"I don't think they'll find us this fast, bro," Paul said.
"No. Not Francesca and Gabriel," Josef said, stepping in front of Skyler and sweeping her behind him with one arm. "But something has."
"I can help," Skyler hissed. "I'm very adept at all kinds of defense." She peeked around Josef. She had met and faced all kinds of monsters and they scared the hell out of her, but she wasn't about to show fear to either of her friends—not when they were risking their lives in her rather desperate plan to take Dimitri back from his captors.
Paul closed in on the other side. "Pipe down, lunatic, at least let us see what's coming at us."
"The coffin's in the truck, do you want to try to just drive away?" Skyler suggested hopefully.
"I'd rather meet them out in the open," Paul said. "Josef?"
Josef held up his hand, fingers spread wide. "Five of them. Punks. They saw the customs guy close up shop and they like to come see what might have been left behind. Two of them are pretty high. All of them have been drinking. No vampires."
Skyler caught Josef's arm. "Let's just go then. Five humans with knives and chains and maybe guns can still slow us down. Let's get out of here."
"I don't think they have any intention of letting us take the truck, Sky," Josef said. "They've got their eyes on our ride."
Skyler sighed. Josef and Paul were spoiling for a fight. They both had pent-up energy as well as suppressed anger toward their prince and the other hunters. If she was being entirely truthful, she did as well. She was angry. Furious. Dimitri deserved so much more loyalty than his people were showing him. All three of them had been kept out of the loop, too young to count, when the very person who was her other half was in danger. It wasn't right. She was Dimitri's lifemate and at the very least, she should be kept informed at all times, not dismissed as if she were a child and wouldn't understand.
She took a deep breath, knowing that the only one of the three of them who looked as if they could handle themselves was Paul. Josef, they would dismiss. He was tall and lanky, but hadn't developed the outward muscle that might impress a group of toughs like the ones posturing. Josef, of course, was the one that everyone should be afraid of, but he looked like the techie he was.
She listened to the trash talk and gave a little sigh. The world sometimes seemed the same everywhere she went. London, South America, the United States, even her beloved Romania had the same types that would much rather rob than earn.
You're too soft, Sky, Josef said. They'd kill you for those chic boots you're wearing.
The worst part of it was Josef was probably right. He could read their thoughts. She could, too, if she chose, which she didn't. Sometimes she just wanted to pretend that most people were really good, like Gabriel and Francesca, not the monsters she'd known as a child. Living in a world where she knew vampires and monsters existed didn't help her fantasy.
The smell of the five approaching them reached her first. Two were definitely on drugs. The reek of alcohol was strong, not a good sign. Her experience with alcohol wasn't the best. Men who were drunk definitely had an enlarged sense of bravado and very impaired judgment. Most likely, these five would think they could do anything.