Warrior Enchanted: The Sons of the Zodiac by Addison Fox Page A

that ever-present pain swelling like high tide. She could usually keep it at bay. Could usually let it simmer as a dull ache in the background of her mind.
    But no matter where the memory lived, it held her back. Taunted her with the knowledge her mother had abandoned her. Had abandoned all of them.
    The pit of despair opened once again and threatened to swallow her whole.

Chapter Four
    D rake heard the low whistle and saw Grey motion for him on the opposite end of the warehouse they staked out. With a quick port, he arrived next to the Aries. “You find something?”
    “There’s a good-sized storage closet on the far side of the warehouse. I saw it when I went around the back. Door’s closed and it looks empty from what I can see. Lucky for us, they likely checked it when they entered and would never assume anyone could get past them to get inside.”
    “And you think the apple’s definitely here at the meet?”
    “No doubt about it.” Grey gave a short nod toward the building. “What I got from Legs, as you’ve dubbed her, is that the crime boss we want has been sporting a new lapel pin as of late.”
    “Let me guess. It’s in the shape of an apple?”
    “You got it. The godfather of the Gavelli family lookslike he’s a huge supporter of New York, but we both know otherwise.”
    “Is the godfather inside?”
    “Yep. Surrounded by his men, but at least he’s here.”
    “Just as we’d hoped.” Adrenaline spiked as Drake mapped their plan of attack out in his head.
    They’d worked out their strategy on their walk from the car. The apple was the goal, but they needed to keep the peace long enough to get what they came for.
    Drake kept his gaze focused on the far end of the dock. By his calculation, the few guards the thugs had posted were scanning the area every ten minutes, so he and Grey had a bit of breathing room.
    “You still want us to each take one of the bosses?”
    “Yep. Get them outside. Whoever’s got the pin, snag it and we port out.”
    “And the inevitable cameras that will capture our sudden arrival in the room?”
    Grey shoved his phone back into his pocket after a quick scan. “Quinn’s already done some prep work and erased some previous feeds so he knows he can do it. Their high-tech system wasn’t any match for him and he’s watching from his office.”
    “Let’s do this.”
    The ram nodded his agreement. “In and out.”
    Drake followed Grey around the far side of the dock to get visual on the storage room. The grimy window didn’t offer much in the way of a view, but he got enough of a hazy outline to know where he was going and avoid falling over anything. With an ease that defied his preference for water, he pushed himself into the port.
    After materializing in the storage closet, he moved toward the door to listen to the activities going down in the main warehouse. The phone on his belt started buzzing with a text, but he ignored it in favor of focusing on what was going down in the main room as Grey’s form took shape behind him.
    Drake cracked the door slightly as a burst of shouts erupted inside the warehouse. A muttered “Oh shit” from the ram had Drake shifting his attention. “What?”
    Grey held his phone aloft, his face ashen and his mouth a grim line. “They’ve got Finley.”
    “How?”
    “Quinn just texted me. He saw it all on the cameras.”
    Drake reached for his phone but already knew what the text would say.
    THEY’VE GOT GREY’S LAWYER. TREAD CAREFULLY.
    Well fuck, Drake thought with no small measure of disgust.
    There went in and out.
    Now you’ve done it, Finley Jane. You’ve officially ended both your career and your life by acting like a Lifetime Movie of the Week victim.
    Blood pumped through Finley McCrae’s body in heavy, leaden waves, the sensation amplified by the pounding in her ears. She was oddly aware of all her senses.
    The feel of expensive silk under her chin where the large asshole with the gun held her in place.
    The