“Tamber, what the hell do you see?” Tamber’s position within the communications shed would have her in a position to see everything going on.
“We have the limo surrounded with no movement so far,” she reported. Sherra moved to one of the long windows in front of the door, watching the activity outside carefully. They were too far from the main gates to see exactly what was going on, but with over a hundred Breeds surrounding the vehicle, it wasn’t going far. They were sitting ducks for Kane’s fury.
“Get me a main line to Callan,” she ordered. “This is priority one, Tamber. I have to talk to him now!”
Kane’s control had been nonexistent when he tore from the shed; the hormone wreaked havoc on logic. Normally even-tempered, his control had been nowhere in sight when he left her.
“Main line…on…” Tamber responded as the low hum indicated the switch.
“Callan. Dammit, are you there?” She couldn’t stand the fear whipping inside her.
“Hurry, Sherra,” he snapped tersely in reply, giving her the go-ahead to claim his attention for valuable seconds.
She turned from the room, breathing roughly, rage and violence shimmering through her system.
“He kissed me, Callan,” she told him quickly. “He wasn’t rational when he left the shed, he may not be rational now. You have to get him out of there.”
The silence was thick, discordant with the mechanical buzz of the unit as she waited.
“Son of a bitch, if his timing doesn’t suck,” he cursed.
Sherra couldn’t agree more. But Kane had never used anyone else’s idea of a schedule. It had always been his way, however he had to manage it. Just as he had done this time.
“Agreed,” she snapped. “Now get him out of there.”
A second later, Sherra tensed, her eyes widening as shots fired and all hell broke loose both inside and out.
“Cassie, no!” Merinus’ frightened cry heralded a small bundle of determined energy as she threw herself out of Merinus’ arms and to the door.
A youthful, enraged wolf’s howl echoed through the house an instant before she evaded Sherra’s grip, wrenched open the door and flew out into the sun-dappled nightmare awaiting her.
“Cassie’s out! Cassie’s out!!” Sherra screamed into the headset as she raced out the door, knowing she would never stop the child, never catch her before a stray bullet found her instead. Chaos reigned outside. Breeds broke position, several jumping for the little girl who twisted, screaming, long black hair flying around her as the back door to the limo began to open. Sherra’s soul twisted in terror as the little girl rushed headlong toward it, her feet flying, her little body easily defying the men and women attempting to block her, to catch her before her blood marked them all.
But blood didn’t flow. Cassie’s body wasn’t thrown back by the impact of deadly bullets. As the limo door began to swing open, the little girl threw herself headlong into the dark shadowed interior of the car. The door closed quickly, ominously behind her.
* * * * *
Hours later, Kane could still feel the insidious crawl of the overwhelming terror that had filled him when he heard the screaming announcement that Cassie had escaped the house. At the same time, one of the younger Breeds panicked and set off a barrage of bullets as the door to the limo began to open. One little girl. Over a hundred battle-hardened, animalistic warriors and no one had been able to catch her before she threw herself into the dark interior of the car a second before the door slammed shut. Kane sat alone now, the scene replaying in his mind as the near consequences of her actions slammed into his brain. She could have died. Right there in front of his eyes, that precious bundle of energy could have died.
He came to his feet in a surge of energy, restrained, vibrating with violence as he jammed his fists into the pockets of his jeans, ignoring the flash of pain in his engorged c**k as the material tightened further. First, he had failed to protect his own unborn child and now he had nearly failed with Cassie. It didn’t matter that the situation had quickly been diffused and the intruders had turned out to be Roni’s irate half-brother, Seth Lawrence, and her long-lost father.
The Breeds could have whisked the intruders from the property, no one would have questioned it and then arranged a meeting outside the estate between Roni and her brother. That option was not feasible now. Cassie had ensured that.
“Cassie’s still crying.” Merinus stepped out on the porch, her voice soft in the growing darkness as Kane kept his back to her.
Kane hunched his shoulders against the guilt flaying him alive.
“At least she’s alive to cry,” he finally snapped, so damned angry at himself, Sherra, and an innocent child that he could barely make sense of anything else.
He could still see her running, her face tear-streaked, fear contorting her expression into a snarl as she launched herself through the men and women attempting to stop her until she disappeared into what could have been an enemy’s arms.
“She’s making herself sick, Kane,” Merinus told him as she came close to him, leaning her heavily pregnant body against his side. “She’s just a little girl. One who believes in herself enough to do what she feels is right. She knew there was no danger…”
“No, goddammit,” he cursed roughly. “She didn’t know anything of the sort, Merinus. She could have died…” He broke off, shaking his head as he moved away from her. “Hell. I died a thousand deaths when Sherra alerted us she was out there. Bullets ripping around like a damned war zone and she throws herself into an unknown vehicle. If I had anything to throw up I think I would have done it then.”
He moved away from her. He had spanked Cassie. He shook his head against the knowledge. When he got her back in his arms he had taken her straight to her room, set her on her feet and spanked her twice before ordering her straight to bed. Then he had yelled at Sherra. Hard, bitter words that had ripped from his chest as he watched her eyes go blank with shock.
You were supposed to keep her f**king contained. Dammit to hell, there were four of you watching her. Couldn’t one of you keep her contained for ten f**king minutes?He had thrown the words at her furiously.