Finding Grace: The Guardian Chronicles Book One

Chapter 61. Found Out*

Aiden and Hawk were hanging back behind the others, looking like boys at their first school dance. Both of them had always been laisez-faire about their clothing and tonight they were very striking. I had a feeling going unnoticed was out of the question at this point.

A low whistle and a cat call sounded from the hallway leading from the music room. I turned to see Nathan grinning from ear to ear taking all of us in.

"You all look like you should be on Jersey Shores or something! No, they don't have as much style as you do. Maybe on something like the Sopranos, that's it. You all look dangerous," Nathan declared.

"Evan's asleep Nathan, keep it down a little," I chided. To take out the sting, I said, "We do look like quite the crew don't we?"

He nodded and moved closer to stand by Jean. Hawk and Aiden came a little closer in and I could see what they were wearing. While Hawk was still in his jeans, he was in a tight fitting cashmere sweater that accentuated his build. Over that, he wore a loose leather jacket that hung to his waist, and did an adequate job of hiding his gun. Aiden no longer looked like an Axl Rose wannabe, dressed in an olive green suit and cream dress shirt. The cut was fashionable and masculine. His long wild hair had also been tamed into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"Well, does anyone have any questions? Or anything they want to say?" I asked the group.

Hawk stepped forward, all business, and said, "I want to propose that we enter in small groups, rather than all together. We will for sure attract attention if we go in together."

"I agree. Did you have something in mind?" I asked.

Nodding, Hawk went on, "I will go in with Hannah, after you and Aiden enter. You will need to see for yourself what is going on, and I thought we could have Malachi and Tourneau bring up the rear."

That sounded reasonable to me, and I wondered if it had anything to do with the conversation I had had with Jean earlier. I replied, "Does anyone have a problem with this suggestion?"

No one spoke up, but I could see Malachi shoot Hawk a curious glance. Hawk raised his eyebrows to Malachi, but nothing was said.

"As planned, we will go in separate cars, just in case we encounter a problem, we aren't all trapped together. Everyone ready to roll out?" I said.

The group in front of me all nodded and divided up into the smaller groups. I nodded to Jean to lead the way. Before I followed the group, I turned to Nathan and Xavier who were now standing side by side watching the rest leave.

"Nathan, come here." I said to the boy vampire.

He came to stand in front of me, with an expectant look on his face.

"I'm counting on you to keep a watch on the video surveillance, okay? You don't have to watch it all the time, just check in. I have an alarm system that will go off if there is a breech anywhere from the ground. The cameras are pointed at the roof and the surrounding buildings to watch for an attack from there," I said, hoping to make the young one feel important. "Besides that, I want you to know how proud I am that you have been able to help keep Evan safe. Thank you. And I want you to know that I care about you and will see you in the morning. Okay?"

Nathan stood a little taller and nodded, then said, "I won't let you down, Emil. I'll keep a watch out for any of the bad guys and I'll make sure Evan is okay. I don't want anything to happen to her or the baby."

I ruffled his hair and he stepped in and gave me a quick hug. As unaccustomed to physical contact as I had become after all these decades, I had to admit to myself, I was rather fond of it, and never wanted to be without again.