Page 57 of Fate of the Fallen

And we were all beyond ready.

***

I hated that so much time had passed, but as I stood with my back to a tree, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to feel her, imagine I’d have her in my arms again soon. The only way I knew she was nearby was because intel had brought us here.

There was no definitive extraction point where I’d find Evangeline, because they needed to be able to move her on a whim, should a place come under heavy fire. So, there were just characteristics we agreed upon—the place would be moderate to small in size, would be at a higher elevation the most of the other structures, and we would find a red strip of fabric tied to the door knob. Other than that, we were heading in blind.

I tried not to dwell on the fact that I’d checked and re-checked this area daily since Evangeline had been taken. I had to keep the faith, had to believe we hadn’t been led astray. If I thought about it too long, doubt would creep in and I’d start thinking this had all been for nothing. But I had to trust that we were in the right place.

Things were quiet, too quiet for this town to be the hideout for an entire lycan army. Still, this was where we were told we would find them.

“Is everything in place?” Dallas whispered into his radio, waiting for the reply of a guard. Once he got confirmation, he gestured for us to move forward.

Allof us—Elise, her boys, Hilda, Nick’s brothers and friends.

No one stayed behind because this mission was too important. Twenty-four hours after being told with certainty that Evangeline was here, we had something we hadn’t had since she left.

Leverage.

With so many loose ends to tie up, we had no choice but to bring in help. Had it not been for those willing to lend a hand, tonight’s plan would only be another battle in a long-standing war.

But if all went according to plan, we would be closing the door on this chapter of our lives.

For good.

“How do we know they’re not already waiting for us?” Lucas rambled, overflowing with nervous energy. “Or, better yet, how do we know they’re not already surrounding us?”

“Man, I think you need to look up the meaning of the word‘better’,cause what you just described ain’t it,” Chris sighed, following the rest of us as we headed into town.

We had a tight time limit to get in, get Evangeline and Beth, and get out. The deadline: midnight.

“We’ll take the main road in,” Dallas decided. “Doesn’t make sense to go in quietly. Not with all the noise we intend to make in a few, right?”

I was in total support of his full-steam ahead approach. Whatever got us in and out the fastest. The streets looked abandoned, but that didn’t mean anything. There were likely lycans watching us from the windows of the many abandoned warehouses and shops we passed. But we were getting nowhere.

“You sure this is the place?” Lucas asked, scanning the area.

“It is. Now pipe down,” Dallas snapped.

He was far nicer than I would have been.

We stopped and took a moment to assess our odds.

“Gentlemen, I believe it’s time we make ourselves known,” Ethan chimed in, and at his words my heart raced just at the thought of finally ending this.

“Good enough for me,” I said only to our team, speaking loudly the next second, addressing whatever enemies were close enough to hear.

“Show yourselves!” I called out, stopping in the middle of the street to see if any dared to come out of hiding. “Stop waiting for the Sovereign to give an order. Show yourselves and fight like men.”

My voice echoed, being carried off in the wind.

Nothing.

No one responded or made a sound. They weren’t budging because they didn’t dare make a move without Sebastian telling them to do so.

When I reached for the duffle bag Dallas carried on his back, he eyed me curiously as I removed the large rifle. After checking to make sure it was loaded and ready to go, I clutched it, aiming for the vacant windows.

“What are you doing? This isn’t in the plans,” he reasoned.