Page 32 of Property of Mako
I pushed the sheet back and stood, pulling on my jeans. “I don’t care. She’s my sister, Calix. You think I’m just going to sit here while you risk your life to find her?”
He sighed, the sound laced with frustration. “I want you to stay at the clubhouse. You’ll be safer here.”
“I’m not hiding while Lily’s out there.” I met his stare head-on. “End of story.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked, but before he could argue again, his phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Angrily, I jerked the rest of my clothes on.
He answered on speaker. “Yeah?”
A man’s voice crackled through, low and urgent. “Name’s Malrick. Used to run with the Covenant, long time ago. Got out—barely. I know when the Crimson Auctions happen. It’s tied to the lunar cycle. They hold them on the night of the blood moon. Next one’s coming fast.”
Calix’s eyes flicked to mine, sharp and calculating. “Where are you?”
“Old shipyard. Warehouse 9. I’ve been watching a few of their supply runs.” There was a pause, like he was weighing whether to say more. “There’s something else you need to know. There’s an old plantation down by Jean Lafitte.”
As I tugged on my boots, I heard a commotion cut through the line, followed by a strangled gasp.
“Fuck! Not again!” Calix snarled as he dressed faster than humanly possible. Of course he did.
“Calix—” I started, but he was already moving, grabbing his cut and weapons.
Not giving him the chance to change his mind, I rushed after him.
We were out the door in seconds, his bike snarling to life beneath us. My mind screamed that we should’ve had someone come with, but I didn’t want to question him when he was willing to take me along.
Warehouse 9 was quiet when we arrived—too quiet. Malrick was sprawled on the floor, a stake jutting from his chest. A pale man in a crimson-lined coat crouched over him, wiping a bloodied blade on the victim’s shirt.
The stranger’s gaze slid to me, his smile slow and cold. Then he glanced back to Calix as he stood back up in an unnaturally smooth manner.
“I’m supposed to ask if you remember. The crimson ribbon. The sun and moon. The prophecy. You couldn’t save her then. Will you fail again?”
Calix was on him in a blur, steel flashing. They moved too fast for my eyes to track, the clash of metal and the snarl of inhuman voices echoing in the cavernous space. Both of them got several good hits in as they both were splattered with blood.
When the vampire lunged for me, I stumbled backward and fell. Calix caught him mid-stride, stabbing his dagger toward the creature’s heart. The vampire twisted at the last moment and, with a laugh, dove out of the window.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Calix stood there, chest heaving, blood dripping from his hands. “We’re out of time,” he said finally. “We have to find her now. They know we’re looking, and they’re fucking with us.”
And in that moment, I realized just how deep I was in—and that I wasn’t getting out without him.
Chapter 12
Ghosts of the South
Mako
We’d returned to the clubhouse, and I got my ass chewed by Boomslang and Killswitch.
“Have you lost your goddamn mind?” Boomslang shouted from behind his desk. His fist slammed to the wooden surface.
“There wasn’t time. The contact called me, and I could hear him being attacked,” I argued.
“Bullshit!” Boomslang spat before he shook his head. “That was a reckless move. And you took the girl? Jesus, Mako, I expected better than that from you.”
That burned—because I knew he was right. I shouldn’t have allowed Lyra to ride along. Yet now that I knew she was my mate, the thought of leaving her safety in anyone else’s hands was next to impossible.
