Her whimper turned into a sob. “I told them Veronica could choose, that her life was her own.
I wouldn’t let them use me as leverage the way her father—” Something thudded in the background. “Where are you?”
“Georgia. Near Columbus, I think. Aunt Teresa, what the hell’s going on?”
Oddly, she calmed. “You could be here in a couple of hours,” she whispered, and Sera knew the woman didn’t expect to survive that long. “Come to my house and get your cousin. Help Veronica, promise me.”
Julio’s chest heaved, and he grabbed the phone from Sera’s hand. “Aunt Tere—”
“Promise, Julio. You have to—” The line went dead.
Sera already had her own phone out of her bag. “I’m calling Anna,” she said as she jabbed at the speakerphone. The sound of the ringing line filled the car. “Your aunt lives in Atlanta, right? I think Patrick’s there now.”
“If he is, he can be two steps ahead of us.” Julio swore and smashed his hand against the dashboard. “What have they done now? What the fuck have they done now?”
Something horrible, undoubtedly. Something that would force Julio across a line that could break him. Sera slid her hand over his and cut off Anna as she answered the phone. “It’s Sera.
Is Patrick in Atlanta? It’s an emergency.”
“He is.” Anna’s words were clipped, efficient. “What do you need?”
Sera glanced at Julio, but it seemed to be taking all his concentration to keep his temper and keep driving. “Julio’s aunt is in trouble. Someone needs to tell Alec and Carmen, and someone needs to get Patrick to Teresa Coleman’s house. We were on the phone with her and the line cut off.”
“On it. Any idea what he’s walking into?”
“My family,” Julio answered tersely. “Diego and Cesar. He’ll know.”
“Okay.” Anna hesitated. “Are you going too?”
“Yes,” Sera said, putting force behind the word. “I’ve got a magical gun, and I’ll cower and hide on command. I know what to do.”
“Well, be careful, goddamn it. Both of you.”
Sera gripped the phone. “Circle the wagons, okay?”
“Done.”
Anna didn’t waste time on goodbyes. The line disconnected, and Sera gripped the phone and smoothed her thumb over Julio’s wrist. “What do you need me to do? Tell me.”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing you can do.” The car sped, its engine roaring. “Not until we get there.”
There was one thing she could do. Flipping out her phone’s keyboard, she tapped out a quick message to Miguel. Aside from Patrick, she and Julio were closest to Atlanta. With no time to wait for backup, Julio would shoulder the brunt of whatever unfolded. He would need his brother in the aftermath.
Just over a year ago, she’d been on the other side of that phone call. She’d been the one locked in a bathroom, whispering to Julio’s sister as things crashed and thumped in the background.
She knew how bad it could go, and how fast.
She knew Julio would do whatever it took to protect his family and his people. That was his job as alpha. Her job was doing whatever it took to protect his mind and his heart, and she’d destroy anyone or anything who got in her way.
The tiny house sat at the end of a dead-end street, its windows dark, its front drive deserted.
Julio jerked his seatbelt free as he pulled the car to a stop. “You sure this is the address?”
She checked the address against the message Patrick had sent a half hour earlier before typing out We’re outside and sending it back. “This is the safe house. I just told him we were here.”
Julio was about to cut the engine when Patrick appeared at the side of the house, waving him back. He pulled around the side of the house, the headlights illuminating the man’s face for an instant. He had scratches, bloody furrows that looked as if someone had clawed at his face.
Julio parked and rushed Sera out of the car. The sooner he got her safely inside, the sooner he could run down the list of ways he needed to freak out. “McNamara. What happened?”
“You forgot to tell me that your sweet-faced cousin is a kickboxer.” Patrick’s tone was light, but forced. The kind of forced that covered seriously bad news.
Julio clenched his hands into fists. “Patrick. ”
“Inside” was all he said. He opened the door so Julio could usher Sera inside, then nodded toward the hallway. “Sera, Veronica’s in the back room. She says she remembers you from Alec and Carmen’s wedding.”
“Of course.” Sera squeezed Julio’s hand. “Do you want me to go check on her?”
He barely managed to croak out the word. “Go.”
Sera kissed him before slipping away to hurry down the hallway. Patrick watched her go, then scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m sorry, Mendoza. I got there as fast as I could, but your aunt…” He shook his head. “Cesar was trying to get Veronica under control. I put him down.”
Julio blinked, tried to reconcile the words with reality. “Cesar’s dead?”
Wary tension sharpened Patrick’s gaze. “I didn’t give him a chance to take me out. He was beating the shit out of your cousin, so I made a call. If it’s the wrong one, that’s on me.”
“No, that’s—” Ever since Alec had let Cesar live, Julio had known he would have to face his uncle in challenge. Eventually, at some point, the man would grow tired of biding his time, and he would strike.
Now, that would never happen. Relief coiled through Julio, along with an odd sort of disappointment. On some level, that fight had been his. That responsibility had been his.
Patrick’s hand fell to his shoulder. “You gotta stay with me here, Julio. We are so far from out of the woods. Your father ran, and he’s still out there. I’m starting to think he’s got a lot more animal cunning than anyone’s ever credited him with.”
He’d worry about his father later. “How’s Veronica?”
“Hurting.” Patrick’s voice turned bleak. “Physically, I don’t think it’s too bad. She’s banged up and bruised to hell and back, but she’s healing. After I got her to stop fighting me, though…she shut down.”
Christ, he didn’t want to ask. Julio closed his eyes. “Aunt Teresa?”
“I think it was fast,” came the quiet reply. “Snapped neck. Her boyfriend was there too—the spell caster. He’d had his throat torn out.”
They killed him. His aunt’s voice, shaky and desperate. “You did good, Patrick. Everything anyone could have done.”
“Tell me what you need me to do next.”
“I don’t know.” Too much, and Julio had to scramble to keep up. “Alec. Can you get in touch with him? Carmen—she needs to know.”
“Sure. Of course.” He squeezed Julio’s arm. “I’ve got your back, Mendoza. Just like you’ve had mine.”
Julio couldn’t stop the harsh laugh that ripped free of him. “Do you really think my father knew? That he’s been in this, really in it?”
“I think…he’s been willing to let your uncle take the risks.” Patrick’s eyes held a grim certainty. “You’d know better than anyone if that makes him clever or a coward. Listen to your gut. It knows.”
His gut said there was still a fight to come, even if his uncle was already dead. “I should check on Veronica and Sera.”
“Go. I’ll call Alec.”
The house was small, with only a plain nightlight to illuminate the narrow hallway. Julio crept down it, listening for sounds.
He found the two women in a bedroom, tucked in the corner on the floor. Veronica was curled up on her side with her back against the wall, her cheek resting on Sera’s thigh. Sera glanced up as he entered, her fingers still stroking through Veronica’s hair. “Julio’s here, honey.