Grey raised his guns to fire after him, but Lucien grabbed his arms and thrust them into the air. “Stop! Too many people!”
Lucien’s warning was the only thing that made him aware that they weren’t alone. At least two dozen people were milling around the area looking scared and confused. There was a risk of someone getting hurt.
“Coward,” Grey snarled, his eyes returning to the quickly shrinking vision of John’s getaway car.
“We’ll get him,” Lucien said confidently. The Weaver released Grey’s arms and winced. Grey’s eyes jumped to his companion, and he hissed in shock to see one side of his shirt soaked with blood.
“Lucien! What the—”
“It’s okay. Apparently one of the mallgoers prefers to Christmas shop with a knife. Nothing Dr. Dane can’t fix once we get home.”
“We just need a ride,” Grey muttered.
As if summoned by the thought alone, Baer’s Jeep raced toward them, engine roaring and tires squealing. They descended the stairs to the parking lot behind the loading docks. People hurried out of their way, not wanting anything to do with them. As Grey passed, he dipped into one mind after another, blurring their memory of their faces. He wished he could do more, but he didn’t have the energy for it.
The second Baer brought the Jeep to a stop, Cort jumped down from the passenger seat and helped Lucien into his spot. He then climbed into the back with Grey.
“Glad to see you’re alive,” Cort said with a wide grin.
“Calder?” Grey asked.
“We saw him climbing into the SUV with Clay. They were already racing toward the south exit,” Cort explained.
Baer gunned the engine and the Jeep jumped forward, flying toward the opposite exit. Grey grabbed a roll bar with a death grip, determined to keep his eyes on Cort and not on Baer’s driving.
“How did you know where to find us?” Lucien inquired, fighting frantically with the seat belt.
“I felt Grey,” Cort answered, his eyes locked on his mate. “I just knew where he was. And I will always come for him.”
“Goddamn! I gotta get me one of these mates,” Lucien muttered.
Baer laughed. “Yeah, they come in handy.”
“Home, Baer. The Fire Weaver has a date with our healer,” Grey sighed.
“John?” Baer asked.
Anger bubbled in Grey’s stomach, and he clenched his teeth against a need to shout. “Escaped.”
“You saved lives today,” Cort said forcefully. “He also knows that he can’t kill us so easily by attacking our home with humans. You’ve taken one of his weapons from him.”
Grey slowly released a breath and nodded. His mate was right. They hadn’t managed to kill John, but he had a feeling that John was different from the other pestilents they’d faced. Smarter, sneakier, and far more dangerous. Killing him wasn’t going to be easy, but they would have to if they had any hope of defeating the pestilents once and for all.
One corner of Grey’s mouth curled into a half smile, and he met Cort’s worried gaze. “Let’s go home.”
Cort returned the smile as he snuggled up against Grey. “You look like you could use a shower and a drink.”
“No. All I need is you.”Chapter 26Christmas morning, Grey woke and blinked at the ceiling in his room. His body was pleasantly sore from a night of heavy lovemaking. Cort had even awakened him around two in the morning for another round. His man was insatiable, and Grey loved it. He rolled over in bed to look at Cort, who was still sleeping, his face slack.
Since the fight at the mall, they’d figured out his power—he worked as a much-needed buffer for Grey. He helped mute the thoughts and emotions around him and made it easier for him to exist. The relief was exquisite, though Cort was a little disappointed he couldn’t read thoughts. However, he was pleased that he could sense Grey’s emotions as well as locate Grey no matter where he was. Definitely a handy trick.
Cort had also returned to work. A Weaver usually accompanied him, waiting in the car during his sessions, but they’d had no trouble with pestilents lately. Still, it made Grey nervous for Cort to be out alone and would have preferred to accompany him, but Grey was happy to rely on the magic of his brothers for Cort’s protection.
For now, John had backed off—probably because Grey had figured out how to unravel his enthrallment spells. He was clearly regrouping, coming up with new ways to get to them.
As if he knew he was being watched, Cort’s gorgeous, chestnut eyes opened and slowly focused on his mate. Grey’s heart clenched at his sleepy smile. God, he loved this man.
“Good morning,” Cort whispered. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you, too. It’s already started out nice.”
“How’s that?”
“Waking next to you.”
Cort snuggled in closer, wrapping an arm around Grey to hold him tight. “We’ll have a lot of mornings like this.”