Blood & Tears (Jane #3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

them, so we
have to keep this all on the down-low for now.
Understand?"
    He sent a meaningful look around
the table and everyone nodded. "Good. Here is your next
assignment."
    As Father Bellini passed around
half a dozen manilla folders filled with papers, I looked at
Felipe. His jaw was set in a hard line, his forehead creased in
thought. He was looking in my direction, but jumped when I waved my
hand in front of his face.
    "You ok?" I kept my voice low,
hoping no one else at the table would hear, though I saw a couple
faces turn in our direction. Stupid vampire hearing.
    "Fine." Mumbled through gritted
teeth, I knew he was less than fine, but there was no way he would
talk about it here, at least not here. I let it go and turned to my
folder.
    The first paper was a list of
expected vampires and humans held at the next coven we were to
dismantle. It was more than double the size of the one we'd just
taken out. Five vampires and approximately twelve humans. I took a
deep breath before turning the page. The next several pages held
pictures and dossiers on all those who were confirmed to live at
the compound. The humans were only semi-confirmed. Rumor had it
that the “blood slave” tally changed frequently. After that came
any and all information the prep team could acquire about the
building.
    It was a large two-story house
from the early 19th century, or so I thought. I'm not very good at
labeling architecture. In its heyday, it would have been gorgeous.
A wide porch wrapped around the front half of the wooden structure
on both levels. The stairs leading to the double front doors were
located on the corner. Partial towers mirrored each other and you
could see the remains of stained glass in the windows. It would be
a shame to destroy such a lovely building.
    "So what's the plan? Burn it to
the ground and wait to see what surfaces?" Jax. Always
practical.
    "Only in your dreams would it be
that easy, boy." Father Bellini spared a grin for the big man, but
he wasn't joking. "You can't destroy the house. Even the least
little bit. It's in a section of town that's protected as
historical."
    "Electrical fire,
then."
    "No, Jax. No fire. And minimal
damage to the interior, please. You'll be in a residential area, so
there is a high risk of witnesses. You need to be discreet,
too."
    "Wait, wait, wait. So we need to
take out a coven of five vampires and a dozen humans, without
damaging the building and avoiding witnesses in an area filled with
families? Yeah, that's gonna work." The bitter sarcasm dripped from
Ado's words and the sneer on his face could have made God himself
cringe.
    "You will make it work, Ado."
Father Bellini met the sneer with a pleasant smile. "And if you
don't, this team can easily be dismantled and shipped to those who
have already lost members. Now, does anyone have any
questions?"
    Silence sat heavily over the room
after the tense exchange between Bellini and Ado. "Very well. Ado,
Felipe, I'll see you at my office for our meeting
later."
    He gave us a brisk nod and left
the room. We sat around the table for the next half hour, silently
reviewing the paperwork in front of us. After he thoroughly
examined all the information we had, Felipe closed his
folder.
    "Ideas?" More than two hours were
spent suggesting and dismissing ideas, battle plans, and theories.
The dry erase marker Benton used to detail the attack nearly went
dead by the time the white board was covered with a workable
strategy. Ado, in charge of weapons for the group, went to the
armory to fill out the proper request forms with Benton in tow,
Ronin left to work on the sermon he was giving that evening, and
Jax headed to the lounge, likely hoping to catch Annie as he passed
through the dormitory.
    Felipe stood in front of the white
board, frowning as he looked over our battle plan. He fiddled with
the marker, but made no changes. I sat in my chair, watching him
until he turned around. I couldn't suppress a smile when he jumped
as he saw me, a