Ashen Bay, Florida

Beep. Beep. Cabel Reardon stiffened. His phone went off again. Damn, so much for a quiet evening at home. Casanova, their German Shepherd, raised his head. Cabel scratched between the big dog’s ears. He slapped his other hand over his phone on the dark wood, end table and picked it up. “Jared” flashed across the screen. He tensed. If the Archon, their leader, was calling, this probably wouldn’t be a simple conversation.

Being on call was the life of a Sentinel. They had to be available to defend the Archon and the enclave at any time. Cabe wouldn’t have it any other way. Maybe he’d be back in time to see Quinn and Adrian, his bond partners, before they went to sleep. If it wasn’t a disaster or an absolute emergency within the dragons, Quinn and Adrian wouldn’t get a call.

“Hi, Archon, what’s up?” Cabe glanced at the clock. Quinn and Adrian wouldn’t arrive home for a while. If this took him away for long, he’d text them later.

“I need you to get ready. A car will swing by to pick you up. We’re going to the club. I just got a silent alarm and no one is answering the phone. Something is wrong over there,” Jared said.

“Will do. I’ll be waiting for the car.” Cabe got up and went to get his boots, shoving his phone in his jeans pocket.

Casanova gambled alongside, picking up a rope toy from the floor as he passed. Cabe grabbed the end tugged at it. Casanova pulled and ran off, whipping his head up and throwing the toy into the air.

Cabe grimaced and headed for the bedroom. What the hell could have gone wrong? Wednesday was a slow night at the club. It was why the younger dragons were allowed to run it that day. To get experience so they wouldn’t be lost when called in to work on a weekend when noise and action filled the place. With Joe there, they shouldn’t have had any problems at all. Cabel frowned. Joe knew how to run the place and had plenty of experience.

He grabbed his boots, stopping to pull them on. Weapons. Since they had no idea what was wrong, those were definitely necessary. He strapped his blade to his belt and grabbed a light jacket to cover the blade. With a glance around, he walked toward the front of the house to wait for his ride. Casanova pranced at his side. Cabe petted the dog before straightening once again.

“Be good, Cas.” He pointed to the dog. The dog yipped.

Cabe stepped outside and locked the door. He rolled his shoulders. Within the enclave, there wasn’t much threat of theft. Still, he wouldn’t leave his door unlocked so anyone could take his things. Then he’d have to take the time to hunt the bastard down. That would be an inconvenience he’d have to take out of someone’s hide.

A black car pulled up to the curb. Cabe ran out to it and hopped in the back of the gleaming car. He glanced at the people up front. Marco drove and Pierce sat in the passenger seat.

“We have to pick up Dael and then we’ll be on the way.” Marco glanced back in the rear view mirror. His friend’s brown eyes gleamed with intensity.

“Any word from the Archon on what’s happening?” Cabe relaxed back in the seat.

“No, no answer from the club. We’ll go in as soon as we’re all there.” Pierce turned in his seat. His blond hair hung around his shoulders. “Something has to be wrong to receive no word from them.”

“Joe has been very responsible up to this point.” Cabe tapped his finger on the door. If it was later in the week, busy might be an excuse, but not for this long.

“We’ll find out soon.” Marco nodded.

They picked up Dael and started for club. Marco drove out of the section of the city where the dragons had their enclave. The club was on the opposite side of town. They stopped down the block from the building and got out of the car. Cabe stretched. Down the street, the blue and white sign flashed the club’s name.

“Cabel, you take Marco and Dael around to the back.” Archon Jared pointed down the corridor between the buildings. His dark black hair was secured away from his face. “I don’t want to let them have a chance to run. Nathan, take the side entrance. Pierce, you come with me and Dash to the front. Send me a text when you get in position.”

Cabel nodded and led the way down the dimly-lit corridor to the blue rear door at the back of the building that housed the bar. Marco handed Cabe the key. Dael texted the Archon.

“He said get ready.” Dael leaned in close. His voice dropped to barely a whisper. Depending on what was happening inside of the building, stealth might be necessary.

Cabe inserted the key into the lock, but didn’t turn it. It would be a simple matter to turn it and pull open the door. They couldn’t move too soon though. They all had to go at the same time. Just in case something was badly wrong. Too many questions hung unanswered. What had set off the silent alarm? Was it just a false alarm? But then what about the no one answering the phone?

“Go now,” Dael said.

Cabe turned the key and pushed it open. He rushed in, gripping the hilt of his knife. The coppery scent of blood hit him. Tension rocketed through his body and he inhaled. No dragon blood hung in the air. Mostly human. Damn, not good. He sprinted up the hallway. What the hell was happening in this bar? He drew the blade out. This definitely wasn’t normal.

A scream rang through the building and chanting reached his ears. Son of a bitch. Chanting was never good.

He raced forward. Three men stood in the center of the blue-tinted dance floor. Two women rested on their side near the bar. Their hands were tied behind their back. Two bodies sprawled on the floor nearby. Blood pooled around the forms. Another woman sprawled in the middle of the group of men. Her hands stretched above her, bound with black cord, and cuts across her chest oozed blood.

Fucking hell, someone was doing blood magic. Cabe’s muscles tensed and his heartbeat raced as anger flooded through him.

“Take them alive,” Jared ordered.

Cabe gritted his teeth. Fire was out. The humans would be burned. He rushed forward. As he ran forward, he drew in a sharp breath. Damn it, the men surrounding the woman were some of the men who were supposed to be watching the club tonight. How long had they been doing this shit?

It couldn’t be the first time. These men were much too comfortable with this. They hadn’t even been leery enough to set a guard on the doors.