Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride [94]
24
Come Together, Right Now, Over Me
Ramon parked Tia’s car on a side street. The afternoon had morphed from blustery to a more cheerful, partially sunny day as he’d headed north. He estimated that he had fifteen more minutes before the weather did its bipolar thing, probably shifting into a misty rain. He grabbed his skateboard and got out of the car. The skateboard was the closest thing he had to a weapon.
He checked the address he’d jotted down. The mailbox in front of him told him he had the right place, but that was all he had to go on. Douglas’s house seemed to be set back on a big piece of land. Ramon steered clear of the long gravel driveway, choosing to stick to the cover of the trees instead.
The brush was thick, making progress slow. Once the house came into view, Ramon crouched down, trying to get the lay of the land. Not for the first time, he questioned the decisions that had led him away from a life of crime and evil. Casa Douglas was huge. The great expanse of manicured yard should have dwarfed the house, but the flat plains of grass added to the scale of everything. A sea of grass between him and the house. Trees and shrubbery on all sides, blocking any view of neighbors. Huge detailed sculptures dotted the lawn at odd intervals. A few lions and some Greek statues were all he could make out. The house even had some crazy marble columns and a pediment at the top. He couldn’t quite figure out the design, but it looked like gladiators or something. The effect was a bit much for the house, but then again, people did all kinds of crazy things when they had money.
This much land, this big house on the water…Douglas must have deep pockets. That usually meant a lot of security, but Ramon couldn’t see any. Not that he knew what to look for, but the lack of a fence definitely troubled him. If he’d spent more time developing a life of crime, he was sure he’d have been able to spot all kinds of helpful things. He had a large exposed area to cross. All Douglas had to do was peek out the window and Ramon would be history. Still, he needed to try. He took a half step forward.
An arm wrapped around him from behind and yanked him off his feet, making him drop his skateboard. Another hand went over his mouth. The hand smelled like dirt.
“Are you Ramon? Nod if you are.”
Ramon nodded slowly.
“By all that’s holy, would you chill out, Bran? Who else would he be?”
He recognized the other speaker from the answering machine message. The grip on him loosened. Ramon put his hands out, showing he was unarmed, and turned around slowly.
A handful of people stood around him. The group included a couple of the biggest freaking wolves he’d ever seen, and they weren’t leashed. No way those were dogs. At best, they might be wolf hybrids, if that could be considered an at best. Ramon tried to appear calm, knowing that animals sense fear. He didn’t want to do anything to give those wolves an excuse to gnaw on one of his legs.
The man who’d grabbed him was tall, maybe six feet, with a grim set to his face. His brown hair was cut in a short, plain style, like he didn’t give a damn what it looked like as long as it stayed out of his face. He wore jeans and a tank top, despite the rainy weather.
The guy next to him was smaller, but still a bit taller than Ramon. He had auburn hair and a prominent nose. Ramon could see some resemblance to the other guy around the jawline, but where the tall one seemed all business, this one smiled and practically bounced on his feet.
The smaller man held out his hand. The guy had a good, firm handshake and his skin felt hot to the touch. “Sean,” he said. “And this is the rest of the Merry Men.” He jerked to the group behind them.
“So you guys are here to get…?” Ramon couldn’t remember the name. Bridget?
“Our sister,” Bran said. “It would be safer if you’d wait here. We’ll do our best to get your friend out if he’s still alive.”
Ramon squared his shoulders and was getting ready to tell off General Jackass when Sean stepped between