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Ava gasped and began tickling Rory relentlessly, earning delighted shrieks until she begged for mercy. At which point Ava gave her a tight hug, and I did the same with Sorsha.
“Regina, Marie, and Chester are going to look after you while Uncle Shea, Uncle Connor, and I go pick up Uncle Finn. Hopefully we’ll be back before you even wake up.”
Rory and Sorsha exchanged a serious look before glancing back at their aunt. “Promise?”
Ava met their gazes head-on. “I promise we’ll do our very best. And if we can’t make it back by then for some reason, we’ll call to explain why.”
Sorsha held up the stuffed rabbit she’d selected to sleep with. “Bun-Bun wants a kiss before you go.”
Ava obediently leaned over to plant a loud kiss on the bunny’s face, and Sorsha giggled. Rory then insisted on the same for her stuffed unicorn, and the girls finally allowed the three of us to slip away. Marie murmured, “Good hunting,” to us as she went to sit on the twin bed opposite the girls. Something that went a long way toward making them feel a little more secure.
We shared a few more words with Regina, Chester, Rodrick, and Zarya, who had planned a watch list for themselves and the two guardians who’d be staying to safeguard our girls. And then we gathered the other four guardians and piled back into the stolen SUV to kick the next phase of our plans into place. Securing backup from Sanai and tracking down Alexander’s traitorous ass so we could get our brother back where he belonged. With us and our gorgeous, courageous, compassionate woman.
* * *
Finn
I bared my teeth in a humorless smile. “Big words from the man whose blood is about to paint this limousine.”
Alexander shook his head with a smile nearly as big. “One thing you boys have never lacked is overconfidence.”
My wolf demanded I release him so we could make with the blood spattering, but I fought against animal instinct. The longer I could delay the start of this fight, the better the chance reinforcements might arrive. Or the ones who were alreadyheremight wake from their magical sleep. Alexander seemed way too overconfident himself. Like he knew something I didn’t.
Which, granted, didn’t take a whole hell of a lot. I was known for my brawn and battle chops. And maybe my roguish good looks.Notmy brains.
“From where I sit, that seems like a whole lot of the pot calling the kettle black, Uncle. There’s only one of you and many of us.”
He swept an arm toward the sleeping figures. “Sadly, they won’t be waking in time to be of any use to you, Pup.”
My inner wolf snarled at that nickname.Connorwas the pup. Not me! By the sudden glint in Alexander’s eyes, he knew how much that annoyed both my canine and human halves. So I refused to give him the satisfaction of showing it.
I gestured behind the limo to where the two SUVs were still shadowing us. “Pretty damned sure they’re all wide awake.”
Alexander’s lips curved smugly. “And how exactly do you think to communicate to them you need help? I already spelled your phone so it won’t send messages past this vehicle. That spell was how I knew what youtriedto send to your brothers.”
“Oh, I’m pretty confident I can get their attention. Or that our driver can.”
My uncle laughed. “Unfortunately for you,ourdriver is actuallymydriver. He’s been on my payroll for quite some time. As have several members of your Pack.”
That reminder that we did indeed have more traitors among us pissed me off. Making it that much harder for me to control my wolf. My hands clenched as I fought back the change.Icontrolled when we shifted.
“Well then,” I replied with another smile. “Guess that leaves it up to me.”
Alexander arched a brow. “Do you think shifting into your wolf form in a moving car filled with collateral damage is really the wisest course of action?”
That had me freezing for a moment. His unspoken threat rang loud and clear. If I shifted and attacked him in wolf form, he would have no problem turning his magic against the helpless sleeping figures around us. A prospect that filled both halves of my soul with rage.
“Fucking coward!” I spat before I could bite back the words. Not that he deserved me to.
He simply laughed again. "You say coward, I say committed. To both my immediate plan and long-term goals."
I rolled my eyes and allowed a lip to curl. "Dressing up treason with pretty words, I see. What goals could possibly be worth stabbing your own nephews in the back?"
Surprisingly, he answered that question. Not fully, but with more information than I expected. "Goals that will save someone who, unfortunately for my nephews that I’m actually rather fond of, held my love and loyalty long before they came into the picture."
That had my brows furrowing as I tried to puzzle out who that person could be. I knew his surname had been Kincaid before he married and took Fiona's name, as was customary when someone married into a Pack. His mother's family, was my vague memory. A small but wealthy group of mostly Spellbinders and Radiants who occasionally proved strong enough to serve as Beacons. Nobody who had ever been particularly noteworthy as far as I knew. Certainly not someone worth this level of treason, I would've thought.
But obviously I had thought fucking wrong.
