MoonlightTemptation (20 page)

Frustration began to rise but she dismantled it before it
could shatter her concentration.

She knew they weren’t alone, could sense the presence of
other people. Felt someone else’s magic. That dark, slimy, cold magic she’d
felt before.

She latched on to that, swallowed her fear and followed that
back to the source.

There! Voices, indistinct but getting louder. Two older
males and one younger. Alex. It had to be Alex.

“
Damn it.
” She couldn’t hear what they were saying.
They were just too damn far away.

With a huff, she opened her eyes and stared at the door.

Whoever had taken them knew they needed her to keep Alex
healthy. But did they know she could wield her own magic?

She hoped not. An element of surprise would be nice.

But she had to be smart. She had to have a plan.

Moving Cat so the wolf’s body was shielded behind her, Evie
sat directly facing the door.

If anyone tried to separate them, she’d burn their ass. Literally.

Her fury fueled her magic. And it felt fucking great. Now
she just needed some control. She’d found enough last night with Ryan and Dane.
She could do it now.

She knew the
lucani
would come after them. Dan and
Kyle would tear down cities to get their daughter back. Her brother would be
right behind them.

And Dane and Ryan would be by their side. She knew it in her
gut.

Her men wouldn’t sit on their butts and let others save her.
They’d come.

And Evie had to be ready.

* * * * *

“Do exactly as I tell you,” John practically growled, “and
stay the hell out of the way.”

Ryan nodded as he retrieved Dane’s go-bag from the back of
John’s Jeep. Although traffic raced by on Route 183, John had managed to find a
parking lot not far from Reading Regional Airport off a side street in a
deserted industrial mall.

It’d only taken John and Kaine fifteen minutes to put this
operation together and Ryan was impressed as shit.

And spitting mad about not being able to go after Evie with
them. Still, he understood why John didn’t want him along.

He was a liability. He had no combat training.

After this, he would.

Beside him, Dane’s wolf growled, his fur bristling as he
sniffed the air.

Dane was going. They needed his nose because they needed the
other two
lucani
who’d accompanied them to hold guns.

Ryan knew one of the men by name. Seth Lucini barely opened
his mouth, except to say yes and no, and only if a head motion wasn’t enough.
The guy had brown hair, brown eyes and features that allowed him to blend into
a crowd. He wasn’t
sicari
, like John and Kaine. He was rank and file
lucani
legion.

The other man… Ryan had no idea who the hell he was but he
wouldn’t want to run into the guy in a dark alley. Six-four, at least,
two-hundred-thirty, all of it muscle. Tattoos decorated the back of his shaved
head and neck and probably the rest of his body, though that was covered by the
same black tactical gear worn by John and Seth.

He reminded Ryan of Sylvester Stallone without the
movie-star polish and he thought John had called him Race.

“Cam and Stella de Feo will be here in a minute.” John
slammed a gun into the harness on his back and checked the knife on his belt.
“Cam’ll teleport us into the building after Stella and Cam confirm our targets
are in there. Ryan, you stay out here, ready to treat any injuries.”

Ryan nodded again. “I will be.”

When this was over, he was going back for EMT training.
Maybe even medical school.

And he damn well wasn’t going back to Philadelphia.

Dane and John and his team would get the girls and Alex back.
He couldn’t let himself imagine any other outcome.

Because, God damn it, he loved Evie. And so did Dane.

And they weren’t going to lose her.

“We have no idea what they tranq’d them with so—”

John spun, gun in hand, which he immediately lowered when the
tank disguised as a man materialized out of thin air behind him.

“Shit, Cam. Sorry. You snuck up on me.”

Cam de Feo shrugged it off then held out his hand…for the
pretty blonde woman who materialized at his side.

Ryan had seen some freaky shit in his life. Hell, he watched
Dane turn into a wolf. But when a man built like a linebacker who had pointed
ears too unusual to be simply abnormal materialized out of thin air, that made
him question his sanity.

Cam didn’t stop for introductions. Apparently none were
needed. “Stella and I already checked out the building. We’ve got to go now.
They’re getting ready to move.”

“You saw Evie?” John asked. “And Cat and the boy?”

Cam shook his head. “No, but they’re in there. We heard the
men talk about moving cargo so they’re still here. We found an empty room to
stage but we’ve got to go now. We can’t wait.”

John nodded. “Then let’s do it.”

Cam nodded then bent to kiss his wife. And this was no peck
on the cheek, goodbye kiss. This was a full-out passionate embrace that no one
seemed to think was inappropriate for the situation.

When he finally released her, she smiled and Ryan swore he
saw heat flare between them, even in the frosty chill of the air.

Then Cam grabbed Seth by the arm and laid a hand on Dane’s
neck.

And they were gone.

* * * * *

Dane could smell Evie and his wolf wanted to race out the
door and kill anyone in his way.

It took every ounce of his legendary patience to sit quietly
on the floor and wait for Cam to transport the rest of the team into the
building.

It didn’t take long, maybe thirty seconds, but apparently it
was long enough to trip whatever security Ettore Marrucini had set up.

Because when John cracked the door to slip out into the
hall, Marrucini’s men were waiting for them.

A hail of bullets nearly cut him to shreds before Race threw
out his hand and the guns jammed.

“Kaine!”

At John’s shout, Kaine blew by him, racing up the hall
toward the men who’d tossed their guns aside and drew knives.

With the element of surprise lost, Race and Seth followed
close on Kaine’s heels to engage the four men at the end of the hall.

Dane followed, Evie’s scent calling to him. He thought he’d
be able to squeeze by and find Evie.

But Marrucini’s men had them bottlenecked and they fought
with deadly fury. Seth already had blood on his face but the guy who’d hit him
looked a hell of a lot worse, even though he was still on his feet.

And standing between Dane and Evie.

He growled, watching the fight, looking for a break.

John had engaged a guy who didn’t look to be more than
twenty years old. And when he snapped the kid’s head back with a jab that
bounced him off the wall, Dane saw his opening.

He raced up the hall, past the battle. Kaine snapped at his
tail as he ran by her but wouldn’t stop. He had to find Evie.

Turning the corner, he followed her scent up the next hall,
where he also smelled another two men, one of them
Mal
.

He skidded to a stop, his paws sliding on the polished vinyl
floor.

Evie was up there, just ahead—

A blast rocked the building, knocking Dane sideways. He
scrambled to keep on his paws, using his nails to steady himself then he took
off running because now he smelled heat. Fire.

And he knew Evie had just joined the fight.

* * * * *

Bastard. Just a little farther…

The man who’d shot her in the neck with the tranquilizer
dart was behind the door.

She heard him through the wood. Heard the click as he loaded
the dart then the snick of the lock disengaging.

Huh. Guess all that training really did help.

She’d have to thank Cat when they got out of this mess.

Because it’d been the sounds of fighting in the distance
that had made her begin to create the little ball of fire now sitting in her
hand.

Ready…

The door opened and Evie lifted her hand.

She didn’t think. She didn’t hesitate. She let her rage fuel
her magic until it practically burned her hand. Then she threw it with every
ounce of her strength at the door.

And watched as wood splintered outward, burning the door
into ash and knocking the man who’d been on the other side into the wall behind
him. He slumped to the ground and, when she was sure he wasn’t going to get up,
she picked up Cat’s wolf, surprisingly heavy for such a small animal, and
headed for the door.

* * * * *

“Cam!”

Ryan turned from watching the building for any sign of
movement and saw Stella grab for Cam.

She nearly buckled under his weight and Ryan ran over to
help her before they both fell.

“Get him into the back of the truck.” Ryan had already
started to drag them both toward the Lincoln Navigator John had driven his team
in. He and Dane had driven separately in Dane’s Jeep.

Cam looked pretty fucking bad and John knew the guy wasn’t
going to be making any more trips inside that building.

“We need to drive down there to pick them up,” Cam said.
“Whatever wards they put on that building, they fucking drained me. I’m not
going to have enough juice to get them out. We have to go to them.”

Ryan looked at Stella. “Please tell me you can drive a
stick?”

She nodded as she buckled Cam into the middle row of the
Navigator. “Absolutely.”

Ryan ran back to the Jeep and peeled out, praying to
whatever gods were listening that they weren’t too late.

* * * * *

The fire alarms screeched, the high-pitched whine fucking
with Dane’s hearing.

But he didn’t have to rely on his hearing to find Evie. He
followed the smell of smoke, which had obliterated every other scent for the
moment.

Around another corner, he saw a man sprawled on the floor,
shards of burning wood surrounding him. Dane’s medical training caused him to
pause and sniff the man.

Unconscious. He should—

“Dane!”

He spun to see Evie walk through the now-empty doorway,
Cat’s wolf groggy but awake in her arms.

The man forgotten, he howled at her then nudged at her leg
with his muzzle to head in the opposite direction down the hall. Behind them,
the sounds of fighting continued and Dane wasn’t taking the chance that
Marrucini’s men were winning.

There had to be another exit.

“Dane, what about Alex? Where’s Alex?”

He didn’t stop to answer her question, which he couldn’t
have done anyway unless he shifted. Which they didn’t have time for.

He forced her to keep going. The scent of cold air tinged
with airplane fuel made him take the next turn.

Where he saw a man holding Alex in one arm lift his other
and point.

The blinding pain was like nothing he’d ever felt before.

A spell. Cold as ice. Frigid. Powerful.

He dropped to the ground, Evie’s agonized cry the last sound
he heard.

* * * * *

Ryan had just pulled to a stop at the rear of the building
when he saw a man get into a black Mercedes, Alex in his arms.

His first instinct was to block the car from leaving.

Then he saw Evie run from the building, a small black wolf
in her arms.

Turning, he drove straight for them, slamming on the brakes
and turning the wheel so the car came to a stop inches from Evie. Behind him,
he heard Stella screech to a stop in the Navigator.

“Ryan, Dane’s been hit! You have to go back for him.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine but Cat’s still groggy from the drugs. Ryan, you
have to get Dane.”

He nodded. “Get in the car and stay there.”

He had the gun in his hand as he ran for the door Evie had
exited. He knew how to use it. And he would, if he needed to.

Opening the door, he saw no one in the hall so he ran. But
the sound of footsteps approaching him made him pull into a shadowed doorway
and wait until he realized he knew the voices.

“John, Kaine. It’s Ryan,” he called before he stepped out
into the hall, the gun shoved in his jeans. “
Shit.
”

John carried Dane’s wolf in his arms, over a hundred pounds
of dead weight.

Ryan couldn’t tell if the wolf was breathing. His heart
pounded out a hard rhythm.

Race and Seth followed behind with Kaine at their heels. No
one appeared to be chasing them but they didn’t slow down.

“Race, you and Seth take the Jeep with Cat.” John headed for
the Navigator where he laid Dane on the back seat as Stella moved into the
middle with Cam and Kaine jumped in as well. “Evie, let’s go.”

Ryan took the bag Evie had retrieved from the Jeep and
caught the wide-eyed fear on her face.

“It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay.”

She let him pull her close, let him press a kiss to her
temple as she wrapped her arms around him and clung for several seconds. Then
they both maneuvered into the backseat with Dane between them as John drove
them home.

Chapter Nine

“This spell isn’t like anything I’ve seen before. It
feels…cold,” Margie said. “Almost metallic.”

Nica Belludi nodded as she held her hands above Dane’s body.
“I’m not sure what to do with this. I’ve seen
Mal
magic before. This is
different.”

As the
boschetta
’s healer, Nica had a Goddess Gift
that allowed her to heal through the touch of her hands. Evie had believed she
could fix anything from broken bones to internal bleeding.

“Are you telling me you can’t help him?” Evie heard the
tears in her voice and drew in a deep breath as Ryan pulled her back against
him. She didn’t want to cry. Not now. They had to fix Dane before she’d allow
herself a good cry.

Nica frowned as she turned to Evie, shaking her head so hard
her dark hair fell over her shoulder. “No, I’m just saying this could take me a
while to figure out. And I’m afraid if I do something wrong, it could trigger
something else. The spell’s complex. And it’s so damn cold. It’s like laying my
hands on the tip of an iceberg.”