Page 120 of Reaper Flame

“Where are you?” Vixen’s shouted from outside and broke our moment. “We’ve got to get on the fucking road!”

We nodded, hurrying out.

As soon as we slipped into the Jeep, the tires screeched as West pulled away at high speed. For all we knew, this could be the last time we ever saw Lapland.

Rocky spotted the knife in my hand and raised an eyebrow. “Who knew you could be so romantic, Zander?”

Zander didn’t find it amusing. “You’re lucky I just handed the blade over.”

* * *

“We’re getting close,” West said, looking at the area where we were heading. There was only one possible turn we could make if the building was anywhere close to where Giles pointed out. “It should be around the next left.”

The car took a sharp swerve, making all of us slam into the side like falling dominoes. West had been driving like we were inGrand Theft Auto.

“Do you think they’ll still be around here?” Rocky asked, voicing what we were all thinking.

“If Hiram wanted to leave town, he’d have done it already,” I replied confidently. “He’ll be enjoying making us squirm. If he didn’t believe the picture we sent, we’d already know about it.”

“What if Giles was wrong, and this isn’t the right place?” Rocky asked.

“Then we wait until Hiram gives us an address,” I said. This wasn’t our only opportunity, but it was the one that gave us the best odds. “But I’d rather sneak up on his ass than show up invited without the Blackbird, wouldn’t you?”

Vixen hadn’t said a word for the entire journey. She played with her engagement ring, twirling it around again and again. Seeing her reaction to Mieko’s kidnapping had only proved how true their love was. She would do anything for Mieko. They deserved their happily ever after, and I’d do whatever it took to give them it. I had watched Q change into a different person when Crystal died. I refused to let history repeat itself. It couldn’t.

“We’ll get her back, Vixen,” I said. “We’ll bring her home.”

“And we’ll bring that fucker to justice,” West’s voice came out in a low and deep rumble, fueled by bloodlust. “Once and for all.”

The car continued down a badly laid road that looked like it led to nowhere. The surrounding forest grew thicker. Could Giles have been wrong? I was about to speak up when a building appeared on the horizon.

“It looks like we have company,” Zander said drily, noticing five black unmarked vehicles parked ahead. Armed guards patrolled the perimeter. “This is the right place.”

West’s grip tightened on the wheel. “It’s a good thing that this truck’s bulletproof.”

My cell vibrated in my pocket and a text flashed on the screen:‘See you soon.’

I swore under my breath. “He knows we’re here.”

“Should we hang back?” West asked.

“No!” Vixen and I roared simultaneously.

“I’m not waiting any longer,” Vixen continued. “If she’s in there, we need to find her!”

Think like Hiram, Kitty.

“If they were going to shoot, they’d have already opened fire,” I said. “That means Hiram’s ready. He wants to talk.”

“Whatever happens in there, we need to remember who we are,” Zander said. “We are the Sevens. We go in together and out together, understood?”

“The Sevens forever,” West said.

Rocky wove his fingers through mine. “Are you ready, C?”

I nodded, holding my head high. “I’m done running.”

I’d been a lone wolf for so long, but I’d found my pack now. I wasn’t only fighting to be free from my past, but forourfuture. A future with the Sevens. A future I realized I wanted to live for so badly that I was willing to die for it. We all were.

---