Damian stepped close and I offered him the coat. He slipped it on and we waited for Steve. A couple of minutes later, he came out with a metal box along with four coats draped across the top. After handing the coats to Jennifer, Raven, Tom and CJ, Steve set the box down and pulled out his keys.
“Get the ammunition,” he said nodding toward the back of the truck where Damian had stashed the grocery bag of bullets. Damian stepped to the trunk while Steve unlocked the box and handed CJ and Tom two of the revolvers from within the case. When Damian returned, he handed each one of them a box of ammunition.
“Load up, boys,” Steve said and took a box himself, making sure his clip was full.
Damian did the same and I watched each of the platinum bullets fit neatly in the clip and then he pushed it in place, meeting my gaze.
“You ready for this?” he asked me and I nodded, running my hands over my belly.
He offered me a strained smile and leaned down, meeting my lips with his cool ones.
“If something happens to me, make sure they know I loved them as much as their mamma,” he whispered and pulled away.
“I hate it when you do that,” I snapped. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.” I straightened, sending a glare in his direction before turning to Steve. “You got another gun?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t,” Steve answered, showing me the empty case. “Besides, you’ve got an advantage the rest of us don’t.”
“The tiger?”
He nodded.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” I said, running my hand over my belly.
“It’s your best option if the shit hits the fan,” he said.
As much as I didn’t like that answer, I had to agree. I was a force in tiger form, especially after what I did to the hellhounds in the garage. I gave him a nod and stepped back next to Damian.
Steve checked the safety on the gun before stepping toward the door. He waited until everyone finished loading their clips, his gaze settling on each one of us as we lined up behind him.
“Game on,” Steve said and all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. He opened the door and I clamped my teeth together, steeling myself for battle.
Chapter 20 – Damian
Steve took the front with the three women between us and Tom and CJ were at my back. The formation moved as one toward the woods. Each step left a crunching sound as we padded across the snow. Darkness surrounded us but the moon shone brightly enough to make out shadows on the white landscape. Steve led us quickly onto a narrow path in the woods. The close proximity of the trees made my imagination flare. This was the type pathway I used to like to trap my victims on. With such little room for maneuvering, the victim wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight.
“Give me some credit,” Steve said and glanced over his shoulder.
“It’s the perfect place for an ambush,” I replied, glancing around at the deep wooded boundaries. Muscles in my back tightened in response to the warning bells in my stomach.
Steve picked up the pace and I glanced behind me, making sure Tom and CJ were still with us.
“We’re good,” CJ said, his voice soft, falling with the wind surrounding us.
When I turned forward, I could see the woods opening up and my paranoia dropped a notch. We made it to the glen without incident and Steve threw me a canister.
“Make yourself useful,” he said and I raised an eyebrow.
“Salt?”
“Yes, make a barrier at the wood line.”
“I’m not sure this is going to work,” I said, but stepped to the path we just crossed over and poured a thick line across the snow-covered ground, continuing to the frozen water line of the small inlet. I crossed and did the same around the remainder of the perimeter until I shook the last grains of salt out of the container at the opposite shoreline and turned to the group.
“Now what?” I asked.
Steve traded a glance with Jennifer and then started clearing a space with his feet. “Now we make a fire and wait,” Steve said. CJ and Tom started to help clear the snow off with their feet, revealing a deep green moss that seemed to cover the entire opening.
“You know, for such a brilliant investigator, you can be a complete idiot,” I said and Steve looked up at me. “Step aside.” I crossed to a spot just inside the salt line and pushed with my mind, clearing all the snow from the ground and the water, leaving a pile at the far edge of the icy cove.
Steve crossed his arms, glaring at me like I just did a major faux pas.
“What? You’ve got the power to do this, why the hell would you do it manually?” I said and moved my gaze to Naomi. Her eyes were wide with awe. I guess she really didn’t understand the powers this family harbored. I offered her a smile and a shrug.
“Because, it reminds me that I’m human, and not some all powerful god,” Steve answered, his tone as sharp as his gaze.