“You were there,” she said softly.
Navarro turned his head forward, his jaw clenching. He understood what she wasn’t saying. It was the same reason he rarely stayed long in Haven when he knew she was there. Because the temptation was simply too great.
The communication link at his ear beeped, signaling an incoming communiqué from Jonas. Lifting his hand, he pretended to adjust the earpiece as he pressed twice, indicating he was listening but would only answer if necessary. Mica hadn’t donned the link, and if he could keep her from being more frightened, then he would do just that.
“I take it Mica’s in the dark?” Jonas drawled, waited and then continued. “Stygian and Rule are in the vehicle ahead of you, Lawe, myself, Mordecai and Cavalier are coming in behind you. There are reports all roads to Sanctuary are being watched. Enforcers are mobilizing along the way and will be pulling in with us. This is a well-organized, determined group and they’re pulling out the stops.”
Navarro clenched his teeth and fought back a curse.
“Do we know how many?” he asked. There was no hiding this from her.
Beside him, she was pulling on the earpiece, and the sound of activation clicked across the line.
“Ms. Toler,” Jonas said, greeting her presence. “How are you?”
“Cold, hungry and pissed off,” she retorted sweetly.
Jonas chuckled. “And none of us can blame you for that. I’ll see what I can do to fix the first two; the last, I’m sorry to say, I can do nothing to fix at the moment.”
“Unless you’re at fault, then it’s not your place to fix it,” she responded. “It’s not your fault, is it, Mr. Wyatt?”
There was more than one sound of amusement across the shared, secured line.
“Not this time,” he assured her. “Though I’ll see what I can do about the next adventure you’re forced to make.”
“What’s our status?” Navarro cut into the byplay as he reached behind the seat and pulled free the pack he had thrown there earlier.
“Up shit creek,” Jonas grunted. “Thankfully, we do have a few paddles. We have teams mobilizing and due to begin meeting us on the other side of the tunnel. By the time we reach the state line, we’ll have a fucking convoy moving to Sanctuary, with more waiting ahead of us. We should have over three hundred enforcers, Feline, Wolf and Coyote, on the drive to Buffalo Gap. I rather doubt our friends will attack that.”
“Or they could use the opportunity to strike and take out the majority of your first responding enforcers,” Mica stated.
“A situation we’ve considered,” Jonas agreed. “Thankfully, we also have two planes in the air, satellite backup, and several other contingency plans at our disposal. Until we have one of the heli-jets available, safe transport is something we can’t depend upon. We have you covered though. You’ll be safe and sound within hours.”
“Who’s behind it?” she bit out, the anger, the fear in her voice raw now.
“A subject we’ll need to discuss at a later date,” Jonas informed her. “Until then, stay low and out of sight. I’ll update you if other reports come through.”
“With all the security, what’s the point in staying low?” she asked, her voice tight.
“That way they’re not certain which vehicle to target on the off chance they’ll decide to attempt to kill you rather than kidnap you.” That was Jonas. Mating sure as hell hadn’t taught him to soften the blow, it seemed.
Navarro watched from the corner of his eye as she jerked the link from her head and tossed it across the back of the SUV. For a second, tears glittered in her eyes, before they were quickly covered.
“We’ll discuss that later, Jonas,” Navarro promised him softly.
“No doubt we will,” Jonas sighed. “Look, Wolf, I don’t have time for tender feelings here. We’re both well aware of the stakes. If we lose her, then we chance losing Cassie for the simple fact the guilt will destroy her. Our enemies know that as well as we do. If they take the girl, then they’re effectively kidnapping both women. I think we agree that’s not the best scenario for the Breeds at the moment.”
Because Jonas would be forced to give up the prize he had stolen months before when he’d captured Phillip Brandenmore and had him secured in Sanctuary’s underground cells.
If he had to make a choice between Brandenmore and the pair of Mica and Cassie, then Cassie would win hands down. Her importance ensured Mica’s for the simple fact that the two young women were so close.
“We’ll have a few things slipped into the vehicle at first opportunity to make her more comfortable,” Jonas promised when Navarro refused to comment further. “We’ll discuss this more at Sanctuary.”
“Bet on it,” Navarro stated coolly before disconnecting the link and turning back to Mica.
She was staring at the ceiling of the SUV blankly, obviously distancing herself as much as possible from the entire situation.
She had that habit. He’d watched her do it plenty of times when she’d been forced to Sanctuary or Haven for the sake of Cassie’s safety over the years.
“I have to say, he’s still an asshole,” she sighed, continuing to stare at the ceiling. “I’d rather go to Haven as soon as possible.”
“As soon as possible,” he agreed. “I’ll make the arrangements as soon as one of the heli-jets is back from mission status.”
“They need more heli-jets.”
And wasn’t that the truth.
The fact was, at the moment, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it though. There were no more heli-jets, and they were stuck on land, driving through the night in an attempt to get her to safety.
As they passed beneath the Hudson River, through the Lincoln Tunnel and into New Jersey, the heavens opened up again with their liquid fury pounding down in driving sheets around the SUV.
Cougar, thankfully, was in his element. The SUV never lost speed, but continued on at a smooth, hard pace as the other Breed sped them toward Sanctuary.
It was the Feline Breed home base, but it was shared with Wolves and Coyotes who were in need. All Breeds inhabited both bases, though they had originally been designated one Feline, the other Wolf.
Mica was as at home in Sanctuary as she was in Haven, though it was Haven she spent the most time in, due to its proximity to her father’s home in Colorado.
She wasn’t at home in the middle of a rainstorm, racing across an interstate at eighty miles per hour while lying in the back of an SUV, at the mercy of a Wolf Breed and a stubborn Feline with an attitude problem.
And she was staring up at the Wolf as though she had all the trust in the world in him.
That look in her eyes made him want to crawl in the back with her and show her exactly why she shouldn’t trust him. There was nothing in the world he wanted more right now than to sink his cock as deep inside her as possible.
Fucking her had become an obsession. It wasn’t a heat, thank God, but it was a hell of a lot more than a want. It was a driving need that made his dick so fucking hard it was ready to burst straight from his jeans.
“Cassie warned me not to come home,” she sighed into the uneasy silence that had descended in the vehicle. “She said I was going to end up running through the rain.” A soft laugh feathered around his senses as he glanced down at her, watching as she stared up at the ceiling of the SUV. “I told her I didn’t melt.”
He could just imagine that conversation. Cassie rarely understood the many visions she had now that she was maturing. As though her mind no longer wanted to accept the paranormal world that existed around her and often dragged her into its sphere.
“She’s not going to be happy with me,” she sighed again when he remained quiet.
“She rarely is when you leave.” Most Breeds who knew Cassie well knew she was rarely pleased whenever Mica returned to live the life she was trying to build for herself.