“She honestly believes that she has something important to me?” Sam shook her head, seemingly baffled. “The only things or people important to me are on this island.”

“She was extremely vague about her plan to Giles. She either does not trust him, or she is simply enjoying his irritation and confusion.”

“Maybe it’s a bit of both,” said Jude.

Jared sighed. “Okay, so we know she plans to place this ‘something’ in the building adjacent to the warehouse. Will it arrive before we do?”

“Yes,” replied Sebastian. “She believes it will be in place by then.”

“Then we’ll have Evan and his squad retrieve it while Donnie and his squad remains on the lookout,” said Sam. “You’ll all do exactly what you were trained to do: split into five groups, invade the warehouse after the marksmen are dead, and then pick off whatever guards lurk inside so that you can circle the group that awaits us.

“At the same time, Evan and his squad will invade the other building. We’ll have to trust that they’ll have retrieved what’s inside before Diane has the chance to try and use it against us.”

Jared nodded his agreement with that plan. “Is the building guarded, Sebastian?”

“No. The warehouse is, however. But I did not stay long enough to get an accurate number of guards – I wanted to quickly relay the information I’d gathered.”

“It was the right thing to do.” Jared exhaled heavily. “Okay, we do just as Sam said.”

“You don’t want to take more squads with us?” Damien asked Sam and Jared.

She shook her head. “No, especially not when two of the other squads are still hunting clients. The Hollow needs to be protected – it’s been invaded too many times for us to take its safety for granted.”

Salem spoke then. “When do we leave?”

It was Jared who answered. “Giles told us that Diane intends to leave the warehouse sometime in the next two hours – which is clearly his way of getting us to arrive in a timeframe that suits them and prevents us from taking them by surprise. We’ll have to leave very soon.”

“Sebastian, I’d like you to return to the warehouse now,” Sam told him. “We just need to have a quick chat with the other two squads first to let them know of the changes to our plan before we leave. My hope is that Diane may have this ‘something’ transported to the other building by then.”

With a nod, Sebastian teleported away.

The rest of us met with the other two squads at the rear of the mansion. As Sam and Jared quickly debriefed them, Salem turned to me. “Remember: keep yourself safe for me and stay close. That’s what teams do, right?”

I smiled at that. He was trusting me with not only my safety, but his. “Right,” I confirmed. “Same to you. I don’t want to see a single scratch on your body. Got it?”

His mouth twitched. “Got it.”

(Salem)

It wasn’t until Reuben had strengthened certain gifts that the squads were teleported to a desolate building a short distance away from the warehouse. Once all thirty of us were gathered there, Jared summoned Sebastian telepathically. Moments later, the Keja appeared at Sam’s side.

“Please tell me you know what’s inside the –” Sam stopped mid-sentence as she took in his grim expression. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“The ‘something’ she referred to…” Sebastian cast Ava a brief glance before continuing. “She has your old nest.”

Ava tensed, inhaling sharply. I took her hand in mine, but she was like stone – I wasn’t sure whether it was anger or shock that had her in its jaws.

Sam gaped. “The entire nest?”

“I’m not sure if it is all of them. There are thirty-three inside.”

“Including my brother?” Ava’s voice was like ice. Sebastian’s nod didn’t gain a response; her body remained stiff as a board. Seriously, it was like rigor fucking mortis had set in or something. Had to be shock.

“Thirty-three isn’t a big number for a nest,” remarked Harvey.

“A lot of vampires left the nest when Victor was alive,” said Ava tonelessly, her expression distant, “so it’s not as big as it once was.” The girls supportively gathered close to her, but she didn’t react in any way.

David puffed out a long breath. “I did not see that coming.” Murmurs of agreement rang throughout the large crowd of vampires.

“They were brought here in a large van only minutes ago,” Sebastian told us. “They are all unconscious – I’m guessing as a result of some kind of psychic attack. None of them seem close to waking. I was just about to follow the vampires inside the building to see where they placed the nest when Jared contacted me.”

“Well, fuck a duck.” Sam began pacing as a concerned Jared watched her closely, as if he feared she’d run off in a rage and try to burn down both buildings.

“Odd that she’d expect you to care about them though, Coach, since you’re not a big fan of your old nest,” said Damien.

“I was never a fan of my deceased Sire, but I never had an issue with most of the others. Ava’s brother is in there.” Sam knotted a hand in her own hair. “Shit.”

Jared’s voice was sharp. “Those of you who are our best spies, go.”

Stuart, Denny, and three others disappeared instantly.

“I have to get him out of there,” stated Ava, her voice still arctic-cold. “I have to get to Cristiano.”

“We will get him out, Ava. I swear to you,” vowed Jared. “First, we need to find out if the building is guarded. If it isn’t, this could be a straightforward retrieval job.”

But when the ‘spies’ returned a few minutes later, it was to tell us that the building was as heavily guarded as the warehouse; two guards covered the roof and all four sides.

Jared turned to the commanders of the other two squads. “Evan, Donnie – your roles remain the same.” The two commanders and their squads dispersed, ready to target the marksmen. “As much as I hate to do this, we’re going to have to split into two units. It’s vital that we get into both buildings. Evan and his squad can help, but they wouldn’t be able to take on the retrieval job alone. Not with how well guarded it is, and especially since there is a nest of vampires to retrieve. If we add him and his squad to our number then that gives us thirty people.”