Page 27 of Bound By Love
“So will I,” Lucien said.
Ronan held up a hand when Elyse and Callie started protesting. “Let’s discuss this without arguing over it.”
“If he sets off a bomb below the city, people will die,” Kadence said.
“No one is going to set off a bomb beneath the city,” Ronan assured her.
“I can make it so it’s not big enough to go beyond the tunnels,” Saber said. “I’m good with bombs.”
“He is,” Declan agreed.
“If there’s some way to lure them out of those tunnels instead of going down there, it would be better for us,” Ronan said.
“Even if we did that,” Asher said, “we’ll never know if they all came out after him. We have no idea how many of them are down there.”
They all pondered his words as Declan removed a lollipop from his pocket. He twisted the stick between his fingers while eyeing the swords.
“I don’t think we have to do any of those things,” Declan said. “We’ll use the swords to draw them out.”
“And how do we do that?” Willow inquired.
Declan shifted his attention to Caro. “How fond are you of this place?”
CHAPTERTWENTY
Caro recoileda little at the question. It was all she had left of her parents and the life she’d treasured. They’d been so happy here; memories lurked around every corner, and she could still hear the laughter rebounding off the walls.
But she couldn’t stay here forever. Before she met Saber, she’d known her time here was ending. Locking herself away here would be a slow form of death. Her parents wouldn’t appreciate it if she followed them into the grave, even if she still lived.
However, to see this place destroyed wasn’t something she wanted either. She rubbed her chest over her heart as she thought about it.
“Why are you asking?” she whispered.
“I’ve checked this place out since arriving here,” Declan said. “Your father did an amazing job with the security. The woods would be a great place to set traps and ambush anyone who comes over the wall.
“The electricity running through those metal spikes will keep some from getting over, but, as we learned with the compound, if there’s enough of them, they will get over. And there will be enough of them; they’ll come with everything they have, especially if they know we have all the stones.”
Around the table, the Alliance scowled, and some of them shifted at the reminder of their lost home. Caro sensed their bitterness in the air and their desire for revenge. The ones in the doorway muttered something, and a ripple went through the crowd behind them.
“The rest will come through, and over, the gates. Which, despite their thickness, are the weakest entry points because there’s no electricity running through them,” Declan continued. “But we’ll have more traps ready for them there. By the time they get to the house, and they will get to the house, there’s enough cleared land here for us to make a solid stand against them. If we kill enough of them before drawing them here, we have a good chance of winning.”
“He’s right,” Saber said. He didn’t like saying it as he sensed Caro’s distress, but they had to explore all options. “Charles did a great job with the security, and there are enough cameras that we’ll see them coming and know where they are throughout the invasion.”
“If all goes well, we could kill hundreds of them without ever having to engage them,” Nathan said. “And once we kill the ones here, the tunnels will be safer to enter, and the demons will be weaker with fewer fighters. We can go in and clear out anyone left behind afterward.”
Caro bit her bottom lip while pondering this. She’d already lost her parents, the store, her van, and the statues and weapons she melted to create the swords. Before this, she would have been certain she couldn’t take any more loss, but she had to.
Drawing them here to make a stand against them was a far better option than having Saber go into those tunnels to lure them out on his own. She’d already lost so much; she couldn’t lose him too.
If she could stop that from happening, then she would. And this plan was better than havingallof them file into the drainage tunnels that went who knew where and could have any number of side tunnels branching out from them.
That would be like shooting fish in a barrel and a good way to get them all killed. Watching the demons and Savages destroy her home would be horrible, but watching the world burn would be far worse.
“How do we lure them here?” she asked.
Some of the tension eased from the group when they realized she was agreeing to this plan. Declan unwrapped his lollipop and stuck it in his mouth.
“We can’t make it look obvious,” Callie said. “They’ll suspect a trap if we’re not careful.”
