Page 81 of Grayson’s Challenge

If necessary, Isabelle would have to distract him. He’d make sure of that.

Grayson pulled his cell phone from his pocket and scrolled to Isabelle’s number.

35

Monique let her gaze roam. The large conference room on the top floor of Scanguards’ HQ was bustling. Grayson had pointed out those people she hadn’t met before and told her their names. Now, he stood in the front of the room, ready to address the assembled. Almost a dozen hybrids were in attendance and a similar number of vampires.

John wasn’t back from New Orleans yet, but Virginia had traveled back there after she’d brought Wesley back to San Francisco, and both would be returning within the hour. John wanted to be part of the showdown with Abel.

“Everybody, let’s get started,” Grayson said, and the conversations in the room died down. “Thanks to everybody’s relentless efforts, we finally have the location where Abel is keeping Samson and Cain locked up. Quinn, you sent the drones in. Let’s have your report.”

Quinn nodded and stood. He clicked a remote, and the screen on the wall flickered. An arial video began to play. “What you’re seeing here is an old postal facility in Silver Terrace, just where it borders on the Bayview. The building was decommissioned over ten years ago. It’s boarded up, and supposed to be empty, but”—he pointed to the monitor, where heat signatures inside the building were now visible—“there are lots of people inside. We have to assume that those are Abel’s men. After examining the drone footage, we’re estimating that more than two dozen people are inside. And most likely they’re heavily armed. Eddie?”

Eddie stood and took over from Quinn. He used a laser pointer, which he directed at the screen. “The building has cameras at every egress point. We’d assumed that they were inoperable, since the facility is shut down, but after scanning the building for any electrical activity, we’re pretty sure that Abel and his men reactivated the existing cameras to keep an eye on who’s approaching the building. They will see us coming.”

Grayson took the remote from Eddie. “Thanks, Eddie.” Then he looked at the assembled. “That’s where the Stealth Guardians come in. They’ll be our eyes, and will enter the facility invisibly and get us a read on the situation inside. If necessary, they’ll cut the kidnappers off from the hostages, so that they can’t harm them once they realize that we’re attacking.”

“Can’t the Stealth Guardians just kill Abel’s men while they’re in there?” Nicholas asked.

“They could kill a few, sure,” Grayson replied, “but that would alert the rest of them and considering how many hostiles we believe are in the building, they’d be heavily outnumbered. Besides, it’s not their fight, it’s ours. They’ll assist, but we’ll be doing the heavy lifting. They’ll do their best to locate Samson and Cain and keep them safe, until we can extract them.”

He clicked the remote, and three pictures appeared on the monitor. “Make yourself familiar with these faces. This is Abel, the mastermind behind the kidnapping. This is Rufus. And this guy,”—he pointed to a bald black guy with a beard—“is Matt Smith. He, together with Rufus, was part of the kidnapping team that attacked the rental house in Russian Hill where Cain and his family were staying. I don’t care who kills them or any of the other hostile vampires. But if you can get Abel alive, do it. I’m sure Cain will want to kill him himself.”

Zane cleared his throat. “Just to be clear. I shoot to kill.”

Grayson met Zane’s stare, then gave a light shake of his head. “Everybody but Zane, if you’re able to safely capture Abel alive, do it.”

“When are we going in?” Ethan asked.

“After sundown tonight.”

“What?” Ethan’s forehead furrowed. “It’s much easier during the daytime. Abel and his men won’t be able to escape, because the sun will get them.”

“That’s not gonna work,” Grayson insisted.

Ethan glanced around. “But we’ve got at least ten hybrids, and we have several Kevlar suits for the full-blooded vampires. That should be enough.”

“And what about Samson and Cain?” Grayson asked. “We have no idea in what state they are. And how quickly we have to get them out. If the sun is up, it limits us. We can’t risk exposing Samson and Cain to the sun. And we don’t have enough Kevlar suits to suit them up. We need those for the fighters if we go in during the day.”

“Grayson’s got a point,” Gabriel said to Ethan. “I hate waiting as much as the next guy, but we have to consider Samson and Cain’s safety first and foremost.”

Ethan shrugged in a gesture of surrender. “Got it.”

“Let’s talk logistics,” Grayson said.

Monique couldn’t help but admire Grayson. He was a born leader without being a dictator. He had sound reasons behind his arguments, and was comfortable in his role. It was evident that he thrived under pressure, and what greater pressure could there be than the fear of losing one’s father? He couldn’t afford to make a mistake, nobody could. The more she heard Grayson talking about his plan of how to free their fathers, and took suggestions and comments from his colleagues, the more she realized that he would be perfect for leading the new Scanguards branch in New Orleans. He would be a leader everybody could respect. A man with a strong sense of right and wrong, a man who did everything in his power to save the people he loved.

She didn’t just respect Grayson and trust in his knowledge and training. Her feelings ran much deeper, and she was wondering now why she hadn’t realized much earlier what was happening between them. Grayson had already professed his love for her, in public no less. Yet, she’d held back, scared that he would hurt her again, like he’d hurt her when she was a child. But it was stupid to think that way. They’d both changed. They’d both grown. She was an adult now, and being an adult came with risks. And rewards. She was ready for both. And she wasn’t going to wait any longer to take her future into her own hands and take what she wanted. Her father’s kidnapping had taught her one thing she would never forget: there was no time like the present. Tomorrow wasn’t certain. But the present was here, and she wouldn’t allow it to run through her fingers. She would grip it firmly, and never let go.

“You okay?”

Grayson suddenly stood in front of her, and she realized that the meeting was concluded, and everybody was leaving to get a few hours of rest at home until they would execute the rescue plan.

“I’m all right.”

“Good. Let’s go back to my place, and get a little rest.”

She nodded, but knew that it wasn’t rest she wanted. It was Grayson, the man she’d fallen in love with over the last few days without realizing how it had happened.