Wrath

and went on his way. I couldn’t help the urge to wipe my hand on my pants after shaking his.

“Do I want to know where you got this?” I asked as I climbed onto the back.

“Probably not. But if so, there’s another one there if you want to ride your own. I wasn’t sure if you knew how.”

I did, but that was beside the point. If she’d stolen the motorcycle, which she must have, we certainly would not steal another one.

She revved the engine, and we took off, hopefully putting this place behind us forever.

I can’t believe you picked me up on a stolen vehicle in front of a police station, I said, mind-talking instead of yelling over the rumble of the engine. We’re going to end up back in jail.

“I didn’t really steal it. I left a contact number on the other one.”

A bogus number. You don’t have a phone, remember?

“Tristan does. I left his number.”

What?! Now he’ll end up in jail!

“Nah. Nobody will mess with him, especially when he offers up the cash to more than pay for the bike. And they’ll get the bike, too. I mean, you guys are good for it, right?”

That’s not the point. We’ll be lucky to even get that far. The owner just has to send the cops out to look for us, and we’ll be right back where we were.

“Give me a little credit. The bikes were under a tarp in the lot of an abandoned building. Nobody’s going to miss it. We’ll get to this place Tristan said to meet him at, and we’ll pay someone to bring the bike back. No one’ll ever know.”

Sheesh. This reminded me of the plane we’d taken to get out of Australia. In fact, the situation wasn’t really much different, so why did this feel so wrong when that hadn’t? Probably because it was Vanessa doing the stealing rather than Tristan.

She raced along the roads Pastor Rick told us to use, and I prayed we wouldn’t get caught. I also formulated a plan for how to return the motorcycle and remunerate the owner, enough so they wouldn’t press charges, which was the last thing we needed. Rina certainly wouldn’t be impressed, and that thought made me feel even worse. By the time we arrived in Rincon, guilt had almost overridden my primary emotion of anger.

We pulled into a gravel parking lot of what looked to be a biker bar, and I had to wonder if I’d remembered the address correctly. I climbed off the back of the stolen/borrowed bike, and my eyes scanned over the dozens of motorcycles outside the squat, concrete building. Is this the place? Not feeling too good about walking in blind, I opened my mind to those inside. The building was larger than it looked from the outside and was filled with . . . Were signatures. All Amadis and all wolves. But no Tristan. I reached my mind out to the surrounding area, and still no Tristan, Char, or Sheree, but I did find Blossom and Jax, about half a mile away.

Blossom, we’re here, I said, and I could practically hear her squeal of joy.

“On our way,” she replied, relief heavy in her mental voice.

I turned to watch for them, feeling their mind signatures coming closer, and finally they came into sight. Jax sauntered toward us in his black leather pants and black t-shirt as he held his jacket over a shoulder. Although Blossom had the standard leather jacket and combat boots, for some reason they hadn’t given her pants and a bustier like they had to the rest of us girls. Rather, she wore a black smock that reached a few inches above her knees and black tights. She broke into a sprint for us and threw her arms around my neck as she nearly knocked me over in a hug.

She immediately spouted off like a geyser. “I was so worried about you, but we didn’t know what to do after everything Rina had told us about being cooperative, so we hoped you’d get out and everything would be okay, but Tristan said to come here, and we’d get you out if we had to, but it looks like you’re fine, and I’ve probably driven Jax up the wall—”

“She’s been yabberin’ away like a macaw on drugs,” Jax said, but he didn’t sound mad or even annoyed. In fact, I sensed a bit of awe and appreciation in his voice as he spoke of the witch. “We’ve all been worried as hell, princess.”

“I’ve been worried as hell, too,” I said, giving them each a hug, and then I glanced around. “Where are Tristan and the others?”

“They’re not here yet,” Blossom said, and I didn’t see Sasha with them, either. I hoped to God that meant Tristan had her. Blossom opened her mouth to launch into another monologue, but I stopped her.

“Can I use your phone?”

She lifted her brows. “It fried in the swamp, where we appeared.”

“Then how’d you talk to Tristan?”

“We didn’t. Jax and I were just making our way out of the swamp, thank God he was with me, because he made himself a crocodile and we clamored out of there without getting eaten by anything, and then Bree showed up out of nowhere right in front of us. She said she already talked to Tristan, and she told us all about you and Vanessa, and said Tristan, Charlotte, and Sheree—”

“They’re all okay?” I asked, having to interrupt her so she’d take a breath before she passed out from talking too much.

“Yeah, they’re all together.”

“Do they have Sasha?”

She tilted her head. “I don’t know. Bree didn’t mention Sasha, but they all appeared way down by Jacksonville, and had the pilot with them, so they had to find transportation and get him to the airport. And I guess Tristan already talked to your mom and the matriarch and told them everything that happened, too. I mean, I don’t know who knew what when, but Bree pretty much knew everything since she’d been watching us from the Otherworld, and she came to our realm to be our messenger because she saw we had no other way of communicating with each other, and we were all split up, and it was such a big mess. Anyway, the pilot’s already off to get a new Amadis jet, and Tristan, Charlotte, and Sheree are headed up this way—”

Jax put a hand on Blossom’s shoulder. “Stop a minute to breathe, woman.”

The witch inhaled a deep breath and blew it out. “Sorry, but there’s so much to tell, and I know Alexis has been scared to death, and you need to know what’s going on. So anyway, they were on their way here, but they’ve been a little delayed.”

My heart stuttered. “What’s wrong?”

“They found a newborn vamp on the side of the road,” she explained. “Charlotte couldn’t just leave him there.”

“Of course not,” I said as my heart returned to its normal rhythm, but then I realized what it meant. Hours, maybe a day or more, before they could hit the road again.

“Tristan told Bree to tell us he’d call when he had further info,” the witch added. “Or send her again, I don’t know.”

“Well, then, I guess we go in for a drink?” I asked, not knowing what else to do. Besides control my urge to punch something again. One thing after another. At least everyone was okay, but we were never going to find my son at this rate. Blossom, do you think we could try your tracking spell while we’re waiting?

Her shoulders lifted in a shrug so small only I noticed the gesture. “Maybe if there’s some place quiet here. It’s a Were den, though, so don’t get your hopes up.”

As soon as we walked inside, the loud din of conversation fell to complete silence. Vanessa had entered first, followed by Blossom and Jax, with me trailing in behind. I could feel the animosity in the air as the Weres in the bar sniffed, sensing we were Amadis, but not wolves like them.

“Who do you think you are, stealing my pack’s bike?” bellowed a female voice as a figure rushed across the room. A tall, thin woman with raven hair, obsidian eyes, a flannel top tied into a knot between her breasts, and holey jeans that hung on her narrow hips stopped in front of Vanessa, her face dangerously close to the vampire’s. She apparently didn’t know who Vanessa was. Or maybe she didn’t care. She didn’t look like she’d be scared of too much in this world. “And don’t deny it. I get a call that it’s gone. I look out the window and there it is. And here you walk into my bar. The only people who don’t belong here.”

My team parted as I pushed my way to the front of them, knowing I needed to take responsibility for this