should add your name to my hit list, too.”
Ambrose joined the party. “Oh, come on, Rafferty, lay off the poor guy. We both know what it’s like to have our women do stuff guaranteed to strike terror in a man’s heart. If that was Joss out there taking on the world by herself, you’d be feeling pretty homicidal yourself.”
Rafferty’s expression turned sober, and he offered Conlan a hand up off the ground. “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. Let’s go see what we can do about rescuing your lady.”
Conlan ignored the pounding in his head. He wasn’t sure if it was the pain from where Kat had clocked him with a rock or if it was his pulse running at full bore out of fear for her. At least he was up and moving.
“She hid a flash drive somewhere near that burned-out house. Once they get their hands on it, they’ll have no reason to keep her alive.”
He looked at Rafferty and then Ambrose. Like him, both men were in predator mode, fangs out and demanding a blood price be paid.
“Where do we stand?”
Ambrose answered. “We’ve blocked both entrances to the estate and have notified the clan who owns it that we’re here on Coalition business. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll stay the hell out of our way. Rafferty’s men are with the rest of mine, circling the house and gradually taking out the mercs along the way.”
Then the chancellor grinned, his fangs flashing white in the darkness. “We’ve also managed to capture their helo, thanks to your buddy Lucius. He flew us here and set down long enough to let us get out. Then he swooped in to hover right over their helicopter to prevent it from taking off. The mercs surrendered when they saw Finn had his rocket launcher aimed at them.”
Okay, maybe things weren’t as bad as he feared. “You guys have been busy.”
“Yeah, well, we couldn’t let you have all the glory.” Ambrose stared up at the sky, his voice echoing with frustration. “We’ve heard rumors for years about these radical purists but weren’t able to infiltrate them, for obvious reasons. All it takes is a simple lab test to show whether a new recruit’s blood is free of the vampire gene. You and Kat have managed to draw them out of the shadows long enough for us to start making arrests.”
That was good, but it wasn’t Conlan’s concern. All he cared about right now was getting to Kat. She was running out of time.
“If they’ve hurt her, they’re all dead men.” He glared at Ambrose. “You have a problem with that?”
His former boss grinned. “Not me. It will save the Coalition the price of their trials, not to mention feeding the bastards in prison for the next thirty years.”
“Okay, then. Let’s get moving.”
“Hey, boss, good to see you.” Finn walked out of the shadows, his smile quickly fading. “I managed to track Miss Karr as far as that small building up ahead, but the mercs caught her before I could get there.”
The news came as no surprise. “That’s all right, Finn. They’ve been only a half a step behind us since yesterday. They were bound to catch up with us sooner or later.”
The younger chancellor didn’t look any happier. “They have her surrounded, but she seems to be holding her own for the moment.”
“That’s good. That’s really good.”
Conlan had been so afraid when he regained consciousness that it would be to the knowledge that Kat was dead. The odds might be stacked against her right now, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t hope. Between Ambrose’s chancellors and Rafferty’s security force, they had the mercs outnumbered and cornered.
How would the enemy react to their change in circumstances? If they saw Kat as a bargaining chip, they might protect her, even from their employers. Keeping his fingers crossed that that might be the case, he checked his weapons.
“Let’s get this shindig started.”
It felt damn good to be heading into battle with Rafferty, Ambrose and Finn by his side.
One by one, they located the rest of the merc guards and took them out of the equation. Most surrendered without a fight when confronted by a chancellor flashing fangs or a vampire hungry for blood.
Finally, only the last circle of mercs stood between Conlan and Kat. The only thing holding him back was the knowledge that the rest of the rescue forces weren’t in place yet. Meanwhile, it was impossible to get