Stealing Time (29 page)

Siska closed his eyes and lowered his head, for all the world looking as if he were just deep in thought. Everyone stood watching him, waiting to see what would happen. After a little while, he sighed, then opened his eyes and straightened.

He muttered to himself as he shuffled through James’s sketches and held up two. “Both of them are in Dallas,” he said, turning the drawings so we could see the images. “And this one is close.” He held a third drawing.

“Caleb and…Jack,” I said. “The third one is Nathaniel.”

“Jack is here?” Kate whispered and I heard the horror in her voice as she realized the implications. Her reaction to discussions about Jack was curious, and I resolved to talk with her about it at the first opportunity. I couldn’t imagine she had any feelings for the vampire who had kidnapped her, although it could be argued that he had ultimately saved her life. And there was Gage and his feelings for Kate…
hmm.
Things were growing complicated.

Nic’s voice was hard. “Are they together?”

“No,” Siska said. “And Jack is the closest to us.”

“Can you tell how many are with them?”

“Not until we’re closer, no.”

“Then we get Jack first.” Nic’s eyes were like cold obsidian. “If you’re sure you don’t have any problem with that, Siska.”

His expression turned thunderous. “No problem at all.” Turning to James, he asked, “Will you hunt with me again, old friend?”

James bared his teeth. “Lead the way.”

Nic’s unmarked sedan and our Range Rover were parked side by side under a freeway overpass in the worst part of Dallas. It was well after midnight and a muggy breeze stirred trash along the deserted street where we stood. Derelict warehouses were all around us, their broken windows and graffiti-covered walls showing that this part of the city had been cast off long ago and left to whomever wished to claim it. Combined with the stink of urine burning our hyper-acute nostrils, this was a miserable place to be.

“James and I will go down this side street,” Siska said, pointing to the one he meant about thirty yards away, “and engage Jack while Leo, Evie and Gage wait here in case he slips past us.”

James and I spoke at the same time. “No.”

He looked at us in surprise. “What do you mean, ‘no’? It’s a good plan.”

“Evie and I stay together.” James’s voice was pleasant, but there was no mistaking the steel underneath.

“What he said.” I narrowed my eyes.

Siska’s expression made clear he thought he was surrounded by lunatics. Blowing out a breath, he said, “Okayyy. So James,
Evie
and I will go down this side street…”

Kate cleared her throat. “And what about the two humans? What are we supposed to do?”

Siska frowning was a formidable sight, but he had no idea how determined Kate could be—she tilted her head and glared right back, not in the least intimidated. It looked as if she’d have to be tied down to keep her out of the coming fight, but then I remembered something that might make a difference.

“Everybody hang on a second.” I went to open the Rover’s back hatch. Shoving the jacket out of the way, I lifted the slayer’s rifle and took it to Kate and Nic. “How good are you with rifles, Kate?”

“Umm,” she began, eyeing the weapon.

Nic stepped forward and I handed it to her—there was no mistaking the lustful gleam in her eye. “That’s an H&K G36 automatic assault rifle and totally illegal. Where the
hell
did you get it?”

“The slayers use them and I’m trusting you to use it on the right vampires,” I said as she expertly shouldered the heavy rifle and laid it along her cheek, checking the sights. “I don’t know if it was fired before I picked it up. You’ll want to see how many rounds are left in the clip.”

She gave me a
duh
look. “No shit, Elvira.”

I laughed—brusque, tough and opinionated as she was, I found that I was beginning to like the marshal.

Kate eyed the rifle nervously. “You got that at your vampire meeting? The, um, Gathering?”

“Yes.” No need to tell her I killed its former owner—the knowledge was in her eyes.

Nic’s face lit. “Siska’s intel says they’ve got the latest tech advances. Does the ammo have incendiary aspects?”

Leo replied in a dry voice, “The existing modified bullets are quite sufficient to the job.”

Throughout the exchange, James was rigid and I knew he was remembering how close I had come to dying from just such a bullet. I came up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my cheek against his back. He turned in my embrace to tuck me under his chin, kissing the top of my head. But, when I looked up, his expression had not eased.

“Have a care, Marshal.” Meeting Nic’s gaze, he said, “And be doubly sure of your target if you fire that rifle. The bullets will not differentiate between them and us. As Evie said, we are trusting you.”

Nic held the rifle at port arms and came to stand in front of us. Locking eyes with James, she nodded. “You have my word.”

Siska shifted restlessly. “Jack is getting closer. We need to go now if we’re going to get in position.” It was clear that he was hesitant to leave Nic, however. Eyeing the assault rifle, he continued, “If anything happens while we’re gone, aim for the heart.”

“I never miss, you know that. One of those bastards goes down, he stays down.” She flashed a fierce grin. “Kate and I will be fine. Now go already.”

Gage and Leo met my glance and nodded—they’d watch over the two humans. None of us really expected trouble here, though, while they waited for us to confront Jack.

Looking at Kate, her face pale in the shadows under the overpass, I suddenly understood how hard this must be for her. The weakest member of the group and always under our protection, she had to worry that one of her well-intentioned protectors might, ourselves, lose control and hurt her. As well, there was little she could do if a vampire got to her in our absence. Nic, at least, was armed with a formidable weapon and clearly had some combat experience, but Kate was out of her element. For someone so strong-willed, this must be especially difficult and it made sense why becoming a vampire held some appeal for her.

Feeling my gaze, Kate looked up. “What?”

Turning to go, I shook my head. “Nothing. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Evie?” Her voice stopped me and I turned to look back at her. She asked in a small voice, “Don’t kill him, okay?”

It took an effort to keep my expression smooth. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

I wavered for a second, unsure how to respond. What had happened between them during that brief period after Jack captured her? Whatever it was, it went deep—there was genuine concern in her eyes as she held my gaze, waiting for my response.

“Evie, we must go,” James’s voice called from just down the street. Siska was already out of sight, although I sensed he had not gone far.

“Kate, look…I can’t make any promises. If Jack tries something…” I trailed off.

She nodded. “I get it. Just do what you can, okay?”

“I’ll try.” With a quick wave, I took off to join James.

“What was that about?” His voice was so low, I strained to catch the words.

“Kate seems to have feelings for Jack.”

James had been surveying the night all around us as we moved down the street, but at this, his gaze snapped to my face. I felt his surprise but there was no time for further discussion as we caught up with Siska.

The sluggish breeze blew in our faces, so Jack would not catch our scent and be warned of our presence. On either side of me, James and Siska leaned into crouches, their eyes intent and focused on the intersection twenty yards away. Because both were older, their hearing was far more acute, and their tension told me that Jack was close. Instinctively, I positioned myself where I could protect James.

There was the slightest stir of feet on pavement, no more than the whisper of a footstep. I didn’t need to coax the energy into readiness—in response to a threat nearby, my whole body vibrated with its intensity. Because it was such a dark night, it was easy to see the faint glow I cast and, when James turned his face toward me for an instant, his eyes glowed like a cat’s.

Jack rounded the corner and, seeing us, faltered the tiniest bit—had I been human, I wouldn’t have caught it or how his eyes widened when he recognized James and me.

Siska said, “
Ça été depuis longtemps
.”

Genuine irritation crossed Jack’s face as he shot a look at Siska. “Yes, it
has
been a long time, jackass. But nowhere near long enough.” He turned to me, his gaze intent. “How is your friend?”

Several possible answers flitted through my head, but I said only, “She is well.”

Jack’s tension seemed to lessen. “Good.” Looking at James and ignoring Siska, he asked in his southern drawl, “Is there a point to this little soiree? I don’t mean to be unfriendly, but I’m on something of a tight schedule.”

“Maybe you’d like to tell us about that,” Siska growled.

Jack’s gaze shifted to Siska, then slid insultingly away. Addressing his answer to James and me, he said, “Since y’all are here, I suspect you know something of what’s going on.” His expression grew thoughtful as he lingered on my faint glow. “And maybe that’s a good thing.”

“Explain yourself.” James’s tone made it clear he expected answers.

Jack’s eyes darkened and the disgust in his voice was clear. “Under Philippe’s orders, Caleb has been going from city to city, creating small gangs of vampires. He changes the most violent human criminals he can find and trains them to…”

Siska cut in, derisive. “We already know all that. But you’re saying that
Caleb
is doing this? And, of course, you’re totally innocent.”

Irritated by the interruption, Jack grated, “That’s exactly what I’m saying, goat-sucker. And while I’m not innocent of a lot of things, on this one I’m clean.”

“So why are you here, Jack?” I asked, mindful of my promise to Kate. I would at least see that he had a chance to explain himself.

“I’m trying to stop Caleb, Philippe’s lieutenant. I almost had him in New Orleans, but he got away and the biker gang he changed kept me a little occupied for most of a week.”

“You killed them?” James asked, surprised.

Jack nodded and a feral smile crossed his face. “Most of them, but a couple got away. By then, I was afraid Caleb had gotten too far ahead of me and I wasn’t sure if he went to Houston or to Dallas—the two biggest cities west of New Orleans.”

Siska said reluctantly, “That would explain the piles of ash found at the scene.”

James rounded on him, his expression hard. “You didn’t say anything about ash.”

Shrugging, Siska said, “Need to know. It’s an ongoing investigation—I can’t tell you everything.”

“Why is it important?” I asked.

James said, “Fire cannot harm us while our hearts beat. But once we are dead and the heart is still, burning is the best way to dispose of a vampire’s body. The resulting ash is sterile, with no biological remnants left for forensics teams to examine.”

Siska turned to Jack, his attitude having marginally thawed with this apparent proof that Jack might be telling the truth. “What is it you plan to do tonight?”

“I intend to kill Caleb and put a stop to this insanity,” Jack said, his voice low and angry.

“But you take orders from Philippe,” I protested.

“Not anymore, I don’t.” At my disbelieving expression, he continued, “Philippe and I have had several unpleasant…
disagreements
over the last few years. After I left Kate with you, I decided not to go back to him and his merry band of anarchists. I’ve been on my own ever since.”

Siska shook his head, “Philippe doesn’t sound like the kind of guy you say no to. I don’t believe he just let you walk away.”

“Nothing Philippe does makes any sense,” I snapped.

“Makes any sense?” Jack echoed, incredulous. “You’re trying to assign logic to that asshole? You don’t have a freaking clue what he’s capable of. Every one of you will die—plus a whole lot of others—if you don’t deal with Philippe as the evil bastard he is. Trying to
make sense
of him is what’ll get you killed.” His voice was bitter, scathing.

James and I exchanged a glance, but didn’t respond.

Jack scowled at Siska. “I never said he let me walk away, douche bag. Philippe sent two guys after me and their orders weren’t to take me back. At least not in just one piece, jerkoff.”

“If you’re finished insulting Siska, maybe you’ll tell us what happened?” I said, trying to keep us on track. Jack seemed to be telling the truth, but there was too much at stake to believe easily.

“I’m nowhere near done insulting the dumbass.” Jack snorted. “As for what happened, there are two more piles of ash blowing in the wind.” His voice was smug.

Siska considered Jack for a second, then shot a questioning look at James and me.

“Let’s save the rest of this conversation so that Nic, Kate and the others can participate.” James said.

Jack startled. “Kate is
here?
”

“Yes,” I said, watching his reaction.

His face went white. “Please tell me that she’s been changed.” When I shook my head no, he swore inventively. “Are you all insane? This is the last place humans should be.” He turned on Siska and got in his face. “You arrogant sonuvabitch, you’re a
seeker
—you know better. I bet you were looking only for me, right? Once you got close, you probably didn’t bother to scan the area for others, did you?”

Siska glared at him, then his eyes went blank. I got the impression he was stretching his senses out in all directions. Even as his head snapped up and his expression turned white with rage, I heard the deep cough of the assault rifle firing on full automatic. Together, James and I wheeled, racing full-out back the way we had come.

Jack was already two strides ahead of us.

As we rounded the last corner and caught sight of our friends beneath the overpass, Siska let loose a torrent of curses so inventive, I wished fleetingly I’d had time to jot them down. The two women were wedged into the V between the overpass and the raised, concrete-covered earth.

Nic had Kate behind her and was methodically picking off a group of vampires as they tried to get at them. There were several still forms on the ground, testament to the marshal’s lethal aim and the vampire-killer bullets. A short distance away, Gage and Leo stood with their backs together, surrounded. Several of the circling vampires were missing body parts, one’s neck was bent at an odd angle and most had chunks of flesh missing.

Siska and Jack split off to go after the vampires menacing Nic and Kate. Because we were all moving so fast, there was no way the women could even see us and Nic was continuing to fire the assault rifle—if a stray bullet hit any of us, we’d be just as dead as the bodies on the pavement.

“
Nic, stop shooting!
” Siska bellowed as he entered the field of fire and, with great relief I saw the marshal lower the weapon. Then I lost sight of Jack and Siska as they disappeared into a knot of attacking vampires.

“All
right!
” Gage snarled when he saw James and me approaching at high velocity. Leo growled a challenge and charged straight at the vampire closest to him, our gentle friend transformed by rage.

Without breaking stride, James and I took down the closest vampires. Surrounded by enemies, my instincts obliterated all intellect and I fought with absolute ferocity, my mate by my shoulder and snarling his fury. The energy roared through me to explode from my palms, enveloping a vampire threatening James’s flank. Lifting the wriggling male high into the air, I leaped onto another, ravaging his throat with my teeth and snapping his neck. Before he could squirm free, I slashed my fangs across his chest and drove a discarded piece of rebar deep inside, piercing his heart and killing him.

The suspended male, hissing in fear and anger, thrashed in a vain attempt to escape the power’s grasp. Snarling up at him, I drew the energy tighter around his chest, viciously curious to see if I could crush his heart from the outside. Before he’d done more than turn purple, bands of steel caught my neck from behind and drew me backward. At the feel of fetid breath on my skin, my instincts shrieked an alarm and I lost control of the energy. The captive crashed to the ground as I spun to dodge bared teeth moving fast toward my throat. Slamming an elbow into the attacking vampire’s face, I hammered a palm strike into his larynx, shattering it and his windpipe as he staggered backward. I lunged and hit him again, snapping his head sideways so that his throat was exposed for a split second. It was the only opening needed and I sank my razor-sharp teeth into his flesh. A quick slash severed his head and both parts of him fell to the ground. Pulling the handy rebar from the other dead guy, I buried it deep in the gory stump and twisted. The male’s heart gave one crashing thud and was silent.

I spared a quick glance to check on my mate and saw that we had been separated by several yards. Broken bodies lay scattered around him and, from the enemy’s maneuvering, it was clear that he had been identified as their primary threat—in the time it had taken me to kill two, he’d taken out four times that many. Even as he was engaged with one opponent, preparing to finish him off, another lined up to attack. A third came out of nowhere and I shrieked with fury as the male leaped at my mate’s unprotected back. Reacting instinctively, I caught the attacker inches from him, the energy now behaving as if it were a mere extension of my body.

Flinging the writhing enemy high into the air, I reversed his path to build greater momentum. Pouring every ounce of will into it, I slammed him into the ground, the force of his impact loud enough to carry over the sounds of battle raging around us and cracking the concrete beneath him. Seeing the exposed steel girders in the overpass above us, I tightened my grip even further and brought the captive close to my face. His battered condition sent a vicious thrill through me, as did his frantic struggling and gasping breaths. Holding him pinned, I bared my teeth and slashed deep across his chest, breaking the skin and drawing a scream from him. Snarling, I flung my prey onto the longest of the rebar overhead, impaling him and destroying his heart with one vicious mental shove.

Wheeling, I leaped onto another vampire who stood frozen, staring in shock at his dead companion overhead. With no mercy, I sliced his chest open and flung his squirming body onto the same length of rebar, his cut-off scream drawing a primal growl from deep in my chest.

A blur of motion caught my eye and I spun in time to dodge a wildly tattooed female’s charge. Hissing, she changed direction and I got an arm up to block the fist that was meant for my face. The female had put her considerable weight into the blow and I staggered back a step, snarling. Moving in close, I slammed my forearm across the bridge of her nose and followed up with a flurry of savage kicks to her stomach and head.

The female closed the small distance between us and we grappled for a moment, inflicting damage on each other, then I got my teeth into her, tearing her neck open and driving her back. Panicked, she pulled away and would have run, but I wrapped the energy around her, halting her as effectively as if she’d run full-on into a brick wall. I spun her to face me, slashing her heart bare and, flinging her high, sent her to join the bodies impaled above us.

“Holy shit…” a voice swore from nearby. Reacting, I snapped a band around the tall vampire who spoke, hoisting him into the air and binding his arms to his sides. I bared my fangs…and found myself pinned to the ground by my mate. The shock of this apparent betrayal was sufficient to loosen the grip of my instincts.

“
James?
” I whispered in disbelief.

Seeing reason return, he smiled gently. “Always be sure of your target, love. As irritating as Siska can be, he is still one of the good guys.”

Turning my head, I saw Siska held immobile on the ground. Breathing hard from the battle rage, I forced the mental muscles to relax. The energy blew out from him, carrying trash with it and rocking Nic’s unmarked car on its shocks. “Crap! Are you all right?”

Siska lay still for a moment, gulping air, then rolled over to his knees and stood. He eyed me warily and nodded his thanks to James.

“If you hadn’t stopped me…” I began, but James’s quick kiss stilled my words.

“You were amazing, Evie,” he said, the wildness in his eyes beginning to recede. Even though the fight had aroused his predatory nature, he still maintained control. In his long existence, James had learned to harness his instincts and not be governed by them—a skill I was anxious to master. “And thank you, by the way.”

“Thank you?” I asked, perplexed, and accepted his hand when he stood and helped me up from the ground.

“For covering my back.”

“My pleasure.” We both chuckled that his phrase had rubbed off on me.

Slanting my eyes up at the dangling corpses overhead, I went back over the fight and what I had done. The primal part of me wanted to shriek my defiance at our defeated enemies, to tear their bodies to shreds and dance on the pieces. Another part was horrified by my effectiveness as a killer. Weighing the two emotions for a moment, I decided to just be grateful that no lasting harm had come to James or our friends. The slashes and injuries we had sustained—for the fighting had been intense and we were heavily outnumbered—were healing even as I looked on. Gage had taken the most significant injury in our group, but through his torn and bloody shirt, the large wound closed in a period of minutes. He lifted a hand and ran it over the unblemished skin, an incredulous grin brightening his expression.

I felt a zipping-up sensation on my cheek.

“All better,” James murmured, tracing a finger along the exact place.

The same could not be said of our opponents—the destruction we inflicted was staggering.

Standing there, I wondered about our enemy and who they had been. Now that I could focus on such details, I saw the bodies’ tattoo designs and “colors,” and realized that most were members of two gangs I knew of from my crime-reporting days. Given the renowned savagery of these particular gangs, even
one
such individual possessing vampire strength and speed was terrifying. That so many had been created and turned loose was inconceivable.

Gage walked over to us and flashed a wide smile as he took in the dangling bodies overhead. “Freaking awesome, Evie.”

I flinched. “The key word in that sentence is ‘freak.’”

“No, my love.” James pulled me against his chest. “Magnificent, brilliant, splendid, outstanding…”

Laughing, I silenced him with a kiss.

James grinned against my lips. “And incomparably sexy.”

I leaned back to eye him. “What happened to working to maintain our humanity?”

He bared his fangs. “In cases such as this one, with individuals such as these, humanity is best served through decisive violence.”

I said something intelligent like “Huh?”

“These guys needed to be made dead, Evie,” Gage said in an angry tone, clearly thinking a translation was necessary and wondering why.

Also misinterpreting my reaction, James looked concerned. “Think about their purpose here…”

“I don’t disagree.” Pressing a fingertip to his lips, I smiled. “I was just surprised to see you embracing your inner vampire.”

“My inner…” He laughed.

“Feel the rage,” I said. “Grrrr.”

Gage rolled his eyes and headed toward Jack, where the black-haired vampire was counting heads.
Literally,
counting heads—and arms and legs and,
eww,
an eye and two ears—to make sure that we had the same number of bodies as unattached body parts.

“I cannot believe how many there were,” Leo said as he shadowed Gage. “Are they local or did Caleb bring some with him?”

“No way to know,” Siska said. He studied Nic and his expression didn’t relax until he saw her moving easily and without injury. The marshal was walking around and assessing the mangled bodies. As I watched, one stirred and she shouldered the assault rifle, firing point-blank into the vampire’s chest.

“It is brutal, but necessary,” James said. “Such as these cannot be allowed to live.”

“No argument from me.” Just because I agreed didn’t mean I wanted to watch it, though.

“Are y’all going to just stand there?” Jack drawled as he began stacking bodies and parts into a mound. “We need to burn these and get out of here before the cops show up. There’s always a chance somebody might have heard the fight and dialed 911. Geez, you’d think y’all have never covered up a crime scene before.”

“Umm…you’re kidding, right?” Gage said, his eyebrows creased. Jack turned his face away from the younger vampire so he wouldn’t see his silent laughter.

Nic shouldered the rifle and sat in the driver’s seat of her unmarked car. After a few minutes of listening to the police radio, she was satisfied that nothing had been called in and went back to her grisly chore.

Finally, the last body was dumped on the towering pile.

“There were twenty-two of them,” Gage whispered in surprise.

“That’s assuming nobody else ran off once the fight started,” Jack said.

“How is it possible that we beat so many?” I asked.

“They were only a day or two changed, Evie,” James said. “So they were ruled by their thirst and instincts. The way they fought was predictable and easy to counter.”

“
Easy?
I would hate to see what you would classify as
hard.
”

Jack chuckled. “They also fought as individuals, not as a unit. Which was stupid, since it negated their advantage of greater numbers.”

“That’s right, you were a soldier,” I said.

“You know about that, hmm?” he said, glowering at Siska. “What else did the bastard tell you?”

“It’s been almost three hundred years, Jacques,” Siska sighed. “Are you ever going to let it go?”

“No, and the name is
Jack,
asshole.”

Smothering a laugh, I turned away from them and saw Kate sitting on the hood of the SUV, a thousand-yard stare on her face. Jack came to stand beside me and I glanced up at him. He met my gaze, then looked at Kate. He had not approached her yet, but was visibly aware of her and made no attempt to disguise his attention. I couldn’t tell if Kate even knew he was there—once the battle was over, she’d climbed onto the hood and sat white-faced ever since. I’d tried talking to her, but she shook her head and refused to look at me, so I left her alone with her thoughts. Gage had also tried, but with the same result and he gave up after a little while.

“What are your intentions, Jack?” I asked.

He stirred and I wasn’t sure he would answer. When he spoke, frustration was clear in his voice. “I honestly don’t know.”

“We won’t let her be hurt.” Turning to face him, I waited until his gaze met mine before growling, “
Do you hear me?
”

Anger flared in Jack’s eyes as he looked away. He rubbed his face briskly, like he was trying to get rid of excess energy. When his gaze again rose to meet mine, his expression had softened. “It would tear me apart if anything happened to Kate. I won’t hurt her, Evie.”

Seeing his sincerity, I nodded.

James appeared at my side and wrapped his arm around my waist. “We will hold you to your word, Jack.”

I smelled the sharp scent of gasoline and turned to see Siska siphoning Nic’s car using a short hose he’d removed from the trunk. He saturated the pile of bodies and stepped back as Leo tossed a match. The gas ignited with a loud
whoomp
, making Gage duck reflexively.

Standing close enough that a human would have been singed, Siska lifted his face to watch the smoke thickening overhead.

“Evie, could you do something about that, please?” he asked without turning.

“I’m not sure.” The energy built unbidden, now as easy to manipulate as my hand. A thought drew it out like a curtain and swept through the column of smoke—to my astonishment, the column disappeared as if a wind had scattered it. Repeating this every few seconds kept the smoke from becoming visible.