Diskant snarled and turned. “Kinsley, you’re going to have to call in the prides.”
Kinsley shouldered past the shifters in his path. The Alpha’s anger was palpable, goading the shifters in the proximity, electrifying the air. “Where do you want them?”
“I want at least one of them here so that we can search for Trey,” Diskant said, lowering his head and gazing at Ava. “We’re going to have to put the city on a strict watch until I decide what to do. Tell everyone it’s best to relocate to their primary safe housing. They’ll need to establish a guard rotation. The entire area is on lockdown.”
“Understood.” Kinsley peered over at Mary and his lips thinned. With a stiff motion, he opened his phone and marched off.
“All of you were hurt.” Diskant didn’t ask a question, he made a statement of fact. “What’s the damage?”
“Nothing that won’t heal.” Emory glanced down at his mate, irritated that she’d been harmed and he hadn’t been able to prevent it. “Doc needs to take a look at her shoulder.” Lifting his head, he hiked his chin in Nathan’s direction. “We also need him to remove a few silver slugs out of our asses.”
“Mine went clear through. We got lucky.” Nathan gently rubbed his temple. “If they weren’t such lousy shots we’d all be dead.”
“They were in a hurry and they got sloppy.” Emory growled, feeling the deep burn in his chest remind him of what a shit shot Elijah had been. If Emory hadn’t moved when instinct took over, taking a swift plunge to the right, the bullets would have killed him. Just a couple of inches and the Shepherd would have nailed him in the heart.
“I’m not surprised.” Diskant looked at Mary then at Emory. “Ava was the perfect decoy since they wanted a chance to get in the house. They had an open window to make it in and out alive.”
“What do they want with Trey?” Emory’s snarl caused Mary to whimper. He lowered his voice and rubbed his chin on top of her head. “Was he just at the wrong place at the wrong time? Or is there something we don’t know?”
“Could be he’s a shifter they’ll keep for leverage,” Nathan mused, shaking his head. “We can’t assume they know who he is. As far as they are aware he could have been one of the pack killed in the blast a few months back.”
Doc moved from the pack toward Emory. “Discuss this while I tend to your female. That bullet could have done some damage that we’re not aware of. I won’t know until I examine her.”
“Take her to the guest bedroom in the basement and get her comfortable,” Diskant said, shifting Ava in his arms when she moaned. “I’m going to secure all the rooms upstairs but I don’t want them occupied until we have guards placed at all the fire escapes. When the prides arrive we can start trying to track down Trey.”
Two sides of Emory warred. One part of him wanted to find his brother, the other demanded he tend to and care for his mate. Shit, this was harder than he thought. With Mary in his life nothing was black and white anymore. Everything existed in shades of gray.
“Lead the way,” he instructed as he walked from the office.
Doc pivoted and started the trek to the basement, creating a path in the process. Emory followed, feeling as though he were trapped in quicksand and sinking deeper and deeper with each passing minute. He wanted to accept he couldn’t help his brother and matters were out of his hands but he couldn’t. Trey was alive, and as long as he knew that he wouldn’t stop searching for him.
As a brother, he couldn’t.
When Doc entered the guest bedroom situated at the far end of the entertainment area, Emory quickly strode to the bed, pushing his personal demons aside. Mary groaned. Her pain was evident when he lowered her to the mattress, her T-shirt soaked with blood. Emory was horrified, experiencing a profound and gut-wrenching shame.
How could he be thinking of anything but Mary when she was injured? What kind of mated male did that make him?
“Emory.” Mary reached for his hand, her eyes full of pain.
“Right here.” He took her hand in his and kneeled beside the bed. “I’m not going anywhere.”
And he wasn’t going anywhere. Trey was a part of the pack—had once been the fucking Alpha of the whole shebang—and they’d do anything to find him and bring him back safely. He had to trust them to find his brother, leaving Trey’s fate in their capable hands. Mary was too important. Life meant nothing without her.
She squeezed his hand when Doc informed them he’d have to cut away the shirt and left the room to retrieve his bag. The low discussion of the pack outside reassured him. Diskant had placed Ava on the couch, where she was slowly coming to awareness. Diskant refused to leave her side, but he was already issuing orders with the pack, telling them what areas to visit and search. Hopefully the Shepherds would scatter, afraid to remain where they were after the upheaval they’d caused. If so, they might slip up or leave Trey behind.
Fuck, he wanted to believe that. Shepherds gone. The city safe for his mate. His brother back and in fighting form.
“I need to tell you something.”
Emory moved closer to Mary, resting his waist on the edge of the bed. “I’m listening.”
She started to talk and stopped. “I told them about the map,” she finally said, her eyes darting away from his, as if she was afraid he’d take the news badly. “I didn’t want to, but I thought it might buy time.”
Shit. “That’s why you were in the office?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“It’s going to be all right.” It was an automatic response, a way to settle his mate, but he wasn’t sure if he was telling her the truth. “I said I wasn’t leaving and I meant it. I just need to step outside before Doc gets back and talk to the pack.”
She still wouldn’t meet his gaze, staring across the room. “I understand.”
“Mary.” He let go of her hand, caught her chin between his fingers and forced her to look at him. Huge mistake. Her eyes were red-rimmed and full of fresh tears. “You did the right thing,” he said, wanting to say something to ease her fears despite his inability to. “If you didn’t stall, I might not have made it to you in time.”
Whether she believed him or not was open to debate. She didn’t resist when he pulled away, but he did feel the weight of her stare as he stood and walked toward the door. Talk about mucking up the plan. If Elijah knew about the map, Shepherds would be on the move the moment he shared the information he’d uncovered. The packs Nathan contacted had to know the clock was ticking, otherwise their advantage wouldn’t mean squat.
Calm down, they’ll make time. This is important.
At least, that was the hope.
Chapter Sixteen
“There.” Leigh shifted in the front seat of Sadie’s Camaro, rubbing the jacket in her hand and pointing to a large warehouse across the street. Sadie couldn’t help but stare at her passenger. Leigh wasn’t as pale, having taken a small amount of blood from a random stranger outside their home, but she still didn’t look good. The girl needed sustenance, far more than the swallow or two she allowed herself.
Now is not the time. Focus.
Drawing a deep breath, she stared at the building. “Are you certain?”
“Positive. The connection is strong. He’s here.”
Sadie stared at the men out front, counting their numbers: three total. Not difficult to take out. But there would be more inside. How many, she couldn’t say. Apparently there were Shepherds in the area she hadn’t accounted for. Disposing of the guards wouldn’t be the problem, keeping them quiet would. If they managed to scream or call out they’d warn the others a threat was in the area.