he reached into the duff ininkel bag at his feet. “I have backup. It’s me, Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer, and my darling Miss Kimber.”
“Good to know you brought friends. That won’t kill them, you know.”
“A .45 still packs a hell of a punch, my friend.”
“Aim for the neck.”
A wicked glint came to Ben’s eye. “Always.”
They had to hike the last five miles to the hunting grounds. Baojia gave Natalie a piggyback ride. Brigid offered to carry Ben, but he refused with red ears and ran to keep up. Carwyn and Tenzin were already at the crater, bickering.
“Stop calling me fat. Just because I’m not as light as a fifteen-year-old girl—”
“I was older than fifteen when I turned, you idiot.”
“Then stop acting like a whiny little schoolgirl. It’s not like you’re not strong enough. You could carry ten of me and not feel it, so stop bitching. Did you feed tonight?”
“Just bagged blood. I didn’t have time to hunt.”
Carwyn grunted. “No wonder.”
“You two fight like siblings,” Baojia said as he set Natalie down.
“Always.” Ben went over and threw an arm around Tenzin’s shoulders. “Stop picking on Tiny, Carwyn.”
“Picking on—?” Carwyn threw his head back and laughed. “Good one. Ah, there’s my lovely girl.” Brigid went over to him and tilted her face up for a kiss, but Carwyn lifted her in his massive arms and swung her around, greeting his wife far more enthusiastically than he had only two nights before. “Mmmm, my lovely, lovely girl… There are caves around here. I’ve already scouted them out.”
“One-track mind,” Brigid muttered as Carwyn coaxed her away from the group.
Baojia rolled his eyes at the pair and turned to Tenzin, who was brushing off Ben’s arm. “Stop calling me Tiny.”
“It just fits.”
He broke in before they could start arguing. “No truck, I take it.”
She shook her head. “Going to sniff around? We just got here. We stopped by Tulio’s place—Carwyn knows him, of course—and let him know what the plan was. He says we can use that tunnel you mentioned to get the girls out. Says it’s safe and he’ll be watching for them. The one human he has is still tucked away.”
“Good. That will help.” He looked around, really examining the hunting ground for the first time. Leaving Natalie with Tenzin and Ben, he walked the perimeter. It was a natural crater, no doubt formed hundreds or thousands of years ago by something massive hitting the ground. The depression was almost perfectly round, and little grew in it except a copse of trees that had sprung up from the middle and a few tumbleweeds. He toed his shoes off and sank his feet into the sand, but could sense no water.
His eyes darted around, taking in bits and pieces. The more he looked, the more subtle evidence of violence he saw. Cracked branches and bloodstains. A pile of rocks had tumbled down the side of the crater where it looked like someone had tried to run up quickly. Though the wind had carried the scent of fresh human blood far away, brown smudges still remained on the sandstone rocks that lay scattered around. And the scent of the predators was everywhere. The traces of energy were old—he guessed no one had been back since the hunt they had witnessed days before, but they were numerous and varied. It wasn’t the same vampires hunting over and over. Though a few signatures seemed familiar, most were unknown and b und witneelonged to unique individuals.
“Hunting parties,” he murmured. Why was Ivan doing it? For amusement? To make money? It was the type of thing responsible immortal leaders had outlawed to avoid exposure to humans, but in this part of the world—where no one was watching, using girls that no one cared about—it certainly wouldn’t be unheard of. Were the other vampires paying him? Did they know they were getting a poison as well as a fresh meal? Somehow, Baojia didn’t think that was on the brochure.
He felt Natalie approach.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
“I’m thinking… I still wish you weren’t here.”
“Can we stop now, please? I’m here. Talk to me about the plan.”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out as she slid her hand in his. “We’ll all hide in Tulio’s tunnel today. Obviously, it’s not happening tonight. It might not happen for days. We only know the girl, Carmen, was taken two nights ago. According to what we can tell, it takes anywhere from two to three days to