“Men like Maverick always have secrets, always,” Kieran remarked, his tone matter-of-fact rather than scornful. “They’ve got closets full of skeletons-maybe they’ll let you glimpse a few, but they never lay all their cards on the table.”
Apart from the muffled heavy metal music blasting from Eve’s headphones, the sedan was eerily quiet as we cruised down the highway. The hum of the engine was the only sound filling the confined space.
Emotions swirled around us, creating a palpable tension that threatened to overwhelm. Only Eve seemed entirely at ease, her infectious enthusiasm like a soothing balm for my throbbing headache. Her teenage exuberance and appetite for adventure offered a welcome distraction from the weight of everyone else’s anxieties.
Kat and Zack were hyper-aware of each other, each movement or breath from one triggering a response in the other. Zack maintained an iron grip on his emotions, but Kat was an open book. While I could only glimpse a fraction of Zack’s feelings, I was starting to pick up on his social cues. Whenever Kat sighed or yawned, his fingers twitched. When her phone buzzed against the leather seat and she answered a call from her father, Zack visibly stiffened, his gaze fixed on the passing scenery.
“That reminds me of something my father used to say,” Zack reflected, his voice thoughtful yet retaining a cold edge. “Never reveal your full hand.”
His words hung in the air for the next twenty-five minutes. Had we been naive to trust Zack? Sure, he willingly joined us in the car, but now we were heading to an unknown location in hopes of rescuing Ethan. Was Zack showing us his full hand? No, I highly doubted that.
By the time Kieran drove us into a rundown neighborhood, with more abandoned houses than inhabited ones, I had made up my mind. I had sworn countless times that the twins were worth any risk; now I had to prove it.
The houses, despite their dilapidation, still hinted at their former grandeur. Some lacked paint or a front porch, while others were missing windows and doors.
“I’m going to need to walk into this blind, trusting someone who has every reason to imprison me, because Ethan and Kieran are my only true weaknesses,” I murmured to Kieran as he passed the neighborhood.
“We’re heading to the next street,” Kieran replied before Zack could, which made sense-it was Zack’s plan after all.
“Wouldn’t Maverick have wolves patrolling the forest?” I asked, slightly puzzled.
“As I mentioned earlier, I gathered as much information as possible about this place,” Zack replied sharply, prompting narrowed glances from Kieran, Kat, and myself. For a brief moment, I wished Zack could feel emotions; he’d have realized how close he came to causing a major rift. Despite being an insufferable snob, Zack was undeniably intelligent and quickly tried to backtrack. “This place isn’t supposed to exist. There are men stationed in this house and the neighboring one-nothing more. Any more activity would draw attention with too many different scents.”
“I feel qualified to give you advice since I’m on Sophia’s good side,” Kat interjected with a sickly sweet tone, signaling trouble. The tension between them was escalating, especially now, forced together in such close quarters. I was drowning in Kieran’s scent, and I knew any hint of attraction from me would set off his own. Though I couldn’t discern Zack’s exact emotions, I could sense he was affected by Kat’s presence.
“She’s poised to replace your father on the High Table and knock you down a peg. You might want to show a little more respect,” Kat taunted, smirking at him through the rearview mirror.
Zack’s icy gaze hardened as he glared at Kat. His expression clashed with his golden hair and baby blue eyes-he wasn’t the brooding type, but it gave him a rugged edge.
Before Zack could retort, Kieran pulled into the pothole-ridden driveway of one of the abandoned houses. The driveway looped around to the back, providing cover for the sedan, which looked out of place in such a decrepit neighborhood. The garage was a skeletal frame of rotting planks and shoddy cement. According to the markers on the ground, there should have been a fence around the backyard, but like everything else in the area, it was unfinished.
After a quick ten-minute trek through the small forest separating the backyards, we halted a few feet from the tree line, surveying a row of abandoned houses. One in the center appeared slightly better maintained than the rest, with sheets covering the windows like makeshift curtains. Another positive sign was that the house had an intact door. As I scanned a few more houses down, I noticed two others that were marginally better maintained.
“There are two houses-the one in the center is where Ethan is held, and the neighboring one houses the guards,” Zack explained, pointing them out. “It’s inconspicuous and prevents constant back-and-forth traffic.”
“Eve and I will handle the house with the guards,” Zack continued. “We’ll incapacitate them while the three of you scout the house where Ethan is. There will be guards, so stay out of sight and do not enter the house until Eve and I return.”
“So, I’m supposed to trust you with my life?” Kat scoffed, her typically friendly tone replaced with skepticism. “Not a chance, Billford.”
“Someone needs to be with Eve, strong enough to protect her,” Zack retorted, narrowing his eyes on Kat’s defiant stance.
“I’ll go with Eve,” Kieran spoke up unexpectedly, surprising even me. He barely glanced at Zack as he added, “You can go with Sophia and Kat.”
“You realize this could end badly with those two paired together, right?” I mentally remarked to Kieran, our thoughts blending. Since Ethan had been taken, I hadn’t been able to sense his thoughts, which Zack had confirmed was due to Ethan being sedated.
“I trust Zack enough to care about his own life and make this work,” Kieran thought back, his tone edged with anger. “He’ll resist the mate-bond, but he’ll fail. It might still end badly, but no point in tiptoeing around them.”
“I guess it’ll be entertaining to see her tear into him again,” I sighed resignedly, accepting my fate.
“Eve, lose the headphones,” Zack instructed impatiently, trying to maintain his composure. Once she complied and returned to the present, Zack outlined the plan. “Kieran and Eve will notify us when they leave the safehouse. We’ll have roughly twenty minutes to retrieve Ethan and get out.”
“I’ll try to buy us more time if possible, but I can’t overexert myself,” Eve chirped, pulling out a stick of gum. Though she looked older than her teenage years, she had an air of not taking anything too seriously. She chuckled, “Wouldn’t be much help if I’m comatose myself!”
“Eve, focus,” Zack muttered under his breath, as though accustomed to this behavior. He glanced at Kieran briefly. “Keep her on track; she gets easily distracted.”
“Got it,” Kieran nodded tersely.
“A bit dramatic, aren’t we?” Eve scoffed, rolling her heavily-lined eyes. Her makeup was expertly smoky and blended-quite a contrast to my amateur attempts at age fourteen. “Miss one guy and it’s…”
“As I said, keep her on track,” Zack cut in firmly, his patience wearing thin. Passing a disposable phone to Kieran, he continued, “Use this to stay in touch. We’ll update you on any guard activity.”
“And what about our faces?” Kat interjected, her tone now hardened and practical. “Unless Eve can erase memories, we can’t risk being identified.”
“I’ve got that covered. Seems like I’m here to do most of the work,” Eve quipped, throwing a playful jab at Zack. She rummaged through her bag and produced five black pieces of cloth. “Ready for a little disguise?”
“Really?” Kat chuckled, holding up the cloth pieces-standard burglar masks with eye and mouth holes.
“They do in a pinch; I always keep one on me,” Eve said with a wink, blowing a mint-green bubble and popping it with her teeth.
The house where Ethan was held had a driveway wrapping around it and a backyard with a fence that extended halfway before abruptly stopping. A concrete foundation for a porch sat out front, with worn wooden stairs leading up.
Anxiety gripped me as we approached closer and closer. My soul sensed what my body and mind couldn’t fully grasp-I could feel Ethan nearby. Even though our connection was severed, I knew he was here. I could almost sense the beat of his heart as we moved silently across the dewy grass.
“It’s going to be alright,” Kat whispered, placing a reassuring hand on my back. “I know you’re anxious, but we’re going to get him.”
“I’m starting to regret leaving you,” Kieran’s voice echoed in my mind. “If you want to turn back, just say the word.”
“No, let’s finish what we came here to do. I can handle this,” I replied, sending him warmth and courage.
“Judging by the extra glazed look in your eye, I’d say Kieran just checked in,” Kat giggled, her first genuine laugh since meeting her mate.
My gaze snapped to Kieran. Every muscle in his body tensed as our eyes met, a silent conversation passing between us. My eyes conveyed, ‘I know you felt it. You can’t deny it, and you can’t ignore it.’ His eyes, dark and promising, held a thousand empty threats that failed to instill any fear in me. Zack Billford might be formidable, but I trusted my mates and their family implicitly.
“Extra glazed?” I raised an eyebrow at Eve, diverting the conversation away from Zack’s sake and focusing on Ethan’s rescue. The three of us needed to remain focused until Eve completed her task.
We crept up to the front of the house, moving low as we approached the backyard. Parked in a partially finished garage was a relatively new-looking SUV. In the backyard, there was a large square hole, perhaps the beginnings of an inground swimming pool. A sliding glass door led to the back, and we cautiously avoided being spotted as we kept low, waiting anxiously.
When the faint buzz of the phone finally sounded, I let out a sigh of relief.
“Eve’s done; they’re on their way,” Zack murmured to Kat and me, his eyes scanning the house as we crouched low.
It was then that I noticed what Zack was wearing. Every time I’d seen him before, he’d been in a tailored suit. Now, for the first time, he wore simple pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt. Though I was sure his t-shirt probably cost three times what mine did, it looked ordinary. Another jarring contrast to his typically sharp demeanor.
Ten minutes later, we heard Eve and Kieran approaching. Eve’s pale skin was flushed, her eyes dilated, clothes rumpled, and hair slightly disheveled. Whatever her abilities were, they clearly took a physical toll.
“What’s her ability?” I asked Kieran, curious about this second white wolf I’d encountered.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Kieran replied instantly, amusement coloring his thoughts.
“There’s a bathroom window low to the ground; that’s our way in,” Zack said sharply, nodding toward the side of the house.
We managed to move past the sliding glass door and around the corner of the house. Just as Kieran, Eve, and I disappeared from view, the sliding glass door slammed open.
I fought the urge to gasp, pressing myself against the house alongside Kat and Zack. Our hearts pounded in unison; even Eve’s facade of relaxation crumbled in the face of true risk-she understood the stakes.
To my surprise, Kat’s emotions weren’t negative; she felt surprised and strangely safe, despite her anger and hurt. I couldn’t dissect her feelings further because as the door opened, a gust of stale air rushed out-cigarettes, mold, cheap beer, takeout food, and the overpowering scent of body odor.
Amidst that cacophony of smells, one stood out-a scent partially my own.
“Ethan,” I gasped, leaving my place against the wall to follow his scent.