Page 140 of Sapphire Flame
Give,Grant responded.
We’ve got incoming from all directions.
Grant shot to his feet. To the room, he said, “This is it. Get to your stations.”
Along with the others, he left the conference room on a run and headed to the command station they’d finished setting up an hour ago. With a collection of screens, he had visual around the entire property and could see Kryder and his force advancing. They wore black tanks with blue trim, carried AR-15s, and moved on a trot toward the front of the compound. Grant had been right. He recognized the uniform of The Sapphire Club’s security force.
Checking out the Meldorin response, Grant smiled as he watched his men and women take up their positions. All the secret work he’d done for years now became evident. Small portions of walls slid away to reveal well-fortified firing positions. The rocket launcher team moved to their station which was protected by a thick layer of cement. Support personnel was ready to run ammunition as needed.
Using a top-of-the-line com system, he spoke to his team leaders. “This is it. You know what to do. Once the firing starts, continue until Kryder and his force retreats.”
All twelve responded in the affirmative. Each was positioned with ten trained men and women. There wasn’t a single blind spot around the compound.
Each monitor reflected a portion of the exterior. Grant kept his gaze fixed on the one that showed a heavily armored Jeep. Kryder was no doubt within the vehicle.
He rose through the top aperture and started shouting orders. His men immediately started firing as they continued to advance.
Kryder then disappeared back inside the vehicle.
Grant watched as his people responded. The firing could no doubt be heard throughout Savage. It was war and the cacophony almost busted his eardrums. He removed his headset and listened through the room’s speakers.
Ryan and his staff sat at various desks and keyboards. He stood at the back of the room, itching to be on the front lines. Adrenaline spiked in his veins.
Everything about their set-up was working.
He kept looking for a way to improve their situation, but his admin team had created all the right precautions. Their line held.
Suddenly, he felt a hand clap over his mouth and a sharp blade enter his back, not deep but enough to make him freeze in pain.
Kryder’s voice shot into his head.Hold steady, asshole, or you’ll die in a puddle right here without your people even remotely aware of it.
The pain was all but unbearable as Kryder withdrew the blade. Kryder had his arm around his neck, the blade now pressing against the skin of his lower back. He saw the room through a soft glow. Shit. Kryder had pulled him inside an invisibility spell.
Now, look to your right.
Slowly grant shifted and saw that the spell included a team of five men each armed with assault rifles. They stood in a row against the wall.
Come quietly and I’ll let them live. Make the smallest fuss and this room will be a broken-up place of blood and monitors. Your fucking choice.
Grant had planned for a dozen scenarios, but he hadn’t considered this one. If Natalie had been here, either her wolf or with a quick dip into the future, she could have shown Grant the trap he’d just fallen into.
He took one final glance at the monitors and saw that Kryder still appeared to be in the Jeep.
I see what you’re wondering. I have a double. He does quite well at a distance. But I also have a terrific fae that I keep chained up. She showed me what to do. BTW, too bad your fae deserted you. She could have told you all about your weak spots. But then you were always too much of a lone-wolf. So, what’s it going to be, Grant? Do we leave quietly? Or do I shoot up your friends then drag your ass out of here? Either way, you’re coming with me.
Why take me at all?
Haven’t you guessed? I need your woman. She’s got the gift I require for all my future plans. The fae I’ve got just isn’t sharp enough.
For a moment, Grant considered what he should do. If he left with Kryder without disrupting the kidnapping, he’d be putting Natalie in danger. But the reality of losing so many of his pack within the next few seconds, made his decision for him.
Let’s go.
Kryder had trained his own men equally as well. Two of them pivoted to take the lead, two fell in beside Grant on either side and the rest took up the rear.
Kryder chose the route that led back through the sandpit and the underground tunnel. Grant wondered what he’d find, as in dead bodies on the ground, although it was unlikely. The monitors would have shown an attack.
Instead, the small team of warriors at the exit stood facing outward and watching the empty pine forest opposite the road.
