Page 46 of Logan’s Acadian Wolves

“I’ll send Dimitri out when it’s okay for you to come in. But until he does, you stay in the car with Jake. We’ve got to be crystal clear on this. Don’t move out of the car until he says you can. Now, the cars…they’ve been specially outfitted for occasions like this. They’ve been custom armored. Bulletproofed. Even so, we’re going with redundancy in case we run into any problems. You, Jake and I will go in one car. Dimitri and Zeke in the other.”

After a long pause, Dimitri rose from the table, as did Jake. Wynter waited until Logan indicated they were leaving and tugged on his sleeve. Without warning, she hugged him tightly. Wynter wanted to tell him how she felt, worried that something bad would happen to him.

“Logan, please be careful. I…I need you,” she confessed. It was as much as she could manage.

Logan cupped her cheek and tilted her head up to his. “Nothin’s goin’ to happen to me, sweetheart. We’ll be in and out before you know it. Then we can come home and maybe we’ll play ‘policeman’ without the gun…just handcuffs,” he teased, trying to make her smile.

“Well, as long as it involves a thorough strip search, I’m in,” she joked lamely.

“Seriously Wyn, we’ll all be safe. Now let’s go get the bad guys.”

“Okay,” she reluctantly agreed.

Before she knew what was happening, Logan kissed her. It was a brief loving kiss, confirming what she felt in her heart. And it could not be more simple…or complicated.

Chapter Seventeen

The short drive from the French Quarter to their destination felt as if it took hours. By the time they’d reached their location, Wynter’s mind raced, hoping the operation went smoothly. With her nerves working overtime, she played with a stake, envisioning having to use it. Vampires were fast. By the time she had it aimed, they’d be at her throat. Now the gun? That would work. Maybe she hadn’t used one in a while, but she reasoned it was like riding a bike. And there was nothing more she’d enjoy than blowing a big hole in one of her former guards.

The Warehouse District had experienced a renaissance of sorts. Many of its abandoned factories had been converted into trendy clubs and condos. Wynter stared at the building where the lab supposedly had been moved. Unlike its chic counterparts, the dilapidated structure looked desolate. The scratched-up tan and black logo depicting leafy sugar cane stalks was plastered on its second story brick exterior. Since it had no yard and edged the sidewalk, she wondered how they’d set up a lab without being seen.

“It’s a go,” Logan stated and opened the car door. He looked to Wynter then Jake. “Wait here. Don’t let anything happen to her.”

“I’ll protect her with my life,” Jake replied. He looked over to the building and back to Logan. “Looks quiet.”

“Yeah, a little too quiet. Okay, gotta go. Devereoux’s here.” Logan watched the dark vampire step out of a black limousine. He shook his head; only a vamp would ride a limo into battle. Both Xavier and Étienne soon exited the car and followed Léopold. With a wink to Wynter, Logan shut the car door. “See ya on the flip side.”

As soon as Logan walked away, Wynter crawled over the center console from the back to the front passenger seat. She glanced to Jake who was performing reconnaissance through a pair of high-powered binoculars. They observed Logan approach Devereoux and gesture for him to go first. The men walked down a side alley until they reached a black steel door. All eyes were on Logan. He silently held up his fingers. Three. Two. One.

Wynter couldn’t see exactly what was going on in the dark of night, but it seemed like they entered pretty quickly. Did they break down the door? What just happened? They’d entered within seconds. It seemed all too easy.

“Not good,” Jake commented quietly.

“What’s wrong?” Wynter whispered.

“Door’s unlocked. Feels like a set up.”

“Oh my God. Can you warn Logan?” she asked, trying to keep her voice low.

“No need. He’ll know. We sit tight. Here’s another pair of nocs. You can help scope the area,” Jake suggested, hoping the task would keep her mind off the fact that Logan was in the building.

The whole vibe felt off. Jake wished Logan would get the hell out of there. Wynter seemed to be holding up well, all things considered. He cracked the window a quarter inch, and concentrated on listening for sounds of a scuffle. The barren silence cloaked the night like an ominous premonition.

“How long will they be in there?” Wynter inquired as she struggled to focus the lenses.

“Something like this shouldn’t take long at all. The building isn’t that big to begin with and I haven’t heard any fighting. It’s dead out there.”

“But that could be good, right? Maybe they just staked them really quickly,” she said hopefully.

“Shhh. Did you hear that?” A tiny click was all he heard, and then silence.

“What?”

“Shhh,” he whispered. “Put on your seatbelt. Something’s not right.”

Trying not to panic, Wynter silently pulled the strap into place.

“I can’t hear anything…” she started to say but never finished the thought.