“Today sometime, but I don’t know when exactly. I imagine they’ll be stopping at Liam and Alex’s house first. I don’t know where they will crash though. The men have a spare room, but six in that house might be cramped.”
"I don't think they'll be here for more than a few days," she said. "Since two of them are wolves, how much space do they really need?"
"Probably not much."
While she’d love to take a shower with Mike and then make love with him, she wasn’t convinced he had totally healed from yesterday. Even if he had been in perfect shape, she needed to focus on making sure that Doug Kitchener never came back to Wildwood once the Grangers took him down.
Cassidy left to check up on Zach. When she entered his bedroom, the shower in his bathroom was running. If she opened the bathroom door, most likely they'd end up having a repeat performance of last night, and distracting Zach wouldn't be smart.
Cassidy headed to the kitchen to make them breakfast. She looked in the refrigerator and the cabinets, finding very little. The men definitely needed to go shopping.
However, she was able to find eggs and bacon, so that was what they would be having. No sooner had Cassidy finished her simple meal than both men came out of the two bedrooms. Neither looked as spry as yesterday. “Sleep well?” she asked Zach.
“As well as can be expected. I will say that even though Alex and Liam are hard task masters, I learned a lot.”
“That's a good thing. Have a seat. Breakfast is ready.”
“Don’t spoil us too much, or we might never go to work again,” Mike said
She liked his sense of humor. Cassidy placed the meal and coffee on the table. No one said much while they ate, but the speed with which the men shoveled down the food implied they liked it.
Zach’s phone rang. “It’s Alex.” He swiped the button. “Hey, what’s up? Yes, we survived. Barely. Oh, really? We will be there. Thanks.” He hung up. “Mick, Ian, and Charley will be arriving shortly, and they asked all of us to meet them at Alex’s house.”
Cassidy was looking forward to meeting a female sniper, anxious for Charley to give her some pointers. “Great.”
Once they finished eating, Cassidy cleaned up and then put on her outdoor gear. Since time was of the essence, perhaps she could convince Charley to give her the lessons today.
To Cassidy’s delight, a car she didn’t recognize sat in Alex and Liam’s driveway. Chances were the threesome would be tired, but it was possible they’d want the chance to get out in the fresh air and run around.
Alex opened the front door before they could even knock. “Come in. Our guests of honor have arrived.”
As soon as she stepped into the living room, Cassidy zeroed in on the woman. She was tall, with long, dark hair pulled back into a pony tail. But it was her muscular frame that was highly impressive. Cassidy had little fat on her body and quite a lot of muscles because of all the work she did, but Charley topped that.
Cassidy smiled, walked up to her, and held out her hand. “I’m Cassidy Evans.”
“Charley Palmer. Nice to meet you.”
Alex introduced the men to each other. “Have a seat. We need to be on the same page if we are going to succeed.”
Since Mason wasn’t there, Zach outlined what they hoped would work. “Of course, we are open to any and all suggestions.”
“I think we should take a look at the layout of the area,” Ian said. “I’d like to know the location of the cabin and where we might hide.”
That made sense. It also might give Charley time to help Cassidy with her shooting skills. If Zach thought she and Charley should be positioned on top of the roof, she definitely wanted to check that out too.
Damn. Cassidy should have grabbed her bow and arrow, despite its accuracy not being perfect. Hand carved tools weren’t always the best. “Charley, did you bring your bow and arrow?”
“Are you kidding? I have two crossbows, a regular bow and arrow, and my assault rifle. We told your men that my dad might have a solution that is supposed to slow down or stop even the strongest wolf. He made a batch just for us. Mind you, we haven’t tested it fully, but I have faith it will do some damage. Regardless of its effectiveness, I will coat my arrows and bullets in the sedative. If an arrow hits a wolf who is fighting at the time, his adrenaline will keep him going for a bit, but he will lose strength rather quickly.”
“That sounds amazing.” Cassidy explained that she’d never used a crossbow—only a handmade bow and arrow.
“Not a problem. We’ll take everything to the cabin with us, and while the men are doing their strategy planning, I can show you a few tricks. If you are accurate with a handmade bow and arrow, you’ll catch on to the crossbow in no time.”
That was exactly what she wanted. “Great.”
Cassidy had filled her pack with water, snacks, and a flashlight in case they took longer than they anticipated. Mick and Charley rode with Liam and Alex, while Ian rode with them. On the trip over, Zach and Mike described the terrain around the area and where they might hide.
“We could keep a few people in the cabin, I suppose,” Ian said.