Page 79 of Benjamin and the Thief

“Bro, was about to call you. A dark SUV drove into the Prestons’ garage, but it’s not theirs. I’m running the plates right now.”

“No need. It’s Judge Norton. He’s got Catalina.”

“Fuck!”

“Make sure he doesn’t leave. Do you have backup?”

“Lydia is with me.”

“Get ready to break down the Prestons’ door, but wait for me and Anita. We’re only a few minutes away.”

He disconnected the call before Ethan could say anything else. At the next intersection, he turned without taking his foot off the gas. The Porsche obeyed, and he was glad that he had a car with a low center of gravity that was forgiving when it came to high-speed turns.

“Who responded to my emergency alert?” he asked without taking his eyes off the road.

“Ryder, Damian, and Sebastian,” Anita said. “They’re a minute ahead of us. And Buffy sent a message that she’s leaving with the ambulance now.”

“If they hurt Catalina, they won’t need an ambulance; they’ll need a hearse,” he ground out, his fingers clasping the steering wheel even more tightly.

His heart was pounding out of control. He blamed himself. Had he not lost control over himself and exposed his vampire side, he would have been able to calm Catalina down after she’d been bitten by Ross. He could have explained it away. If he’d been with her, this would have never happened.

He should have gone to the jail the moment he’d heard that Catalina had been arrested, and even if they hadn’t allowed him to talk to her, he could have kept an eye on the building. Judge Norton would have never managed to sneak her out of prison without him noticing. She could have been safe, had he reacted right away.

“That’s Ryder’s SUV,” Anita said, pointing to a car parked half a block away, right outside the Prestons’ home.

Benjamin brought the Porsche to a stop right behind him and jumped out. Ryder, Sebastian, and Ethan were already standing in front of the house. He ran toward them, Anita on his heels.

“Damian and Lydia are around back, watching the garage,” Ethan informed him.

“Good.”

Benjamin rushed up the five steps to the front entrance.

“There’s some light coming from the salon, I think,” Ethan said. “But the curtains are drawn, so I can’t give you an exact location of where they are holding Catalina.”

“So be it,” Benjamin said. “I’ll go in first. The rest, follow me.”

He noticed Anita sidling up to him, a gun in her hand.

Sebastian was already at the door and pulled his lockpicks from his pocket when a gunshot came from the interior of the house.

“Fuck!” he cursed. There was no time for picking the lock. “Anita, shoot the lock!”

Sebastian jumped aside, and Anita aimed and shot.

Benjamin kicked his foot against the door at lock height with all his vampire force. The wood splintered, and the door gave way. He pushed against it and charged inside. He didn’t care if the shooter shot him too, because a regular bullet couldn’t kill him, only a silver bullet could do that.

The scent of blood hit him instantly. His legs were already moving, catapulting him in the direction of its source. Behind him, his friends entered the house, but he only had eyes for what was in front of him. As he crossed the front room and hurried through the open pocket doors into the salon, a nightmare unfolded in front of him.

James and Elizabeth Preston stood in the salon, wearing dressing gowns. He saw a gun in James’s hand. Only about five or six feet away from them lay Catalina, blood spreading on her T-shirt. She’d been shot in the chest. Pain and fury collided inside him, and with one movement of his arm, he flung James against the wall. Elizabeth screamed hysterically.

“Restrain both of them!” he called over his shoulder without missing a step.

There was no time to lose. Catalina was gravely injured. He crouched down at her side and put his hand to her neck. She had a pulse, but it was barely there. His eyes stung with tears, but he didn’t allow himself to break down now. He had to be strong for her. He pressed his hand onto the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood.

“Catalina,” he murmured to her. “You can’t leave me. I need you, baby. I love you.”

Her lips parted, and her eyelids fluttered, but he could feel her strength leaving her body, her heartbeat slowing with every second. He blocked out the protest the Prestons mounted as Anita and Ethan dragged them out of the room and concentrated only on Catalina. His beautiful, innocent Catalina.