her with one arm and swinging her free of Benny’s barreling body. “You okay?” He set her down gently, his senses humming to life.
“Fine.” She blew hair out of her eyes. “What’s going on?”
Benny hovered, moving from one foot to the other. “We need to return to the cabin.” He leaned in toward Adare. “Right. Now.”
Shit. Something had gone wrong. He had to get Benny alone to find out the details, but it appeared they were on op. Right now. Adare forced a smile for Grace and Emma, who’d just emerged from the examination room. “Looks like we’re taking a trip, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“No,” Grace protested, putting her hands on her hips. “You took blood last night, so we need to, you know, tonight.” Color burst across her face, but she kept eye contact.
Emma nodded vigorously. “If you hope to have any chance of surviving a mating, it has to be tonight.”
“I’ll take your blood again when I get back,” Adare said, “and then we’ll go the next night.”
Emma frowned. “That’s a good plan, but Grace is fading, too. Time is of the essence for her, as well.”
Shite. If he didn’t return, then she was as good as dead. “Give me a minute.” He jerked his head for Benny to follow and hustled out the front door, stopping on the porch. “What is going on?”
Benny scouted the area. “Satellite feed just popped up from our lair, and the Kurjans have a new crop of females at their site. Right now. We don’t know where they ship them next, but it’ll be fast like always, so we need to go. Now. We can actually save this bunch.”
If they waited, they’d lose those females. If he stayed here, the women would perish or face terrible fates. But if he left Grace right now, he was leaving her to possibly die as well. There was a good chance he wouldn’t be able to bring her out of another coma. “How many females?” he asked.
Benny stepped back, his eyebrows rising. “Looked like about ten of them from the heat signatures.”
Adare looked up to find that Grace had silently joined them on the front porch. She wore a blue sweater and had her hair piled on her head, even after crashing into Benny.
She nodded. “When do you have to go in, Benny?”
“First light,” Benny said grimly.
Grace took a deep breath. “Okay. We all go to the cabin, we do our, ah, thing tonight, and you guys head out in the morning.”
Adare shook his head. “You are not coming.”
Benny cleared his throat. “The security at the cabin is excellent. It’s not any of my business, but she’d be safe there. If something goes wrong, Ronan will fetch her.” He leaned in, whispering loud enough that the neighbors surely heard. “You can get laid, Bro. It’s a good way to face death.”
Faith ran out onto the porch. “Emma said you guys are leaving.”
Her mate, Ronan, filled the doorway behind her. His gaze was somber. “The timeline for the op has changed?” As a member of the Seven, he was well versed in the plan.
Benny nodded. “Yes. The rewards have increased.”
Ronan’s eyebrows rose as he deciphered Benny’s not-so-subtle code. “Confirmed rewards?”
“Yes.” Benny looked at his watch. “We need to go. Now.”
Ronan stepped toward them, close enough that eavesdroppers couldn’t hear. “If there are hostages, I’m coming, too. This just changed from a search and destroy mission to rescue…and destroy. You’ll need another soldier if there are that many confirmed captives.”
He was right. They’d only thought to find a couple of captives. The idea of more was breathtaking. Adare nodded. He, Benny, and Ronan had suffered the Seven ritual together centuries ago, along with Quade and three members who were now gone, and he trusted Ronan not only with his life but with Grace’s.
Ronan turned and looked at his mate. “I’ll be back, Faith. In a few days.”
“Oh, no.” The woman stepped forward and put an arm around her sister’s shoulders. “If Grace is going, so am I. While I don’t know exactly what’s going on, something tells me you guys might need a doctor sooner rather than later. I’ll get my supplies, and then we can leave.”
“This is turning into a caravan,” Benny muttered, looking up at the cloudy sky. “I mean, I want to be a decent wingman and get you some sugar, but this is getting ridiculous.”
* * * *
After a turbulent helicopter ride with Adare piloting the craft, Grace