Brian rested his hand on her shoulder and drew her closer. She felt the strength of his body as he held her against his side.
“I understand,” he said. “I wouldn’t survive it if I lost Abigail. Nathan is a hunter though. There is demon DNA in him too, and Kadence felt the pull to Ronan.”
“And his family has ruled the hunters for countless generations. That’s not something someone can just walk away from.”
He contemplated this before replying, “I’ll do what I can to help you.”
“Thank you,” she said.
• • •
Inside three of the houses, Alejandro’s team found a few corpses of men and women who appeared to have died fighting. In total, they discovered the bodies of twenty hunters and eighteen vampires.
Nathan watched as Alejandro’s men advanced on the door to the mission, which stood ajar. Alejandro’s men pushed it open and crept cautiously inside. Their video revealed the bodies of twenty more men, women, and children. Tears spilled down Kadence’s face; when she stepped closer to the screen, Ronan pulled her back.
“How many children?” Nathan asked.
A pause before Alejandro replied, “Seven.”
“Fuck.” Nathan rubbed his forehead as he took a minute to collect himself. He didn’t know if he wanted to cry over the senseless loss of life or tear this trailer apart. So rare and precious, hunter children were protected above all else, and a stronghold of them had just been wiped out. He doubted things would be any different in Moscow or Madurai.
It may not accomplish anything, but he would beat Joseph to a bloody pulp before ending his life. Then, he realized that he wouldn’t be able to kill Joseph anymore, at least not right away. They needed the bastard alive so they could try to learn where the missing hunters were, and Joseph’s plans.
The idea of being able to imprison and torture Joseph eased some of the rage building within him.
“There were only seven children under the age of maturity there,” Nathan said when he felt controlled enough to speak again.
In Ronan’s eyes, he saw the same anger and sadness tearing at Nathan’s stomach, but Ronan’s voice was emotionless when he spoke. “The children would be of no use to Joseph. After they’re turned, human children don’t continue to age, which is why the few who have been turned were destroyed. Children have no control over their hunger.
“I’m not sure what would happen to hunter children who are turned. Your DNA is similar enough they could age until maturity, like vampire children. However, if they don’t age, then they’re useless to Joseph, and even if they do age, it will take too long for them to grow strong enough to help with his plans.”
Declan pulled out a lollipop and twirled it in his fingers. Standing beside him, Asher and Logan had taken on the hue of chalk. Outside the door, Lucien, Killean, and Saxon kept watch, but their heads turned toward the conversation. Hunters had approached the trailer and stood only a few feet away from the vamps.
“Alejandro, if your men feel it’s safe to do so, have them bury the bodies. If not, get them out of that stronghold and away from San Francisco,” Nathan ordered as he turned back to the screens. “We’ve seen enough.”
In rapid Spanish, Alejandro spoke to his men before focusing on Nathan again. “They feel it is safe to bury them.”
“Good.” They could deal with what to do with the stronghold later. “Are you in a safe location?”
“Yes,” Alejandro replied.
Nathan didn’t ask where; the more the strongholds knew about each other, the more dangerous they were to each other if another one fell.
On one of the screens, boxes materialized as Roland succeed in bringing up the other leaders. Their bleary eyes stared back at Nathan before shifting to Ronan. Hostility radiated from most of them, but they had to realize his alliance with Ronan was more important now than before.
“We’ll make sure each of our new locations is secure before contacting one another again to form a more solid plan,” Nathan said. “We’re safer isolated for now, but remaining that way will put us at further risk.”
“When this is settled, and you’re willing to divulge at least what city you’re in, I can offer vampires for protection,” Ronan said.
Shouts erupted from the screen as half the hunter leaders adamantly refused any help while the other half contemplated it.
All slipping away, Nathan thought.
No matter what, from here on out, nothing would ever be the same. The landscape of the hunter organization was forever altered. He suspected the next time he called the leaders together some would come with the intention of leaving their union.
Vicky. He longed to touch her and have her ease some of the tumult churning within him, but he had to finish wading through this mess.
He waited for the leaders to tire themselves out before saying goodnight to them and turning off the computer. The ensuing silence was a balm to his aching ears.
“Now what?” Logan asked.
“Now we make sure we’re secure here,” Nathan replied. “And we prepare ourselves for war.”
“A war in which we’ll be fighting hunters turned Savages,” Kadence said. “I’m stronger than the average turned vampire. This new breed will be brutal opponents.”
“Which is part of the reason Joseph went after hunters,” Ronan said.
“What’s the other part?” Logan inquired.
“He’s eradicating an enemy by making it an ally,” Nathan answered. “An extremely powerful ally.”
“Well, fuck me,” Lucien said from outside.
“What do you think his next move will be?” Asher asked.
“I don’t know,” Ronan said. “I never saw this one coming.”
“I think he’s still close by,” Nathan said. “But instead of focusing on creating a new army out of humans to go after the hunters with, he’s binding together the existing Savages by offering those Savages something they couldn’t turn down.”
“Hunters,” Kadence murmured. “But how would Joseph know it’s possible for a hunter to become a vampire?”
Ronan cupped her cheek. “Because you successfully became one.”
“But how would he know I became a vampire?”
“Word travels fast through hunters and vampires,” Ronan replied.
“That it does,” Nathan said. “All the hunters know about you.”
“And some vamps do too,” Ronan said.
Tears shimmered in Kadence’s eyes before she wiped them away.
“But won’t the Savages want to kill the hunters?” Roland inquired.
“I’m sure not all the hunters taken will be turned. Some of them will be used for food, and to keep his followers happy,” Ronan said.
“Fuck!” Nathan snarled.
“Many Savages would hold off on killing the hunters if it meant a chance to see me, my men, and all hunters brought down. Joseph is dangling a prize in front of them big enough to warrant the Savages’ patience and obedience. It took time for Joseph to capture hunters, turn them into Savages, and learn how to take down their strongholds from them.”
“Bhavin had four hunters go missing three weeks ago. I’m not sure about the other strongholds. The missing aren’t reported to me until a month has passed,” Nathan said.
“Three weeks is plenty of time to turn someone into a vampire and starve them into madness,” Declan murmured.
“It is,” Ronan agreed.
“And somehow, he’s also brought Savages across the ocean into his fold,” Saxon said.
“Going by what that Savage said to me outside the warehouse a few months ago, Joseph isn’t working alone, and his partner, or partners, are either overseas or capable of traveling across water,” Ronan said. “The more a Savage kills the less they can tolerate sunlight, crucifixes, and holy water; crossing large bodies of water also becomes increasingly difficult. I believe Joseph is too far gone in his Savagery to be able to travel overseas.”
“You think you’re so st
rong, Ronan, so powerful, but you don’t know what’s coming. Not even you will be able to stop it,” Kadence murmured, repeating the words the vampire had spewed at Ronan months ago.
Since that day, those words had haunted Nathan. You don’t know what’s coming.
They just witnessed part of what was coming with the destruction of three hunter strongholds, but he sensed this was only the tip of the iceberg. Whatever else was coming, it would be brutal, and he suspected that many of them wouldn’t survive it.
CHAPTER 37
It was almost midnight by the time Nathan felt secure enough to leave the temporary stronghold for a couple of hours. Ronan had called a dozen trainees in to help stand guard with the hunters. Some of the elders protested this action, but when their protests resulted in a tie between them, Roland intervened and cast the deciding vote for the vampires to help.
Nathan didn’t think he’d ever seen the elders as irate as they were at Roland, but he would have vetoed them if they had voted against the vampire’s aid anyway. Roland’s vote had saved him from taking the brunt of their displeasure again.
“I’m going to get Vicky,” Nathan said when he gathered with Ronan, Kadence, Declan, Logan, and Asher in the restaurant again.
“Who is Vicky?” Logan asked.
With everything that happened, he’d forgotten Logan didn’t know about Vicky or Jordan, and Jordan would have to be dealt with soon. He’d planned to do it at the old stronghold, but he realized he couldn’t; Jordan would be a public trial.
It was time to make it clear that he wouldn’t tolerate any more discordance between the hunters. It was sink or swim time, and he would not be brought down by hunters who weren’t willing to at least doggy paddle.
“You saw her once, briefly, when we met with Ronan here before. She’s one of the twins who was standing in the hall,” Nathan told Logan.
Logan frowned at him. “Why are you going to get her?”
“She’s been helping me try to find a lead on Joseph, and I need to make sure she’s safe. I have a lot to fill you in on.”
“Did you call her?” Kadence asked.
“She’s not picking up,” Nathan replied. “I’ll go to her hotel.”
“She’s probably not there,” Declan said.
“Why not?” Nathan demanded, unable to keep the fear from his voice.
“After our meeting earlier, Ronan called Brian to let him know you and Vicky were working together. Brian later called me to say he and Abby were cutting their visit short and coming back. Ronan gave Vicky permission to return to whatever the two of you were doing with one of her family members. I’d bet money that’s what she’s doing now.”
Nathan’s mouth went dry as a sense of foreboding slid down his spine. Judging by the events of this day, he and Kadence were in far more danger than Vicky, but he couldn’t shake his growing worry for her. “I have to find her.”
Before anyone could say anything, the elders, minus Roland, opened the doors on the other side of the room and entered.
“Here comes the guillotine,” Asher murmured as the elders approached.
“Nathan,” Ida greeted and stopped ten feet away from them. Though she wasn’t the oldest hunter, Ida often took the lead in things. She purposely snubbed Kadence while some of the others, including Elfry, waved a greeting to her.
“Ida,” Nathan said tiredly.
“We’re going to hold the engagement ceremony tomorrow, during the Mayday celebration,” Ida stated.
“No,” he said.
“It will be more simple….” Ida’s voice trailed off; she blinked as Nathan’s response sank in. “Did you say no?”
“I did. There’s too much going on right now. The engagement ceremony can and will wait.”
Ida threw back her shoulders as the rest of the elders exchanged glances. “And that is exactly why it will happen!” Ida declared. “It will be more simple than normal, but our people need a distraction. The joy of upcoming marriage nuptials will provide that for them.”
“No,” Nathan said again. “The ceremony will not happen tomorrow.”
Ida gawked at him while over her shoulder the rest of the elders looked as if he’d dropped a bomb on them. Unwilling to hear any further protests from them, Nathan turned and walked away.
He could overrule them on any of the decisions they made, but the elders had been revered for centuries. They’d earned the right to be respected through years of sacrifice for their people, and while he saw their point about giving the hunters something to look forward to, the engagement ceremony would not happen.
• • •
Following the twisting path of the sewers, Nathan’s heart hammered as he tried to catch Vicky’s scent somewhere in the labyrinth of tunnels. Asher and Logan followed him as he led them deeper into the maze.
On the drive here, Logan rode with him while Asher followed in his Expedition. Nathan had filled Logan in on everything, knowing it would either push Logan away for good or ease the divide between them these past months.
Logan remained silent for a while when Nathan finished. Finally, he replied, “Jordan’s an asshole.”
And with those simple words, Nathan knew he’d gotten his friend back.
Stopping in the sewer, he caught the faint whiff of jasmine in the air. Nathan hurried faster until he was running. His hammering heart didn’t ease until, ahead of him, he heard voices drifting through the tunnels.
Coming around a bend in a pipe, he skidded to a halt when he came face-to-face with a tall, blond vampire with blood-red eyes and bared fangs. Nathan almost tackled the vamp before he recognized Brian.
“What are you doing here?” Brian growled.
Ignoring him, Nathan looked to where Vicky stood with her sister and Duncan. Though it would be easier to tell two specks of sand apart, Nathan knew immediately which one of the twins was Vicky. The pressure in his chest eased when her emerald eyes met his. He almost held his hand out to her, but the look on her face said she wouldn’t take it.
“Nathan? Why are you here?” she asked.
“I came to find you,” he said. “We have to go.”
“Go? Where? Why? And who is that?” Vicky nodded toward the man she’d seen once before, but she didn’t know his name.
“Logan, and we have to get you somewhere safer.”
“What’s going on?” Brian asked as he stepped closer to Abby.
“Nothing good. I’ll explain as we walk, but we have to move,” Nathan said.
“We have one more place to look,” Vicky said.
“Not tonight, and it would be best if Duncan, Sister, and the children leave here with us. I’m sure Ronan will take them in, even if the children are human,” Nathan replied. “Now, let’s go.”
Vicky bristled against Nathan’s command. Sorrow quickly doused her initial burst of joy over seeing him, and now she welcomed the anger. She was so tired of him and fate and everything else.
Nathan saw Vicky gearing up for an argument and recalled Lucien’s words about telling a woman what to do. “Please, come with me,” he urged.
That simple “please” knocked the wind out of her. She blinked at Nathan before her shoulders slouched and some of her ire eased.
“We can stop by our last location on the way back to Sister,” Duncan said.
The rest of Vicky’s argument faded away. “Then let’s go,” she said.
She fell in beside Abby to stay away from Nathan as Duncan took the lead. Nathan fell back toward her, and feeling like an idiotic child, Vicky slid to the other side of Abby. Her sister frowned at her before her eyes narrowed on Nathan.
“Why are you here and what is going on?” Brian demanded of Nathan.
Nathan gave them a recap of everything that had unfolded over the day and night. By the time he finished, they’d all stopped walking to stare at him.
Brian pulled Abby against his side as his eyes turned a deeper shade of red. “We have to get out of here.”
“That’s what I sai
d,” Nathan replied.
“Are you okay?” Vicky asked Nathan.
She’d intended to maintain an emotional distance from him, but she couldn’t imagine the turmoil he’d gone through since she last saw him. He already believed he was failing as a leader and didn’t hold up to his father. What had this day done to him?
“Yes,” he said. “But I’d be better if I knew you were somewhere safe.”
How did she resist him when he said stuff like that? You grow a backbone and do it, dumbass!
When everyone started into the tunnels again, she kept Abby and Brian between her and Nathan. Illuminated by her flashlight, she counted the cracks in the floor of the tunnel as she tried to ignore Nathan’s cypress scent.
Somehow, in all her counting, she found herself walking beside Nathan. Abby and Brian were in front of them, following Duncan who stooped to keep from hitting his head on the ceiling. Asher and Logan walked behind her and Nathan and focused their attention on the tunnel behind them.
“I’m sorry about your people,” Vicky whispered.
“It will be dealt with,” he replied.
His azure eyes were colder than she’d ever seen them before. He’d always borne the weight of his leadership duties, but now he also carried the deaths of so many on his shoulders, including children. Hatred smoldered in his gaze; she couldn’t help but worry that hatred would one day become directed at her and vampires like her.
She’d witnessed enough brutality over her lifetime to know people often blamed innocents for the perceived wrongs they believed dealt to them. Would Nathan take his wrath to a dark place and decide all vampires must go? She didn’t think he’d ever harm Kadence, but over time, maybe he’d start to see his sister as the enemy too.
Then his hand brushed hers. Vicky jumped as tendrils of electricity crackled across her fingertips before he grasped her hand and squeezed it. That simple gesture let her know that no matter how furious he was, he would be okay.
CHAPTER 38
Vicky released his hand as if it were on fire when Abby turned toward them. Abby’s gaze fell to Nathan’s hand before she focused ahead again.
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