Vendetta (Page 35)

"So, nobody’s on the horizon for him?" Ashe studied Trace’s expression. Trace chewed his lip and hid a grin.

"I’m not supposed to ask, am I?" Ashe felt like smiling suddenly.

"Nope. Big secret. Come on, get in bed. We have to get up early tomorrow."

Trace had made Ashe feel better, but he was still restless and sleepless most of the night. What should have worried him wasn’t what worried him. Trina kept forcing her way into his mind until he couldn’t stand it any longer. Trajan was snoring lightly in his bed when Ashe gathered him into his mist, and then he made his way into Winkler’s room noiselessly, carrying the still-sleeping Trajan. There he gathered up Trace and Winkler. Winkler was snoring louder than Trajan, but Trace wasn’t snoring at all. Lifting his mist through the ceiling, Ashe went through the roof—Matt had arranged for the penthouse in a twelve-story hotel. He hovered overhead while three cars stopped on the street below and ten people stepped out. Ashe recognized Trina right away—she was the only female.

His sleeping cargo might have felt a bit of vertigo at the speed that Ashe dropped, but he was right behind the last man’s shoulder as they made their way into the hotel. Trina flashed a key card at the desk clerk who shrugged and allowed her to pass. Ashe wondered that she’d managed to get away with one of the cards without alerting Winkler or his bodyguards. It might not even be one of ours, Ashe realized. It probably wouldn’t be difficult to rent another room in the hotel or bribe one away from a staff member. Ashe hovered over the heads of all ten while they rode up the elevator to the ninth floor. Guns came out of pockets and waistbands.

Mr. Michaels, Grand Master, I hope you can hear me, Ashe sent. Trina is back with nine other people and they all have guns. I think they’re trying to kill Mr. Winkler.

Chapter 11

Matt Michaels shouted into his cell as he sped toward the hotel he’d booked for Winkler and his party. The Grand Master, too, was on the phone, waiting on another line. Matt had two vampires and six special agents nearly at the scene. He was concerned, too, about Winkler and the others and where they were at the moment. Winkler might attempt to take the attackers himself and that could prove fatal. And, if he were honest, Matt worried about the sixteen-year-old Ashe even more than the three werewolves.

"Just get in there and stop them—there are ten attackers, likely on the ninth floor. I haven’t notified hotel security in case they’re in on it!" Matt punched another button on his phone as his driver sped through traffic lights in the darkness. "Grand Master, the vampires have arrived—one of them knows William Winkler. I don’t know whether the others with the nurse are human or werewolf, but we’ll know shortly. I’ll call with information as soon as I have it." Matt ended the call and held on while his driver screeched around a corner.

* * *

Ashe considered dropping his cargo in an empty room and handling the attackers himself. He had brief thoughts of gathering them inside his mist and then dropping them into the street from a great height before reconsidering. That would be ten deaths and not an easy thing to explain when someone had to clean up bodies later.

Ashe heaved a mental sigh and floated behind Trina and her companions as one of the men knelt outside Winkler’s door and took Trina’s key card. Someone else produced bolt cutters—the metal security latch was hooked on the inside. Trina must have gotten a master key from someone working at the hotel—the card worked and the door opened quietly. The bolt cutters were employed immediately after and three men rushed in, guns blazing. They might have gotten out again with none the wiser, except for Matt’s vampire agents.

* * *

"Kid?" Matt Michaels stepped over a pile of glass from a lamp shattered in the shooting. The vampires had gathered those who still lived among the attackers—two humans. The others, including the female werewolf, were all dead. No signs of Winkler or any of his party were inside either room.

"Here," Ashe dropped his still-sleeping cargo onto the beds inside Winkler’s room, causing all three werewolves to wake with a start.

"What the hell?" Winkler was up and growling immediately, his back to a wall in no time. Trajan and Trace flanked their Packmaster, ready to defend him. Ashe solidified on the floor not far away, hanging his head and looking sheepish.

"Sorry, Mr. Winkler," Ashe apologized. "I didn’t mean to scare you. I just kept seeing Trina’s face in my head and then I couldn’t help myself. I picked all of you up while you were sleeping and misted outside. I followed Trina and the others inside the building. I think she had a master key to get in and somebody else had bolt cutters."

"He’s right." Matt nodded to one of his human agents, who held both items. "Now, we’ll just take these two somewhere for a little questioning," he jerked his head toward the two humans his vampire agents held. They were hauled quickly from the room.

"I’ve got people checking to see whose key card this is," Matt went on. Temper flashed in his hazel eyes as he accepted the card in question from his agent. "If we find ‘em, we’ll haul them in, too. In the meantime, I’m moving you to another hotel, so gather your things. Nobody will know where you are after that. A car will come to pick you up around nine in the morning. I’m rescheduling the hearing for later in the day."

"Kid, come here." Winkler, dark hair disheveled and dressed only in pajama bottoms, motioned for Ashe to come to him. Ashe gulped. He was about to get in trouble with the Dallas Packmaster. Ashe’s feet felt stuck to the floor and he moved them with difficulty. As soon as Ashe was within Winkler’s reach, Winkler grasped Ashe’s upper arm and hauled him into a tight hug while Trajan and Trace watched.

* * *

Rabis sighed. He knew—he’d been following the movements of William Winkler, the werewolf Packmaster. The Bright Elemaiyan Foreseer was successfully outmaneuvering Wildrif. Wildrif and Winkler he could see. His grandchild he could not. Come the morning, Friesianna would ask questions that Rabis would be forced to answer truthfully. "Be safe," he whispered to the winds flowing over Montana fields. The boy had to live. Had to.

* * *

"Dude, Randy and his mom are moving to Star Cove!" Sali couldn’t help calling Ashe, though he knew they were still at odds with each other. Ashe had always liked Randy for some reason, and had defended him when everyone thought him guilty of exposing the Pack. Sali figured Ashe would want this information, no matter the source.

"Sali, what are you saying?" Ashe rubbed his eyes and blinked for a few seconds. He felt the effects of a very short night with little sleep as he spoke with Sali on his cell. He, Winkler and the others were currently riding in the back of a limousine toward the location selected for Jack Howard’s hearing. "And dude, we’re still on the outs, in case you hadn’t noticed," he added.