Page 123 of Short, Lethal & Claimed

“Mommy?” Caleb whispered as he started to move to go to her only to go still when the knife lying flat against his chest slid up to his neck and-

Left her forgetting how to breathe when he released a bloodcurdling scream when the knife brushed against his skin. Jill swallowed hard as her gaze shot to the man holding him to find him watching her with a look that told her exactly what would happen if she so much as breathed wrong.

“It’s going to be okay, Caleb. Just do what they tell you,” Jill said, forcing herself to stay still when two of the men descended on her.

“Listen to your mommy,” the man holding Caleb said as Jill was forced to her knees as her arms were yanked viciously behind her back and her phone was snatched out of her hand.

“It’s ready,” came the announcement that had the men nodding as she was dragged to her feet along with Tomas and shoved towards the stairs.

“Don’t say anything,” the man holding her arm bit out coldly.

Praying that Logan was able to get Shane out of the house in time, Jill’s gaze flickered between the twins and the men leading them down the stairs as she quickly took in everything from their bulletproof vests to the crosses and what she was assuming were vials of holy water and oil attached to their belts. She knew enough from her time spent in Sentinel compounds to know that someone had trained them.

Her gaze shifted to the men holding the twins before she moved to glance back at Tomas only to have the large man leading her down the stairs squeeze her arm as he drawled, “Dan,” making her frown only to make her stomach drop seconds later when Emma cried out in pain.

“Move,” the man squeezing her arm said, tightening his hold as Jill watched the large men holding the twins make their way down the stairs and-

Gray.

When Gray saw her, he shot her a wink as she found herself being shoved down the rest of the stairs and dragged down the hallway. At least she knew how they found them now, Jill thought as she went over everything that her father and brother taught her. She didn’t have any weapons on her and if she said or did anything to piss them off, they would take it out on the children.

They needed help and they needed it now.

As they were shoved past the kitchen and forced to walk down the narrow hallway, Jill began testing her handcuffs to see if she could pull them free only to stop when the hand holding her arm tightened along with the warning, “You don’t want to do that.”

Her gaze shot to the man walking in front of her holding Emma and slowly exhaled as she forced herself to stop testing her handcuffs. She just had to figure this out, Jill told herself as she struggled not to panic while they made their way to the pool. She just…

Forgot how to breathe when she saw the priests surrounding the pool, holding bibles in their hands as they softly murmured the prayer that she’d heard so many times over the years, the same one that the priests who worked with the Sentinels said when they turned water into holy water.

CHAPTER 60

“Don’t move,” the shifter standing in front of him said as Logan took in the gun aimed at Shane’s chest, taking away any doubt in his mind that the gun was filled with silver bullets.

Logan didn’t say anything as he reached over and grabbed hold of Shane’s trembling arm and gently pushed him back the same time that he stepped in front of him, his gaze never leaving the asshole that wasn’t leaving this house alive.

“Lay one finger on my son and I’ll rip your fucking throat out,” Logan said, letting his eyes turn silver as he watched more men file into the room.

“Dad?” Shane said on a pained groan as he grabbed Logan’s arm.

“It’s going to be okay,” Logan promised him as he took in the men surrounding them, some of them human, and all of them heavily armed, and debated how he was going to-

“Why don’t we join the others?” the man in front of him suggested as Logan felt Shane go still behind him.

“That’s a good idea,” Logan said, tightening his hold around his son’s arm as he used his hold to pull Shane against his backas he moved, making sure to stay between Shane and the men aiming their weapons at him.

Telling himself that Jill and the twins were okay, Logan kept moving, letting the men push them into the foyer where several more humans waited for them. Every single one of them had their weapons aimed at Shane, knowing that he wouldn’t do anything to risk his son. So, Logan let them force them down the hallway and past the kitchen, knowing that he would kill every fucking last one of them before the night was over.

When they reached the pool doors, two armed men opened the doors seconds before they were led inside and-

“Daddy!” Caleb cried, drawing his attention only to forget how to breathe when the asshole holding him by the back of his neck ran the flat side of a silver blade over the side of his neck.

“Caleb!” Shane screamed, moving to go to him only to go still when Logan squeezed his arm in warning as they watched one of the men pointedly hover the silver blade over Emma’s neck.

Logan took in the red marks on Caleb’s neck before his gaze shifted to Emma to find a matching red mark on her neck. Swallowing hard, Logan watched his little girl quietly cry for another moment before he took in the priests standing against the back wall. He moved on to the humans and shifters taking up positions around the large room before his gaze landed on Tomas as he was forced to his knees on the other side of the pool and-

Angel.

He watched as Jill was forced to her knees a few feet away from Tomas. Her silver eyes pleaded with him as her gaze flickered to the twins. Logan nodded once, letting her know that he would take care of them before his gaze shifted back to Tomas. He took in the dazed look in the demon’s eyes, the blood trickling from his ear and noted how pale he’d gone andwondered what they’d injected him with as he took in the rest of the men surrounding them.

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