Page 373 of Primal Bonds

Dion practically flew south, Rui and the others fanning out to either side so that their motorcycles formed a five-man arrow with him at the point. Just let the humans try and stop him.

Fortunately, it was a Wednesday morning in January. Even I-95 wasn’t that crowded.

He clenched the handlebars, white-knuckled, trying not to picture all the ways a young female could be hurt. If he was going to save his sister, he needed to stay calm, in control.

But this was Rosana. The pup who’d owned his heart from the day Nisio do Rio had emerged beaming from the bedroom he shared with Dion’s mom and announced that after four boys, Ula had finally blessed them with a girl. Dion and his three brothers had eyed the tiny bundle with awe.

Nisio had passed her to Dion first. “We’re calling her Rosana Marie.”

“Rosana Marie,” he’d breathed. She was so light, like a handful of flowers. He’d held her so carefully, terrified of somehow hurting her, and cautiously touched his lips to her petal-soft brow. She’d scrunched up her little nose, scenting him, and they’d all chuckled.

“You’ll take care of her,” Nisio had stated. “If anything happens to her mama or me.”

He’d met his papai’s silver eyes. “Of course.”

She’s smart, he told himself now. And she knows how to handle herself.

Cleia was always telling him not to underestimate his sister.

As they neared the exit for downtown Baltimore, Rui moved up beside him. “I vote we get off here,” he called above the roar of the motors. “Check out Savonett’s den.” They both knew its approximate location, even though a spell kept it hidden.

Dion frowned, not wanting to stop for even a few minutes. “Why?”

Rui rolled a big shoulder. “A hunch. But we’re flying blind here.”

Dion hesitated. He’d grown up with Rui, the two of them brothers in all but blood. He trusted the shark fada’s instincts.

The Baltimore exit loomed ahead. “Let’s do it,” he called back, and veered right, Tiago and the other two men following. They rumbled through the eastside until they came to Adric’s street.

Leaving the bikes in a vacant lot that smelled of garbage and piss, they strode down the sidewalk, Dion and Rui in the lead. The few people they encountered took one look at their faces and moved aside. One man did an about-face and walked rapidly in the opposite direction.

Rui stalked forward, nostrils flared. The shark fada could pick out a single person’s scent in a crowd of hundreds.

“There.” He indicated a run-down brick house with three concrete steps leading to a faded green door. The bushes needed a trim, and a rusted porch swing took up most of the narrow porch.

“You scent Rosana?”

“Sim,” was the terse reply. “And Savonett, both recent.”

Behind him, Tiago cursed.

They strode down the driveway. The first thing Dion saw was Rosana’s backpack on the ground near the shed. Crumpled nearby were her hoodie and a knit hat, and a single black boot lay a few yards away.

He gave a hard swallow. He’d known something was wrong, but seeing her belongings scattered forlornly on the grass brought it home in vivid, terrifying color.

Rui touched his arm. “It doesn’t mean anything. We already know she’s not here.”

“But it proves she didn’t go with that bastard willingly.” Dion pawed through the backpack, Tiago at his side, hoping for some clue, but all it held was the other boot, a pair of socks, a change of clothes—and the silver charm bracelet.

Hades. His fingers tightened on the charm. He and Tiago exchanged an apprehensive look.

Rui jerked a dagger from a hip sheath and leapt in front of Dion. “Up there.” He indicated the shed roof.

Dion let go of the backpack and grabbed his own dagger. Tiago and the other two men ranged themselves at his back, knives ready.

Marjani Savonett dropped lightly to the ground in front of them. She took a fighter’s crouch, a knife in each hand, lips peeled to reveal lethal canines.

“What the fuck are you doing in my brother’s backyard?”

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