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Well, okay then.It looked like I had a seat in a helicopter.
thirty-three
Afewhourslater,I was circling my gramps’ farm, looking for a good place to land. I hadn’t seen the point of messing around. I wanted to get this over and done with. So I’d hustled everyone off the farm and to the chopper as soon as Max had completed his satellite surveillance and given us the all clear.
I’d been secretly worried Lexie would back out or someone would find a reason for her to stay. Leif, potentially objecting, had also made me nervous, but he’d just wrangled a seat for himself, too. I got the impression that nobody could have made him stay behind while his mate and his sister flew over the horizon.
I knew exactly how he felt. When I’d flown away and left Lexie behind yesterday, the pull from our unformed bond had made me feel nauseous and angry the whole time. I’d imagined every accident that could befall her while I was gone. Finding her actually missing when I’d gotten back had almost sent my beast feral.
I wasn’t in a hurry to put myself through that a second time. Plus, I really had wanted her along. For Maia, as much as for myself. The last few days had been a whirlwind. I knew from experience farm life wasn’t idyllic, but throw in the Crash, omega pheromones putting all the alphas in a spin, and the threats from the Palace and life had become chaotic. Keeping everyone safe was going to take work.
Yet, I suspected Maia had been using the constant activity to avoid talking about what happened to us both. I had a feeling everything was going to come out the minute we walked inside that farmhouse, though. And it was going to be brutal.
I was glad Dio and Damon rounded out our group. Maia and I were both going to need people to lean on today. My teammate Matt was also here, as my co-pilot. We could have fit more people in the chopper, but having so many bases to cover today had stretched us thin.
I circled twice, looking for anything suspicious as I scanned the fields below. I couldn’t figure out why they looked all wrong until I realized most of them were barren. The few that were planted were mostly dead.
The area around this farm had never been verdant. It had always been tough keeping things growing. It was nothing like Damon’s farm, with its rich terraced fields and winding river.
Gramps had always refused to leave it. So we had learned to manage as best we could. Yet, the place looked almost abandoned now.
Was Ben even here?
I landed the helicopter in a field near the house, kicking up a haze of dust. It was so thick we had to wait for it to settle enough for us to get out. The lack of visibility while we waited had me on edge. It felt like a trap, even though no one could have known we were coming.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Damon, Leif and Dio were all just as tense and were scanning our position relentlessly. Something wasn’t right here, and we were all picking up on it. Our alphas were on high alert.
“Let’s move,” I said, and Damon nodded. The dust hadn’t completely cleared yet, but we were sitting ducks here. I moved into the back, grabbed a box and pulled out some face masks, handing them around.
“We’re on you, Sam. You know the layout best,” Damon said before he fixed his face mask in place. I grunted at him in reply. My beast was running too close to the surface. Damon understood without taking offense.
I took point, hopping out of the helicopter first and scanning quickly before gesturing to the others. Leif hopped out next, followed by Maia, Lexie, Dio and Damon. I waited until the guys surrounded the girls and had them covered from all sides before I gave the signal to move.
To their credit, the girls held hands to stay close together and followed directions like pros, remaining still and only moving when directed. Neither complained about nor questioned our tactical movements and hyper-focus. It showed a respect for us and our experience, that had my chest puffing out with pride.
I set a quick pace across the field, not happy having the girls out in the open in territory we hadn’t scouted. Yet I slowed and approached cautiously when we reached the farmhouse, watching for movement inside and out. I had to remind myself this wasn’t a stealth operation. I was visiting my childhood home. Yet the feeling of wrong was growing the closer I got to the house.
I had a weapon, but I kept it holstered. I knew without looking that both Dio and Leif had their hands on theirs while Damon was covering our rear.
The stairs and floorboards groaned as I stepped up onto them. It didn’t look like anyone had maintained them in a long time. Nobody answered the door on the first or second knock. If anyone was inside, they were hiding. Nobody could have missed the helicopter landing. I removed my mask, and the others did the same.
“Ben, it’s Sam and Maia,” I called out. “If you’re in there, we’re coming in.”
When there was no answer, I tried the door and found it unlocked. It wasn’t unusual. Growing up, we’d had so little worth stealing, we’d never bothered locking it. The door creaked open on rusted hinges that felt like nails down a chalkboard, given my current level of tension.
“Ben,” I called out again, only hearing echoes.
I stepped into the old-fashioned kitchen with its large cooker and old, scarred wooden table that generations of our family had eaten at. It was empty of people but covered in rubbish and dirty dishes.
I motioned the others in behind me, then pointed for Leif to take the doorway into the living area while I took the door into the hallway leading to the bedrooms. We met in the hallway, then swept each of the filthy rooms. They were all clear.
Maia was standing in the kitchen, still holding Lexie’s hand, but looking around in disgust when we returned. Damon was guarding the door.
“I take it the place didn’t look like this when you left?” I asked her.
“No way in hell. I slaved my ass off, keeping this place clean in between working the fields.” She stepped forward, letting go of Lexie, and ran a hand over the edge of the old table, looking sad.
“I was sitting here, eating the lunch I had made for Ben and me, when the Palace agents burst through the door. The coroner had only just taken gramps away, and I was shell-shocked. He’d looked fine that morning, but when I heard the yelling in the field, just after breakfast, I’d just known. I ran into the fields, but it was too late.”
