“I don’t want to argue with you,” Ollie said as he leaned into the open passenger window. “You take care of things in Stillwater, and I’ll handle what’s going on here. Were you able to grab your phone?”
Olin shook his head. “Just wallet and keys.”
“I have mine,” Ollie said. “Call me when you get there and let me know you made it. I’ll call Gabriel if I have any news.”
“We’ll figure all this out,” Olin said as he sighed. “We’ll find a place to live and recover. I just…I can’t lose Coop.” Olin’s entire chest felt as if it were in a vise as he said his bonded mate’s name. It was true. Olin couldn’t image his life without the man, didn’t want to imagine his life without Coop in it.
“You won’t,” Ollie gave him a reassuring smile. “The man’s tough as nails.” Olin’s eyes cast downward as he added, “Make sure you help Karidon, too.”
“Talyn will bring them both home,” Olin said, though he didn’t say what he feared. But will they be alive? He shook his head and blinked at the windshield.
Ollie tapped the frame of the door, and when Olin glanced over to him, his twin touched his temple and then pointed at Olin’s head. “Positive thoughts,” he said, as if he knew what Olin was thinking.
Olin repeated the move with his index finger before Ollie took a step back and Olin drove off. He made it past the fire trucks, ambulance, and spectators who’d ventured out this early in the morning to ogle the scene until he was clear of the congestion and then took the road that lead out of town.
Positive thoughts. Uncle Fester isn’t dead. Coop and Karidon will make it out of wherever they are alive. Things will be fine.
He continued to repeat those things over and over in his mind like a well-chanted mantra as he drove to Gabriel’s. He knew things were truly dire when he missed the fact that Talyn would have growled at him for not asking permission to enter his territory. It was funny how you missed things that irritated you most when life became unsure and scary. What he wouldn’t give right now to walk into Talyn’s house and flip Coop off, only to have the guy growl at him.
Positive thoughts.
Olin felt a measure of comfort when he pulled onto Eastwood Lane. It almost felt as if he was coming home. He’d been coming here for two months, and the Bourne territory had become just as familiar to him as his own.
Olin slowed when he saw a black SUV parked on the curb in front of Talyn’s house. It could be nothing, but with everything out of whack, he wasn’t taking any chances. He pulled into Mrs. Coldfish’s driveway and drove all the way to the back.
At this god-awful hour, she should still be asleep. No sooner had he finished the thought than he spotted her kitchen curtain pulling to one side. When she spotted Olin, she smiled brightly and waved. Olin waved back and then glanced into Talyn’s backyard. It was dark and void of prowlers.
Olin got out and closed his car door, giving the elderly woman one last smile before he hopped the chain-link fence and moved quietly onto the concrete patio. Olin hoped he didn’t scare Gabriel. The last thing he wanted was to send his cousin into early labor. Talyn would kill Olin if that happened.
Just as he reached the back door, something hard pressed into the back of his head. “One more step and I’ll be hosing your brain matter off the concrete.”
Olin was relieved to hear Syn’s voice but worried the man would go through with his threat. “It’s me, Olin.”
The pressure at his head vanished. “Why are you sneaking around the backyard?”
Olin turned to see the hostile intent written all over Syn’s face. He knew Talyn’s brother wasn’t an Enforcer, but the guy had missed his calling. Syn appeared wild and dangerous, and if Olin hadn’t known the man, he probably would have wet himself.
“There’s a black SUV out front. With everything in chaos, I wasn’t taking any chances.”
Syn smiled, but it was one of those smiles that the devil might have given…pure evil and bone chilling. “Quad left his truck here.”
“Who?” Olin asked and then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Just as long as you know who it belongs to.”
Syn opened the back door, and Olin followed the guy inside. The overhead light above the stove was on, casting an eerie, dim glow over the kitchen. Syn set his handgun on the table and then picked up a coffee mug from the counter.
“Why are you here?” he asked as he took a sip of whatever he was drinking. His dark-brown eyes softened. “How’s your family doing?”