Miller’s last turn was onto a long, private drive. Following beyond that point was a surefire way to blow the lid off this thing. So, I pulled onto the shoulder and killed the Bronco’s engine.
I can be patient, I tried to convince myself. I gripped the steering wheel until it creaked under my fingers.
I can totally be patient…if I’m a little closer to Mandy.
The empty field between the highway and the house at the end of the drive didn’t offer much cover, but with the Eye of Blood, I was sure I could find my way across it without being spotted. I wondered if Ursula had cameras around her little hideout. Did she have guards or a harem of ninjas? Had she half-sired anyone but Miller?
Half-sired humans were nothing to sneeze at. Even if Mandy hadn’t planned to let Miller snatch her, and even with her wolfish strength, Ursula’s potential scion would have given her a run for her money. Their strength increased with age, same as a vampire’s. I had no doubt that Roman could take me in a fair fight. Of course, I was just a vampling.
I climbed out of the Bronco and circled to the back hatch where I collected my shotgun and stuffed a handful of target shells into the pocket of my blazer. The Glock and Browning were already strapped into their holsters. I wouldn’t use them if I didn’t have to.
I tucked Mandy’s phone into my back pocket and locked up the Bronco before setting off across the field. The earth was hard under my dress shoes. If I’d known how much hell this night had in store for me, I would have gone with the special-ops gear. It would have been warmer, too.
I held the collar of my blazer tighter against my throat and tucked the shotgun under one arm. My hands were frozen. A light wind swept over the field, causing my ponytail to whip my face and my eyes to water. It was a mild night for winter, but the fishnet top under my jacket didn’t do mild. It didn’t do anything.
I rubbed a hand under my nose and blew hot breath into my fist, trying to thaw my fingers. When the ground evened out near the driveway, I picked up the pace. A few trees offered cover, but with the all-consuming darkness, I doubted I needed them.
The Cadillac was parked in a patch of gravel in front of the house. I ducked down behind it and pulled out Mandy’s phone, checking the GPS app to see if she was still in the trunk. The blinking dot showed her somewhere inside the house. Great.
Kicking in the front door wasn’t really an option if I wanted to stay in Vanessa’s good graces—or at least off her hit list. But sitting still wasn’t going to cut it either. Adrenaline was eating me alive. I pushed away from the car and crept up to the house. There was bound to be a lit window somewhere.
The wraparound porch was empty. I stayed close to the lattice skirting that ran beneath it, stepping lightly so the gravel in the bordering flowerbeds didn’t crunch. Where the porch ended, a hedgerow brushed up against the siding. It walled off a small patio behind the house, and that’s where I found her.
I squatted behind the hedge and laid my shotgun over my knees, silently positioning myself until I found a suitable gap in the shrubbery. It wasn’t much of a view, but with my blood vision, it was enough.
Ursula reclined in a lounge chair at the edge of the patio. Cheap solar lights glowed around her, staked into the frozen earth along the perimeter of the backyard. It butted up against empty fields on all sides. Rows of barren, tilled earth stretched on for miles, patiently waiting for spring.
Ursula looked like she was waiting, too. Her unblinking eyes stared up at the night sky, taking in the stars as if she wished they could swallow her whole. I’d seen pictures of her in the case file, but they were from the nineties. Vampires might not age in the traditional sense, but there was a maturity that showed in the way they carried themselves, and in the light of their eyes.
Ursula had aged. She was still beautiful, with deep red hair that lay in a thick braid over one shoulder. She wore an oversized cashmere sweater and a pair of leggings with riding boots. It was a casual, modern style that startled me. In the few portraits I’d seen of her with her sire, she’d been in frilly ball gowns. I realized now that she probably only rocked the regal look at the queen’s parties. The reality was still a shocker.
The back door opened, and my heart jolted at the sound of Mandy’s muffled protests. I ducked down farther behind the hedge, while at the same time trying to catch a glimpse of my girl.
Miller had put a bag over Mandy’s head and silver cuffs around her wrists. I cringed, knowing how much those suckers burned. I’d have her out of them soon…as long as Vanessa hurried the hell up.
Ursula finally blinked. She twisted around in the lounge chair and put her boots down on the patio floor. A vein on her temple throbbed. “What…what is this?”
Miller smirked. “A late Christmas gift, my love.” She pulled the bag off with all the flair of a magician, mussing the ribbon I’d tied in Mandy’s curls.
Ursula’s breath rushed out in a furious shudder. She stood and folded her hands over her chest as if stanching a wound. “Who is this girl? What is it you expect me to do with her?”
Miller blinked stiffly, her eyes searching Mandy’s face and her pink dress. “Isn’t this…? I thought…” Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Something clicked, and her eyes zipped over the dark fields.
“What have you done?” Ursula whispered.
Miller took Mandy by the shoulders and turned her around. “Who are you?”
“Maybe you should have asked that before you snatched me out of my motel room,” she said. Ever the smartass. Miller gave her a shake. Then she pulled a switchblade from the pocket of her leather jacket and put it to Mandy’s throat. My hands tightened on the shotgun.
“Talk, or bleed. Those are your options,” Miller hissed. She shoved Mandy down onto the lounge chair. The girl was unsettlingly quiet. She pressed her lips together as a wince tightened the skin around her eyes. Her wrists were raw and blistered under the silver cuffs.
“I just wanted to go camping,” she grumbled. Her answer was as much for me as for Miller and Ursula. Guilt soured my stomach, and I vowed to take her camping myself after this case was closed.
“Annie?” Ursula’s head turned, her ear tilting upward. “Do you hear that?”
Miller’s breath fogged the air as she listened. I could hear it now, too. The distant hum of vehicles flying down the highway. On a road that didn’t see that kind of action, it was curious. For someone who had been on the run for so long, it was a five-alarm omen.
“I’m so sorry.” Miller gave Ursula a pained look. Tears sparkled in the corners of her eyes. “You have to run. I… I’ll think of some way to stall them.”
“Oh, Annie.” Ursula’s expression softened. She touched the other woman’s chin and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “You’ve been more than I deserve.”
“I’m so sorry,” Miller repeated. She closed her eyes, and tears spilled down her cheeks.
“I know.” Ursula’s eyes slid to Mandy. “She does share a striking resemblance. Doesn’t she? Perhaps I’ll have a bite before departing.”
Mandy’s eyes lit with yellow fire, giving away her true nature. “Careful. I bite back.”
“A wolf.” Ursula circled the lounge chair, closing in on her. “Even better.”
We were out of time. Vanessa and company were taking too long.
Mine, my blood hummed. I stood and took aim over the hedge with the shotgun.
“Quack, quack,” I whispered.
Mandy rolled off the chair and flattened herself to the ground, and then I pulled the trigger.
Chapter Seventeen
Ursula’s gasp ripped through the air. The blast had grazed her, pellets tearing at the sleeve of her sweater. She clutched her arm as blood spotted the gray cashmere. Cold, blue eyes narrowed at me.
“Run!” Miller shouted, putting herself between us. The shot had just missed her, but I had another ready to go.
“It’s not silver,” Ursula said, surprise hitching her voice.
“
I was told I couldn’t kill you, but no one said anything about not filling your face with buckshot.” I kept the gun trained on the half-sired, ready to move the second the duchess did.
“Is this one yours?” Miller pointed the tip of her knife at Mandy, still flattened to the ground. She bent over and grabbed a handful of Mandy’s hair, wrenching her to her feet before I had a chance to get off another shot.
“Never seen her before,” I lied.
“Then you won’t mind if I carve her up?” When I didn’t reply, she sneered. “That’s what I thought.”
“You’re surrounded.” It was another lie, but I hoped it would be true soon enough. “Do yourself a favor and stand down.”
“Go, Ursula,” Miller said over her shoulder, putting the blade against Mandy’s throat again. “I’ve got this.”
The duchess made her escape into the back field. I wanted to go after her, but there was no way I’d leave Mandy to be sliced and diced. I ground my teeth and stepped around the hedgerow.
“Stay put,” Miller demanded, the tip of her blade gouging Mandy’s neck. Her eyes darted to Ursula’s back, and mine followed, taking note of the direction she fled.
I activated the Eye of Blood and searched deeper into the distance. There was a nest of woods not far off. And beyond that, the interstate. From there, it was a short ride to Springfield. Then she’d disappear again, maybe for another twenty years. I couldn’t let that happen.
I turned back to Miller, trying to think my way through the problem. Mandy tilted her chin in the air, pulling her throat away from the woman’s blade as best she could while being yanked about by the hair. Her wild eyes sought mine. The look she gave me was one of annoyance. She was still playing the part. I returned her stare with a subtle nod.
Mandy twisted, letting the knife scrape across her skin as she slipped her cuffed hands inside Miller’s hold. The woman pulled harder on her scalp, but it only helped turn Mandy in the direction she was already headed. She linked her cuffed hands and delivered a blow to the side of Miller’s head, rocking her back a step.
Miller grunted at the impact, but managed to hang on to Mandy’s hair. The girl’s eyes glowed brighter, and the bones in her face began to shift under her skin. It was a terrifying sight, no matter how many times I’d witnessed her do it. That glimpse of the beast beneath was enough to make my breath catch every time.
That fear reflected in Miller’s face, too. She pulled her knife back, priming to deliver a killing blow. It was the window I needed.
The buckshot dotted Mandy’s shoulder, but most of it found its way into Miller’s outstretched arm. She screamed and released both Mandy and the knife.
Mandy took the opportunity to swing her linked hands at the woman again, this time delivering a batter’s uppercut right under Miller’s chin. When it was clear the woman was unconscious, Mandy knelt down and started picking through her pockets—I assumed looking for the keys to her cuffs.
“Are you good?” I asked, inching toward the field.
“Yeah,” Mandy snapped. “Get out of here already. I didn’t play dress-up for nothing.”
I tore off. My blood vision painted the night red and the stars bright pink. It was almost too intense, the stark color with no lines to break it up, but I tried to focus on the braid slapping against Ursula’s back ahead of me. She was nearing the trees.
One hand still gripped her wounded arm. Vanessa would not be happy about that, but I had a feeling she’d be even less thrilled if Ursula got away.
A narrow path curled along the edge of the field. It was either a private drive or a country road. I couldn’t be sure without checking the map. I tried to focus on the ground in front of me, jumping over the upturned earth. It was tiring and slowed my progress, but a twisted ankle wouldn’t buy any extra time.
The cold air burned in my lungs, and the shotgun felt heavier with each step. The Eye of Blood was draining my energy. I could tell by the way it pulsed at the edges of my sight, but I pushed on, determined to chase Ursula to the ends of the Earth—or into the rising sun—if that’s what it took.
This was one monster that would not get away from me.
Headlights sliced across the tree line, and then the beam centered on the road up ahead. Two SUVs barreled down the gravel, sending up a cloud of dust in their wake. Victory was on the horizon.
I paused to bend over and catch my breath, but I kept my eyes on Ursula. She’d seen the vehicles, too. The duchess stood in the empty field between us, looking back and forth as if trying to decide what to do next.
She stumbled and fell to her knees, chest heaving from her useless marathon. A look of defeat and despair shadowed her glossy eyes, and her sobs echoed across the field. They stabbed at my heart and made me question everything I thought I knew about her.
She’s a monster. I had to hold on to that fact. Scarlett had been good at tricking sympathy out of others, too. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. No matter how much my blood responded to Ursula’s suffering.
She threw back her head and looked at the sky, her breath fogging upward like a smoke signal. I stalked in closer as the SUVs parked along the ditch, my eyes searching for familiar faces. When I spotted Roman, I loosed a trembling breath of relief.
He was here, and I wanted nothing more than to run into his arms. But then Vanessa appeared beside him. Roman cowered under her fierce, scolding gaze, and when she pointed him back to the SUV, he retreated without question. His eyes skimmed the field, landing briefly on me before he closed the passenger door behind him.
My fingers tightened around the shotgun as Vanessa and three more agents spread out and entered the field from the opposite side. They all wore tactical gear and carried the Moba M4 rifles we were trained with at the bat cave. I reached Ursula at the same time they did, completing the circle.
Vanessa gave me a critical scowl, and I remembered the makeup I’d put on for the trip to Bleeders. I glanced down and noticed that the fishnet top was peeking out above the collar of my blazer, too. Super professional.
One of the agents slipped the strap of their rifle over one shoulder and took Ursula’s uninjured arm. They helped her up and escorted her to the SUV Roman waited in. Once she was secured, Vanessa turned her attention back to me.
Her green eyes glowed in the dark. My blood vision was gone, completely tapped out. Not even she could stir it to life right now.
I held my breath, wondering if Vanessa would go back on her word about the blood duel. Maybe she’d shoot me right here and now and leave my bleeding corpse in the field for the sun to find. It was only a few hours off.
“Starsgard and Miller have already been picked up,” she finally said. “I’ve ordered another agent to retrieve your vehicle and drive it back to the city.” My heart dropped, but then she added, “You’ll ride with Erickson. We’re to report to the duke straightaway.”
* * * * *
The three agents in Erickson’s SUV didn’t say a word the entire way to the duke’s manor in Ladue. They wouldn’t even look at me. I didn’t care. The peace and quiet was welcome, and I had too much on my mind to be bothered with their snobbery anyway.
I’d been relieved of all three of my guns before being escorted into the back seat. Vanessa wasn’t fooling around. If I didn’t request and receive the duke’s approval for a transfer tonight, her withdrawal of the blood duel was null and void. This was her fixing the game—making sure she was perfectly poised to kill me the second I failed.
Now that I’d made it this far, I was actually considering the possibility that the duke wouldn’t grant me a transfer. If that happened, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. Maybe Vanessa would settle for me quitting Blood Vice and making the move out of state on my own.
My future was quickly progressing from grim to manic-depressive. I wished Mandy were in the SUV with me. I needed someone to talk to—and I was terrified what all of this would mean for her future, too.
It was pushing 6:00 A.M. when we finally pulled into Ladue
. Half a dozen SUVs filed into the circular drive at the duke’s manor. He and an alarming number of guards waited outside in the cold, eager to see Ursula with their own eyes I suspected.
Dante was wrapped in a long, wool coat. His gloved hands were folded in front of him, bright eyes shining hopefully. He seemed…cheerful. I wondered if the Vampiric High Council even knew that Ursula had been found. Wouldn’t they expect the duchess to be properly detained before her trial?
Vanessa’s SUV stopped in front of the duke’s entourage. She jumped out and circled the vehicle, immediately opening the back door for Ursula to exit. Twenty years of waiting would not tolerate a second more. I climbed out of Erickson’s SUV in time to witness the reunion, and I did my best to ignore the fact that two agents shadowed my every step.
Dante made an affronted noise when he saw the blood on Ursula’s sweater. He embraced her tightly, disregarding her refusal to hug him back.
“You poor thing,” he cooed. “I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through.”
“Can’t you?” Ursula lifted her chin, eyes darting from face to face until she found mine. “Are these not your warriors? Do they not follow your command?”
“Forgive me, cousin,” Dante said, that angelic sympathy of his softening the lines of his face. “I did not expect them to be so overzealous.” He shot Vanessa a hard look that she, in turn, passed on to me.
Two agents from an SUV farther down the line approached with Miller held between them, her hands cuffed behind her back.
“Your Grace?” one of the agents said, drawing his attention.
“This is a personal donor of yours?” Dante pulled away from Ursula and blinked at Miller as if she were familiar.
The dead stare Ursula gave Miller chilled me to the core. “I don’t care what you do with this one, as long as I never have to see her face again.” She turned back to Dante. “Tell me you have fresh blood in the cellar.”
Blood Vice (Book 4): Blood Dolls Page 15