Getting back to the United States was nerve-wracking. Cole Miller made them all wear contact lenses and stay in disguise. Xavier was constantly on the phone for reports of the happenings on the island while watching Amelie like a hawk. Cole Miller paced almost half the way to their destination. And his phone was ringing nonstop. Everyone was high-strung and Nadia hated that she was in the middle of the drama.
"What?!" Cole Miller exclaimed from the passenger seat of the truck that came to pick them up from the airport transporting them to the abandoned park already set for their arrival.
Angel sat up from the back and Jason who took over from the driver that came to pick them was behind the wheel. He attempted to slow the vehicle when Cole exclaimed but Cole Miller urged him to go on, gesturing to Jason to speed up. Cole then put the phone on speaker.
"Yes, boss. Another one of the gardeners working on the horticulture was found beaten and dead close to the doc's old cabin. It's possible we may now have moles," a voice said from the other end.
"Thanks, Ed. We are here now. I'm with Hallec. He will join you and weed them out. I will see you shortly," Cole Miller said.
"We are already having casualties?" Jason asked immediately Cole cut the line.
"Three down," Cole Miller said, "None of ours though – humans, not good."
Nadia shared a worried look with Angel.
"Damn," Jason said.
"I am so sorry—" said, Nadia.
"Don't, Nadia. This is not your fault," Xavier said before she could finish. "We need to focus on how to get out of this mess."
"I need a fall guy," Cole muttered. "I don't want these deaths on the site, casting shadows on the PR ongoing for the establishment. I also need the town sheriff on…" Cole paused.
"Hmm… I get really scared when you start making that face…" Jason said, chuckling.
"Xavier, do you have any idea of how many people live in this town?"
"Three thousand mostly seniors, why?" Xavier replied.
"And houses?" Cole asked again.
"600 including a library, three churches, a post office, a water corporation, the police station, diner, coffee shop, convenience store, supermarket, gym, salon, bar, restaurant, a public school, etcetera," Amelie answered.
"I see…" Cole muttered and made a call and then said, "Jerome, I am going to send you the coordinates of a small town called Appleberry. It shares a border with the island I bought, and I think it would be convenient to own it. Yes, I want to buy everyone out. Yes, Jerome. The whole fucking town," Cole said and ended the call. "Now we need to find a way to make it very easy for people to leave…"
The truck grew quiet until Xavier started to laugh. "Heavens, Cole, you are going to bury me in debt to my seventh generation, aren't you?"
"Wow! Imagine having a whole goddamn town for just our kind," Wulfrun muttered to himself from the back seat.
"My thoughts exactly…" Cole said and turned on his seat so as to have everyone in his view. He winked at Isabelle. She giggled, looking back at him with adoring eyes.
"I'm not going to lie, that would be cool!" Amelie said and giggled when Xavier glanced at her. "You know it's an ingenious idea, my love! We can make the town into whatever we want and be able to protect our own people. Have our own cops. Run the place like mafias does their territory…"
"And Amelie can be the town's doctor and mayor alongside Xavier," Jason said. Amelie froze in her seat. Nadia giggled.
"No. I don't want to be a mayor!" Amelie protested.
"Why not, my love, you know it's an ingenious idea," Xavier mocked, giving her an over-bright smile. She playfully punched him in the chest. Everyone laughed.
"I would not mind being part of the security, " Angel said.
"I could do media and fashion," Nadia said shyly. Angel gave her a warm smile.
"I would love to own a herbal shop for wholesome healing and natural birth," Opaline chipped in.
"If I'm going to do anything, it would be to train people to fight," Tiana said.
"That could be a gym and self-defence parlour," Nadia said, smiling at the tall woman.
"Security would be great for me," Darrow said.
"See, Xavier? This family can be powerful enough to secure a future for our children. That, I promise you," Cole said. Xavier smiled and nodded. Cole held a hand out for a handshake and Xavier shook it. But Angel could see the reserve in his eyes, and he understood why.
Having a sense of security at this stage in their lives could be dangerous. They lived like that once, and when trouble came knocking, none of them saw it coming. Keeping their guard up this time would be wise. Getting too optimistic could be detrimental.
Soon enough they got to the park which now looked like a camp. Xavier told Angel the park was deserted a long ago because of some rumours about them eating campers and causing their remains to disappear without a trace.
"The local police generally warn people to stay off when they can't get any concrete evidence. Which was good for us because it kept humans away from this region and made it a safe passage for us to the island. " Xavier explained.
"But are they aware of what we truly are?" Angel asked.
"They suspect but are not quite certain. Some even say we are devil worshipers, others call us gipsies. To the law enforcement officers, we are just homeless people camping about. I have been stopped more than once for questioning. Amelie's dad always came to my rescue," Xavier added, drawing his mate close to press a kiss to her hair. She shut her eyes and smiled.
Nadia wandered about the expansive camping site. Admiring the handiwork. The choice of site was deep in the woods and close to the water. The sleeping tents were big enough for a family of four. She guessed the size ranges couldn’t be more than 9' by 14' to 12' by 15' in floor dimension. The big tents were placed apart with about ten to twelve feet in between the tents. And although it looked simple enough on the outside, when she peered into one, she grinned at the simple and yet luxurious set-up cleverly orchestrated in the interior. She suspected the beds were waterbeds and the room had a heater. She giggled to herself. When she got to the end of the campsite, she saw a modern outdoor toilet and bath farther down the river bank surrounded by tall trees. Nadia smiled to herself and went to investigate.
The sight of the island Angel spoke to her about miles away from where they were drawing her to the riverbank.
The peak of the mountain on the island seemed so high up on the horizon. The rock was lined with modern architectural home designs, making it seem like a gigantic modern castle with its partitioned glass windows embedded in the dark grey colour of the stones. She thought it was magnificent. There were three fancy crafts parked at the very top. She guessed the surface must have been fashioned as a helipad. She narrowed her eyes to see if she could make out the words written on one of the crafts and a slow grin stretched her lovely lips when she saw the logo was an abstract image of a wolf. Angel walked up to stand by her side and placed an arm over her shoulder, drawing her close to his body.
"I can't wait to see it too…" he said, gazing at the mountain on the horizon.
"It looks like a resort for some moneybags," Nadia said, chuckling.
"Don't say that to Xavier," he whispered close to her head. Nadia giggled.
"He is a proud man. I admire him for it," Nadia said. "Even in his position, he still finds it hard to accept help."
"He is noting down every penny spent. We are going to help pay it back," Angel said with pride in his tone.
"May I be part of that too?" Nadia said against his pectorals.
"Of course, darling, we are one and the same now," he replied. Nadia wrapped her arms around his waist. "But I will prefer you let me do it for my family, our family," he added.
"I like the sound of…" Nadia paused, and gasped as about four figures appeared from inside the water training their weapons at Angel. A low evident sound of a bullet fired from a gun with a silencer, sounded and Angel jerked back.
Hot pain shot through him as a bullet pierced through his right shoulder. He grunted, steadying himself on his feet, he balled his fist and hunched his back ready to attack and shield Nadia with his body.
"One tiny movement and the next one goes through your skull. Get down on your knees and place your hands over your head now!" the one to the left said through gritted teeth. Angel paused, darting his eyes from one to the other. They all wore black getup with masks and seemed experts in military tactics. The one who told him to get on his knees, corked his shotgun and pointed it at Angel's head, he then repeated, "On your damn knees!" Blood seeped through Angel's shirt and he slowly did as told.