Page 44 of Gavin

“Me too, sweetheart,” Gavin said. “Me too.”

Chapter

Seventeen

It was late morning and Victor Hawthorne was about to execute one of the best captures of his long-storied career. He’d bided his time for the last couple days and simply observed the pride using the silent drones and plenty of Brent Foley’s people. Even though he found most of the men little more than mercenaries willing to fight whoever was paying them the most, several were quite skilled. Including a military-trained sniper named Jedd.

“This corner,” Victor said as he and Jedd set up a half mile away from the home of the tiger leaders. It was just outside of town and wasn’t covered by any of their continually growing security measures, but it was still close enough for someone like Jedd to use his special skills.

Victor pulled out the cloak he’d used in previous hunts that was covered with a special scent-blocker and would prevent shifters from smelling that a human was near. The top of the human-sized cloak was covered with a blanket of faux leaves and brush and would melt perfectly into the ground.

He hummed as he prepped. Everything was falling into place.

Jedd had a picture of the albino wolf’s mate. Victor gripped the cloak and swung it around to his back. “Kill him,” hereminded the man. “But wound anyone else that comes to his aid. Only if they’re men though. Don’t shoot any women.”

“Got it.”

Lifting his phone, Victor sent a text to the team he’d put together with one word:Now.

“See you at the rendezvous,” Victor said, then dropped to the ground, pulled the cloak over himself completely, and made his way toward the house.

Gavin couldn’t relax.Not only could he still pick up the smell of smoke from the burned up porch that some of the pride’s construction crew were working on replacing, but he was just flat-out worried that something bad was going to happen. His cat was on edge and that made his whole world feel upside down. Sadie was safe inside the house, and Gavin was patrolling with two other males, and he would get an alert if someone triggered any of the motion detectors or cameras.

He walked the length of the house and back, then turned the corner toward the porch. His dad was working on the porch along with his uncle August.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hi, how’s it going?” he asked as he pulled a burned slat from the porch and tossed it into the pile.

“Meh. I can’t shake my nerves that something bad is going to happen.”

“Something baddidhappen,” August said.

“I mean today.” Gavin rubbed his stomach and stared into the forest, where shadows were dappled by the sunlight that streamed through the canopy.

“They’ll stop trying,” his dad said. “Eventually they’ll realize that collectively we’re smarter than they are and more determined to keep Sadie and the pride safe. They’ll move on.”

Gavin liked his dad’s optimism, even if he didn’t share it.

“That’s a nice thought, but Jason Finnegan went after the Cleveland vampire coven for years.”

“True,” his dad said. “But maybe this poacher guy will realize it’s not worth it to try to get to Sadie. You’re a fierce male, and I know you want to keep her safe.”

How many damn close calls were they going to have? They should be enjoying their mating and spending time alone together, not hiding in Midas and Maya’s home and hoping the assholes hunting Sadie moved on.

“Back to the grind,” Gavin said.

His phone went off and he lifted it to see that alarms were being triggered all over the territory. “Shit! Dad, you guys get in the house. I think we’re under attack!”

Gavin crossed the front of the house as his phone continued to ping with alerts. Cameras and motion detectors were being set off everywhere. When he reached the far corner of the house, he turned to catch up to Adrian, who was just ahead of him, when pain exploded in his skull. He staggered, his hand lifting to his temple as his vision spun. He struggled to stay on his feet, but the pain that radiated from his skull down his neck was overwhelming. His knees buckled, and he hit the ground, his vision dimming. Then, everything went dark.

Sadie stoodat the window and watched as Gavin rushed by. She was going to knock on the window and wave at him, but he was clearly in a hurry.

She turned from the window when her heart clenched suddenly and an overwhelming pain lit up her body for a second and then disappeared. She gasped, clutching her chest. As her wolf howled in dismay, she knew that something had happened to Gavin.

Without thought, she raced for the front door, throwing it open and leaping over the burned remnants of the porch. She hit the ground as Gavin’s dad and uncle shouted at her, but she was too panicked to hear what they said. She saw Gavin on the ground at the back corner of the house, lying unnaturally on the grass.

“No! Oh no! Help!” she shouted as she ran to him.

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