Sharkbait Down Under

Nicholas Corcoran’s POV

“We have to get that baby back,” Vicki said as I carried her to the Range Rover and set her in the back. She was barely staying awake, the cumulative effects of blood loss over the past two weeks too much for her body to handle. “Timothy was a piece of shit that you cursed at as you scraped it from the bottom of your shoe. Traci was the piece of shit you stepped on in the dark in your bare feet. Her baby is innocent and is Alpha blood. We need to save him.”

“I know. We’ll take care of it,” I promised my mate as I laid her in the back seat. “Get some sleep while we figure out what we’re going to do.”

My mind was still trying to understand how a Mantled Alpha werewolf could fall so far from everything our species stood for. Today’s attack was Traci and Timothy’s third attempt at taking what Vicki enjoyed. The kidnapping failed spectacularly, leaving them without a family or Pack. The second was when they worked with vampires to have Vicki kidnapped in Mexico, but the Master changed their plan to sell the girls into slavery. Vespucci kept all six of them, paying them a half-million for their help in killing the lawyer. After that, he sent the pair to Master Caroline in Los Angeles, promising she would hide them from the Werewolf Council.

When the Mexico City raids freed the girls and eradicated Vespucci’s coven, Master Caroline was incensed. Traci said she wanted Vicki dead for killing her friend, Master Alexander, and Caroline adamantly opposed any cooperation with other species. Caroline worked closely with Vespucci, arranging to flood vampires into the United States and stockpiling high-ranking werewolf blood. They’d planned to overthrow Master Cyprian on New Year’s Day and take over the Vampire Council.

Their shared hatred led to this latest plan. Caroline’s coven would help kidnap us so she could power-up with my blood, Traci and Timothy would take our fortune, and they’d use us to lure Alessandro to an ambush.

The video she’d taken of Vicki executing a police officer was the key to everything. With me injured and Vicki facing life in prison, we’d have to cooperate in luring Alessandro out.

Killing me would bring retribution, so we’d live under their terms. With Alessandro dead and Caroline’s second taking over the Sydney coven, the Australian Council would never happen. She and Timothy would move to Queensland in Northeast Australia, far from my Pack, and buy land to start a Pack with the money I’d give them. The North American Council had no jurisdiction there, and Vicki and I would have to accept it.

If it hadn’t been for Consuela’s gut feeling, it would have worked.

I watched Vicki’s eyes close and her breathing even out; once she was asleep, I gently closed the door. “She’s going to need food and fluids,” I told Alessandro as I walked back to him.

“You will need the same; healing takes a lot out of your body, and you’ll feel it once the rush wears off. We have thirty minutes until Traci makes her call; we should get your two something to eat.”

“Cynthia’s Café is across the street and a block up, and you can get some food to go there,” Consuela said. “I saw it when I was watching the building from next door.”

“Go with him, and act like his girlfriend,” Alessandro ordered her. “Nicholas, you do all the talking because people might remember her accent.”

“What about the video that bitch took,” I asked.

“Don’t worry about that,” Becky answered. “She never sent it, and I deleted it locally and on the cloud. While I had her phone, I emptied her bank accounts and sent them to an untraceable account in the Caymans. Vicki never finished the transfer, so she never got any of your money.”

“Thanks,” I said. I held the door open for Consuela, and we walked out into the early evening air. The café served breakfast all day, and we’d need protein. I ordered two steak and egg breakfast platters to go, plus two bottles each of orange juice and whole milk. I managed to polish off two donuts and a glass of milk while waiting for the food to come out.

Consuela hadn’t said anything; she was looking at properties in Adelaide on her phone. We got our food and headed out the door. “Are you thinking of moving near us?” I asked.

She nodded. “Alessandro and his Coven have been welcoming, but I’m not sure I’m comfortable here. You wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not, Consuela. You’re welcome on our lands anytime; if you want to live in the area, we’d like that.”

The streets were nearly empty, and we slipped back inside the electrical supply house. I hated to wake Vicki up, but she needed the fluids and food. She sleepily drank down the juice, finally perking up enough to sit up and eat. We managed to finish the meals in ten minutes, and I helped her get out when Alessandro waved for us.

“Time for the call,” he said.

I held Vicki to my side as we walked over to talk to Traci. “If you cooperate, your son will be safe. We’ll make sure he grows up with a loving family and a future. As for you, I’ll make your end quick and painless. You won’t get a better deal.”

“I understand,” she said. “Tell my boy that I loved him when he’s old enough to understand?”

“You have my word as Alpha,” Vicki told her.

She took her phone from Alessandro and made the call. “It’s me. The guy’s gone, and the woman passed out from blood loss.”

“You were supposed to keep her alive to talk to Alessandro,” Caroline responded.

“She doesn’t need to talk when I can send him a video of her still alive,” Traci replied. “He’ll show up alone when I tell him the deal. I just need to know when and where.”

“Bradley’s Head Lighthouse, two AM. Don’t call him until you are there and you have Vicki chained to the lighthouse; I’ll be watching to make sure you both follow directions. Tell him to make sure he comes alone, or Vicki dies.”

“I understand, Master, and it will be as you direct.” She hung up. “I’ll have to be out there on the lighthouse with Vicki, alone.”

Becky was already pulling up satellite imagery of Bradley’s Head. I could see why she picked it; the lighthouse was on a pier out from the end of the point. The point itself was a park with a walking trail and a parking lot; it would be closed at night, making it easy to verify if Alessandro was alone. “I don’t like it,” I said.

“We don’t have a choice,” Vicki replied. “Alessandro has to end this tonight, and Traci needs her baby back.” She looked at the image, zooming back before going back in. “I’ve got an idea, but we’ll need help.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Caroline is thinking like a vampire or a werewolf; she’s picked an area where her sight and smell can detect anyone approaching on land, and it’s remote enough for vampires to fight without attracting the attention of humans. She’s not thinking of our allies or considering Nicholas,” she said.

Alessandro raised an eyebrow. “How?”

“She looks at the harbor as a barrier, not an opportunity,” Vicki said. “Who is here in Sydney right now who fucking LOVES the water?”

“Me, and the mermaids,” I answered.

“Exactly. We can surround the lighthouse with mermaids and put you in dive gear. Hell, your Coven could hide under the water too. It’s not like the undead can drown, and the water will hide you from her senses,” she said with a laugh. “We can put people in place and move in when I give the signal.”

“I like it,” I said. “We should get going.”

“I need to restrain Vicki and bring her there alone,” Traci said. “For all I know, Caroline is already there waiting for us. You’re going to have to trust me.”

That was going to be the hardest thing for me to do tonight