, staring ahead.

“Promise,” Jill said, knowing without a doubt that Logan would never hurt them. Deciding that they’d spent enough time down here, Jill moved to turn around only to frown when she felt it.

A weird tingling sensation along her fingertips and the palm of her hand.

Frowning, Jill glanced down at her hand only to forget how to breathe when she saw the tendrils of white smoke rising from her skin.