Wings of the Raven by Cindy Spencer Pape Read Free Book Online Page B

distance and hadn’t been in great shape when I started. In other words, I was exhausted.
    Hannah and Evan followed Vaughn as he strode into the house with one hand cupped around where I perched on his broad shoulder. My cousins are both big men, good looking and tough, and they’re all ridiculously protective of me—the youngest and the lone female in their midst. Today, I didn’t mind that a bit.
    We went into an office of sorts, where Evan glared down the other men until only one was left. Twin beds were pushed up against the wall piled with miscellaneous gear, and computer equipment sat on two mismatched desks and a folding table.
    I’d met Charlie Rivera before, so I knew this was he. I flew into a corner behind a dresser and changed. I’m so short, only the top of my head showed above it when I straightened.
    “Can somebody toss me something to wear,” I asked. Then I grabbed the cabinet as my knees wobbled. “Whoa. And a chair.”
    Evan’s shirt came sailing over the dresser top. He was the biggest of the bunch, which meant his shirt came all the way to my knees. I pulled it on and buttoned it up, then stepped out from behind the furniture and sank into the computer chair Charlie had just vacated.
    “They’ve got Will,” I said, trying and failing to catch my breath. “He said…his GPS…is activated…” Black spots swam in front of my vision, something that had never happened to me before.
    “We’ve got the signal,” Charlie assured me. “That’s why we were getting ready to move out.” He shook his head and grinned at Vaughn. “So different species, huh? Haven’t seen anything like that since Afghanistan .” That’s right—Charlie had seen Vaughn change in the military. I thought I’d heard that story before, but it didn’t matter now. Vaughn’s a panther, very good at sneaking around in the darkness and gathering information.
    “We’re all different,” Evan rumbled. “And if you don’t want a pissed off grizzly bear in your house, stay on the subject.”
    Charlie shot him a laughing salute. “What can you tell us about the compound, Carys ?”
    “There are maybe ten buildings,” I told him. I’d done a brief fly-around before I’d taken off. I described what I’d seen with a tongue that barely seemed to work. Instead of catching my breath, I was having more and more trouble breathing.
    Finally, Charlie nodded, satisfied that I’d told him everything that would help. He cocked one eyebrow at me. “Are you coming with us?” If I hadn’t been in love with Will, I’d have found his suave, Hispanic good looks attractive, but right now he was just someone who could help.
    “No.” I tried to shake my head and saw more black spots. “I—I can’t.”
    “Flying tires them out,” Vaughn added. My oldest brother Gavin was a hawk, and between us, we’d managed to convince the others of that much at least. “You should remember that.”
    I looked at my cousins, trying hard to ignore the tightness in my chest and lightness in my head. “Why…are you…here?”
    “My grandfather had a funny feeling this morning,” Hannah said. “When he couldn’t reach Will, he called me. We chartered a plane and came as soon as we could. Honey, are you all right?”
    Just then a sharp pain cut through my belly, and I felt moisture on my thighs. No! Helplessly I looked up at Hannah. “I think…having…miscarriage.” I fell over sideways, clutching my stomach.
    One of my cousins caught me, and I heard Charlie yell, “Hope, get your ass in here right fucking now! ” just before I passed out.

    * * * *

    I came around slowly, but without the discomfort of the last time. My eyes didn’t want to open, so I lay there, listening and feeling what was around me, like I had earlier in the SUV—and I’d seen two big black ones on my way out, so I knew my logic had been correct.
    This time I was on a bed, with blankets over me. I could smell the spices of Hispanic cuisine, but not from the