Page 98 of Obsessed in Blood
He smiled and stepped close, his arms pulling me in. “You have to believe in your success to the final moment. Until you can see the defeat in your enemy’s eyes. Even when all else seems lost, never give up. Lorenzo has one weakness. He prefers surprise attacks, the hit and run, and when his back is to the wall, he only cares about his own safety. He’d rather scurry away and let his cadre take the hit, or find their own way out. That’s not a leader. He depends on strength in numbers and never seems prepared for guerilla tactics. That’s why I know we’ll be successful. Especially in a room of aristocrats who’ll scatter like roaches in the light.”
His kiss was urgent, passionate, and demanding. When he pulled back, leaving me a little weak in the knees, his smile was predatory.
“This is our night. Time to take back what was taken from the House Trelane a hundred years ago. I won’t disappoint Lyra.”
And there was truly nothing more to say after that.
An hour later, after he helped me into my gown made to fit over my bodysuit, we walked downstairs where the team waited for us in the foyer. They looked stunning in their gowns and tuxedos, all of them made to appear similar yet different, right down to the masks that covered half their faces.
The idea was that if someone, specifically Lorenzo, spotted one of us and became curious, the next time they saw us, it would most likely be one of the other teams. The goal was to stay off his radar, but with the expected crowd of guests, it would be impossible for us to have eyes everywhere. Two of the inside teams were assigned to monitor Lorenzo, providing the other two teams the chance to sneak out to the garden.
We had originally planned to meet at a central point to go over the plan one last time with the entire team, but with the meeting with Cato and the raid on the safe house, we ran out of time. We had already reviewed enough that everyone knew each other’s part as well as their own. But with the inside teams gathered in the foyer, we walked through it one more time, each person repeating their part to play. Colantha and Lyra, who would remain at the manor, repeated their part once the team reached Hamilton. When Devon was satisfied, we piled into the various sedans that would take us to the docks south of town.
When we arrived, we spaced our cars in between the other arrivals. The private dock that serviced the ferry to Lorenzo’s island was on the far end of a string of docks that supported fishing boats and personal crafts. Lorenzo owned two of the buildings surrounding the dock and paid the harbor master to keep other crafts away.
But The Wolf owned several buildings and businesses along the same waterfront. Their purpose was two-fold: keep an eye on who came and went from anywhere along the docks, but also to keep an eye on Lorenzo, the shifters’ greatest threat on the vampire Council.
Each of the Trelane sedans carried two vampires and two wolves, except for the ones with me and Ginger, the only humans in the group. Of the four in each sedan, one vampire and one wolf were dressed for the party. The other two wore black camo and would remain behind to aid in the escape, if needed.
Ginger was dressed for a party, but she also wore a bodysuit underneath her gown. She would be one of several diversions that Bella and Jacques had created for the evening. Jacques would oversee the diversions since Bella would be Sergi’s date for the evening, while Elijah would be Simone’s escort. That made five vampires, two shifters, and myself as the partygoers.
Besides Ginger and Jacques remaining behind at the docks, Remus’s businesses along the waterfront housed dozens of vampires and wolves that had been brought in over the last two days in preparation for the evening. Quarters were tight, but from what Decker reported, everyone was getting along, which he deduced was their combined commitment to deliver a devastating blow to Venizi.
Braden, Remus’s beta, waved for Devon from beneath a covered tent that had been set up in case of rain. Since the weather was spectacular, the guests lined up closer to the dock as they waited to board the ferry. With a nod from Devon, Sergi, Bella, Simone, and Elijah moved into the crowd to leave for the island.
Lucas and Raquel stayed by the sedan and kept their heads down as if in private conversation.
Devon led me to the canopy.
Braden was dressed as a fancy chauffeur, hat and all, and got right to the point. “Harlow and Trudy’s boat left an hour ago. Trudy radioed that the party has started.”
That was the signal that they had begun their long distraction that was meant to keep Lorenzo’s security watching their boat as a possible threat. It wasn’t unheard of for boats to anchor along the coast to watch the sunset, especially on such a lovely evening. Had it been raining, Harlow’s team would have dressed as diehard fishermen, but with the lovely weather, drunken partygoers were a better distraction. Music would be blaring, and everyone would have a beer or plastic cup with what observers would assume was an alcoholic drink, especially with a bar in plain sight complete with blender. Harlow and Trudy were well protected with the addition of four vampires and two wolves on the sixteen-foot cruiser. They would remain on the water until they received news that Hamilton was off the island. Then they would head back to one of the southern docks to moor.
“Keep in touch with Harlow. Especially if Venizi’s security sends a boat to check on them,” Devon said.
“I’m pretty sure Harlow’s drunken sailor routine will dissuade anyone from getting too close.” I shrugged. “He actually pulls that off pretty well.”
Devon smiled. “Of that, I have no doubt. What about Decker’s boat?”
“They left shortly after Harlow,” Braden answered. “They’ll cruise straight for the horizon until they can barely see the island, then make their way north. They’ll start their slow approach to the island once dusk settles in, making their final approach once they have the full cover of darkness. They’ll be running dark and cruising slow, allowing the sounds of the shore to mask their approach, just as we discussed.”
Devon nodded. “Excellent. Are you our main contact?”
Braden nodded. “Unless we have an urgent problem, then you might hear from Harlow or Decker directly.”
I’d learned this tactic from Harlow and was a little surprised that Devon used it as well. It was how we’d pulled off the Gheata heist. One person is the earpiece. They monitor all the teams, so there’s no cross-chatter or worries about being on the wrong channel. One channel, one central point. But if one of the teams got into trouble, it was faster and safer for the team leader to speak directly with whoever would talk them out of their situation.
We remained under the shelter, a couple of guests with their chauffeur. Nothing too out of the ordinary. After twenty minutes, Braden nodded to Devon and tipped his hat, having received a signal from one of the shifters. “Your first group is on the ferry. Time for you to line up. The second ferry will be docking as soon as this one departs.”
Devon shook Braden’s hand. “To success.”
“To success.”
Then Braden strode toward the sedan, where Ginger waited in the backseat. I wished I’d said more to Ginger before departing the manor. But she’d been in Lucas’s arms waiting with the others in the foyer, their foreheads almost touching as they gave each other a pep talk, reminding each other of the little details for their respective roles. I didn’t want to disturb Ginger getting her game face on. She’d waved at me as she stood by the sedan, a huge grin on her face before Lucas guided her inside.
I took a deep breath as Devon took my hand and led me to the line of guests waiting their turn for the ferry.
Devon huggedCressa close as they boarded the ferry. Lucas and Raquel had been at the front of the line and would exit first, leaving them the last of the teams to arrive. Cressa’s hand trembled when he led her up the path to the manor.
