Page 102 of His Fate
"Posey?"
I jump at the voice that buzzes in my ear, shaking off the way it made my heart launch itself into my throat.
Again.
Fuck, I'm nervous.
"Josey Posey, do you read me?"
I press the side of my earpiece with a sigh. "Loud and clear, you old fart."
"You doing ok, peanut?"
"Are you seriously asking me that?" I whisper-shout but immediately soften. "I'm fine, Dad. Just waiting."
I catch sight of a glimmer of light to my left and follow it, squinting into the darkness where my dad is positioned about seventy-five yards away.
Dad, Grace, Casey, Allie, and I are equipped with state of the art communication pieces so we can keep in touch throughout the night, so we can talk and plan if things change.
It was important we have a way to do that with each other since we're positioned so far from the others, our only way of communicating with them being our mate bonds with Kai, Janet, Milos, Andrej, and Henrich.
It's helpful for sure, but my dad has asked me if I'm ok about four hundred times already and we've only been out here about a half hour.
He keeps it up and I'll shut my com off.
"Your Glocks secure?"
I roll my eyes. "One strapped to each hip, safety on, loaded, extra clips in my holsters."
"And the sawed offs?"
"Both still criss-crossed on my back just like they were twenty minutes ago when you asked."
He huffs down the line but ignores me. "Daggers?"
"In my boots. And before you ask, my M24 is in position, scope is clear, also loaded and ready to fire on sight."
"Good girl." Dad pauses then clears his throat. "I love you, Josephine."
I fight the way my eyes well with tears, the way my throat tightens and my nose burns. "I love you too, Dad, but save the mushy stuff for when we go home, ok?"
He chuckles a little then I listen as he checks in with Grace, runs down the same list, tells her he loves her too before he does it twice more with Case and Al.
Everyone is so strung out, so tense over this shit that we can barely handle it, but I think that's why my dad keeps checking in.
Sure, he's doing it because we're his daughters, because he has claimed my best friends the same way he does me, but I also think he's doing it for himself just as much because if he doesn't get a response from one of us, well, Hank Timmons may just go apeshit and really put his rusty shifting abilities to the test.
My eyes shift from the darkness to the center of the clearing, the only area bathed in moonlight, the only place with any real visibility despite a shifter’s acute eyesight.
Goosebumps scatter across my skin, my skin that heats to unnatural temps as my eyes narrow on the valley where my mate and his brothers lead Ivan out in shackles.
I watch them force him to his knees, the bastard smiling through his bruised cheeks.
Milos leans toward him, grabs his hair and wrenches his head back, hissing words I can almost hear but when Ivan cackles then spits in his face, Andrej has to hold Milos back, prevent him from killing the son of a bitch before Cyril even arrives.
It was a last minute change in our plan to bring Ivan outside, something not everyone agreed with but as the sun began to set and time wore on, he became more and more agitated.
So much so that the children in the clinic could hear his ranting and were getting scared.
