Stephan retrieved his laptop from the other desk and set it up in front of Elijah, who plugged the drive in. Shortly, a video began to play. It was clearly surveil ance video of a cel in which a vampire with foam at the mouth and bloodshot eyes bashed his head against a brick wal until it burst.
“I’ve seen an infected vamp like this before,” Elijah said.
“You have?” Vash stood and faced him, her focus razor sharp. “When? Where?”
He leaned back again. “The first time was in Phoenix, about a month ago. I believe she was the friend you wanted to avenge—brunette, petite, a pilot.”
“Nikki.” Vash took a deep breath. “Jesus. I thought Adrian was ful of shit when he said she was f**ked up.”
“We cleaned out a nest in Hurricane, Utah, two days later. Half the occupants were foaming at the mouth like that.”
Bending down, she dug in her duffel and pul ed out an iPad. She typed as she spoke. “We don’t know what the hel this sickness is, how quickly it’s spreading, or where it started. That’s what we need to determine and what we need you for—we have to work night and day. We can work in shifts.”
“Maybe this is population control.”
Her head lifted. “Don’t play me. I don’t play nice.”
“Have any of the Fal en been infected?”
“No.” She set the tablet in front of him, revealing a map of North America dotted with multicolored spots. “The red spots are the first reports. You can see Nikki’s appearance in Phoenix was part of the first wave. Orange is second. Yel ow is the most recent.”
Stephan leaned closer. “They’re al over the map.”
“Right. You’d expect to see an outward spread from one point, but it looks like there were four, as if they were deliberately spaced to speed the rate and area of infection. We know Sentinels raided a nest outside of Seattle, and you can see that’s one of the first known cases.”
Elijah shook his head, knowing where this was going. “Adrian’s clean on this.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Doesn’t mean a Sentinel isn’t responsible, but Adrian is in the clear.”
“Shit.” Vash began to pace, briefly distracting him with her graceful and agile stride. “And the Sentinels won’t act without his orders, so that leaves us with what? Demons? A lycan?”
“Don’t rule out the Sentinels.”
Stil ing, she looked at him. “Why not?”
“A woman was taken from Angels’ Point while under Sentinel guard.”
“Then they al owed it to happen.”
“Not to this woman. Adrian would kick off Armageddon first.”
“Would he? Hmm…” She spun on her stiletto heel and left the cavern.
Elijah was right behind her, fol owing in her cherry-scented wake. He was damn near dizzy by the time he reached the surface, his chest expanding on a deep breath that cleansed his lust-addled brain. He watched Vash pul an iPhone out from under a crimson bra strap and hit a speed-dial button. A moment later, the vampire leader appeared on her screen via a video feed.
“Vashti.” Syre greeted his second-in-command with warm familiarity. “Are you wel ?”
Elijah interjected. “You didn’t care about that when you sent her to me alone and unarmed.”
“Let me see him,” Syre said, prompting Vash to angle the screen in Elijah’s direction. “Ah. The lycan Alpha. You’re precisely what I expected.”
“I expected you to be smarter.” Elijah crossed his arms.
“You’d be an idiot to harm my lieutenant. I would hunt you down and spread your hide in front of my fireplace as a rug.”
“My hide is worth the same as hers?” He glanced at Vash, irritated that he gave a shit about the respect—or lack of—that she was shown by her commander.