Lost and Found (A Werewolf Wars Novel Book 4) (17 page)

“Hello?”

“Gene,” she whispered, her voice hoarse with emotion.

“Sarah?” his tone was pure shock.

“It’s me.”

“Where are you? What happened?” he yelled a hint of surprise and fear in his voice.

“I’m safe for the moment. We got held up back at Luna’s and by the time we made it to the road...Lark and everyone else had left,” she sobbed. “Vincent and I, we’ve—”

“The two of you are together?”

“Yeah. We’ve been running nonstop and only just caught a break. Is everyone okay? Is...Lark okay?” she asked breathlessly as a tear slid down her cheek. She wiped at her eyes and clutched the phone tighter, waiting for his response.

“She’s fine. Everyone is fine.”

Sarah let out a long breath and relaxed into the pillows. She met Vincent’s eyes as their hands entwined.

“Lark will be here any minute. She’d love to talk to you,” Gene explained.

“No.”

“Sarah?” Gene asked confused.

“Vincent and I have a plan, but it’s dangerous. I don’t want Lark to know in case things go south, Gene. And I know she’ll insist on coming to help. She’s happy with Devon and has her whole life to look forward to. I don’t want to risk her happily ever after. She’s spent the past five years looking out for me, now I’m doing it for her. This is our choice, Gene. Vincent and I have talked about it. We have something that can pit Malakai and the Lunas against each other,” Sarah explained. She chewed on her lower lip as she waited for Gene to reply. Hopefully, he would understand.

“What did you have in mind?” Gene asked intrigued.

Sarah closed her eyes and sighed, allowing some of the tension leaving her body. “We have Emmett’s journals and in them, he admits to planning a takeover with Charles Luna. We want to set up a meeting with Malakai and give him the evidence. And...” she trailed off meeting Vincent’s eyes. Her stomach lurched.
How do you tell a man you want to use his mate for your plan?

“Sarah?”

“It involves Talia. We wanted you to know—”

“No. I see where this is going,” Gene interrupted, his voice coming out grittier than before. “I’m not putting Talia in that type of danger.”

“Gene,” Sarah started. She knew he was only trying to protect the woman he loved. “I was planning to talk to Talia, too.”

Sarah cringed as the phone crackled on the other end. She and Gene both knew if she did speak with Natalia there wouldn’t be any negotiating—the she-wolf would do it. She wanted the war over more than any of them and had already put herself on the line once to end it.

Gene sighed, heavily into the phone. “I don’t like it, but I know her and if it helps to take out the remaining members of the Gulf Packs...she’ll be okay with it. Lark and Devon just got here. I don’t like keeping this from Lark and you should know that Lark especially hasn’t given up on you. She still has faith, but I
do
know how much it would crush her if she found out and then lost you again. Check in with me often,” he said, quickly. “And please be safe. I don’t want to lose you again either.”

“We will be. Thanks. I love you, Gene,” she whispered.

“Come home. I love you too, but I do need to go.”

“Bye.”

The line clicked and she pulled the phone away, setting it down on the nightstand. Sarah sniffled as tears welled in her eyes. She couldn’t let Gene down. They had to make it back home.

“Hey,” Vincent said, drawing her to him. She melted against him. He rubbed her back gently, and she closed her eyes, finding comfort in his embrace.

***

T
hey slept for a few hours after her emotional phone call with Gene, but the day had quickly dwindled away and they still had more work to do. The time for lounging around was over. It was time to put their plan into action; which is how they found themselves back in Emmett’s office.

His office had a PC and a laptop she and Vincent could use simultaneously, while downloading important files from the hard drive.  They needed to find a good meeting place; however, finding a well-populated place was turning out to be more difficult than they’d anticipated.

“Find anything yet?” Vincent asked, peering over at her screen.

“Nothing’s big enough,” she sighed. “We need to meet him and then be able to get lost in the crowd; I don’t want any chance of someone following us.”

“I’m having the same problem. We need some place heavily populated,” Vincent replied, running a hand through his hair.

“You know,” Sarah started as an idea began to materialize. “It isn’t close by, but the Six Flags in Dallas is huge. I think they do stuff in the fall for Halloween.”

“An amusement park?” Vincent said, mulling the idea over. “We could definitely get lost there.”

“Ever been?” Sarah asked.

“No. You?”

“Yeah, we went every few years when I was a kid.”

“In that case, you can show me the best rollercoaster to ride.”

“Have you ever ridden on a coaster before?” she asked quietly.
Did his family go on vacations?
She didn’t think so, but couldn’t bring herself to come straight out and ask.

“No.”

“I’ll choose something that will get your blood pumping,” she promised. He would more than likely like an exhilarating upside down ride. “We should research the area and find local hotels and businesses. I don’t want to be anywhere that isn’t well populated.”
And I’ll look into the coasters they have
, she thought to herself.

“I was also thinking...we got a few guns, could you teach me to shoot?” Vincent asked, seriously.

Sarah paused and met his eyes. “I thought you didn’t like guns,” she whispered, startled by his question.
What is he thinking we’ll do that would involve him using a gun?

“I don’t. But I had an idea. I think we can ensure this ends with Malakai, Charles Luna, and his eldest son.”

“How?” she asked.

“We follow them back to New Mexico and, when they’re all together, we take them out.”

Sarah bit her lip as she thought about his idea. It was risky, but then again, everything they were doing was dangerous. If they took out the leaders then they would end the war. There wouldn’t be anyone to come after them. “I think it could work. Have you ever shot a crossbow or dart gun...anything like that?”

“No.”

“Well, then we are going to have some work,” Sarah grinned. “I hope you’re a quick study.”

“With you as my teacher...”

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and she looked away from him as warmth flooded her.
Why does he have to be so likeable?
The more time they spent together, the harder it was to resist him. If they made it home, she was going to have to re-evaluate their relationship. That is, if he still wanted more—maybe she was just another fling. Her heart twisted painfully at the thought. She needed to stop thinking about them and just live in the moment, she reaffirmed.

S
arah chewed her fingernails as Vincent logged onto Skype. He assured her they were only using the phone option and Malakai would not be able to see them. She didn’t like the idea at all, but understood Vincent knew what he was doing. And if using the computer would keep their location secure, she wasn’t going to argue about it. She was enjoying the reprieve.

“I’ll leave it on speaker so you can hear, but don’t say anything. He views you as an inferior and won’t see me as his equal if I listen to you,” Vincent explained.

Sarah scowled as anger clouded her vision.

“Hey,” Vincent said. “I’m not saying I agree. I just wanted to warn you. Remember who we’re dealing with here.”

Sarah let out a long breath. She didn’t like it, but she did see where he was coming from. “Okay.”

“Ready? It’s his direct line, so I assume he’ll answer and not one of his cronies,” Vincent added, wiping his palms on his jeans. He looked up at her, apprehension apparent on his features.

“Do it,” she whispered hoarsely. She clasped both hands together eager to get it over with, but dreading it at the same time. Her heart hammered in her chest as the phone began to ring.  She closed her eyes and prayed they were making the right choice.

“This is Malakai,” a heavily accented voice answered.

“Malakai, this is Vincent McKinley,” Vincent stated, staring down at the laptop.

Malakai chuckled breathily into the phone. “The man who has managed to evade Charles Luna. Either he’s losing his touch, or you’re better than anyone anticipated.”

“I didn’t call for small talk. I want to make a deal,” Vincent replied, cutting straight to the chase.

Sarah stood up and paced back and forth in front of the bed. Her stomach twisted with unease.
Please, please let this work out.

“I don’t believe you’re in any position to cut deals with me,” Malakai snipped.

“Maybe not, but I do have information that will interest you.”

Sarah held her breath as the line went silent. She met Vincent’s eyes and could see the worry swirling in his emerald eyes.

“I don’t have a lot of time. What is it you
think
will interest me?”

“Evidence that Charles Luna has been working against you and your family. He plans to overthrow you, especially now that Fernando and your father are gone. He thinks you’re weak,” Vincent replied.

There was a palpable silence before Malakai continued. “And I should take your word for it? Charles Luna was friends with my grandfather for decades; he would never betray him.” 

“I have proof. Journal entries of my father’s,” Vincent shot back.

“Anyone could have written them.”

“The journals have only been touched by three people—Sarah, my father, and me. You can smell for yourself if you’d like. Sarah and I can even provide handwriting so you can see it is not our script,” Vincent explained.

The room grew quiet again. The silence seemed to stretch for hours. “Very well. Where are you?”

“I’ll tell you where we can meet. But first, I want your word that if I give this to you, you’ll leave the packs in Abilene alone,” Vincent negotiated.

“My father and grandfather are dead because of your pack,” he snarled ferociously.

“And so are a lot of our men, including the Alpha and one of his sons,” Vincent reminded. “I’m offering you peace with our pack. We have no wish to continue to fight and can let bygones be bygones. I doubt the Lunas will offer you the same bargain.”

“You’re not an Alpha and cannot speak for the pack,” Malakai growled. “Nor can I allow my sister to get away with her treachery.”

“Devon will agree to the deal. He wants peace as much as anyone, Gene too,” Vincent answered honestly.

Malakai seemed to consider this for a moment. “I believe that, but there is still the matter of Natalia.”

“What do you want with her?” Vincent swallowed.

Sarah held her breath, curling her hands into tight fists as she awaited the answer. She knew they would never really give the Alpha female to Malakai, but she hated the idea of even considering it.

“She has betrayed her own family in the most horrendous way. I wish to reciprocate,” Malakai explained, a malicious glint in his voice. “There will be no deal unless she is handed over to me. For that, I will need the Alpha’s word.”

“No, you don’t.” Vincent stood up.

Malakai chuckled. “You expect me to take yours?”

“My word is good because I will be the one to hand her over. She trusts Sarah and me. We can hand her over to you before she even realizes what’s happening,” Vincent explained, wiping his forearm across his brow. Sweat glistened on his face and he exhaled loudly.

“And you would do this?”

“We have something in common. Family is important to us. I would do anything to protect my family, even if it means betraying Gene and Natalia. If this is how I have to do it, then so be it,” Vincent said through gritted teeth.

He met Sarah’s eyes and she drew in a breath, her stomach twisting violently. She felt sick with fear and worry.
What exactly are we getting into? What if we can’t handle it?
It seemed so much easier when they’d been planning. Maybe they should have involved the pack.

“I will think about it,” Malakai said. “Call me back tomorrow at this time and I will let you know if I accept your proposal and what conditions I have.”

The line went dead and Sarah closed her eyes, covering her face with her hands.

“That went about as well as could be expected,” Vincent said, closing the laptop. He let out a long, uneven breath as he scrubbed a hand over his face. Sarah couldn’t help but think he looked as bad as she felt.

Vincent’s eyes caught hers and he headed to her. His shoes squeaked on the hardwood floor as he walked toward her. The couch dipped beneath his weight when he sat, pulling her into him. “We can do this,” he said, his voice more confident than she felt.

“You think so?” Sarah asked, still not sure.

“I’m positive. We’re going to make this work.”

***

V
incent followed Sarah through the field. She had one gun in the holster on her hip and the other she held confidently in her slender hand.  

The more he stared at the weapon, the more unsure he became about the plan. It was a natural instinct for him to fear guns. There weren’t a lot of things that could hurt werewolves, but a long-range gun and a hunter with good aim could be deadly.

He shivered and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. If they wanted a shot at Luna and Juarez, it had to be this way. As a lone wolf, he would never get close enough to take them out. He’d be dead or captured before he even got close.

“You know, we can figure something else out. I’m a quick shot,” Sarah offered as she stopped at her makeshift firing range.

“And let you take them on by yourself?” Vincent asked, shaking his head. No way would he let her do that. They were in this together.

“I’ve got your back and you have mine,” she reassured, turning to stare at him. Her blue eyes stared at his intensely as if she were trying to convey to him her sincerity.

“I know.” He trusted her with his life and hoped she felt the same. “I’m ready for my lesson,” Vincent said, forcing a smile. In reality, he was anything but ready. He just hoped he was making a bigger deal out of the gun than what it was.