standard ammo, midcenter, abdominal shot placement. Eli and Chi-Chi were standing over the humans, weapons aimed down at them. I hadn't seen or heard them taken down, but I had felt the thuds under my feet as they hit the floor, forcefully. I couldn't hear myself ready the shotgun for another round, nor my voice over the concussion in my ears, but I knew the vamps heard when I shouted. "You move, you die true-dead." One sank back on the sofa, clutching at her belly. The other one rushed me.
I reacted without thinking, dropped to one knee, and fired again, this time a head shot. The vamp dropped like a thrown rock - with momentum. I dodged left, out of the way of the falling body and bloody bits. So much for keeping them all alive.
Leo threw himself against the shackles at the smell of more fresh blood. It was the final proof that he hadn't fed off the infected blood offerings; he'd not still be this ravenously hungry. A weight fell from my shoulders at the thought. His blood-servants entered, hesitating a moment before converging on Leo. I didn't watch as the first one lifted his wrist to his master.
* * *
Sixty minutes after we had left, Eli and I were back at my house. Half an hour later, we were each eating a very good, very rare steak and sharing the events with Alex. When we were sated and the adrenaline had been burned off with several beers, Eli said, "So. Are we hired?"
He looked cocky and amused, and I tilted my head. "Ehhhh." I looked at his brother. "Your brother can follow orders and take down a house. How about you? You got info for me?"
"Yeah," Alex said. "I sent you some stuff."
I opened my own laptop, which felt increasingly out of date after seeing the kid's electronics. The folders he sent were neat and orderly, the files organized under headings that were easy to follow, easy to read, and comprehend. I hit PRINT and added paper to the printer. I e-mailed the entire batch to Reach and dialed his number. When the line opened, he said, "Nice work. Leo is saved by the famed vampire-killer." I heard the sarcasm and him clapping in the background.
I didn't reply or rise to the bait. Instead, I said, "This one is for our old fees, not the exorbitant prices you've been charging me."
"And if I disagree?" When I didn't reply, he sighed and said, "Fine. What?"
"I just sent you a file. I want to know how it's organized. I want you to run a search through it for anything with the name of the Enforcer in Asheville. See who it ties into. See what you can dig up." I hung up and turned to Alex. "The name of the Enforcer in Asheville was Ramondo Pitri. You do the same assignment. We'll see how your skills stand up to Reach's."
The kid's eyes glowed. "Sweeeet." He went to work, fingers clacking on the Seattle vamps' Apple, his own laptop, and the two electronic tablets that still functioned, all four devices at once. Eli stared at his brother, then at me, and shook his head. Despite my demand that Alex had kitchen duty, he started cleaning up my kitchen. I liked that in a man.
Fifty-two minutes later my cell rang. At the same moment, Alex hit SEND. "Done," he said.
I opened my cell and said, "Thanks, Reach."
"I'll e-mail the info to you," he said.
I opened Alex's new file and smiled. I had a new name to work with, a vamp named Hieronymus, which I couldn't even pronounce. It seemed that Big H was mentioned in dozens of the files, as the next vamp-master to be challenged and attacked by the mystery vamp. At last I had a name and place to start. I compared and the same name popped up on Reach's search too. I looked at the two men sitting in my kitchen. "You're hired. Dawn is close. You start at noon. There are four bedrooms upstairs. Don't take the one over my bedroom. Don't play loud music. Get some sleep."
"I've got some ordnance in the truck," Eli said.
"As long as it isn't combustible or fragmentary explosives, you can bring it inside."
From his expression I could tell he was trying to figure out what to do with the explosives. I shook my head. Soldiers and their toys. With a full stomach and as much security in place as I could manage,