Ruler (Wolves of Royal Paynes #2) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,99

gunfire and backtracked to help their friends.

We raced through the campus, ignoring things like roads and sidewalks. The Humvee soon resembled Swiss cheese from the oncoming fire but the plating held—until one of the bullets ricocheted, lodging under the hood. Smoke poured from the engine, and the Humvee stuttered, losing power.

The Humvee couldn't have shit the bed at a better time as we rolled up the street between the warehouses.

The military vehicle slowed to a stop, the smoke pouring out in dark billows from under the hood. I jumped from the front seat, staring dumbly at the empty expanse of sidewalk.

It was gone. Our Hummer was gone, and an entire army was on our tail.

Chapter Nineteen

Storri

Faust was fine. I had to believe that, or I'd break down and become a blathering, sobbing ball on the floor. I'd tried resting, but sleeping in that giant bed alone felt like torture. I'd spent the majority of the nighttime hours watching the girls sleep.

It was too early to make any assumptions on their personalities, but so far, Amelia loved to sleep, preferring it more than any other activity. Scholar loved to eat. I'd already learned to feed her first or face the consequences.

Belle and Florence were too inconsistent to tell yet, but both liked being held, and neither would sleep for very long at once.

But, since I was already up worrying about my alpha, I didn't mind the company. As long as the company wasn't screaming. And even if it was, I still didn't mind it.

At the first hint of sunrise outside, I left Amelia and Scholar, both sleeping soundly, in the nursery, and shoved the monitor in my pocket before strapping Belle to my front, leaving my hands free to carry Florence.

I tiptoed down the dark hallway. Ever since Faust had left with the twins, the hotel had felt…incomplete. It was always a work in progress, but now, it was like I kept looking for a room that wasn't there.

I shouldn't have been surprised to find Knox in the kitchen, a nearly empty coffee cup in front of him.

"Was wondering if you'd make it down." Knox slid a second empty mug toward me. He looked up, noticed the girls, and stood. "You sit. I'll get the coffee."

There was a time when the prospect of being alone in a room with Knox would've terrified me. Now, I was pleased to see him, glad to not be alone. He set the mug down, scenting the three of us one after another.

"I haven't heard from them, but that doesn't mean anything yet." He offered the information without me needing to ask.

"He's okay," I told Knox.

I would know if Faust had been killed. Our bond would let me know. He wasn't dead, but that didn't mean he wasn't hurt. There were so many steps between dead and okay, and I wasn't sure Faust hadn't made a stop along the way, but I couldn't admit that. Doing so felt like giving up on him.

"This isn't his first mission." Knox didn't offer any more encouragement than that.

Dr. Tiff ambled in the kitchen wearing the same clothes she had the night before. "Figured someone would be here." She plodded like a zombie to the coffee pot. Once she'd sat down and had that first important sip, she lifted her hands, asking silently to hold Florence. "I never got the chance to properly tell you how beautiful your babies are."

"Thank you. The other two are sleeping upstairs."

"What about you?" Dr. Tiff asked. "Have you gotten any sleep? I know this mission has everyone on edge, but your body needs rest, Storri. After what you went through, I wouldn't be unhappy if you spent the next three weeks taking it easy. We can help with the girls. That's what a pack is for."

After being awake for the past forty-eight hours, I was exhausted and not just from the stress of waiting. This tiredness was bone deep. But, until Faust was back, that wasn't something that would change.

"After…" Doc gestured with her hand to indicate a time in the future when we weren't all waiting on pins and needles. "I'd like to study you and Jazz in your winged wolf forms for a few hours on the beach. I wasn't able to stay as long last time."

I nodded, pleased to make her happy. In the excitement of labor, meeting my dad, and then the mission, the fact that I could now turn into a brown wolf with wings was hardly a blip