The hairs on her neck bristled when she heard another sound. A growl. Low at first, but it instantly escalated into a high-pitched cry. Cold panic seized every nerve. She lost her grip on Hello Kitty and the keys tumbled to the ground with a jangle.
But when another shriek joined the first one, she let out a heavy sigh and cursed.
A damn cat fight. Stupid unfixed male cats. They surprised her every time. A set of shiny eyes stared at her from under the bushes then disappeared.
Her hands were still shaking when she unlocked the door. Once inside the garage, she flicked on the light and there it was. Her motorcycle—alone—which meant no Sam, no boyfriend. The bike appeared to be in pristine condition. The pearlescent paint unmarred, the chrome shiny. Dom must’ve had it fixed for her, she thought as she dashed into the house.
Please let Sam’s boxes still be in the dining room.
They were. She pawed through the contents, scattering tiny plastic bags everywhere, before she finally found what she was looking for. Yes. One of Sam’s large, sterling silver, gothic crosses. She rubbed the pad of her thumb over the sharp points. You have to have faith for that to work on me, Mr. Vincent. God, she wished that was all it took. A cross, a little faith and the evil vampire would cringe and leave. But that was just a movie. This was real life. After saying a quick prayer, she looped the leather cord around her neck, tucked the cross inside her T-shirt, and within minutes, she had pushed the Triumph into the moonlight and was racing through her neighborhood.
Weeds grew from the cracks in the driveway leading up to Corey’s old high school, unused since the area’s two rival schools had been merged into one big high school on the other side of town. She had just finished stashing her bike in the bushes when her cell phone rang. Dom. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she flipped it open.
“What the hell are you doing, Mackenzie?” His accent sounded a trace thicker than normal. “Where are you?”
“At the old Seaview High School near my house. In case I have to shoot, it’s the only place I could think of that Corey could easily find. I didn’t want them in our neighborhood or in a public place where people could get hurt.”
“No. Do not take them on, Mackenzie. Get out of there. Leave. You’re no match for them. I’ll be there in less than an hour.”
She tried to block out the desperation she heard in his voice, because she knew she couldn’t do as he asked. “I don’t have that much time. Corey’s almost out of gas and the Darkbloods are right on his tail. They’re too close for us to get Corey past the cloaking shields at the field office. Since he’s not Sangre Dulce, they must want him for something else. If they get to him, we’ve got to assume they’ll take him to their research facility, which you haven’t—”
“Goddamn it. They don’t want Corey. They want you.”
“He’s my brother, Dom. He’s all I have. I can’t just sit back and let those monsters take him.”
“You have me. Dios mio, you have me. Don’t do this, Mackenzie. Wait and we’ll find him together.”
She heard the sound of a ferry’s horn through the phone line. He was too far away. “When Corey pulls up, I’ll shoot the two Darkbloods, he’ll jump on the back of my bike and I’ll take him to the field office. Without the Darkbloods on our tail, Cordell can drop the cloak. This is the only way.” A set of headlights flashed through the trees. “He’s here. I’ll call you when I have him. I love you.” She snapped the phone shut and loaded a round into the chamber of the Ruger.
COREY WISHED HE could talk to Mackenzie one more time to double-check that she was in place and ready, but naturally his phone battery had died after he hung up with her a few minutes ago. For the millionth time he glanced in the rearview mirror. They were still there.
His sweaty hands slipped on the steering wheel as he turned onto the winding, tree-lined entrance of Seaview High School. He downshifted into second and the crappy little engine jerked him forward, rattling loudly as it accelerated up the hill. On both sides of the cracked pavement, the trees and brambles