“Lee’s a coward,” John added. “He’ll give up whoever else is loyal to Abel. We’ll clean house when we get back.”

Cain nodded to John. “I should have never doubted you.”

A sad smile crossed John’s face. “You had every right to. I was compromised. I understand now why the leader of the king’s guard should never have a family. Why he should—”

“Don’t,” Cain interrupted. “Everybody has a right to happiness. I’m not going to deny you yours. I want you to remain the leader of my king’s guard. And my decision stands. I’ll do away with the old rules.” Lots of things would change in his kingdom soon. Just as soon as he had Faye back. Because, without her, he couldn’t go on.

There was silence in the car for a while and all Cain could hear was the engine, the breathing of his friends, and his own heartbeat.

“We’re almost there,” Wesley announced and pointed to the GPS in the car. “There’s a bend in a few hundred yards. We’ll have to park here, otherwise we’ll risk getting seen from the hut.”

“Pull over here,” Cain instructed.

The moment the car stopped, Cain opened the door and jumped out. His friends followed him. Behind them, the second SUV came to a stop. Gabriel, Haven, and Blake got out.

“This it?” Gabriel asked, pulling his gun from the holster.

Wesley pointed to a spot in the distance. “The hut must be about five, six hundred yards past that bend.”

“I suggest we split up. Gabriel, take Haven and Wesley and approach from the back. Make sure nobody escapes that way. John, Eddie, and I will take the front.”

“What about me?” Blake asked.

“I need you to stay with the cars and alert us if Abel is approaching. His red Ferrari is hard to miss. Have you programmed in all our phone numbers as a group?”

Blake nodded. “Any text message will go to all of you simultaneously.”

“Good, let’s do it. And I want Baltimore alive. He’s no good to us dead. Is that clear?”

All nodded in silence.

With John and Eddie by his side, Cain cut through the thicket, avoiding the dirt road that led up to the hut. He treaded carefully, deftly avoiding any broken branches that might make noise that could be heard in the rickety shack just becoming visible through the trees. It was no larger than five by five yards, with a roof that probably leaked and a door that could be kicked in by a five-year-old.

Cain inhaled deeply as he approached, trying to ascertain if Abel had been here lately. But he could smell neither his brother’s scent nor Faye’s. The various smells coming from the bayou close by were too strong. And only in an enclosed space would Faye’s or Abel’s smell have lingered. Out in the open the scents vanished too quickly.

Cain paused for a few moments, motioning Eddie and John to do the same, while he waited for Gabriel and the others to get into position. When he saw Haven wave to him from the side of the hut, indicating that they were ready, he nodded to John.

Cain noticed him suck in a deep breath. Then John’s fangs extended and he pulled his silver knife from its sheath.

“Don’t kill him, understand me? No matter what he’s done,” Cain cautioned, knowing that John would be unpredictable if any harm had come to his lover.

Sneaking up to the hut, Cain and his friends made no sound. At the door, they stopped for a moment. Cain listened for sounds from the inside and heard a mumbling voice. He concentrated.

“You fucking bitch! I’m gonna get you.” It was Baltimore who spat the words between loud thumps.

A panicked look crossed John’s face, and a split-second later he ripped open the door and charged inside. Cain was on his heels, watching as John barreled toward Baltimore who was crawling on the floor, poking under the bed with a broomstick.

Baltimore was flat on his back so fast, John’s knife at his throat, that Cain barely had a chance to enter the hut. Cain looked around, searching for the woman. He bent down to look under the bed. But there was nobody, though the smell of a human lingered.

“What did you do with her?” John ground out, driving the blade of his silver knife a half inch into the soft spot underneath Baltimore’s chin. Blood trickled from the wound. “Where is she?”

Baltimore glared back at him. “Fucking bitch!”

John growled.

From the corner of his eye, Cain saw his friends charge into the hut.

“You got him?” Gabriel asked.

Cain looked over his shoulder, when John cried out once more. “What the fuck did you do to her?”