Page 19 of The Wayward Sons & The Vampires of Fortune
“No, just one,” he said. “We have an FBI agent on our team. A federal hold has been put on Ryder after his mugshot was red-flagged in the system. This means that the police won’t transfer him—”
“And the vampires won’t be able to get to him,” I finished for him.
“Exactly. At least not until my team is on him,” he continued. “Another member of my team has encountered these vampiresbefore. He gave us information about what to expect, so we’re not going in blind. We plan to take Ryder into federal custody and transfer him to a safe location, but he’ll be surrounded by hunters every step of the way.”
“Y’know they kill hunters, right?” I cocked an eyebrow, challenging him.
“We know, and we’re prepared for that.”
“So, what the fuck happens when they come after y’all while you’re trasferrin’ him to a different location? What the hell are you goin’ to do then?”
“We’ll be ready for them, and that’s all you need to know,” Sam told me.Yeah, I wasn’t a fan of this plan.Not one fucking bit.
“I don’t like it,” I said gruffly.
“I figured. But what’s your plan, Gray? Level all of Phoenix and hope you somehow manage to get ahead of the vampires in the process?” He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. I grunted.That was the only plan I had, and the asshole knew it.“That won’t kill them.”
“I know.”
“And that won’t free Ryder from being hunted.”
“I know.”
“Which means you need me,” he said.
“Debatable,” I muttered. He was right. He knew it, I knew it, he knew that I knew it. “You pull this off, that don’t make us even.”
“I figured,” Sam replied dryly.
“What makes you think you can do it?” I asked. “If I can’t, what makes you think you can?”
“Let’s just say we do things differently in Chicago.”
CHAPTER 13
Inhale. Hold five seconds. Exhale.
Find my calm place… find my calm place…
Inhale. Hold five seconds. Exhale.
Real. Damn. Slow.
My gaze stayed fixated on the jail cell window and the single figure perched on the building roof next door.Vampire.My entire body vibrated with the warning to run. The feeling was so intense that I hardly felt anything from the others in the cell with me.
I knew the window was unbreakable—that was the whole point—but fuck. My hunter senses were in catastrophic mode as they ramped up and prepared for the worst. And if I was being honest with myself, that little window wouldn’t stop the vampire if it wanted to get to me. It wouldn’t, but it could.
Instead, it was waiting. Waiting until they moved me. I was only delaying the inevitable as I sat in that cell. It was only a matter of time before they moved me.
The pit of my stomach was lead. I hated this. I hated leaving Gray. I hated that this was my life.
“So, what the hell did you do?” Fitzgerald demanded, the sound of his voice dragging me out of my self-loathing. He stood on the other side of the bars. He stared me down with a fiery anger that bled from every fiber of his being. I said nothing—not like I knew what he was talking about anyway. “Why did the FBI put a hold on your transfer?”
They what?
I did my best not to show an ounce of the surprise I felt. I refused to give anything away to them.
“You better get comfortable,” he said. “You’re staying in that cell for the next few days until you’re someone else’s problem. And no one here is making your stay a nice one.”
