Page 36 of The Dragon's Dream Mate (Savage Shifters Special Ops 3)

“By taking them by surprise, we should be able to at least take out the head honchos, leaving the hired crew without any directions or order. They will be easily subdued at that point,” Gage continued. “Rainey will have her weapons strapped to her inner thighs, so she will be able to join in the fray,” he said. Then, he looked at her, “I promise not to keep you out of the fun.”

“I appreciate that,” she said.

“While we are attacking, I suggest that Rainey heads down to the hold, which is where any additional hostages will be kept. You might have to fight a guard or two to get to anyone they have down there.”

She smiled a calculated smile that made me almost feel sorry for any adversaries who stood in her way. “I can deal with them. No problem.”

Gage nodded his approval. He got out a map of the harbor and how the ships are usually docked. He pointed out where the guards were likely to be stationed, and where each of us would be, and from what direction we would be storming in.

After our plans were set, we went our separate ways to prepare for the attack.

16

Rainey

After the meeting, I went back into Lucian’s room and dug out the teenage clothes that I had tossed in the trash. Luckily for me, they were still in pretty good condition. I sent Lucian out on a mission to buy a couple of boxes of candy for me while I got ready. Otherwise, he would likely drive me crazy.

I had completed the finishing touches on my hair and make-up when he got back.

“This time, you can’t throw those away,” he said. “You promised that I could take them off of you.”

I smiled at him and patted his cheek. “We’ll see if you can be a good boy,” I said. I grabbed another purse and stepped out of the room.

We met the others in the hallway. We were ready to head out.

During our ride over, Lucian kept glancing at me out of the corners of his eyes, and once in a while, I could see his mouth move as though he wanted to say something. However, he did a good job of keeping his thoughts to himself.

I knew why he was worried. He knew I was capable of taking care of myself. He was just worried about losing someone he cared for. I knew he cared for me. Whether he loved me the way I wanted him to was a completely different story.

The ride to the harbor seemed to take forever. I didn’t know whether I was excited for the action or simply wanted to get this over with.

If I didn’t have a job, Gage’s offer seemed sincere. It was definitely something I would consider, even if it meant working alongside Lucian. I guessed that I would just have to keep putting him in his place and keep him in check whenever he got too possessive or protective.

The ride over was eerily silent. We were each going over the plan in our minds, making sure that we had all the bases covered, including what would happen if something went wrong.

The silence was so heavy that it felt like it would be impossible to break, so I kept my thoughts to myself. Everyone else must have felt the same way.

As soon as the harbor came into view, my heart started thumping a million miles an hour. I took several calming breaths to rein it in.

I hopped out and made sure that my knife and pistol were strapped in place, and my skirt was tugged down enough that they wouldn’t be evident. Then, plastering a sweet, innocent smile on my face, I headed off to sell candy for my new cheerleading outfit.

Meanwhile, the guys headed off in different directions so they could safely shed their clothes and shift.

It took a while to find the freighter I was looking for. I pretended to look up at the different ships and boats that were docked as I walked along, looking for someone to sell my sweets to.

Soon, I reached theGlobal Shipping VII. There were some men on the deck taking care of some of the work.

After looking it over, I really didn’t want to get on board. It wasn’t because I was afraid of the bad guys on board. However, I wasn’t sure that the ship was seaworthy. It looked as though it had been in a few fights and was pretty banged up. I also thought that it looked like it listed a bit to the right.

At least I can swim if it starts to sink, and I have to jump. Then, I took a deep breath and hailed the men working.

“Hey, guys! I was wondering if you want to buy some candy? I’m selling it for my school.”

One of the men stopped working and gave me the creepiest smile I had ever seen in my life.

“I love candy, young lady. Why don’t you come on up?” he said. His buddy also stopped working and leered at me.

“Awesome,” I said, and walked up the gangplank, trying to walk like a peppy cheerleader.

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