Illumination (The Penton Vampire Legacy Book 5)

by Susannah Sandlin

  Cage leaned forward from the seat behind them. “Frank Greisser is not a man who leaves loose ends. Even if he decides to abandon his breeding program—which I doubt—he will not abandon you because you’ve seen and heard too much. He knows where you live and work. He knows who your friends and colleagues are. His resources are unlimited. He will find you.”

  Shay blinked back tears and Nik wanted to comfort her…until he realized they were tears of fury, not fear. “Is this true?” she hissed at Nik. “What right does that jackass have to steal my life? I have a job. I have plans. I have a fucking National Science Foundation research grant and could be fast-tracked to a Presidential Early-Career Award. Do you know what that means?”

  Nik had no clue, but was saved from answering by the return of the shoppers. It took a couple of minutes for everyone to get sorted, and for Archer to shift and dress while hiding behind the SUV.

  “Either Cage is trying to get rid of me, or I’m supposed to give you your dinner,” Robin said from Nik’s right, reaching up to cradle his chin and turn his head toward her. “Yep, those are some shiny eyes, Niko.”

  Great. Point it out, as if it wasn’t embarrassing enough that vampire eyes gave away their every emotion.

  Archer drove out of Laurel and within minutes they were once again on the dark backroads, following the most roundabout route the Toyota’s built-in GPS could find. As long as they got to Penton by three or four in the morning, they’d have time to catch up with the lieutenants and find accommodations and security for Shay.

  “Okay, dinnertime.”

  Nik watched Robin roll up her left sleeve and hold her arm in front of him. Thank God it was dark so no one could see him blush, but how could he not feel self-conscious, feeding in a vehicle full of observers? Especially with Shay’s hip and thigh running alongside mine. Shit.

  He took a deep breath. “I can wait a while, thanks.”

  “God, save me from baby vampires.” Robin turned to Cage, who sat behind her. “Can I borrow your knife? I think Nik has turned bashful on us.”

  “Personally, I think Nik is only bashful because he doesn’t want to feed with Shay watching,” he said, handing a small pen knife to Robin. “I’ve been sensing some of those special vampire vibes coming from his direction, if you know what I mean.”

  Oh holy fuck. He was not giving off vampire mating vibes, and thank God Cage hadn’t added the word “mating” in his wrong assessment of the situation.

  “I don’t need the damned knife.” Nik grabbed Robin’s arm and jerked it in front of his mouth, giving her forearm a quick lick before sinking in his fangs. Robin released a soft sigh, and Nik could swear he heard Cage growling behind him. Cage did not like his mate feeding anyone else, but Nik also knew he wouldn’t ask Robin to deny her best friend.

  Nik slowed his feeding, drawing the rich shifter blood more slowly, and trying not to embarrass himself more by moaning or making slurping noises. He’d been feeding with his eyes closed but when he sensed Shay moving next to him, he opened them and slid his gaze to her. She watched him with an expression of naked curiosity, her lips parted slightly. When she raised her gaze from his mouth to his eyes, she blinked and blushed—he could tell from the way her blood rushed toward the surface of her skin, heated it, revealed what she felt inside. She was as drawn to him as he was to her.

  Not happening. They were both having weak moments in extraordinary circumstances. Once they reached Penton, she’d give him hell for leaving her all those years ago and that would be the end of it.

  Nik pulled away from Robin’s arm, licked the puncture wounds to heal them, and kissed her wrist. “Thanks, Robin—and you too, Cage.”

  “No problem. Feel better?” Robin punched him on the arm.

  “I’m good. That’s going to help the stab wound heal.”

  “Wish I could say the same for my bloody arm.” Cage spoke so softly Nik wasn’t sure anyone else heard , but a passing headlight illuminated Robin’s face enough for Nik to see the tears on her cheeks.

  Nik got it. Cage was an adrenaline junkie like Robin. They liked life at high speed. They were always ready for a fight and were good at winning them. Cage had lost the ability to do a lot of the things that made him who he was. Nik had watched friends from his deployments with the Rangers deal with the same kind of injuries. Some made the adjustments well; others self-destructed.

  These people were his family now, and they’d all been willing to help him. It’s what made Penton special. It’s what made it worth the fight. He’d been around enough wounded veterans that he might be able to help Cage.

  Glory broke the awkward silence that had fallen over the group. “I think I’ll call Mirren and give him an update.” She pulled her mobile phone from her jeans pocket. “And I think I’ll put it on speaker and make sure he knows it. That way, he’s more likely to behave himself and less likely to threaten me for making this trip.”

  Shay leaned forward. “That’s your mate, right? He’d really threaten you? Can we help?”

  Nik grinned, and he heard Cage chuckle behind him.

  Glory swiveled in her seat. “Yes, he’ll threaten to spank me good, and I just might let him.” She winked and turned back around, leaving Shay blushing again. Nik was getting way too aware of her body and its reaction to her emotions.

  Glory punched a speed-dial number and held the phone up while the speaker filled the vehicle.

  The voice that came from the phone was definitely not Mirren Kincaid. “Well, hello, unknown caller. Care to tell me your name?”

  Who the hell had answered Mirren’s phone? Chills ran up Nik’s spine, and the tension rolling off Cage and Robin was almost physical. Archer pulled the SUV to the shoulder of the highway and stopped.

  “Who is this?” Glory’s voice wavered. “Put Mirren Kincaid on, please.”

  The man laughed. He had a generic American accent and wasn’t the least familiar to Nik. Where was Mirren?

  “Sorry, lady, but Mirren Kincaid can’t come to the phone. Mirren Kincaid won’t be talking to anyone ever again because he’s dead. His heart is laying beside me like a big lump of red beef.”

  Archer grabbed the phone from Glory’s hand and ended the call. “Don’t want it being geolocated,” he explained. “Anything on this phone that can’t be replaced?”

  “Damn. Throw it out,” Nik said. They all had coded their contact lists, so no way the guy with the phone would know it was Mirren’s mate calling. But obviously, he’d know it was a friend. It wouldn’t take much skill to track the call to Mississippi.

  Archer opened the SUV door, got out, and lobbed it far into the darkness before getting back inside. He pulled back on the road, but no one spoke for the longest few seconds Nik could remember.

  Nik pulled out his own phone, which was dead. “Cage, can you call Will?”

  “On it.” Robin moved back to sit beside Cage while he made the call. “Voicemail. I’ll try Randa.”

  “Put it on speaker,” Glory said, her voice hoarse.

  Randa answered on the third ring, with gunfire peppering the background. “Cage? Where are you?”

  “We’re maybe two hours out of Penton.” Which gave them about four hours until sunrise. “What’s going on? Where are Mirren and Will?”

  “Wait, let me get in a more secure spot.”

  Through the phone, they heard hurried footsteps, more gunshots, a door opening and closing. Nik wished they were closer and could help.

  “There.” Randa’s voice was clearer, the background noises dulled. “I came inside the clinic. Greisser has sent out enough vampires to create a perimeter around downtown and seal us off. We’re trying to kill as many as we can to keep an opening.”

  “Randa, somebody we don’t know answered Mirren’s phone when I tried to call,” Glory said. “He told me Mirren was dead. And Will didn’t answer his phone.”

  “What?” A long silence followed. “Let me track down Will and call you back.” And she was gone.

  Nik
leaned forward and squeezed Glory’s shoulder. He couldn’t see her face, but her body language said everything. She was devastated.

  Mirren Kincaid couldn’t be dead. Everyone always said Penton couldn’t exist without Aidan, but it was Mirren whose spirit ran that town. Shay reached over and took his hand, and it wasn’t till he looked at her that he realized tears welled in his own eyes.

  It took almost twenty agonizing minutes before Randa called. “I finally tracked Will down. He’s checking on Mirren and one of us will call you asap.”

  Damn it. More waiting.

  Cage’s calm voice cut through the silence. “It isn’t true, Gloriana.”

  Glory jerked around to look at him, the dashboard lights reflecting on eyes shiny with tears. “How do you know? How could you know?”

  “How do you feel?” Cage countered.

  Hearing that question, Nik relaxed. “He’s right, Glory. Remember how sick everyone bonded to Aidan got when he got hurt in that car crash? Remember what happened to Krys? You’re Mirren’s mate. You’d be unconscious if he were even badly hurt, much less dead. It has to be a lie.”

  “But why would that man have his phone? And aren’t there limits on how far the bonds can be felt? Cage, you and Aidan were closer to Penton when that accident happened. We’re too far out.”

  Archer changed the route on the GPS and headed for the nearest interstate. They faster they could get to Penton, the better.

  Chapter 23 * Mirren

  Some of Frank Greisser’s people were idiots, pure and simple. Of course, when you used fangs for hire and would take anybody who volunteered, you got fuck-all for quality anyway. The more idiot vampires Greisser sent to Penton, the better. That meant fewer smart ones.

  The male vampire Mirren was watching had laid his gun aside and sat on the ground, leaning against the side of the old cotton mill that had given life to Penton about a hundred years ago and whose closing had rang its death knell in the late 20th century as textile production moved overseas. It’s how Aidan had been able to gradually buy up the whole town and control who lived here.

  The mill lay in semi-ruins from various fires and attacks over the past couple of years as the fights with the Tribunal bullies accelerated, but the building still had enough structural integrity to provide shadow for the idiot vampire who, rather than watching for Pentonites to kill, was playing with a mobile phone.

  Aw, fuck me. Idiot wasn’t playing with a phone; he was playing with Mirren’s phone. Mirren recognized the pattern of the case. He patted his pockets and found it missing—must have happened while he was making mincemeat of the bunch of Tribunal toadies that had gathered on the south side of town. This fool probably thought he could decode some of the contacts from Mirren’s phone and deliver them to Greisser for a nice bonus.

  Mirren drew his .45, eased around the side of the mill, and came to a stop behind the guy. “Nice phone.”

  Idiot scrambled to his feet, dropping the device. It skittered off his foot and came to a rest near Mirren, who picked it up and stuck it back in his pocket. “Thanks. You saved me the trouble of prying it out of your stiff little fingers.”

  The guy looked down at his hands and flexed his fingers. “They’re plenty flexible to shoot you with.”

  “Not after rigor mortis sets in, fuck-for-brains, and you left your gun on the ground. Go ahead, I’ll give you a fighting chance. Pick up your weapon.”

  Idiot leaned over to retrieve his gun from the ground; Mirren aimed for the top of his head and pulled the trigger before he’d gotten a grip on the pistol. “Sorry, man. No time for playing with my prey tonight. Glory’s coming home.”

  He had a few words for her when she got here, too. He practiced them as he went about the routine of dispatching Idiot to his final resting place. Don’t EVER take off like that while I’m in daysleep when I’ve told you not to. He sliced a neat incision in Idiot’s chest, cut out the heart, and threw it on the ground. What part of ‘no’ did you not understand, Gloriana? He rifled through Idiot’s pockets and pulled out a wallet and another mobile phone. Don’t make me handcuff you to me when I’m in daysleep to keep you safe. He stuffed the wallet and phone in a pocket of his cargo pants with two others he’d already confiscated tonight. When I say no, I mean no.

  He pulled out his phone and called Will. “I’ve got a cleanup on aisle five at the old mill.”

  Will didn’t respond for a few seconds, then, “What the hell is going on? Glory tried to call you, some dude answered your phone and told her you were dead, and she has half of Penton in a panic right now. Not to mention she’s scared to death.”

  Fuck. Mirren wished he’d known that before he’d sent Idiot to the vast beyond. He’d have dragged it out longer.

  “I lost my phone and the loser found it. I’ll call Glory. You let the lieutenants in Penton know I’m the same living bastard I always was.”

  Will huffed into the phone; Mirren couldn’t tell if it was a sound of exasperation or a laugh. “Don’t call Glory—they tossed her phone in case it was compromised. Call Cage.”

  Guess Mirren wouldn’t use all those threats on Glory. He’d die before he scared her like this on purpose. He punched in the speed dial for Cage, who answered on the first ring.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “It’s me, Cage. I’m okay. Let me talk to Glory.”

  A shuffling noise filtered out of the phone until Glory came online. “Mirren?”

  Oh hell. He could tell she’d been crying. “I’m sorry, baby. I guess I lost my phone and some idiot hired fang of Greisser’s found it.”

  “Oh thank God. I was so afraid.” She took a deep, audible breath. “Don’t you ever do that to me again. Do you hear me? I will hurt you.”

  Mirren couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face. “Where are you?”

  “About five miles out now.”

  He hung up the phone and moved the conversation to his head. Are you okay? Everyone else okay?

  Nik is hurt, but it’s minor. Cage is depressed. We’re all exhausted. Where do we need to go?

  Mirren took a look around, scented the air for other vampires, then turned his attention back to his mate. We’ve broken their perimeter and they don’t have time to re-form it tonight. Have Archer set the old mill on fire as a distraction in case there are still hired fangs lurking around, and tell him to take out anyone he doesn’t know. Then tell him to go to the training center and get some rest himself, along with Cage and Robin. Most of our people are there now. We need the shifters to organize patrol during daylight hours tomorrow and Cage to make plans for tomorrow night. The rest of you come to the clinic, to Krys’s room. Use the entrance in Aidan’s old greenhouse.

  Got it. See you soon. I love you, vampire.

  We’re still going to have a talk about you leaving while I was in daysleep, Glory.

  You promise? Maybe you can spank me. Oh, and Merry Christmas.

  Yeah, he might spank her—after they talked. If Glory thought she could bat those pretty eyes of hers and make him forget that she’d run off on a dangerous job while he was in daysleep, she had another thing coming. Although he did feel guilty about the whole phone business.

  Mirren took another look around the cotton mill exterior. The hulking three-story, red-brick building was surrounded by a concrete parking lot on three sides and a paved road in front. No wind stirred the damp, pine-scented air tonight, so the fire wouldn’t spread. They’d been threatening to burn the damned thing down for at least a year anyway. Too many hiding places.

  Pocketing Idiot’s wallet and phone, he made his way through the shadows of downtown, stopping to sense any vampires not in the Penton scathe, or any humans not bonded to one of them. Everything was quiet. He gradually reached the older, residential part of town, where Aidan had once lived on a cul-de-sac in a white, turn-of-the-century home that had been one of the town’s finest. To the back of the large side yard was an elaborate greenhouse system where Aidan, originally a farmer bac
k in early 17th-century Ireland, had indulged his hobby of raising night-blooming flowers.

  Now, everything lay in ruins. Tribunal fighters, led by Will’s sadistic father, had burned the house. All Mirren could make out in the dark were the silhouettes of two chimneys and the low, rectangular bulk of the home’s foundation. He followed a weedy path around the side of the house and waited a few moments, scenting the air again for outsiders—even the pregnant woman the Penton team would be bringing in. Nothing.

  Mirren entered the greenhouse, its structure intact but most of the glass broken into shards on the ground or hanging from the frames. It crunched under his boots as he walked down long rows of wild, overgrown plants. Even now, he could take a deep breath and appreciate why Aidan had loved it so much. Each leaf and stem retained a hint of sunshine and fresh, living things. Not exactly sensations vampires got to enjoy.

  In a far corner of the long, narrow structure, Mirren knelt and lifted a dirt- and weed-covered patch of sliver-thin wood. It covered the opening to the steel hatch that accessed the underground suites beneath the medical clinic.

  The tunnel had been bombed and, three months ago, still remained in heaps of concrete, rebar, and red dirt. The Penton crews had reopened and fortified it, extending the tunnel to the new training center. Beyond that, the tunnel branched into a dozen different escape hatches in different directions. The population of Penton had been trapped underground once; Mirren didn’t intend to see that happen again.

  He climbed down the ladder into a steel-lined holding area outside the tunnel proper, reaching up to slide the camouflaged opening back in place. He’d wait for the others here.

  The “lobby,” as the guys who constructed the area jokingly called it, was a ten-by-ten room with steel walls and sealed concrete floors. Metal benches stretched across part of each wall, and a big black trashcan sat in the corner. Mirren leaned against the wall near the trash and pulled out Idiot’s wallet.