Page 330 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“Uh, yeah…I’m at Gio’s place. Steff, the hunters are here. They’re attacking the building. Mr. Francis had Ava and me lock ourselves in some kind of safe room.” April’s lips quivered. “Baby, I’m scared.”

“The hunters are already there?”

“We can hear them out there. Jesus, it sounds like a war. I don’t know what to do.”

“You’re in the safest place you can be. Hunker down and stay there. Don’t open the door for anybody. Stay safe.”

His voice went distant as he pulled the phone from his mouth. “It’s a set-up!” Steff screamed. “Blayne? They’re at Gio’s. They’re already fucking there?—”

With that, the call ended. April stared at the screen for several seconds before the phone tumbled from her fingers. It clattered to the concrete floor. She looked at me with shining eyes. “He’s gone. Ava…is it gonna be okay?”

The fear in her face matched the terror in my heart. I wanted to nod and tell her it was going to be okay, but the horror I’d heard in Steff’s voice, the thunderous gunshots echoing beyond the steel walls, made it difficult to say anything. Instead, I pulled up the stool beside her and we wrapped each other in a hug, listening as the world ended outside the safe room.

I shivered. My father, uncles, and cousins were out there, fighting as we hid. Fighting, maybe dying. The man I loved and his friends were somewhere else, fighting to the death. I felt weak and useless inside the safe room. I wanted to help, but themen I loved wouldn’t be able to concentrate with me in harm’s way.

As fucking awful as it was, I had to stay put. It was a horrible bargain, but one I had to make. What else could I do? Like anyone, visions passed through my mind—April and me swinging open the doors in some show of supernatural force. Somehow, we overcame the odds and defeated all the enemies out there. Kid fantasies. Real life was uglier and more brutal.

We couldn’t know how long it went on. The gunshots and explosions could have been going on for hours, days, or minutes—it all would have been the same to us.

Eventually, the shots did slow. After over five minutes of near silence, a new horror filled the room. The door had been locked. A large light above the vault had been red since we locked ourselves inside. The red light suddenly turned green, and the round handle began to spin.

April and I leaped to our feet and backed up a few feet. Our eyes locked on the door, and whatever might come through. A deep growl erupted from April’s throat, and I reminded myself that she, too, was a shifter now. At least we wouldn’t be completely defenseless if one of Antonio’s guys came through the door.

It wasn’t Antonio or one of his men; it was worse. Uncle Sam stood there, heaving and covered in sweat. An assault rifle hung from a strap across his chest. A pistol, the slide locked back showing it was empty, dangled from his left hand. He was covered in blood, spatters and smears all across his shirt, face, and legs. A quick glance told me almost none of it was his. He had a few deep cuts on his left shoulder and some scratches around his face, but his eyes told me something was wrong.

“Sam?” I said, my voice quavering. “What happened?”

He looked at me and opened his mouth, but paused, closed his mouth, and shook his head. “Your dad’s been shot. Gio’shurt.” He shook his head in bewilderment. “It doesn’t look good.”

I almost screamed, but I clamped my mouth shut. Tears sprang to my eyes, and the world seemed to tilt to one side. If April hadn’t been there, I would have slid to the floor. Instead, she put an arm around me and held me up.

Gritting my teeth in anger and fear, I took the first step toward the door. “Take me to him.”

TWENTY-NINE

BLAYNE

Steff’s shout ripped through the quiet of the office. Miles and I turned to look at him. His face was twisted in panic.

“What are you saying?” I asked, taking a hesitant step toward him.

Steff shook his phone at me. “That was April. She’s with Ava at Gio’s place. There’s a whole crew of Antonio’s men there.” He raked a hand through his hair. “How are they there when we’re watching them at that abandoned warehouse?”

Gio’s men had followed the caravan that had rolled into town that morning. The cars had all pulled into a massive warehouse on the industrial side of the county. As far as we knew, they were still in there. We’d assumed they were preparing. But if they were at Gio’s and had broken into Steff’s place, that could only mean one thing.

“Decoy,” Miles whispered behind me.

I spun to look at him and saw his panic. His hands were at his sides, curling into fists. “The convoy…” he went on. “It was why they didn’t try to hide their entrance. It was all a fucking shell game. They were already in town. While we were been focused on all those trucks and cars, they were getting into place for the attack.”

Spinning to look at Steff again, I said, “Are the girls safe?” It seemed like the most important question on earth.

Steff shrugged. “I think so. April said they were in some kind of panic room. A vault or something Gio had them hide in when the attack started.”

A tremor of relief surged through me. It was a comfort to know that they were as safe as they could be.

Tate stood to the side, hands on his head. I rarely ever saw him so agitated. Even the day Miles had been hurt so badly, Tate, while emotional, had been pretty calm given the circumstances. Right now, he looked like a caged and cornered animal.

“Tate? Are you good?”

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