Max and Angelique traded looks again, and without saying a word, Angelique left the room and trotted up the stairs while Max made his way back to his office. It was then when his phone rang, and the call from Gunnar sent chills down Max’s spine. His first thought was to summon everyone using the intercom wired to speakers in every room, and then Max remembered Simeon’s mood. So, Max calmly called only for Victor and told him all that he knew. With the stealth of a ninja, Victor crept around the house. He quietly enlisted the aid of their newest member, and together, they assembled eleven of what remained of the vampires who’d returned from Tromso. In no time at all, Landon Prescott and half the vampires piled into two SUVs, while Victor and the others climbed into the stretch limousine, and a minute later, they were rushing to the homes of those in need.

***

At eight-thirty, Max received his next phone call, and it cut him to the core. The team Victor had sent to Lisa’s reported in, and Max barely had time to hang up before his tears fell. He sat in his study with his head in his hands, fraught with sadness, rage, and worry. Lisa was so young, and as a guardian, she should have never been harmed, but as horrifying as the news was, there was something even more horrifying. The amount of carnage Bennett would leave in her wake.

For several minutes, Max’s phone vibrated on the desk before he finally looked at the display and saw a long list of texts from Lisa’s brothers and parents, each saying the same thing. Max sniffled back his emotions and did the only thing he could. He sent a text back, lying to them all. “Lisa is hurt. Bennett is with her. More to follow.”

But there wasn’t more to follow because the messages from Lisa’s family had stopped instantly, and that said it all. As long as they didn’t ask, Lisa was still alive...at least in their minds.

Yet, Max’s phone hadn’t remained silent. Other texts were coming, short little bursts of information that only added to his suspicions, suspicions put there by Bennett. Max pulled in a slow breath, raising his eyes just in time to see the limousine appear on one of the security monitors. He filled his lungs again and then walked to the front of the house with purpose in his step.

The door opened before Max reached it, and Victor and the Rooney family stepped inside, followed closely by three of Max’s flock. The last of them shut and bolted the door, and planting himself in front of the door, he stood like a Sequoia, blocking anyone from entering or exiting.