It echoed through the parking lot, ringing with a kind of command I'd rarely experienced. But I knew the voice. Marco.
My knees went wobbly with relief for a fraction of a second. I wasn't alone.
I swung around to face Marco.
Lancaster had already turned.
Smith's hand closed around my arm, yanking me back slightly. Closer to him.
I ignored the grip. I could break it easily enough. Besides, I needed to make sure Smith stayed alive in whatever was about to happen.
Lord Marco stood with Esteban and Niko and…hell, Jase. What was Jase doing here?
"Mitchell Lancaster," Marco said again. "Put down your gun."
Lancaster didn't move. Well, not to lower his gun. He raised a hand as he had in the bar.
Hell, did he think he could use his powers on Marco and Esteban? Vamp powers didn't work that way. A sire could control his offspring, and an Old One could control those of his lineage to a certain degree, but I didn't think the reverse was true. No matter how powerful he was.
"That won't work," Marco said. "Not on us."
Lancaster seemed to hesitate.
"I suggest you listen to Marco," I said, letting enough of the wolf through that the words rumbled.
Lancaster stiffened as he realized I wasn't under his control.
Beside me, Smith laughed softly. "I knew you were faking."
I didn't bother looking at him. "And I know you're a treacherous asshole, Smith, but we can talk about that later. Try to stay alive."
Lancaster spun, gun aimed squarely at me. I stayed still. The gun should have freaked me out, but it didn't.
"Touch me and Ms. Keenan will regret it. So will her aunt," he said.
The snarl turned real. I doubted he could have gotten to Bug, but there was enough uncertainty to terrify me. "If you hurt my aunt, you're dead, Lancaster."
"Well, then, I'll say hello to her in hell," he said to me. "Behave, wolf."
Marco blinked. "Ah. You think you have the upper hand. But in fact, I know Ms. Keenan's aunt is unharmed. She is safe, Ashley. I guarantee it."
Once again, my knees wobbled. I only just stayed upright as relief surged through me.
Marco nodded at me and then focused back on Lancaster. "What do you want?"
"I want a life," he said, turning his head slightly to Marco. The gun didn’t waver. "Baxter owes me the life he took from me."
"Cilla gave you life when you were dying," Smith said mildly. "And you volunteered for what came next. I took nothing from you."
"You took everything," Lancaster snarled.
I didn't think he was talking about his life. He meant Cilla.
"Tell us where the other vampires like you are," Marco said. "Then we can talk. We have the one you sent to Ashley's house. I know there are others. If a cure is what you want, then it must be a cure for all of you."
"And you want to lock us up until you find it?" Lancaster's tone was bitter.
"Is there an alternative?" Marco said. "You killed people. You turned others. You have spread this curse without a thought for what it might mean for the rest of your kind. There is a price to pay. At least for those of you who are not mere bystanders." His green gaze turned to Smith.
"You said there were fourteen," I said to Smith. "Is that the truth?"
"Fourteen that I know of. Less the three who died. And then the two new ones Mitchell decided to add to the tally. There could be more. He and I haven't been together for the last few weeks."
Lancaster glared at him. "There aren't any more. We agreed on that."
That seemed difficult to prove, and it was a problem that there was no immediate solution to. Regardless of whether or not he'd created more plague vamps, Lancaster could have recruited other vamps or shifters to his cause. There are scumbags who will do bad things for money in all species. Tate had had underlings. Marco could thrall Lancaster once we had control of him. See if he was lying. Smith, I thought, was telling the truth, but clearly, he was a world-class liar, so I wasn't ready to trust my gut on that any longer.
"Eleven, then," I said. "Or ten if it was a plague vamp you sent to my house."
"Where are they, Mitchell?" Marco asked again.
"Two of my people are probably enjoying themselves back at the Geiger," Lancaster said. "They had orders to keep Agent Gibson and his team busy after I left."
Two of his people? Did he mean plague vamps? That would leave him with only one other, if he'd started with seven. That seemed…low. Or was he lying? I didn't have time to figure it out.
"If you have people back at the hotel, they're probably dead," I said. "Dan doesn't mess around."
"Neither do I," he said.
He lifted his hand again. In it, he held what looked to be a key fob, the kind you used to start a car. But that made no sense. The driver would have the keys to the van…so why?
Lancaster's fingers flexed, and suddenly the parking lot turned to hell as about ten cars exploded. I flung myself toward Smith, tackling him to the ground as debris flew through the air. Something caught my leg, the pain of it sharp and hot, but I focused on Smith. He was human. Fragile. I was not.
He was panting beneath me, breathing hard, stinking of fear.
Hadn't he known what Lancaster had planned?
Honestly, when it came to double-crossing, these two were taking the art form to a whole new fucked-up level.
My retinas flared with wheels of light from the afterburn, and I scrubbed at my eyes, trying to clear my vision. Around me came the sounds of gunshots and fighting. More than would be needed if it was just Marco and the others trying to get Lancaster.
Which meant, I assumed, that the other vamps had joined the fight. I wasn't exactly clear where they might have come from, but at that point I didn't care. It didn't matter.
I wanted to go and help, fighting the urge to change, to defend my friends. But I knew I had to keep Smith alive. If any of the plague vamps survived this—and if there were others—we needed him.
As my vision cleared, my nose registered smoke and the smell of hot metal and gasoline.
Fuck.
Cars on fire next to other cars. The whole place could go up. Not to mention that the ceiling seemed to have caught fire, too.
The safest place to get Smith to was outside.
It was still daylight. The vamps couldn't follow us there.
I stood, hauling him up with me. My leg nearly buckled as pain seared through it again, and I realized I could smell blood. My blood.
But maybe not just mine.
Smith was clutching his side, his fingers stained red. Humans could bleed out fast. No time to waste.
I half dragged him back toward the entrance to the lot, ignoring the fighting behind us and the fact that I was abandoning the friends who were fighting for me.
We made it about three-quarters of the way when a vampire sprang into my path. Not Lancaster. No one I recognized, but it was plain he intended to stop me. That made him one of the bad guys in my book.
"Move," I said. "This isn't your fight."
Any hope that maybe rational argument might work died as the vampire snarled and lunged. Not for me—for Smith.
Fuck and fuck.
I threw myself between them, fighting to stay human. I couldn't drag Smith out of here in wolf form, and I sure as hell wasn't going to do him the favor of biting him by trying to carry him out with my teeth.
The vampire tried to get around me, and I grabbed his arm, twisting it in a move that Dan taught me. Vamps and weres are pretty evenly matched strength-wise. I was hurt, which was a point in his favor.
But he hadn't been trained by an overly protective, paranoid, pain-in-the ass, alpha werewolf boyfriend on top of all the self-defense classes I'd taken over the years. I knew how to fight and fight dirty.
I dislocated his shoulder and followed that up by slamming my elbow into his face. Pain shot up my arm and I hissed, but the vampire wobbled backward, giving me the opening I needed for a more direct attack. I didn't want to kill him if I didn’t have to, but I wanted him unconscious. He fought back, snarling, but he was still disoriented, and I wasn’t sure he even saw the punch that knocked him out coming.
I turned back to Smith. He was staring back the way we'd come, peering into the red flickering smoky light, trying to see what was happening. I grabbed him and hauled him up toward the exit ramp.
No time for spectating. I couldn't stop and think about who was alive or dead back there. Not until I had him safely outside. I ran for the exit, practically carrying Smith. I got about two paces into daylight when I almost ran into Esme and Dan. I shoved Smith at Esme, relief that they were both alive warring with panic that Smith might die and that Jase and the others were still down in the fire.
"He's hurt. Handle it. Don't let him get away."
Esme nodded and took Smith from me. She cast a look back over her shoulder as she hustled him away, mouthing, "Don't do anything stupid."
Like I had a choice.
I gazed at Dan. So many things I wanted to tell him. But there was no time. Smoke was rolling out of the parking lot entrance, and the flames crackled loudly to my werewolf ears.
"I love you," I said, "but there's no time to explain." That covered a lot of ground. And some of it I couldn't have explained yet if I'd tried. Like what happened back at the hotel. Like Smith and Lancaster and whatever the hell happened between them. Like Marco riding to my rescue. "I have to go back in."
"The fire department is nearly here," he said, shaking his head, silver blazing in his eyes.
I knew I must have looked a mess, stained with blood and smoke and God knew what else.
"Jase is down there," I said. "And Marco. And Niko. And Esteban. They're outnumbered."
"I'll go," Dan said, his voice raspy.
"Not without me." We locked gazes. In wolf form, this might have been easier. "I know it's dangerous, but I have to do this. Come with me."
His mouth quirked and his shoulder relaxed as though he'd finally accepted something. "Okay. Together." He looked me up and down. "Do you have a gun?"
I shook my head.
"Are you going to change?"
I considered. The wolf wouldn't like the heat and the smoke, but neither would I. And the wolf was faster and stronger and saw better in the dark. Besides that, changing would help heal my leg.
I wasn't human anymore. I'd left that behind. Time to use all the weapons I had at my disposal.
I nodded. "Let's do this."
I changed before he could answer, then turned and ran back down into the parking lot. The smoke was worse. The ceiling was definitely alight, and more cars had caught fire. Why hadn't the damned sprinkler system turned on?
Well, sparks might burn my fur, but I'd heal. Fire was more dangerous to a vampire than a wolf.
No time to worry about that. Dan's footsteps came from behind me. He'd changed, too.
"I'm going after Lancaster," I thought at him. "Don't forget to shield. He's strong."
"Yeah, we found that out at the hotel. I've got your back." He nosed my neck briefly, then turned to face the fire.
The smoke and flames and shrieking alarms turned the scene into a nightmare. With smoke choking my nose and turning the vamps into blurs, it was hard to tell friend from foe. Or know who the crumpled forms on the ground were.
No time to worry about that. Count the dead later. Save the living now.
I sprang back into motion, trying to find Lancaster. Vampires fought around us, violent and vicious. I caught a glimpse of red hair—or what I thought was red in the weird light—and then Jase's face. I ducked around him and took out the hamstring of the vamp attacking him. The guy fell, clutching his leg. Jase stepped back, frowning, then spotted me.
He lifted a hand, pointing. "He was over there," he said. "He shot Marco. They're still fighting though."
It took more than a single bullet to kill an Old One unless it was a very lucky shot. I ran in the direction Jase had pointed, toward the elevator, I thought. Though the exit light that usually shone above it was invisible, either broken or shrouded by the smoke.
"I'm behind you," Dan said in my head. "Keep going."
I followed the sounds of fighting. It didn't take long to find Marco and Lancaster. Marco was only using one arm, and the two of them were slugging it out like prizefighters. If prizefighters moved with vamp speed.
With the sound and the smoke, I guessed Marco hadn't been able to take control of Lancaster. He was an impressive sight in full fight mode, moving faster than any human could hope to.
And for a geek, Lancaster apparently fought better than most of his vampire pals.
I couldn't see a gun in his hands. Where was it? I scanned the ground around us. Red light glinted off metal a few yards behind Marco. The rest of the vampires seemed to be behind us. The gun was safe enough for now. If I changed to grab it, I'd be naked and so would Dan. Not appealing in the hot air, surrounded by flames.
I bounded into the fray, landing on Lancaster's back and forcing him down to the ground. He bucked wildly beneath me, and I snarled in his ear, letting every savage thought the wolf had leak into the sound. I had him now, and I wanted to howl in triumph.
Then the ceiling behind Marco caved in.
Fuck.
I leaped backward on pure instinct, snarling as a cloud of dust rose to add to the chaos.
The place was falling down around our ears.
Marco had bolted forward at the first creaking groan that had preceded the collapse, and now he had Lancaster by the throat.
"We need to get out of here," I thought to Dan. "Or we need the damn fire department."
"It's still daylight. The vamps can't go outside."
"Fire stairs."
"Climbing the floors in a building whose basement is on fire isn't a good idea."
"They're concrete. They're tough."
He made a frustrated huff but then dipped his nose in agreement.
I glanced up at Marco, then darted forward, tugged at his coat with my teeth.
He looked down at me. "If you can get us out of here, cara, then our debts will be cleared," he said, coughing at the end of the sentence. "This would be a bad way to die."
I agreed with him there, so I tugged again and then turned, hoping he'd follow me.
He was smart enough to do so and strong enough to bring a struggling Lancaster with him.
It probably only took a few seconds to reach the stairs, though it felt like longer with the fire and the smoke turning the lot to a hellhole. Marco groaned as he pushed open the door with his injured arm, the one not holding Lancaster. He looked back at me. "I can control him, but I can't do that and help you with the others," he said. "I can call Jason, and I can perhaps convince Lancaster to call his children, too. But you'll need to find Esteban."
Great. I got to find the pissed-off Old One.
I turned and plunged back into the smoke and flame. Something seared my right front paw, and I yelped.
"Ash?"
"I'm okay. Just an ember." I coughed, an unpleasant sensation in wolf form. A burned foot was the least of my problems, though it hurt like hell.
As I ran back in the direction of the entrance, Jase loomed out of the darkness, half carrying Niko, who looked dazed, half his face covered in blood. And behind them came the other plague vamps—only four—and then Esteban bringing up the rear. Apparently the ceiling caving in had caught everyone's attention.
I thought I saw Dan in the smoke behind Esteban, but my eyes were stinging, and the smoke was thicker with every second. But he would still hear me if he was nearby. "Is this everyone?"
"Everyone I can find."
Above us, there was another alarming creak.
"Head for the stairs." I wasn't sure if it was Dan or I who thought that. It didn't matter. We bolted after the vampires and made it through the door, ducking around Esteban's legs to get inside. He pulled the door closed as he followed us, and there was another crashing rumble that suggested more ceiling had come down.
"Up to the first floor?" I asked Dan.
"The vamps can't go out the door up there."
"No, but it's farther away from the fire." The parking lot didn't run the full length of the building. I was no architect, but I hoped that meant maybe the entire structure wouldn't collapse if it did.
"We can cross over to the other side via the second floor. Everyone in the building should be evacuated, right? Lancaster can't whammy anyone else."
"Whammy?" Dan sounded amused.
"Let's not quibble over terminology for his creepy-ass powers. Just move."
Marco was watching us. "Which way, cara?"
In answer, I brushed past him and headed up the stairs. The others followed, everyone too focused on survival just then to keep fighting. We reached the level where the inner door would open into the lobby. I hoped like hell that the building was empty. Any weres or humans would be fair game for Lancaster's tricks.
Esteban opened the door for me, stepping through ahead of me and beckoning the others. Covered in soot like the rest of us, his suit jacket torn in several places, he didn't look so perfect. He stared down at me as Niko and Jason passed through into the building. "This is not what I expected when I hired you."
I gave him a wolfy grin, then turned to watch the other plague vamps pass us by. Dan had stayed behind Marco and Lancaster, growling softly as he followed them up the stairs.
Marco stepped toward the door, and Lancaster twisted suddenly, shoving him toward Esteban.
He moved fast, too fast, and reached the other door. The one that led outside.
Into safety, but also into daylight. Though maybe, I realized as he started to pull the door open, there might be enough shadow from the buildings this late in the day to protect him. And if he got hold of a human, or managed to disappear into another building, he could get away.
I leaped after him, Dan hot on my heels.
I snapped my teeth but missed the hem of Lancaster's jacket by an inch or two. My momentum carried me forward, and I skidded out onto the concrete. It wasn't so easy to come to a fast stop in this form, and it took me a moment to land safely and get my bearings to spot Lancaster. He was standing at the edge of the road, still safe in the shadow cast by the building. There were firefighters and paramedics a few feet away from him. People he could take control of. Who might help him escape. Werewolves were strong, but I didn't think I'd be able to do much if one of the firefighters aimed their hose at me.
I gathered myself to leap again, to stop him. But before I could move, Dan barreled out the door, twisted midleap, and knocked Lancaster to the concrete. For a moment, there was a blur of snarling wolf and vampire that I couldn't separate. I heard a yelp from Dan, and Lancaster sprang up, trying to get to his feet. But he misjudged, or he’d forgotten where he was, because his leap took him past the edge of shadow and across into the sunlight.
I jumped for him. If I was fast enough, maybe I could pull him back.
But I'd forgotten how fast the sun could take a vampire. Before I could reach him, Lancaster dissolved into flames and ash, the blast of it knocking me back, sending me sliding across the pavement until I hit solid warmth and turned to bury my face in Dan's fur.