Emmalyn glared at her father, but she knew better than to contradict him.
“Em?” Barron said.
“I’m coming,” she snapped with more than a little tone.
They waited until Bam, with Brandt riding shotgun, and Remi, and Shaun in the back, pulled out and followed Havoc’s vehicle. Then Barron, Em and Everly got in Barron’s truck and headed to Barron and Emmalyn’s home. When they were almost there, Emmalyn shook her head disbelievingly. “It’s just not fair. This is nothing for me. Why am I having such a hard time keeping my emotions together? I still can’t walk into Hellen’s home, which is fucking ridiculous! Not to mention, I should be able to help my sister without falling apart. I’m all over the damn place! I hate it! I cry for no reason…”
“Honey, you went through a lot,” Everly said. “Give yourself time to heal. It wasn’t all that long ago.”
“I was better last month! I'm getting worse! And I’m getting fat! I need to start being more active or something. And y’all need to stop treating me like a baby!”
Everly, who was sitting in the back, and Barron who was driving, shared a look in the rear view mirror.
“Emmalyn? When was the last time you had a period?” Everly asked.
Chapter 17
Hellen knelt silently within a tangle of huge partially submerged cypress trees. The sheen of blood tainting the water’s surface, the stench of rotting flesh, and the acrid smell of the temporary preservation of animal pelts let her know the otherwise beautiful scenery of the small cove she’d discovered in the backwater of the swamp was exactly the place she was looking for. She could hear the muffled voices of men in the distance as they called out instructions, or called for help sealing up crates. Hellen clenched her jaws as tightly as she did her service revolver, ready to obliterate any of them, whether they noticed her or not. This was nothing short of cold blooded killing. These animals had been ruthlessly killed, and there was no excuse for it.
“Hey! Make sure you don’t leave any of the drugs visible!” a voice ordered.
“I got plenty of skins on top of them!” another voice answered.
“Somebody make sure he’s packing this shit right!” the first voice ordered.
Hellen could hear movement as several people went to do exactly what the man who was in charge had ordered. She took that opportunity to move closer to where they were located, taking every opportunity to stay sheltered within the ancient cypress trees. She realized almost too late that she was moving in the same vicinity as those the men had working security, when one of them almost stepped right into her path. At the last moment she found herself silenced and yanked beneath the murky water.
“Hold still!” Lucien’s voice shouted in her mind.
Realizing she was being held from behind by her mate, his hand pressed tightly against her mouth, she stopped struggling and allowed him to control the situation for the moment. Paying attention to receding vibrations and splashes in the distance, she knew the male who’d almost stumbled across her, was leaving the area. Slowly, Lucien surfaced with her still in his arms. As soon they were above water, she shoved his hand away from her face. “What are you doing here?” she whispered harshly at him.
“The fuck did I tell you about in this shit together?!” he asked her, his nose practically pushed against hers.
Hellen glared at him, her eyes showing just how angry she was.
“They’re shifters, Hellen! They’re not human, at least not all of them! They can be as fucking dangerous as we are! You could have gotten yourself fucking killed.”
“You’re about to get your fucking self killed if you don’t let me do my fucking job!” she snarled at him.
“These are the same ones that got the drop on me, Hellen. Have you not figured that out? These people do not fucking play! You can’t do this alone.”
“I can…”
“No! You can’t!”
“I won’t be alone! My coworkers will be here with me. We’re all trained for this.”
“You’ll all end up massacred. You’re going to get them all killed right beside you.”
“Then what do you suggest I do? I can’t allow this to continue.”
“I don’t. And we’re not. But you have to allow this to be handled before your people show up. Unless you’d like to advertise to them all that shifters exist.”
Hellen stood her ground, her eyes deadlocked with Lucien’s one good one. The expression on his face made no secret of thefact that he was furious. She opened her mouth to speak and he shook his head, holding one finger up and canting his head like he was listening to something.
Just about thirty feet away, a familiar call caught her attention. Her head whipped toward it, waiting, listening… Then she heard it again — a high-pitched call, and she knew. That was no red-shouldered hawk. That was her father. And if he was calling like that, it meant that he wasn’t the only one. He’d brought the clan. Hellen slowly turned her head to glare at Lucien. “You brought them,” she accused.
“What the hell is that?” one of the men they were stalking demanded.
