She’d underestimated my skill and age from the beginning, just as I’d underappreciated her knack for deviousness.
But now I knew better.
And she did not.
Which I intended to use to my full advantage.
I paused a block away from the main building to gather my bearings. I’d checked the map on my phone before deciding on our route, and now I wanted to check it again. Dropping the bag, I opened it to retrieve the device, then clicked on the GPS I’d pulled up while talking to Lilith.
Willow glanced at it, her blue eyes glowing with intent. “What’s the plan?” she asked, her faith in me resolute.
“Lilith wants your head,” I said.
Her eyes flew upward. “What?”
“She said I have to kill you to be allowed entrance into the building. Which tells me she has guards in place. But I’m wondering if she’s accounted for all entry points.” Benita would have provided her with all the door locations. Just as I assumed Benita was to blame for Lilith being able to capture Damien. That was a decision she would soon regret.
I analyzed the roads leading up to the building, determining my preferred approach.
“The Vigils who attacked us probably belonged to Lilith,” I said. “Which suggests she’s using humans to guard the doors, too.” Unless she’d found a few allies in my region through Benita, which was also entirely possible.
I started going through the bag again, pulling out items that would help us. I handed two grenades to Willow. “Don’t pull those pins,” I warned her.
I found the gun she’d originally had in the car—she must have put it back when I was talking to Patricia—and I evaluated the ammunition left in the bag.
“It’s too bad I didn’t bring a rifle.” Then I could have gone up to the roof of a building and picked off her guards, only that would provide her with enough time to kill Damien. So never mind. A rifle would have been a bad play.
Calculations rolled through my head as I added up weapons and bullets, considered trajectory of entry, and speculated the number of guards she’d have queued up inside.
“She would’ve arrived by air,” I said, more to myself than to Willow. “And she would have landed between the time I spoke to Damien earlier and our arrival. Rick would have noticed any nearby air traffic, so I’m guessing she only had one jet. A small one. Maybe ten passengers, max. She’s also banking on her Damien card keeping me in check.”
Which all added up to her being insufficiently guarded. At least in theory.
“All right, here’s what I want you to do,” I said, a strategy unfolding through my thoughts. “You’re going to run like hell toward the entrance. Act as though you’re terrified. Scream and beg for me not to do this. Put on one hell of a show. Then, when you’re close enough to the front, I need you to pull the pins out of those grenades.”
I paused to show her how they worked. Once I was satisfied that she understood, I continued.
“So you pull out the pins, then throw the grenades at the glass entrance and dive behind the palm tree planters outside for cover.”
I dug back into the bag again to find some earplugs.
“You’ll need these to protect your lycan senses,” I added, handing them to her. Then I picked up the gun she hadn’t used earlier. “Can you hide this somewhere?”
She looked at her shirt and pants before shaking her head. “Not if I’m carrying these.” She held up the grenades.
Hmm, unfortunately, I hadn’t brought additional holsters.
“The grenades will have to do. If they’re like the Vigils, they won’t even be armed anyway.” My kind very rarely played with weapons now that humans were no longer a threat. Another miscalculation in Lilith’s approach—she expected me to react like a vampire, not a mortal. She clearly didn’t understand my appreciation for toys that killed.
“Where will you be?” she asked.
“I’m going in through the glass,” I told her, checking the gun in my holster and reloading it appropriately. Then I picked up her discarded weapon, and a third one from the bag. These would have to be enough because I couldn’t carry this bag with me into the building.
“Glass?” she repeated.
I stood, smirking. “You’ll see.” Then I stepped into her and pressed my mouth to hers. “Start running, little wolf. Act scared.”
“That’s it? No other pep talk? No further plan?”
“Trust me, it’ll be enough. Now go be my distraction. I have some