Four Days (Seven Series #4) (19 page)

I glanced in the back seat and noticed Denver had made Maizy lie down. She was curled up in a ball, and he reached out and held her hand. Wheeler’s car only had two doors, but anyone could break the windows and grab her. Chances are they wouldn’t hurt a child, and I had doubts Fox knew she was human. They hadn’t gotten close enough to our pack to realize we weren’t all Shifters.

Rocks popped against the undercarriage of the car and we hit a few small potholes, making for a bumpy ride.

“Someone needs to fill those,” I said.

Reno fired his gun and Maizy covered her ears. “Denny, I’m
scared
.”

“It’s okay, shhh,” Denver said in a low voice. “No one’s going to hurt you. You’re always safe with me.”

Through Wheeler’s window, I saw a shadow running alongside us in the dark woods. “Wheeler, a panther,” I said, trying not to panic. “Tell William to speed up.”

He called Austin on his phone and, after another minute, we began moving faster. Austin gave all the orders, so anything we did had to go through him first.

My heart raced, and the heater hadn’t warmed up the car yet, so I could still see my breath. Headlights illuminated the road, and Ben’s wolf was barking in the back of the truck in front of us.

“I want to go home,” Maizy whined.

Denver’s eyes were sharp and alert as he scanned the dark cover of the woods. While Reno had given everyone a weapon, we all knew if someone threatened Maizy’s life, Denver would shift. That’s why Lynn had agreed that her little girl ride with him.

A couple of men were standing in the woods and my heart picked up speed. Fox had scouts in human form to report what was going on. One of them looked like he was on a phone, but it was dark and hard to tell. I caught a glimpse of another man running back the way we’d come.

“Are we ready, boys and girls?” Wheeler asked in a crisp voice.

An animal dashed into the road, and Wheeler swerved to hit it. When the wolf yelped, several eyes glowed from within the woods.

Wheeler straightened the car with a hard jerk of the wheel. “And boom goes the dynamite.”

A black wolf approached April’s truck, and Ben’s wolf impulsively jumped out. Wheeler had no choice but to hit the brakes. The wolves stood on their hind legs before rolling into the gully on our left. Brake lights flashed up ahead, casting a red glow.

“Dammit, Ben,” Wheeler whispered to himself. “Get your ass in the truck.”

Ben was supposed to alert the pack of imminent danger, not leap out of the truck. It took me by surprise because Ben was the omega of the pack.

When another wolf closed in, Wheeler reached for the door.

“Wait,” I said, gripping his arm. “They’re trying to draw us out of our vehicles.”

Lexi blared the horn and then Austin appeared, marching toward the wolves. A gun fired, striking the rogue wolf in the hip. Up ahead, William stood with his arm extended and a gun in his hand. My fingernails must have embedded into the dash as I nervously watched. Austin grabbed the scruff of Ben’s neck and led his wolf back into the truck.

A scream pealed out of the truck ahead when a black panther vaulted at Austin from behind. A loud crack made me jump, and the panther fell to his side, immediately shifting to human form and back again as he struggled to heal.

Reno’s entire upper body was outside his window and he fired another shot. “Let’s move out!” he shouted.

Austin jogged back to his car after he put Ben’s wolf in the truck and shut the tailgate. When his wolf didn’t stand up, I knew he must have been injured.

Once the cars began moving, Wheeler dialed his phone. In the truck ahead, Reno glanced out the back window with his phone to his ear.

“Is he okay?” Wheeler asked. After a few seconds, his shoulders relaxed. “Good. Keep an eye on him.”

Once we hit the main road, we left Fox’s men in the dust.

It didn’t take long at the speeds we were traveling before we reached our destination. Since Howlers wasn’t the kind of bar that would offer protection, we sought out a busier atmosphere with a mix of other Breeds. Austin decided a bar full of Shifters wasn’t a good idea. They’d be more likely to join a fight than stop it. Most people had a low tolerance for Shifter drama, so the upscale bars heavily enforced their rules. With all the different Breeds, a fight could escalate and turn deadly fast, so the owners and even the patrons made sure to keep everyone in line.

I peered up at the sign. “Blue Door,” I said. “What does that mean?”

Wheeler pointed at the cobalt-blue entrance to the building and I laughed. “Rich assholes have a strange sense of humor. I’ve traveled around and big club owners like names with colors. It’s like a status symbol of how much money their business brings in.”

We walked by the line leading up to the door of an otherwise unremarkable building. I could sense most of them were probably human, and that’s why they were standing in line. I’d never been to a club before, only a few local bars in town.

“Why do they stand in line if they never get in?” I asked Wheeler quietly.

He tucked his hands in his jean pockets. “The bouncer calls the shots on who gets in. The humans see others getting picked, so they think they have a shot. They don’t realize the selection process going on; I guess they just think they’re not cool enough.”

Denver emerged from the car with Maizy in his arms. She gripped his neck so tightly I thought he might feel embarrassed about it. But his eyes were slicing through the crowd like razors.

“How are we going to get in?” I asked, noticing we weren’t dressed like those on the sidewalk.

Wheeler chuckled. “I know a guy. I used to work for some of the deepest pockets around.”

When we reached the door, Wheeler and Austin approached the doorman and had a private conversation. Wheeler patted the guy’s shoulder and they looked as if they knew each other. Austin slipped the man a few bills and nodded respectfully when the man opened the door for us.

The music thumped a steady rhythm, making it difficult to hear. It was a lot darker inside than I’d expected—lots of blue with black accents. The carpet looked like a blanket of coal beneath our feet, and a colorful array of blue-green lights illuminated the sleek bar.

Maizy perked up with inquisitive eyes, looking over Denver’s shoulder at the different Breeds. She’d always been curious about them because some didn’t look like Shifters. A tall Chitah with pale hair grinned at her, his golden eyes wide and glittering. She looked away as if frightened, but Chitahs had that effect on people, even if it wasn’t intentional. We had respect for them because they were more similar to us than any other Breed, being that they had animal instincts like a cheetah. They didn’t shift as we did, but cohabitated with their animal in human form, making them deadly and unpredictable. But they revered women and protected the children of any Breed.

The bar stretched along our left with a generous seating area on the right, which included private booths with tall walls to separate them. Past the bar and to the left, a few people were moving around on the dance floor.

All eyes watched our group, especially me as I gripped my cane and used it to keep balance.

William shoved a Mage in the chest when he scorched me with his gaze and shouted, “Look at the cripple!” The Mage’s expression tightened, but he didn’t retaliate. He could have pushed an enormous amount of energy into William and knocked him out cold, but using his powers would have revoked his privileges to return to the Blue Door.

“Can we get some dinner?” Izzy asked, stopping ahead of us. “Jericho, I’m about to starve to death.”

“Come on, Sexybelle. We’ll order later.”

Not listening, she lifted her arm at the bartender. “Can I get a double cheeseburger, extra pickles, and onion rings delivered to our room?”

“What’ll you drink, sunshine?” he asked with a smile.

Jericho placed his hand on Izzy’s belly. “My mate will have a tall glass of sweet tea.”

“Hey, are you Jericho?
The
Jericho from the band Heat?” a blonde asked excitedly. She had silvery eyeliner rimming her top and lower lashes.

“Jesus, we don’t have time for this.” Wheeler nudged Jericho from behind.

“Sorry, honey. I get that a lot,” Jericho said. “But thanks!”

Confusion spread across her face as we headed toward the private rooms in the back. They were soundproof and offered privacy from the ears of curious Vampires.

The walls in the hallway were black and each door painted a brilliant blue with track lights shining on them from above. Austin opened the first door on the right and we all piled in.

Maizy dashed to the giant television mounted on the wall to our left. “Look, Mommy! Where’s the remote?”

“Wow, this is not at all what I expected,” I said in amazement. “It’s so elegant.”

The walls were a dark shade of grey and the furniture black leather. On the right side of the room, two long couches faced each other with a chair on each end. A glass coffee table ran down the middle. We also had our own wet bar directly in front of the door. The lights mounted on the walls were dim, but it looked like they could be adjusted. Maizy made herself at home in front of the television. Four oversized chairs with curved backs faced the wall, and Maizy climbed onto one and sat Indian style.

Lynn bent down and picked up Maizy’s white jacket from the floor, placing it on the back of one of the barstools. “We can probably push two of those chairs together for Maizy. Izzy can sleep on one couch and someone else on the other. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor with one of the blankets we brought.”

Trevor tossed down our bags by the door. “Not bad,” he said, checking out the room.

“I’ll go back for the rest,” Reno said. “Asshole is by the door,” he muttered, leaving the room.

“What was that about?” Lexi said.

Trevor lightly kicked one of the bags. “Some dickhead knows me.”

“So?”

He gave her the look.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, that shit pisses me off. He needs to just let it go.”

“Break his heart?” April asked with a wink as she took a seat on the barstool.

“What heart?” he said with a snort. “That’s not what I was after.”

“Oh, I forgot. You’re Mr. I Don’t Get Serious With Anyone,” she said, lowering her voice to a baritone.

He raised an eyebrow. “Babe, I have yet to meet a loyal male in
my
world. No one lets things get serious for a reason. Most of these asshats aren’t ready to move into the twenty-first century. Anyhow, I’m not wasting my time with anyone who can’t support my habits.”

“That model-airplane thing is something you need to see a professional about,” she said playfully.

He shook his head and tried to look annoyed, but the corners of his mouth twitched and gave him away. April and Trevor had great banter between them, having been friends for a long time.

Ben had shifted in the parking lot to heal and put on a pair of pants from his bag. As he entered the room, he dragged his feet across the floor in a sluggish manner. Just as soon as he sat down, he shifted back to his wolf.

Wheeler walked over and ran his fingers through his fur, checking out his shoulder. “Looks like just a few nasty bites. He’ll live, but let’s let the big baby sleep for a few hours since he shifted twice already.”

Austin leaned against the bar and I caught Lexi checking him out with a secretive smile. “Here’s how it’s gonna go down,” he began. “There’s no back door in this hall, so there’s only one way in. I want Reno stationed at the front of the club, scoping out everyone who walks through that door. Wheeler, you sit near the entrance to the hall. Trevor, mingle and keep your ears alert. Assume there are Vampires on the floor, so if I have to call one of you, I’ll be indirect and speaking in code. I expect you to do the same. The rest of us will stay here. I’m taking position behind the door, and Jericho, you just keep an eye on that lovely lady of yours.”

“No problemo,” he said, running his hand down the back of Izzy’s hair. She had the kind of wavy red hair that looked amazingly soft.

Lynn sat behind the bar and propped a shotgun beside her that we’d concealed in one of our bags. She reached in the fridge and pulled out a small container of cranberry juice.

“What should I do?” I asked, feeling as useless as a winter coat on a beach.

“Get some rest, Ivy,” Austin said, brooking no argument. “Tired wolves make impulsive mistakes. We’ll sleep in rotating shifts for the night and figure out a new plan tomorrow. Fox’s men know what Reno looks like, so we’ll move him to the back hall tomorrow and switch things up. I don’t anticipate they’ll come here tonight. They’re probably trying to get a hold of Fox and figure out their next move.”

“What about bathroom breaks?” I asked.

Austin pointed to the right of the television. “We have our own. Wheeler, does the owner know why we’re here?”

Wheeler pinched the short beard on his chin. “Yeah, he knows we’re seeking sanctuary.”

“Does he know that means there could be trouble in his bar?”

Wheeler arched his brows indifferently. “Marco’s never been a big fan of Shifters, but he owes me a favor. He’s probably looking for a reason to ban our kind from his club. Anyhow, he’s holding us liable for any damages—that’s a given.”

“I’m fine with that,” Austin said gruffly. “None of his staff know?”

Wheeler sniffed and lingered by the door, his hand on the knob. “No, but he gave them instructions not to kick us out under any circumstances. If they have an issue, they have to take it to Marco. I used to manage his money years ago, but he started behaving erratically so I cut ties. He’s a businessman, so he’ll stick to the arrangement. He’s giving us a week. Anything after that we’ll have to negotiate.”