His partner frowned and cast a look at Steven. “Is Michelle going to have to blow off the front door to get us in?”
Steven hesitated just long enough to make the answer clear. “Maybe.”
“So we go in together.” Alec grinned at Michelle, though it must have taken great effort to hide his discomfort as he patted her arm encouragingly. “Make a lot of commotion when you knock, Michelle. That should get everyone’s attention.”
The way her face lit at Alec’s acceptance was heartbreaking. “I don’t think I can do it quietly. Jackson and Mahalia had better shield for all they’re worth, though, or the backlash will knock them over.”
Jackson held up both hands. “Consider me warned.”
Nick whispered something to Aaron and glanced at Jackson. “We all know what to do.”
Try our best and hope like hell it works. “Yeah.”
Steven and Alec took the lead. Michelle fell into step behind them, with Nick pressed tightly to her right side and Aaron towering next to her, one hand hovering over her back. Mahalia slid her hand into Jackson’s as they cleared the trees and crested the rise. The house came into view, and she sighed nervously. “Here goes nothing, Jack.”
They made it to the front door, and the blood pounded in Jackson’s ears as he steeled himself against Michelle’s magic. Still, he thought his head might explode along with the wood, and it took him a moment to orient himself as the group charged through the shattered remains of the front door, guns drawn, spells at the ready.
Alec and Steven jerked to a stop so quickly Michelle bumped into Steven and stumbled back into Jackson. He barely caught her as ironic applause filled the room.
A large, curving staircase rose in front of them. Charles stood on the fourth step, surveying them with absolutely no surprise as he brought his hands together one last time and smiled. “Goodness, Miss Peyton. Was that entirely necessary? You youngsters are so ostentatious.”
The two men who’d attacked them outside the bar flanked Charles, and Jackson’s heart stuttered. “Where’s Mackenzie?”
The Seer’s icy blue gaze focused on Jackson, and there was nothing left of sanity in his expression. The utter lack of emotion, of anything human, chilled him. Charles acknowledged his reaction with a tiny, wry smile and a nod. “So. You must be the reason she was so resistant. At first.”
Crazy as a fucking loon. He glanced at Alec and saw his partner had come to the same conclusion. “Look, we’d all love to hang around and engage in some banter—”
“She’s gone.” The flat, weary words came from the shifter beside Talbot, the one he’d fought in the alley by Nick’s bar. “Marcus took her and left.”
Charles sighed in disappointment. Power surged, magic so strong it made even Michelle’s formidable energy pale in comparison. Charles flicked a finger as if knocking away a piece of lint, and the large shapeshifter grunted as his feet flew out from under him and his body flipped over the banister and barreled into the wall. The drywall buckled when he crashed into it, and the man sank to the floor, unconscious.
“I’ve had quite enough of traitors,” Charles said, his voice chillingly casual. Jackson realized too late that he’d turned to watch the shapeshifter fly against the wall. He yanked his attention back to Charles.
Charles held a gun in his hand. The world slowed, the time between each heartbeat an eternity as Jackson scrambled for his magic. Michelle gasped softly, and Alec swore and aimed his own gun at Charles.
Too slow. The barrel of Charles’s gun swung in a perfect arch to point directly at Steven’s head. His finger twitched once, and he fired.
Mahalia screamed, and chaos erupted.
Nick caught Steven as he slumped toward the floor, and Aaron shielded Michelle’s body with his own. Alec and Jackson returned fire, but their bullets skittered to a stop a foot shy of Charles and clattered to the marble stairs.
Charles smiled at them and rasped in a labored breath. Mahalia chanted, her dark eyes alight with fury, and the Seer clutched his throat.
Under Aaron, Michelle gasped. Magic gathered in the room, taking on visible colors as Mahalia’s voice grew louder. Mahalia wasn’t incredibly strong, but rage fed her power, and Jackson felt the tug as she reached out and gathered magic from every available source.
Charles’s response was more direct. He dropped one hand to clench around the shoulder of his last remaining ally. The small spell caster sucked in a sharp breath, and Jackson had only a heartbeat to brace himself as Charles ripped the power from the man’s body.
The caster screamed, high and pained, and the world exploded. Darkness engulfed Jackson, and he cursed as everything fell away.
Chapter 21
Mackenzie ate, showered and flipped through every channel on the television. Twice. She brushed out her hair and braided it tightly. She unwove it and left it hanging around her shoulders. She paged through the phonebook on a whim, and called directory assistance once looking for John Peyton in New York City. She even called thirteen of the twenty-seven results before she gave up.
Marcus slept through all of it, dead to the world, and so worn and exhausted even in sleep that she didn’t have the heart to wake him.
She was on her third pass through the television when the phone finally rang. She lunged for it, heart in her chest, and answered in a shaking voice. “Hello?”
“Mackenzie?” The voice was young and female, but so nervous she didn’t recognize it at first. “Holy shit, where are you? Is Jackson there?”
“Kat?” Mackenzie’s fingers clenched around the phone. “No. Have you heard from him? Is Mahalia all right? I tried to call her house—”
“Wait, wait—” Mackenzie heard Kat’s muttered curses clearly, as well as the sound of keys clacking on a keyboard. “Jackson didn’t find you? You’re not with him?”
“I’m in Boston.”
“Fuck.”
The panic in Kat’s voice set Mackenzie’s heart to racing, and she curled her free hand around the edge of the bed and tried to control her breathing. “What’s going on, Kat?”
“Shit. Nothing, don’t freak out.” More keys clacked, and Kat swore again. “Hey, can I put you on hold for a second?”
“No! Kat, what’s going on?”
“They’re going in to get you. Or they think they are—” Kat’s voice stopped abruptly. “Shit, this is all coming out wrong. Just hold on a second, okay? I want to try their phones.”
Mackenzie’s heart pounded so loudly she could barely hear Kat’s words. “Hurry.”
“Stay on the line, I’ll be right back.”
Mackenzie listened to the silence on the other end of the phone and tried not to think of how many things could go wrong if Jackson and Alec and Nick were trying to get into Charles’s house to rescue her.
The line clicked again all too soon, and Kat’s worried voice filled her ears. “No one’s answering. Everything’s going straight to voicemail. They’re probably already on their way in, or maybe on their way out—”
“Shit. Kat, it’s dangerous. Charles Talbot is crazy. He’s so damn strong.”
“They know that, Mackenzie.” Kat sounded like she was trying to convince both of them. “Don’t underestimate Jackson. He’s smart and really good, and Alec’s a scary motherfucker. They’ve got Nick and Nick’s dad and even Nick’s sister—oh—oh!”
Mackenzie’s heart jumped. “What?”
“Nick’s dad. I can try to call Nick’s dad. There’s no way he went in with them.”
“You have his number? I can call him.”
Kat cut her off. “No. Oh, hell no. The fucking Alpha? I haven’t got his number, but I can find it.”
“How?”
Kat laughed nervously. “Did Jackson and Alec tell you anything about me?”
“Just that you’re their assistant. And psychic.”
“Yeah, I’m not really a secretary, though. I mean, I answer their phones, but they pay me for my other skills.”