Page 82 of The Aether

“If we teleport as one giant group, we’ll be a large blip on the Authority’s radar despite the cloaking. My recommendation would be to space it out and go one at a time,”Creed suggested.

Damian nodded his acknowledgment and pointed to Trevor.“You after me. We’ll alternate one from every team at one-minute intervals. We won’t—”

“Damian, if I may?”

He raised a brow in Kass’s direction as she sauntered into the center of the crowd.“I’ve had experience dealing with slipping under everyone’s noses. The key is to divert the teleport. Go to a location, but before you land, change directions a time or two. If anyone is tracking you, it leaves your signature in the first one or two locations.”

“A decoy landing. Clever, cher.”Draven nodded his approval.

“What about cellphones? Do we leave them behind to prevent tracing?”Jordan asked, holding his up.

Alastair shook his head.“No need. My security staff can scramble the signal. No one outside of us will be able latch onto it. I’ve been doing it for years.”

“Security team?”Kass frowned as she looked toward the windows as if disturbed she’d missed them.

“They are working remotely,”Damian replied, smiling as her features smoothed.“They’re a backup. With their military training, they are likely the only ones capable of rescuing us should we fail.”

“We won’t fail,”Fintan growled.

“You know this?”

He shook his head with a slight, one-shouldered shrug.“Feel it.”

“Sure, and any other questions, or is this feckin’ gabfest over?”Ronan demanded.“My skin’s getting itchy to retrieve the wee wild beastie.”

“No more than mine.”Damian swirled a finger in the air as a signal to get moving.“I’ll see you there.”

He didn’t bother to conceal his destination. No one in their right mind would believe he wasn’t going directly to his daughter’s prison. Taking his time, he strolled around the building, testing for strengths and weaknesses. As soon as Trevor arrived, Damian uncloaked himself and entered.

Not bothered if Morcant knew he was present, Damian strode to the building’s reception desk and smiled when the middle-aged female behind the counter sucked in her breath. A check of her name tag gave him the ammunition he needed to charm her. So much for not doing as his Enchantress mother had done. If seduction meant saving his family, he’d fuck the entire United States and then some.

Leaning his elbows on the counter, he slowly ran his eyes down the length of her uniformed body, then met her startled gaze with a wide, appreciative grin. “Mona. What a perfect name for such a lovely woman.”

Her skin took on a ripe cherry-colored hue, and her mouth dropped open.

Castor’s voice sounded in his mind.“Like taking candy from a baby, Dethridge.”

“Stuff it, Alex. I’m working here.”

“Should’ve let me do it.”

Damian hoped his irritation didn’t show. “Mona, I need a favor. Do you think you could help me?”

She nodded emphatically, and he had the desire to laugh as the bulk of his arriving team snorted and the women outright chortled. The receptionist neither heard nor saw their approach.

“Excellent.” Weaving in an enchantment to scramble her reasoning, Damian hoped to avert her concern. A stranger seeking the subterranean passage beneath this particular high-end apartment complex was suspect. “I’m looking for an access door to the tunnels beneath this building. Would you happen to know where it is?”

Shaking her head, she appeared ready to cry. Her shame at disappointing him was great.

“That’s all right. But perhaps you could point me to someone who might know?”

“N-no one is h-here, sir.” She gulped and squared her shoulders. In a firmer voice, she said, “The m-maintenance m-men are off this weekend.”

“Fuck.”

Alastair’s savage curse amused him to the degree he smiled wider.

“I see.” Taking one of her hands between his, he filled her with a sense of peace and joy. Widening his eyes, he locked onto hers and spoke in a soothing, hypnotic tone. “Mona, you won’t question why I’m searching the first floor of this building. If anyone asks, you hardly saw me at all, other than to deliver flowers to one of your residents. Do you understand?”

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