Dressed in my own jeans, black shirt and leather jacket, I stowed my new phone in my back pocket.
“I can’t decide,” Anna lamented.
“We are just going to check out the rogue semi,” I told her again, standing in the driveway of the mansion as she rummaged through my weapons stash in the back of my SUV.
She gave me a disbelieving look and couldn’t help but laugh. “I saw what you are carrying,” she told me.
I huffed, pulling my jacket over my twin guns and dagger, wishing I had that short-lived duster to cover my throwing knives on my thighs.
“I’m a little paranoid right now,” I shrugged. “At least I left the crossbow.”
“True.” Anna made decisions similar to my own, opting for one gun and two daggers.
We climbed into the other SUV, where Logan, Doyle and The Magician were waiting for us. Apparently, my vehicle still smelled, whatever.
“Ready?” Logan asked, looking at me in the passenger seat.
“Yep.” I ran my hands over my weapons again. He drove away from the mansion, using the directions Raphael had sent over.
We weren’t taking the whole gang. I had a bad feeling about this trailer, and I wanted to keep information within a small circle. Here’s hoping I could trust my father. I’d had Becky monitor the camera in front of his room overnight, and she said he’d never left.
“How long have you been the Head Executioner?” my father asked.
I blew out a breath. “Seven years, I think,” I answered. It wasn’t an anniversary I celebrated.
“At least,” Anna agreed.
“When did you get free of Selena?” he asked.
I shifted, not wanting to have this conversation. Logan placed a hand on my knee, picking up on my mood. Hell, the whole car could, but still The Magician pushed on.
“When we were sixteen,” I answered, my voice and emotions turbulent.
“Sixteen years,” he repeated in wonder.
Anna and I were both silent for the remainder of the drive.
We were outside the city, and I was wondering how Raphael had gotten the semi down the narrow dirt road we had just bounced along.
The light from the partially cloud-covered sun filtered through the trees, casting eerie shadows on the silver trailer.
“You came,” Raphael said. He didn’t sound surprised.
I raised my eyebrow at him, waiting for him to explain.
“It could easily be a trap,” he continued.
I laughed, “You looking for a fight?”
Raphael shook his head, his dark locks glossy in the ghostly afternoon light. “No, I just find your choices interesting.”
He was working on my last nerve.
“Open the trailer, the Executioner does not have the patience for this.” Raphael waved his hand, walking away from the swinging doors.
I smiled, so there was one benefit of being unguarded.
I stood next to Logan as the doors swung out. My stomach dropped, my half smile disappearing.
Sunken eyes regarded us, beating against the clear cages, no blood flowing from the broken bones as they fought for food.
“There are no magical restraints,” I commented idly, looking over their ankles and wrists.
“He was starving them,” Raphael commented, anger lacing his words. “Not enough to force humans into being vampires, and rogue, but starvation just the same.” He shook his head in disgust. His morality was interesting for a vampire so old. I wondered if he remembered the succubi living in this world, with the unicorns and mermaids.
“The cages are small,” Anna noted, interrupting my musings.
“To hold more.” I took Logan’s hand, getting into the cramped space. I ran my fingers over the thick plastic doors. The rogue in question rammed the cage.
Doyle and my father stayed outside the trailer.
“Twenty.” Raphael confirmed the count I had just taken. “Twenty rogues. What on Earth and all the heavens and hells is he doing? Why does he need this? They cannot be controlled.”
I shook my head. “You said they are circling the city?”
“Four others, yes.” Raphael confirmed.
I nodded. “He’s getting ready for an attack.”
“But he can’t call them off; they will turn on him as soon as on his enemy, who, I assume, is you,” Raphael observed.
I pulled out my phone, calling Tommy, knowing he would be about home from school.
“What?” he growled at me.
“I need your help.”
“Finally,” he exhaled.
“The four semis circling the city are housing twenty rogue vampires each. I’ll send you pictures of the exterior and license plate of this one. See if you can track down the rest.”
“On it.”
I looked at my phone, annoyed that he had hung up on me.
Logan was working on the electronic interface toward the front of the trailer. I left him to it, turning to Raphael.
“How can you tell he turned humans and isn’t making rogues of established vampires?” I asked.
Raphael shook his head. “If each container has the same number, we are looking at one hundred rogues. If that number were missing from local Houses, the Vampire High Council would have been called on already.” He shook his head, “No, he’s taking humans.”
“You should have Tommy check for missing persons as well,” Anna said.
I nodded, texting the request to Tommy. His attitude had me worried. I can’t say it was worse than mine, though, which had me worried even more. I wanted a life better than my own for him. Maybe it was a bad idea getting him involved in hunting down the bad guys. Since he was at the mansion behind his computers, I didn’t worry about his physical safety.
I hadn’t given enough thought to his mental welfare.
“Shit,” Logan hissed.
I turned to him, Raphael and Anna crowding around him in the small space.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, trying to look at the computer screen.
“It’s a countdown,” Raphael muttered, backing up a step and running a hand over his face.
My brows drew down. “Countdown to what?” I snapped.
“Releasing the rogues,” Anna said as Logan continued to type furiously.
My breathing increased, my mind repeating Anna’s words.
“Four trailers filled with rogues,” I whispered. “He’s not attacking me. He’s going to kill off the entire city.”
Logan turned his caramel gaze to me and I felt his beast pulsing within. “There is no kill switch that I can find.”
I exhaled. “Let’s get this trailer to the Farm and have Becky take a look at it. How much time do we have?”
I pulled out my phone, texting Becky.
“Five hours,” Logan stated.
I dropped my phone against the metal floor. “WHAT?”
“Five. Hours.” Logan repeated.
“What do we do, Executioner?” Raphael asked.
I turned, looking at him. His angelic brows were drawn in defeat, porcelain skin etched with a future he had seen before.
Not on my fucking watch.
“How many of your people are here?” I asked him.
“Thirty,” he answered rapid fire.
“Logan, who is still in town from guarding the mansion?”
He shook his head. “Only a few. I’ve sent most back home.”
“We have to protect the children,” Anna whispered.
“Agreed. Raphael, get your people to the mansion. Logan, call back everyone you can.” I turned to Anna. “The executioners are all in town. They will keep the kids safe,” I reassured her.
She nodded, worry and fear playing across her face from memories we both wanted to keep buried.
“What about everyone else?” Raphael demanded, his dark eyes clouding.
“We need to organize them, get them centralized so we can protect them.” I was thinking out loud.
“Doyle and I can assist,” my father offered.
“Great, I was counting on it,” I answered. Yes, I had trust issues with him, but he was powerful, and I was stationing him where I needed it the most.
“Such a brilliant plan,” a voice spoke over the laptop Logan had just used. “Too bad you will never see it come to fruition.” I turned slowly, seeing Zachariah’s face. My own contorted in disgust. Large, dark eyes regarded me from unblemished skin.
“Raphael, it is such a tragedy you will die here with your demon whore. I had plans for your House,” he continued on.
“I’ll never join you,” Raphael hissed, jumping easily back into the trailer, stalking toward the screen.
Zachariah just laughed. “They all claim that at first, but look at Tate. I took him down easily enough, and that wasn’t even my best work.” He continued, smiling regally, “Now, I’ll be sure to take wonderful care of your darling succubi babies. I’ve heard their blood is divine. I’m thinking of opening up a blood barn for the shits.” He sneered the last word and I lunged at the screen.
“Over my dead body!” I screamed. Logan caught me around my middle.
“With pleasure.” The screen went dark and I let out a snarl. It was echoed by hydraulics as the cages swung open.
The rogues were on us in an instant and we were right in the thick of it.
“Seal the doors!” I yelled at Raphael, closest to the exit. We had to keep them contained. A few managed to escape, but Raphael leapt out after them. Between him and Doyle, I had no worries. A rogue attached to my shoulder, another on my forearm. A torn appendage flew my way, probably Logan’s handiwork.
My father listened, closing the heavy doors. I heard the metal slide clunk into place.
I grunted as another rogue latched onto my back. Ugh. I did not need this shit. The quarters were close and guns were out. I tried pulling my blade, but the rogues on my arm and shoulder weren’t cooperating.
With a grunt, I rammed my body back into the thick plastic cages. I succeeded in breaking the hold the rogue had with his teeth, but his claws were still firmly attached to my back. I slammed back again, looking down at the trail of blood running down my forearm, jaws gnawing on my already delicate flesh.
I rammed a third time with a scream of outrage and annoyance.
Logan ripped the rogue off my back, its claws slicing through my flesh as he tore its head from its body. I was slightly annoyed that I needed the help and tore my forearm out of the mouth of the second rogue, reaching for my blade and slicing off her head, before plunging the silver into the hearts of the asshole attached to my shoulder.
With a grunt, I flew forward as another one attached to my neck. I smacked my head against the plastic, wrenching my arm at an impossible angle to stab into what I was hoping was a vital piece of body.
Its grip loosened, so I turned in the tight confines, wrenching my blade up and turning the vampire into dust. This had to be the worst place logistically to get attacked. I flung myself again at the rogue attached to Anna’s back, slicing through his hearts before I rounded on the next one trying to take a bite of my neck.
Logan tossed a rogue at the roof, bending the rogue in half and denting the trailer. I groaned, wanting to shut my abused body into the plastic container and let Anna and Logan handle it, but I didn’t. I turned, ripping my blade up and across the chest of the next rogue that came at me.
Logan ripped four rogues apart, spraying the trailer in additional dust. I coughed, blinking the decayed vampire bits out of my eyes.
“Open the door,” Logan commanded. I felt his arms come around me, inspecting my body.
I hurt. I laid my head on his shoulder. The door flung open and we all piled out, sucking in dust-free oxygen.
I stumbled down the tall step of the semi before leaning against the SUV and sliding down, spitting out chunks of vampires.
Logan pulled the first aid kit out of the car, bending down to wrap my forearm in gauze.
“You need to stop getting hurt,” he warned me, his fear of losing me riding our connection hard.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better, Logan,” I told him. I wasn’t weak and I met his gaze to prove the point. He stopped wrapping, rubbing a thumb against my dirt stained cheek.
“We have four hours,” Anna said, re-sheathing her blades. “I knew I should have brought the dual swords.”
I grunted, she was right on both counts.
I searched my pockets one handed for my phone, flipping through to dial Becky’s number.
“Boss,” she answered.
“I need you to get to my location as of yesterday. Bring everything, we have four trailers of rogues and four hours to figure out where they are and a way to destroy them.”
Silence.
“Becky?”
“Rogues?” She whispered.
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Twenty per trailer.”
“Four of them, wi—with twenty rogues?” she stuttered.
I hissed as Logan tied my gauze. “Keep it together, Becky, none of us will get out of this if we lose our shit.”
She laughed hysterically. “Right, I’ll be right there.”
Logan helped me stand, pulling out his own phone and handling his business.
“Call Darren and Kass, they have to get themselves and the kids to the mansion.” Logan nodded in agreement, the phone pressed to his ear.
Raphael took in the remains of the trailer. “Remind me not to piss you guys off,” he muttered.
“You should see us with dual swords,” Anna huffed.
“Four hours,” I whispered. “How the fuck do we save an entire city in four hours?”
“We have to take down the trailers at their locations,” Logan advised.
I nodded, calling Tommy back.
“What?” he answered.
“Do you have the trailers?” I asked.
“Not yet, you haven’t sent me the pictures,” he reminded me.
“Shit,” I hissed. “The trailers are set to a timer to release 80 rogues on the city.”
Again, silence. I put him on speakerphone, snapping the pictures and sending them.
“How—“
“Enough, I’ve sent you pictures. We are on our way to you. Get me the info, now.” I hung up and proceeded to dial every executioner we had.
…
Thirty minutes later, the mansion was swarming with cars, vampires, and shifters, and my executioners were lined up inside the high voltage fence, ready and waiting for the coming attacks.
I threw my door open as Blue came up to the SUV. “Myrtle is an hour out with the machine guns,” he informed me.
I hissed, “Get them here now.” I only knew of four trailers, that didn’t mean there weren’t more.
We marched into Tommy’s room.
“What do you have for me?” I demanded
His fingers were flying over the keyboard. “The semi is registered to a shell company. I can’t find any others registered for that company.”
There went that lead.
“Becky is going over the trailer now, but the parts aren’t anything special. Nothing that we can use to track down the others with,” Tommy continued.
“Three hours and thirty minutes,” Anna reminded me.
I didn’t need the countdown.
“What about everyone else?” Tommy asked, stopping his fingers over the keyboard and turning to me. “What if I can’t find them in time and they are released?”
I squatted down in front of him. “You and everyone here are safe. I’m doing all I can to make sure we save as many as possible.”
“Which is?” he demanded.
I stood back up, rubbing my sore forearm. “We are going to see Tate.”
“Olivia, you are not strong enough,” Logan warned me.
“I’m injured, Logan, and undoubtedly not at my best, but I refuse to hide. Zachariah brought this fight to me, and I plan on finishing it.”
“It’s my fault,” Tommy said.
“How could it possibly be your fault?” I asked.
“When I skipped school and Gregory kidnapped me,” he reminded me.
“That wasn’t your fault, Tommy. I pissed him off by not letting Gregory beat the shit of the Blake while Tate did nothing. He took you as punishment for my actions.”
“None of that matters. Zachariah planted Angelina here to seek out Blake so they could ingrain themselves in Centennial House. This was planned, we just happened to get in their way. Keep working, we will protect all those we can,” Logan reassured him.
I nodded. “Let’s go kill Tate!” Anna cheered.
“I want my double swords,” I complained.
“Me, too.”
Fifteen minutes later, Anna and I had changed and better equipped ourselves and were waiting outside.
“Who do you want to take with us?” Logan asked.
My father and Doyle walked out.
“I want you two to stay here. You are my last line of defense if anything gets inside of this house,” I told them, checking my clips and ammo in the back of the SUV. I was desperate if I was putting my trust in my father, but whatever his faults, he was powerful.
My father regarded me, saying nothing. Finally, “You are worried.”
“Very,” I agreed, forgetting my emotions were broadcasted for all.
“I will protect the children,” Doyle promised solemnly.
“Thank you.” I turned to my father expectantly.
“You would die to protect them,” my father announced.
“Yes,” I agreed, my patience running out along with my time.
My father nodded. “I will do all I can.”
It was the best I was going to get from him.
“Thank you. I’ll be in touch.”
I turned to Logan as they went back inside. “I want Anna, who do you want?” I asked.
“Darren, there is no one I trust more.”
I nodded. We gathered our small group and piled into my SUV, Logan taking the wheel. It still smelled.
“What’s the game plan?” Darren asked from the passenger seat, looking back at me.
“Kill Zachariah and end this,” I wished out loud.
“Ha,” he answered.
I gave him a rueful smile. “We need information. If we can find a few of Zachariah’s vampires to question, that would be ideal.”
“Are you going to kill Blake?” Logan asked me.
I jerked my gaze to his in the rear view mirror. “I — I haven’t even thought about that.”
He shrugged, “We can now.”
I nodded, thinking. “We can, but we have more important things to do than settle an old score. Besides, I’d rather take my aggression out on Zachariah.”
“No one is going to talk to us,” Anna said. “I already killed a few of them off.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Impressive. What else did I miss?”
She shrugged, “Nothing worth mentioning.”
“We need to get Mal, if we haven’t already,” I added.
“I asked Raphael to obtain her, but I didn’t see her in the mansion,” Logan commented.
It was another twenty minutes to the Centennial House; we had two hours and forty minutes left.
But who’s counting? I was ignoring the dread in my stomach and the what-ifs pinging around. I had no use or time for them. I had to protect those I cared about. I would try to save the rest, but I didn’t see this ending any way but bloody.
“We should call Mercer,” I said as we made the final turn to the Centennial House.
“And tell him what?” Logan countered.
“That he and Mindy need to get to the mansion.” I pulled out my phone for a quick text. It would be met with questions, but I didn’t have time or answers for him right now.
Hopefully, he’d listen blindly to my orders. I sighed, leaning forward to look at the guard station as Logan rolled to a stop.
“It’s empty.” Logan confirmed my observation.
“Why would they leave it empty?” I mused.
“They’ve pulled all their resources inside, just as we have done, to protect everyone. They know what is coming, Olivia,” Anna spelled it out for me.
I smiled at her. “I doubt they know we are coming.”
She flipped her short red hair over a shoulder. “That much is true.”
Darren looked back between us, clearly worried.
Logan put the SUV in park. “I don’t want to shred the tires or take Tommy away from his current project to override the security here.”
“You should turn it around in case of a quick exit,” Anna advised.
I nodded and he did as she requested.
With a last check to our weapons, Anna and I exited the vehicle. I imagined we looked similar, with our jeans, leather jackets, dual swords, guns, and throwing knives strapped to each leg. The truth was, I liked her being back. She had taken a different path when we escaped, and I respected it.
But having her fighting at my side was reassuring. She had been the only person I could count on for so long, and maybe after the betrayal by Grams, I needed that. My gaze swung to Logan’s ass. I had that trust in him, too. My fear melted away as I felt his answering emotions in the mate bond.
I pulled a blade, twirling it around and using the handle to knock on the tall, solid doors. “Come out and play, Tate, or I’m coming in!”
“Please tell me we have explosives,” I whispered to my crew.
“I’m insulted you think we need them,” Darren countered.
I laughed before pounding again. “Come on, Tate, you don’t want me destroying your doors with what is coming.”
The door creaked open and Mal’s face peered out. “Go home, Olie, protect those you love,” she hissed at me. Not exactly sure how I felt about that warning coming so late from her.
Logan caught the door, forcing it open with one thick arm.
“That’s why we are here, my dear,” I informed her, hands braced on my hips. “We’ve come to pay our debts.”
Mal shook her head, looking back up the stairs. I couldn’t see who or what was there.
“I’m not leaving him,” she whispered harshly to me.
“Define ‘him,’” I tried.
“Tate.” Her voice broke over the single word, a pink tear slipping down her cheek. “I love him.”
I exhaled. “You know what is coming.” It was a statement, but I waited for her to nod. When she did, I shook my head sadly.
“That’s a terrible life decision,” Anna commented.
I couldn’t help but agree.
Logan stepped forward, laying a thick hand on Mal’s shoulder. “You saved my daughter, we will do the same for you.”
What he didn’t say, and what I felt in the mate bond, was that it would be with or without her consent. I silently sent my approval. Mal’s shoulders relaxed.
“Do you know where Zachariah is?” I asked.
Mal shook her head. “He met with Tate before you were taken. That’s all I know.”
“TATE!” Logan bellowed.
“Where is everyone?” I asked as Logan marched to the stairs.
“Down below for safekeeping,” Mal said, rubbing her arms in a worried gesture.
I nodded, following Logan. He had stopped at the top of the steps and I could just see his hazy outline.
“Did you know he planned to take Olivia?” Logan asked as both Mal and I made our way to him.
Mal gasped and I held her firmly in place. Logan had Tate pinned to the wall with a clawed hand. I can’t lie, that was hot.
“Yes,” Tate wheezed out. He might not have needed oxygen to breathe, but he did need it to speak.
“We need him alive to answer our questions,” I reminded Logan.
“You said you would protect me!” Mal screamed.
“We did and we will. We made no promises when it came to Tate. He sided with the enemy, Mal, certainly you can see that,” Anna scolded.
Mal pushed against my restraining hand, trying to get to Tate.
“Don’t, Mal,” I warned her. “He is going to die.”
Her gaze jerked to my own. “What?” she whispered.
“Tate just admitted that he knew Zachariah was going to take me.”
Mal blinked at me, her brow drawn down, one broken exhale escaping before she looked back at Tate, sadly shaking her head. She stopped fighting against me, turning to sit on the top step, her shoulders shaking with soft sobbing.
I turned to Tate, all my humor and kindness draining from me.
“Where is he?” I demanded of him.
He shook his head. I ground my jaw, crossing my arms over my chest, thinking.
“You are just going to kill me,” Tate wheezed, all the fight leaving him.
“You are a pathetic excuse for a Master Vampire. Leaving your entire clan at the sadistic hands of Zachariah. Did you even bother to fight him? Try to protect your House? Or did you just roll over and show your belly?” I sneered.
“Easy for you to say. You kill everything and love nothing. You have left a path of destruction in your wake and what is coming now is all your fault.”
“Clearly, because I forced him to create rogues and lock them in trailers.”
“No, because you killed his son.”
“He took Tommy. Unlike you, Tate, I protect my own. Now, are you going to start talking, or I am going to start carving?”
He closed his mouth, not saying another word.
Logan tore his talons through Tate’s neck, letting him sink to the floor. Tate clutched the healing pieces of flesh before tackling Logan around his middle.
I drew a sword, but Darren stopped me. “He needs this.”
I raised a questioning eyebrow at him and he continued, “He needs to punish the people responsible for hurting you.”
I relaxed my stance, watching Logan shove Tate’s head into the drywall.
“So what do we do after he kills him?” Anna asked me, leaning against the railing.
“See the rest of the House, I guess. They will have felt Tate’s death,” I answered.
“That doesn’t mean they will be any more cooperative,” she anticipated.
“I know, but do you have any other ideas?” I countered.
“He’s not going to be in the city,” Anna guessed. “He left part of his House here, thinking they would be safe, but he won’t take risks with his own safety with the rogues.”
I locked my jaw; she was right.
“Or he left his House here because he felt perfectly safe and is also hiding here,” Mal spoke up.
We all turned to her, with the exception of Logan, who had torn off Tate’s arm.
“What do you mean?” I asked her.
“Zachariah had renovations done to the west wing. He said it was to remodel it based on his tastes, but what if he built in a safe room?” Mal continued. “He was very secretive, and the supplies being brought in, they didn’t make sense for a remodel.”
“Is Angelina with everyone downstairs?” I asked.
Mal blinked, surprised by my question. “I don’t know.”
I looked at Logan, his beast pushing at the seams of his clothing, fangs descended in his mouth and over his lips.
“We don’t have time to wait for him to finish,” Anna stated.
The snapping of Tate’s head leaving his body had all of us turning. Logan stalked toward us in a cloud of Master Vampire ash.
“Let’s go,” he said around a mouthful of teeth.
I blinked at him, shocked. “You killed him, already?”
Logan raised an eyebrow, fangs retreating in his mouth. “Yes,” he answered.
“But he was a Master Vampire.” I was having a hard time with this.
“Are you doubting my skills?” Logan teased.
“No, but … okay, maybe a little,” I stuttered.
“I’m evolving,” Logan finally confessed.
“What does that mean?”
“That I eat Master Vampires for breakfast,” he grinned.
Mal made a pained sound, covering her mouth. I pulled her to me. “Keep it together. We still have to save the city.” I was starting to sound like a damn comic book.
Unlike the heroes those brightly colored pages display, I didn’t think we were going to be successful. I pushed my mind away from that depressing train of thought. The humans were not my responsibility to keep safe, and this was undoubtedly a vampire problem, but I couldn’t stand by and let innocent people suffer.
“How do you plan on getting into the lower levels?” Darren asked.
Mal clutched her chest, taking a moment to pull herself together. Crap, we probably should have kept Tate alive a little bit longer. I laid my hand on her arm, pulling in the overwhelming sorrow that was trying to shut her body down. She gave a small whimper, her own hand latching onto mine.
There are no adequate words for the loss of a loved one. Even a dumbass loved one.
Mal slipped down, sitting on the step, folding into herself, rocking and whimpering softly. I pulled what I could. Vampires are linked to their Masters, connected and grounded through them. The loss of that is terrifying.
“We need Raphael,” I said to Anna, still drawing from Mal.
She nodded, pulling out her phone, which I’m guessing I was paying for.
Mal cleared her throat, rubbing her forehead. “I felt his life force end,” she whispered.
I turned to look at Logan, feeling his annoyance pressing against the bond.
“We need to identify those who are grieving versus those who are mildly upset. That will tell us who belonged to who,” I told him.
I wasn’t sure we had the time. I had stopped counting.
“We don’t have time,” Logan voiced my thoughts.
I stood, feeling Mal gain control over her emotions.
“I’m open to ideas,” I countered.
“Let’s go bomb the west wing,” Anna said with a shrug.
“Let’s,” I agreed.
“Olie,” Mal said, shocked.
I turned to her. “We are running out of time. A bomb won’t kill Zachariah. We don’t have time to hunt around through the house.”
She nodded, her mind clearly preoccupied with other things.
I turned to Anna. “Do we even have explosives?”
“Yes, I added them to the SUV.”
“That seems a little dangerous,” I told her.
She rolled her eyes at me. “You never did like explosives.”
I couldn’t disagree with that.
“What about everyone down below?” Darren asked.
I groaned. “There are benefits to keeping them contained. We don’t have the time to sort through who is trying to kill us and who will come over to our side.”
I had been below the Centennial House on a variety of occasions. They had a very nice apartment for kidnapping people, huge training rooms with elevated windows, and the security hub for the entire house.
“Can you hear them down below?” I asked Logan.
He shook his head. “No, it must be soundproofed.”
I nodded.
“We have bigger issues, let’s leave them for now.” I turned, heading to the SUV.
…
Between killing Tate and setting up the charges, we had lost another forty minutes. We had two hours left.
So I was still counting.
Each passing minute dimmed my hopes of being able to walk away from this unscathed.
Raphael had arrived and we were all outside behind the SUV, waiting for Anna to finish twisting wires together. I liked weapons, but explosives made me nervous.
Mal and Raphael were talking in soft voices I was trying not to overhear. I wasn’t successful.
“Joining my House will help ease your pain,” he told her.
She nodded, rubbing her eyes before dropping her arms across her chest.
“Nor will you be Masterless,” he reminded her. Not a good position to be in within the vampire world.
Again she nodded, looking down at her hands, fidgeting.
“Olivia can’t protect you forever,” he pushed on.
“Hey asshole, yes I fucking can,” I told him.
Raphael gave me a pointed look. I closed the distance between us. “Look, Mal, this is the best option I see for you. The good news is that the protection Logan and I have granted you won’t go away with you moving Houses.”
Her gaze jerked to mine.
“Olivia is correct. The protection we have extended is for your lifetime.” Logan came to stand behind me. “And for the record, Raphael, we can protect her forever.”
Raphael gave a disgruntled snort.
“The point being, if Raphael turns out not to be the moral and ethical good guy we think he is, I’m not above killing him,” I finished.
“Me either,” Logan added.
“Really? This is how you treat your allies?” Raphael asked us, annoyed.
“This is how we treat those we have sworn to protect,” Logan informed him.
“I am trying to help your friend. I don’t have to offer her a place in my House,” Raphael countered.
I raised an eyebrow. “Moral good guy,” I reminded him.
“You are testing the limits of my morality,” he huffed.
“I’ll do it,” Mal said softly. “I wish I had time to mourn,” she finished sadly.
Raphael nodded, lifting her chin up. “You will, we just have to survive what is coming.”
She nodded, trying bravely to give him a smile.
“Alright, hold on to your asses!” Anna yelled, hitting a button.
I pulled Logan down behind the SUV, covering my head.
“Geez, Olie it’s not that big of an explosion,” Anna reprimanded me.
I lowered my arms, glaring at her. “You are the reason I don’t like explosives.”
She laughed, explaining to the others, “One time I added too much powder.”
“I lost all my hair!” I yelled at her as we surveyed the damage.
She continued to laugh. The west wing slowly caved into itself.
“Perfect!” she congratulated herself.
I turned to Logan, who was smiling at the wreckage, shifting his legs longer and thicker.
“Can you hear him?” I guessed as to why he was smiling.
He nodded, turning to Darren, who began shifting in turn. I hadn’t heard them speak. Actually, even with my guards down, I hadn’t heard any of the shifters’ thoughts. That was an interesting tidbit to file away for later inspection.
I saw the rubble shift and almost took off running after Logan and Darren.
“You going to let them have all the fun?” Anna asked.
I shrugged, “It seems like a lot of work.”
Her gaze cut sharply to me. “Not advertising,” I warned her. My body was still sore and while I wanted to go after Logan and prove I wasn’t the weaker partner in the relationship, my ego was going to have to admit that for the moment, I was.
She nodded, saying nothing as we watched Logan and Darren kill a few vamps, their spray of ash mingling with the settling dust.
“They’re starting to come up,” Mal said, wiping her face clean. I smelled fresh blood and I hoped she really had joined with Raphael.
“Do you have any issue if I take in others?” Raphael asked me.
“No, just don’t let them interfere with killing Zachariah,” I told him, pulling a sword and moving in front of the pile of rubble formerly known as the west wing of the Centennial House to protect Logan and Darren’s flank.
“What’s going on?” a blond vampire yelled, pointing at Logan. “They can’t do that!” he screamed.
“Listen and listen well. Your Master Tate is dead, and Zachariah will be suffering the same fate for abducting me and attempting to kill me,” I bellowed over the hundreds of vampires. I didn’t actually need to bellow.
Blondie sneered. “The Vampire High Council will not stand by while you kill two Master Vampires.”
“I certainly hope not. I’d appreciate their help in cleaning up the mess they have left me with. Not to mention the rogues,” I countered.
Blondie shifted at that reminder, scanning the area around us. “What do you know?” I asked, laying my sword point against his neck.
“Nothing I will tell you, succubus whor—” I sliced his head clean off his shoulders before he could finish the last word.
“That seemed a little rash,” Mal said at my side.
I shrugged. “Anyone else want to volunteer information?”
“We don’t even know what is going on!” someone yelled. “Our Master is dead!” another sobbed.
I blew out a breath. “Alright, listen up. Zachariah has four trailers, each filled with twenty rogues that are set to be released onto the city in less than two hours.”
Shocked whispers met my announcement, but not everyone shared that shock. “Now if you have information on what is going on, I highly suggest coming forward.”
Not a soul moved. I grunted.
Raphael stepped forward and I moved back. By all means, get these assholes to give a shit.
“You will all be Masterless before the day is done. Those of you who choose to fight with us to save the humans and Supernaturals alike from the rogues will earn a place in my House.”
That got their attention.
“I’m going back where it’s safe,” one said, moving to go back into the house.
“Whatever,” I hissed, annoyed.
I turned to see Logan and Darren hauling Zachariah over the rubble. I moved toward them, my sword still drawn.
“Easy, Olie,” Anna warned, my blood thirst coating the air.
I snarled as Logan shoved him to his knees. “You will pay for this,” Zachariah laughed, a thin tendril of blood at his temple.
“Call off the trailers,” I demanded.
He laughed again, the blood running down from his temple disappearing as he healed.
“I can’t. I made certain that no one and nothing could stop the retribution you so justly deserve.”
“Please tell me he is lying.” I looked to Logan, Darren, Mal and finally Anna.
“I don’t scent a lie,” Logan said softly.
“How do we save them?” I whispered.
Zachariah laughed, an insane sound. “You can’t. That is the beauty of my design. The untold deaths will fall onto your head! You will lose everything!”
I lifted my blade, but Logan beat me to it, ripping off Zachariah’s head.
“That was my kill,” I reminded him, irritated at his swiftness in ending the asshole’s life. Zachariah was a major pain in my ass. I wanted some drawn out torture.
Logan shrugged, unconcerned with my annoyance. “You can kill the next Master Vampire. Besides, keeping him alive with part of his House behind you was asking for him to escape.”
I ignored the wailing behind me, trying desperately to scrape together a plan. Time was running out and I still had an entire city to try and protect.
“Alright, I have a plan. We are going to commandeer a news station and get a warning out. I can’t find the damn trailers, but I can try and get the humans organized. Now, I’m open to suggestions on where to herd them to.”
Okay, herd, not my best choice of words.
“The sports stadium,” someone called out. “It’s centrally located, with large parking lots, and enclosed.”
I chewed on my thumbnail. “Alright, get there. I have a news station to hijack.”
…
In the SUV, I called Tommy, relaying our plan.
“So you want me to hack into all the news stations, cancel their programs and run whatever you are recording?” Tommy asked me.
“Yeah,” I answered, wondering if I had finally hit my boy wonder’s limits.
“Done. Call me when you get there,” he commanded. Not really sure I liked his tone, but I had bigger issues.
“What’s our time?” Darren asked.
“I don’t want to know,” I groaned.
It was less than two hours, I knew that.
Logan drove. Raphael and the rest of the cooperating vampires went to the Garland Arena. I wasn’t sure it was going to be enough room. Besides that, how did I get an entire city there in under two hours?
I rubbed my forehead and Logan drove faster, feeling my angst, actually the entire car felt it. I gave thought to shoring up my guards, but my body needed the energy more than I needed to contain my raging emotions.
“If I was Zachariah, I’d be sure one of those trailers got dropped off right by the mansion,” I said, thinking out loud.
Logan growled.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Anna said, turning to me.
I met her icy gaze. “They have the panic room,” she tried to reassure me.
“And the electric fence,” I added.
“Protection wards,” Anna said.
“Don’t forget the people we left behind. Jerry, your father, Doyle, and an entire brigade of vampires and shifters,” Logan reminded us.
“Plus the executioners,” Darren supplied.
“They alone should hold the line,” Logan stated.
“I know. It just doesn’t feel right not being there to protect my house,” I muttered.
“Our house,” Logan corrected.
I had no response for that. It was ours, but I still felt the burden to protect it falling on my shoulders.
“Hey, I wouldn’t have left Ginny there if I didn’t feel she’d be safe,” Logan tried again.
I nodded, chewing on my thumbnail.
“He’ll send the others where they will do the most damage, the heart of the city,” Anna guessed.
“That’s that I would do,” I answered.
…
We pulled up outside a news station. I was expecting security, but we drove right up to the front doors, no one stopping us.
Logan didn’t bother to find a parking spot, throwing the vehicle into park before we all emerged. I could imagine what we looked like, two females sporting weapons at every angle and two pissed off linebackers flanking us. At least we’d had extra clothing so the linebackers weren’t naked.
We pushed through the glass doors and people stopped to stare.
“Where can I get on TV at?” I asked a slack jawed man in front of me.
Open-mouthed gawks met my question.
“This way,” Logan said, turning to the right down a hallway. “I can hear them.”
Shifter hearing, gotta love it. We followed Logan, humans getting out of our way, pressing themselves against the gray walls.
“I thought it would be fancier,” I muttered to Anna. She just shrugged as we pushed through the final doors and into the newsroom.
Heads turned to us, angry glances thrown our way with whispered demands.
I kept walking to the petite woman in the brown dress and the man in the navy suit. I could scent their fear, or maybe that was Logan’s sense of smell I was picking up on, either way I didn’t stop until I stood in front of them.
“What do you want?” the brunette asked.
I turned to the camera, looking at the red dot.
“Are we live?” I asked.
“They’re trying to cut the feed, but Darren is dealing with it,” Logan said, coming to stand next to me.
I nodded.
“My name is Olivia. I am the Head Executioner for the Supernatural Council and you are all in danger. In an hour, four semi-trucks filled with twenty rogue vampires each will be released into the city. We are asking everyone to get to Garland Arena. We have protection set up there.”
“What are rogue vampires? I thought vampires were friendly?” the brunette squeaked.
“Rogues vampires no longer possess rational thought, they are driven by the need to feed and cannot drink enough,” I answered, turning to her. Logan adjusted me so my back wasn’t to the camera.
“You can’t stop it?” the man demanded.
I shook my head. “I tried. There was no failsafe built into the vehicles. I don’t have time to track them down, nor do I have any additional leads. I can only try to minimize the losses.”
“Why?” the brunette whispered.
I shook my head. “I don’t have a good answer for that. I can tell you the one responsible is dead.”
“Who is protecting the stadium?” the man asked.
“Vampires,” I answered.
“Vampires!” the brunette screamed. “I thought they were coming to kill us?”
“Rogues are coming to kill you, the vampires are trying to stop it,” I clarified. “Shit, did we call Tommy?” I asked Logan.
He nodded.
“Why are you people still here?” I yelled. “This isn’t a joke. If you stay here, you die!”
“How do you kill a rogue?” one of the guys behind the cameras asked.
“Beheading is the fastest way. If you can shred both hearts, that will work as well,” I answered.
“What about fire?” he asked.
“It has to be a steady steam for a long period of time. Their flesh heals just as quickly as it burns,” I told them with a shrug.
“What about those who want to fight?” he pushed on.
“The rogues are fast, deadly and fueled by the need for blood. They retain their vampire speed, hearing, and sense of smell. Sneaking up on them is impossible unless they are feeding, and even then, as a human, your chances of not becoming their next meal are slim. Get to the stadium, we can protect everyone there.”
The room began to clear out, but not everyone left. I wasn’t foolish enough to think that everyone would listen, but I had done all I could.
Darren exited the top rows. “Tommy has the feed running continuously and on all channels.”
I nodded. “Let’s go to the stadium.”