“I came as soon as I heard about the break-in,” Pete said. “How is she? Can I—”
“Heads up, people,” Marc said, only a few steps behind the man. “We have to go now.” Octavia’s called a meeting, he added telepathically.
Octavia? Matt questioned.
She’s the closest thing we have to a local matri. She’s called in every vampire in town. Your presence is especially requested, cuz.
“Now,” he said again, and took his bondmate’s arm when she looked like she was about to protest. “We’ll come back for Phillipa when we’re done.” He looked into the mortal’s eyes. “Pete’ll stay with her, won’t you?”
“Of course,” Pete answered. “That’s why I’m here.”
Jealousy tore through Matt, but he fought to ignore it. He fought to ignore his own instincts. This is best for her. If he couldn’t have her, he had to let her go to a mortal who would look after her.
But he still hated Pete Martin’s guts.
“Let’s go,” he said, before he could change his mind.
Chapter Eighteen
W hy not let the police handle it?” Jason Cage asked.
He was seated on one of the arms of the couch. All of the seven vampires, and the two mortal bondmates that lived in Las Vegas, were gathered in the living room of Octavia’s home. Octavia sat in a wing-backed chair, looking as imperial as her name suggested. Marc and Josephine sat on the couch, the baby sleeping across Marc’s lap.
Matt stood by the door with his arms crossed, waiting for the locals to have their say. Las Vegas was Family territory, but not a highly populated one, even though the Clans said they were welcome to it. Marc and his lady were part-time residents, as were several others here today. The city was a good place for business, but the psychic vibe wasn’t appreciated by most vampires on a long-term basis.
“The police are already looking for this gang anyway,” Jason went on. “They didn’t know the home they invaded belonged to a vampire. There’s no reason for us to take this personally.”
“Are you crazy?” Nathaniel Strahan demanded.
“What happened to that hotheaded boy I arrested so long ago?” Matt murmured, almost to himself.
Jason gave him a bitter look. “I grew up.” He looked at Nathaniel. “We protect our own, of course. But this wasn’t an attack on the Families.”
“These mortals attacked our women and children!” Anastasia was the city’s other female vampire, and bonded to Nathaniel. The pair sat very close to each other on a piano bench. Nathaniel’s arm was tightly around her waist.
Jason ran a hand through his thick brown hair and looked at the family on the couch. “I’m sorry if you think I sound uncaring. I’m not. But I learned the hard way not to interfere with mortals. There’s no reason to return violence with violence in this case, since there’s already a massive manhunt for this gang.”
“What do you think?” Octavia questioned the other two local vampires.
“These people are getting a lot of media coverage,” Micah Cage said. “We might not want to insert ourselves into a situation that’s already so high-profile. It’s not like we’re Clan boys out to save the mortals from themselves.”
“Jason has a point about this being a random attack,” Elder Ross Waite said. He looked at Josephine. “Or does he?”
She looked thoughtful before she answered. “My sister is an experienced police officer. She thought we would be safe from the robbers once we escaped from the condo. They were wearing coveralls and masks and there was no way we could identify them, so there was no reason for them to come after us. But they did, and they shot at us. They followed us to the garage. No—they were waiting for us there.”
“They ambushed you?” Octavia asked.
Josephine nodded. “They were trying to kill us.”
“You’re certain of this?”
After another thoughtful pause, Josephine nodded. “If it wasn’t for Marc and Matt, they would have killed us.”
“Perhaps we’re dealing with vampire hunters,” the elder said.
“Oh, come on,” Jason protested. “They don’t do that anymore.”
“There is a group of Purists in the area,” Octavia said.
“The Purists have been robbing banks?” a skeptical Jason asked.
“A copycat diversion,” Matt suggested. “The Purists could have disguised themselves as the robbery crew to draw attention from their own activities.”
Jason stood and gave a scathing look around the room. “You all want a fight, don’t you?”
“You are Prime,” Ross said. “Don’t you?”
“Not with mortals. Especially not with pathetic mortals like the Purists.”
“They would have killed my mate and child,” Marc rumbled angrily. “I want them dealt with.”
“Of course,” Jason said. “But don’t count me in on this fight.” He glanced at his watch, then nodded politely to Octavia. “Excuse me, but I have things to do.”
She gestured toward the door. “Go feed your beasts, my dear. We’ll deal with the mortals.”
When Jason approached the door, Matt didn’t get out of his way. Their gazes locked for one hostile moment, but then Matt reminded himself that his quarrel with Jason was in the past; he had current business to deal with. He moved aside to let the other Prime go.
With Jason gone, Matt moved forward and got everyone’s attention. “I have jurisdiction here.” He looked at their hostess. “If Lady Octavia so agrees.”
“I ask for your help in the name of our community,” she responded.
“As do I,” Ross, the eldest among the Primes, added.
Matt nodded, then turned slowly to look at everyone in the room. “I will explain the rules of the hunt so that we are all perfectly clear. None of you will interfere with my actions. None of you will question my actions. You will give me any information and help I require. Understood?”
There were nods and murmurs of agreement, though not a single Prime looked happy with the rules Matt laid down. He didn’t blame them, as the need to be in control was as much a part of being Prime as the cravings for blood and sex were. But at least no one argued with him. He used to relish the territorial disputes that ended with his drawing first blood from those who questioned his authority, but no longer. He must be getting old and jaded, because these days he preferred simply getting on with the job.
“They tried to kill my mate and child,” Marc said. “Hunting them is my job.”
And what of my mate? She’s the one in the hospital. To Marc, Matt said, “As Brandon’s guardian, I claim that my right to lead the hunt comes before yours.”
Marc gently passed the baby to Josephine and got to his feet. “I’ve got to disagree with you on that, Matt.”
“Marc, I don’t want to fight you,” Matt said as the bigger Prime approached.
Marc gave a crooked grin. “Because you think I’ll win?”
Matt smirked. “Hell, no, because you still smell like fish.”
Chapter Nineteen
T he concrete was rough and cold beneath her hands and knees. Phillipa didn’t understand why that bothered her more than anything else, when the whole world was shutting down around her. Cold concrete was the only thing that seemed real. In the distance there was shouting, and shooting, and a baby crying. She knew she should open her eyes, because somebody needed to do something heroic, and it was up to her. But opening her eyes would only make the dizziness worse, and then she’d throw up. There was nothing heroic about vomit. Cold sweat rolled off her, and the shaking was getting worse.
Somehow she got to her feet and forced her eyes open. That was when she saw the vampire. Her vision was fuzzy, and it was as if she was peering down a long, darkening tunnel, but at the end of the tunnel she could clearly see a vampire standing there. Though it was shaped like a man, long fangs sprouted from its mouth and claws warped the shape of its hands. And its eyes were glowing an angry, fierce yellow.
“Matt?”
You do realize that this is a hypoglycemia-induced nightmare, right?
Right, she agreed with the sensible part of her subconscious.
“Matt?” was still the first thing she said as she woke up.
“He’s not here.”
The baritone voice was familiar. It was warm, and nice. She’d never have a dream about him being a vampire.
She turned her head and opened her eyes. She wasn’t surprised to find out that she was in a hospital room, or to see him seated by the bed. “Hi, Pete.”
He put down the magazine he’d been reading. “Do you want me to call him?”
“Of course not.” Her heart said differently, but her heart was no more reliable than any other part of her body. “He left for England today.” She sat up slowly, and smiled tentatively at her friend. “It is still today, right?”
He glanced at his watch. “You were brought to the emergency room four hours ago. You’ve been napping.”
She yawned and rubbed the back of her neck. “I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep the last few nights.” She felt herself blush, and saw that Pete noticed. She cleared her throat. Then she gasped as memory rushed back. “Jo! Brandon! Are they all right?” She swung her legs off the side of the bed.
Pete grabbed her shoulders as she started to stand. “They’re fine. Stay where you are.” He gave her shoulders an affectionate squeeze before taking his seat again. She watched his expression change from friendly concern to the neutrality of an investigator. “What happened?”
Phillipa gathered her thoughts, then calmly recited every detail of the incident, up to the point where her blood glucose crashed and she thought she saw a vampire in the basement.
“I really don’t know what happened after we reached the garage,” she told Detective Martin. “Do you?”
He checked a small notebook. “According to the statements from your sister and brother-in-law, Mr. Cage arrived home at the same time that officers arrived on scene. The perps had disabled all of the building’s security cameras, but they missed one of the alarm systems.”
She vividly remembered being chased and shot at, and for a moment she was as scared as any civilian in the same situation, but it passed into professional calm. “They were apprehended, right?”
Pete shook his head. “Not yet.”
Phillipa swore, and slapped a fist down on the mattress. “What is with these guys? We were watching the news about them robbing a bank when they broke into Jo’s place. Busy little bees, aren’t they?”
“Too busy,” he answered. “That’s why I’m thinking your home invasion might have been a copycat crew.”
“Why? These guys do burglary as well as armed robbery, don’t they?”
“But two jobs in one day is not their pattern. At least it hasn’t been.” He flipped the notebook shut. “And they haven’t shot at anyone before, either.”
When I’m done with them, they won’t shoot at anyone ever again, she vowed. Nobody attacks my family and gets away with it.
But she kept these vigilante thoughts to herself.
“They weren’t wearing the masks when they first showed up outside. So maybe they thought we could recognize them, to come after us like that,” she told Pete.
Did that mean that the threat might not be over? That her little sister and nephew were still at risk?
“Could you ID any of them?”
She closed her eyes and tried to bring up details of the group that had been on the scaffolding. “There were five of them, in white coveralls. One was tall and skinny. There was a blond—long hair tied back. At least one was female.”
“You saw that while they were still outside?”
She shook her head. “When we were fighting. Girls feel different than boys, you know.”
Pete smiled and nodded. “I have noticed that. This helps,” he added. “Anything else?”
“I stuck one of them with a knitting needle,” she told him. Ha—now Jo couldn’t tell her that her hobby wasn’t suitable for a tough street cop. “It was a wooden needle. If he’d been a vampire, it would have killed him.”
Pete looked thoroughly puzzled. “Except that there aren’t any vampires.”
“It was a joke.” Why had she said that? It wasn’t just because of the dream. Something else nagged at the back of her mind, something important. She couldn’t force the information to surface, though; it would come in its own time.
“Anything more? Could you work with a sketch artist?”
Before she could answer, Jo peered around the edge of the doorway. “How are you doing? Can I come in?” She stepped inside and held out Phillipa’s large leather purse. “I brought your stuff.”
Phillipa took the bag and dumped the contents out on the bed beside her. “Everything’s here,” she said. “My testing equipment, insulin and sharps, pills.”
“What about your wallet?” Pete asked.
“Yeah, that’s here too. Pretty inefficient thieves,” she said as she flipped through the wallet and found cash and credit cards undisturbed.
“We don’t think they took anything from the condo, either,” Jo said. “Marc and I did a walk-through and couldn’t find anything missing.”
“They let you back into the crime scene?” Phillipa asked. “Why’d you go back there?”
“Can I have a minute with my sister?” Jo asked Pete.
“Sure. I’ll get some coffee. Can you have coffee, Phillipa?”
“I can. And I’d love some.”
“None for me, thanks,” Jo said when he looked questioningly at her. She waited until Pete was gone before she said, “Would you mind if I left town? More importantly, do you think you’d be all right here? Or would it be better if you came with us? And thanks for saving me and the baby, Sis. If you hadn’t gotten us out of there…”
Phillipa was aware that her fast-talking sister was both guilty and sheepish. And probably still in shock from the earlier danger.
“You’re the one who got us out,” Phillipa told her. “I only got us as far as the elevators. Then I passed out,” she added grimly.
Jo hugged her. “You could have died.”
“Yeah, and it was my own fault. If I’d had some candy on me we’d have made it to your Jeep without the added melodrama. And what do you mean, is it all right if you leave town? Of course it’s all right. I’m not an invalid.” Even if she was sitting in a hospital room. “It’s not like you have a house to go back to, and you were leaving tomorrow anyway. Right? Marc has business to get back to.”
“Yes. But he’s very angry about the attack, and practically had to be beaten into seeing sense about leaving.”
Phillipa laughed at the notion of her sister beating up on the big fella. “Apparently you won.”
Jo grinned. “It wasn’t me. It was more of a family decision, and Marc agreed it’ll be better if he takes me and Brandon home. But I’m not going anywhere unless I know you’re going to be all right. You can come to New York with us. Or go home to Phoenix if—”
“I’m staying right here.” Frankly, Phillipa thought it would be better if her sister and her family weren’t in Las Vegas while she made absolutely sure the town was safe for them. “I’ve got job interviews, remember?” she reminded Jo.
“And Pete,” Jo added hopefully.
“What about Pete?” Pete asked, returning with a steaming coffee cup in each hand.
“I’ve been hoping you’ll have a nice romance with my sister,” Jo said unabashedly.
“Hey!” Phillipa complained.
“I’m willing,” Pete answered. “In fact, I’m actually here to ask your sister for a date.”
Phillipa almost spilled the hot coffee, but managed to put it down on the bedside table. She stood up.
“That’s great,” Jo said brightly. “I hope you two have a good time.”
“Excuse me.” Phillipa waved. “I’m right here.” She looked at her friend. “What are you talking about, Peter Martin?”
“Are you feeling we
ll enough to stand?” Jo interrupted.
Phillipa couldn’t bear to be coddled, but there was also no way to lie to her empathic sister.
“I’m hungry, that’s all. But I can fix that right now,” she said, and plucked an energy bar from the pile of things she’d spilled from her purse. “Two carbohydrate exchanges, and I’ll be just fine.” After swallowing a couple of bites of the cranberry oatmeal bar, she turned her attention to Pete once more. “So—a date, Detective?”
“Sort of, Officer. I have to go see a man about a wolf, and I thought you might want to come along.”
That sounded intriguing. Phillipa liked Pete a lot, and she welcomed any chance to get her mind off of Bridger. She also wasn’t done discussing the attack with him yet.
“Okay,” she said. “Let me do whatever I have to do to get out of here, and then we’ll go see about a wolf.” She smiled at her sister. “And you take your family to New York. It is okay if the Cages leave Las Vegas, isn’t it?” she asked Pete.
“As long as the department knows how to get hold of them, that’s fine.” He came forward to help as she started stuffing things back into her purse. “As soon as you’re done here, I’ll take you back to your hotel. You need to change into something nice to go on this wolf hunt.”
Chapter Twenty
M ike knew he was being hunted. The other werewolf knew he was trapped in this form, and that he was wounded. This would be the perfect opportunity to track him down—to track the Tracker. Wouldn’t that be a coup of a kill?
It was dark now. Finally. And the torturous heat had faded. It had been the longest day of his life. Thirst and hunger and pain still nagged at him, but at least he now had the darkness to cover his movements.
And move he must. But where?
When the day started, he’d been confident of locating Matt somewhere in the city. Now he wanted to head back into the desert, to go to ground far from the danger and confusion and sheer terror that came from being in the midst of humans. In his current state, he could almost sympathize with why the lycanthrope killed them. To rid the world of humans would be a blessing. Or at least, escaping them would be.
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