under arrest and you can call the Order from the station and have them bail you out."
"Look up above the door. You see a metal paw bolted to the wood?"
"And?"
"This business is the property of the Pack. If you break the door down, you'll have to appear before a judge and explain why you invaded these premises without a warrant, arrested guests of the Pack, and caused damage to Pack property."
"We can do that," the cop said.
"No, you can't--because I'll testify that you had no reasonable cause to enter said building. Unless you're planning on killing me, in which case, start praying now, because I'll put a bullet through the head of every man in your squad before you get off a single shot."
"I wouldn't call that bluff," I said. "I've seen her shoot. She's being modest."
"Whose side are you on anyway?" the cop growled.
"I'm on the side of serving and protecting," Andrea said. "Your squad killed a civilian in the cross fire."
"It was a justifiable kill," the cop said. "I'm not going to debate it with you."
Andrea's voice vibrated with steel. "One man is already dead. And judging by the blood trail on the pavement, somebody in that building is wounded. Someone either crawled or was dragged to that office and is probably bleeding out inside it. You now have a choice. You can either get the paramedics in there or you can let another civilian die of their injuries, break into an office owned by the Pack, assault the Beast Lord's wife, and shoot a knight of the Order. You can do it either way, but I promise that if you somehow survive, twenty years from now, when you're old and broken, you'll look back at this moment and wish you had taken two seconds and thought about what you were doing, because this is the point where it all went very wrong."
Wow. "What she said."
There was a long pause. They were thinking it over.
"Look, I worked with you guys before," I called. "Call Detective Michael Gray. He'll vouch for me. If you get paramedics here, I'll open the door. No fuss, no damage, everybody is happy, nobody gets hauled to court. We're going to need an ambulance pretty soon, too. I've got one of the girls in a tourniquet and if we don't hurry this along, she'll bleed to death."
"Tell you what," the cop said. "Open the door, let us take the wounded girl out, and then we'll call Gray."
Like I was born yesterday. "The moment I open the door, you'll rush me. I'll wait until the paramedics get here."
"Fine. I'll make the call, but you're playing with her life. She dies--it's on you, and I'll personally book you."
I slid the metal guard shut and went back to the women. The dark-haired woman stared at me with haunted eyes. "You're going to let them have us?"
"If it's a choice between your friend's life and your freedom, yes. For now, we'll wait. My best friend is on the other side, and she won't let them do anything stupid." I looked at the dark-haired woman. "When Ghastek fainted, why didn't either of you grab the vampire's mind?"
"I tried. It wasn't there."
"What do you mean, not there?" Vampire minds didn't just blink out of existence.
The dark-haired woman shook her head. "It wasn't there."
"She's right," Emily said. "I tried, too. It's like I couldn't navigate anymore." She shivered on the floor. "I'm cold."
I went into the storage room, pulled a spare cloak from the hook, and covered her with it.
Emily's lips had turned blue. "Am I going to die?"
"Not if I can help it."
Chapter 3
MINUTES DRIPPED BY, COLD AND SLOW. FIVE. SIX. Eight.
A loud knock echoed through the door. "Kate?" Andrea's voice called.
"Yeah?"
"I have paramedics with me. Let me in."
I unbarred the door and swung it open. Four paramedics sprinted into the room. Andrea followed them. She was short and blue-eyed, and for some reason the tips of her short blond hair were frosted with neon blue. The barrel of a rifle protruded over the shoulder of her jacket. Knowing her, she probably had two SIG-Sauers under that jacket, a combat knife, and enough bullets to take on the Golden Horde.
Normally Andrea's face wore a nice easygoing expression that made random strangers want to pour their hearts out to her. One look at her now, and they would cross to the other side of the street. Tension locked her face into a rigid, strained mask, and she moved like a soldier