Kiss of Frost (The Dragon Stone Saga Book 1)(13)

"Yeah. I can do that."

"Okay then. What's the address?"





Chapter 5





It's three in the morning and I'm freezing my ass off in a parked car. It's for a good cause, but I'd rather be in bed damp with sweat after a round or three of sex with Beck. He's all I can think about. I'm bouncing between telling myself to keep my hands to myself and being hyper-focused on the right moment for us to infiltrate this run-down house where these dark mages have Kay's family.

The last light in the house goes dark and I look to Beck. "Show time?"

"Not yet. Give them ten minutes to get settled and comfortable."

I huff a breath. My patience is just about gone at this point. I text Jem and Ann, who are on the other side of the house on another street with Kay.



To Jem and Ann:

Ten-minute warning. Go in at exactly thirteen past.



From Jem and Ann:

Got it.



"They're ready to go." I drum my fingers on the armrest between the seats.

Beck presses his palm on top of mine, warming my cooler one with his touch. I turn to look at him.

"What is the matter, mate? You seem unsettled."

"That's because I am."

"I do not understand. We have a good plan."

"I'm not unsettled about that. I'm horny when I shouldn't be thanks to your little chomp on my neck, and I'm worried about what Kay could do. If she thinks she can help her family or we're taking too long, she might deviate from the plan. She's a teenager. They don't usually listen to directions unless it suits them."

"I know this. My younger sister often made me want to rip my hair out." The corners of Beck's lip tip upward and I study his face as it brightens his normally dark features.

"I forgot you have a sister. You talk about your brothers more."

Beck clenches my hand. "I don't know what happened to her. When we were captured, I was with my brothers, Ryker and Jagger. They wouldn't tell us if they had her but they enjoyed using it as a form of torture." Beck laughs mirthlessly. "Sometimes emotional torture is almost more unbearable than the physical, you know?"

I don't know. I've never been tortured. I turn my hand in his so my palm is flat with his and I entwine our fingers. "We'll find them. All of them. I promise."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, little witch." Beck reaches across the seat and palms my jaw at his words.

I kiss the rough surface of his hand. "I can keep this one. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. I said I can find them; I just can't guarantee where or when we'll find them." Or in what state. I keep that last bit to myself, not wanting to sound harsh. I can't imagine how I would feel if I lost Jem or Ann. Empty and distraught probably.

"I know. I've resigned myself to never seeing my siblings again." Beck rubs at his chest before reaching for the door handle. "Time's up. Let's go."

"Let's go save some people and put a damper on some plans."

Shielding us both, I block the sound of the car doors clicking closed from anyone other than us. We advance on the house, heading to the front door. We move from tree to tree, staying in the shadows until we're crouched behind the bushes next to the door. I watch as the seconds tick by on the watch that Jem and I synchronized. We didn't want any technology if we could help it. Magic tends to short it out or go wonky and it could give us away if it interferes with one of their protection wards.

Thirty seconds left.

I start wrapping more protection around Beck, giving him as much of my shield as I can without letting the mages know I'm here as well.

Fifteen seconds.

I send a prayer up to the gods and goddesses to please help us be successful in our endeavor to save Kay's family and keep us all safe.

Five seconds.

Beck moves to stand directly in front of the door. Before I can look between him and my watch one final time, he's kicked in the front door and shouts ring out. This is the hard part. We have to stay out of the way while Beck battles the mages. We can shield him and keep their attacks from hitting him, but if we were all in there, he'd be more worried about our safety than getting the job done. Flesh thumps against flesh and I wince. Hopefully that was Beck's fist against someone and not the other way around.

Bursts of magic light up the windows in a color show similar to a rave in Germany, and I concentrate as hard as I can on keeping Beck unscathed. He's got another minute left and then they should all be knocked out and we can get them out of there.

"Clear!" Becks gravelly voice calls out with only seconds to spare, and I run inside, barely checking my surroundings before I ensure that Beck is relatively unharmed. "Split up. I don't know how long they'll stay down."

Jem and Ann head to the rooms on the first floor and I take the basement.

The stairs creak under my weight as I descend, and I hope that we didn't miss one of those evil bastards down here. Just in case, I wrap more protection around myself, the layers so thick not even a bomb could shatter them. I turn on my flashlight and start my search. There's a table in the corner with poker chips and some cards scattered on the surface. Empty glasses sit atop it and smoke from a lit cigar still swirls in the air. At least we'd caught them by surprise.