Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(120)

see Anthony.

He was conscious, and they’d moved him from Dr. Whitman’s office to a safe house. They’d had to put extra guards to keep the injured vampire

from leaving to search for Tabitha.

The story Anthony had given had gotten him mostly out of hot water with the FRU. He’d explained that he’d gone to the drug house before the

explosion with his cousin Frank to pick something up. Anthony hadn’t known his cousin was dealing drugs, but he’d gotten suspicious.

When the FRU started questioning Anthony, he hadn’t wanted to turn his cousin in. Instead Anthony planned to talk Frank into turning himself

in, hoping it would lighten his cousin’s sentence. But then the FRU threatened to deport Anthony.

When he told Tabitha, she’d concocted a plan for them to run away. Told she needed a second MRI, she texted Anthony and told him to meet her

on the sixth floor. Only when Anthony arrived thinking he and Tabitha were going to try to make a run for it, he found Agent Farrell

unconscious. A shape-shifter, one who happened to be one of the guys Anthony met at the drug house earlier, had Tabitha. Anthony fought him,

grabbed Tabitha, and took off.

On the run, not knowing who they could trust, Anthony got a text from his cousin offering a safe place for them to hide. When they got there,

Frank was dead. While he didn’t know why, they took Tabitha and were trying to get Anthony to give up Miranda’s whereabouts.

When Miranda walked into the hospital room and saw Anthony, she almost cried. He looked terrible, and he’d gotten that way trying to protect

her. She went over to his bedside to hug him but was afraid it might hurt him.

The guy’s eyes were almost swollen shut. Because he’d lost so much blood, his healing process was slower than normal vampires’. “I’m

sorry,” he said. “I should have protected her.”

Knowing the person who did that to Anthony had her sister sent fear banging against her ribs, but she dug deep to find a little faith and then

told him her secret.

“Don’t worry, I’ve had a … a premonition. Things are going to be okay.”

Problem was, Anthony wasn’t the only one to hear it. As soon as they walked out of the hospital room, the questions began.

“What premonition?” Kylie asked.

“You had it while you were in the falls, didn’t you?” Della asked.

“If you know something you need to tell us!” Chase added.

Miranda hedged. “I don’t have specific details.”

They knew she was holding back. But she offered nothing else, especially because she had a sneaking suspicion that today might be the day she’

d make a run for it. It would be easier to get away outside the school’s alarm system.

Miranda hoped it was so, because her gut said that Chase would waste no time telling Burnett about her non-specific premonition. And … mother

crackers, she didn’t think she could hold out being interrogated by that man.

*

Burnett had driven a less expensive Mustang to the Galveston FRU agency. Perry hadn’t even noticed the scenery, he’d been too busy chewing on

what was about to go down. And what would go down after that. His parents. They hadn’t talked about it, but he knew it was just left unsaid.

A mix of different supernaturals were gathered in a room with about twenty agents. The plan was explained. They had at least twenty men going

in on all sides. Twenty-one after the first agent made it into the house, Perry had thought. Armed with gas grenades with a chemical to prevent

shifts, and guns—guns loaded with both more anti-shifting drugs, and bullets that would kill a mad hippo—the agents seemed ready.

They would first toss in the grenades to prevent shifting, then there would be one warning shout out for Jax to come out and surrender. If

unanswered, they would hit all four sides. It pissed Perry off that he wouldn’t be included in the original surge that would overtake the

house. But part of what Burnett had said was the truth. If Jax knew Perry was behind this, the chances of him cooperating would be zilch.

And more important than Perry’s ego was finding Tabitha and keeping Miranda safe. Not that Perry thought Jax would offer up anything to help.

His half brother didn’t have any feelings. He used people and then he killed them.

But Perry would do what Burnett requested. He wouldn’t go in until they had made their entrance. If he was already shifted, the smoke bombs

shouldn’t harm him, but it would make shifting back slower, which, if fatally wounded, might be bad news. Not that he planned being fatally

wounded.

They pulled up to the house in four vans. The large century-old home looked more like a fortress than ever before. Probably because he’d never

stood outside the gate. The thought of any of these men losing their life from his half brother’s hand made this hard, the thought of Jax

hurting the man who’d taken the role of big brother, made Perry uncomfortable in his own skin.

Perry sat in the back of the van, ringing his hands. Burnett, poised to follow the others out, glanced back at Perry. He wore the protective

vest and a look of determination. “Not until they are in, and don’t let him know it’s you.” Their eyes met, and as always Perry felt