power of the painting made Promise catch her breath. It was starkly beautiful and yet terrifying.
“I’ve been there,” Ivar said, the muscles in his arm clenching. “That place is real.”
Garrett nodded. “We figured.” He looked down and punched in something on a keyboard. “Because we came across this one too.”
A painting came into focus with a man standing in front of jagged rocks, fury on his face, his body scarred. His eyes were a deep aqua, just like Ronan’s. And his jawline was exactly the same.
Ivar released her hand. “Holy fuck. It’s Quade.”
* * * *
Ivar shoved away from the table. “We have to get to her. Secure her. She’s definitely Enhanced.”
“Wait.” Promise swiveled her chair toward him. “That woman is Enhanced and possibly has no idea what that means. She’s been through hell in her life already. Do we have a right to drag her into more?”
Ivar tried to think through the logic. It looked like Haven had found a way to live despite the pain she’d known. How could they cause her new trouble?
Ronan burst into the door, his phone in his hand. “We have to get her. Now.”
“Agreed.” Ivar clapped his back. They’d protect the woman, but she needed to help them get to Quade. He’d find a secure place for her. “Let’s get a helicopter.”
“Wait a minute.” Promise jumped to her feet. “Stop it. Both of you. Take a step back.”
Ronan exploded before Ivar could. “Back? Not a chance. She’s seen my brother. Maybe she’s even visited him. At the very least, she knows something, and she’s going to tell me everything.”
“Exactly,” Ivar said grimly.
Promise pressed both hands to her eyes in an obvious attempt to rein in her temper. “Listen. We have no idea how she’ll react to either of you. She’s dreamed of or met Quade, and she might’ve dreamed of one or both of you. This is a woman who has spent a significant amount of time in psych wards being drugged and possibly enduring electric shock therapy.”
“Not to mention a series of forced exorcisms, and we have no clue what that entailed,” Faith added through the speaker. “If you two show up, it might just shut down her entire brain. She could be half-crazy already.”
“Look at her paintings,” Garrett said, his voice thoughtful. “She’s definitely tortured.”
Ivar swung on his youngest brother. “You’re on their side?”
“No.” Garrett sat back in his chair, not fazed in the slightest by the fury. “We need to contact her, but it shouldn’t be any member of the Seven who does it. Nobody she might’ve dreamed about.” He scratched a barely healed cut along his forearm from the day before. “In fact, power recognizes power. We shouldn’t have an immortal approach her first.” His gaze went to Promise.
She nodded vigorously. “Yes. Exactly. I’ll go. Just to meet with her.”
“Me too,” Faith piped up. “I’m a neurologist. That could come in handy.”
“I’m coming too,” Grace said, her voice slightly higher than her sister’s through the speaker. “I’m the only artist among you, and she’ll relate to me better.”
“What is this? You ladies need a blasted field trip?” Ronan growled, his fingers already balled into fists.
Promise reached for Ivar’s hand. “Yes. Obviously nobody has found this woman yet. We can’t bring attention to her either. This is the correct path, Ivar. Take a deep breath and start planning the approach.”
Ivar looked down at her intelligent eyes. Then he took a deep breath. “Ronan?”
The vampire’s nostrils flared, but his shoulders lowered. “Fine. But we secure the entire area before anybody goes in.”
Ivar nodded. “We’ll fly three helicopters under the radar.” This was what he’d been good at before going to hell. Strategizing and organizing. “Satellites are watching us, but the cloud cover is good right now. We can take three copters, head toward the Pacific; it will look like we’re going on maneuvers if spotted.” His hands itched with the need to steer one of the copters.
Ronan opened the door. “Two pilots in each craft. The lead craft with six additional soldiers and same at the rear. The center craft will take us.”
Ivar turned. “We’ll secure both ends of that street.” He looked toward Garrett. “Bring up the entire neighborhood.” He waited until the map showed on the screen. It was a nice street in a small community near the ocean. No way would demon and vampire soldiers blend in. “We’ll have to go after dark and hope the cloud cover still provides some secrecy.”