Sweet Last Drop (29 page)

I glanced at Walker. “Is Bex still here?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. We should leave now, while we’re ahead.”

“We’re ahead?” I snorted. “I came here for answers, and I’m not leaving until I get them.”

“I don’t want a repeat of last night. We leave now, before anyone gets hurt this time.”

“I don’t want a repeat of last night either, but after my conversation with Montgomery and Rowens, I need answers about those murders, and I need them now. You can go if you want, but I’m staying.”

“You’re not doing this alone, and we need more weapons if we’re going to do this right,” Walker hissed, exasperated. “If we leave now, we’ll live to fight another day. Isn’t that what you told me the last time we had this conversation, when I was the one who wanted to stay?”

“This is different. I—”

“I should have listened to you, but I was angry and vengeful and I didn’t know that I was in over my head until it was too late.
I should have listened to you
,” Walker insisted. “Please, listen to me now. We’ll go back to my house, you’ll tell me about your conversation with Rowens, and we’ll figure it out together.”

I look a deep breath. I could hear the rationality in his plan but that didn’t ease the impenetrable knot in my chest. I wanted to find Colin and solve the case now, before anyone else was killed and before I was blamed for it. I’d thought that I could leverage Bex to show her hand. I’d thought that I could put this case to bed tonight. And looming over everything I thought I could do, like approaching thunderheads on the horizon, I thought that Dominic would’ve found Nathan by now. I’d been wrong about so many things that I didn’t know what was right anymore.

I nodded. “OK. Let’s figure this out together.”

“Don’t take another step.” A light flashed in my eyes, blinding me. “No one is going anywhere.”

* * * *

Walker shielded his eyes with his forearm and squinted through the spotlight. “Riley?” He stepped forward.

“Stop walking and raise your hands above your head!”

By the panic in his voice, I’d guess that Officer Montgomery was aiming his gun at us. I couldn’t see anything past the blinding flashlight, but I wasn’t leaving anything to chance. I froze in place and raised my hands.

Walker stopped walking, but he didn’t raise his hands. “Riley, is this really necessary? What’s happening out there? Did you find Colin?”

“We still have parties out searching for Colin. It’s gonna be another long night if we don’t find anything more than his hat.”

Walker frowned. “If the search is still on, why are you—”

“Why am I here in the woods with you instead of helping the search party?” Montgomery finished. He laughed. “I’m here to ask you the same damn thing. I thought maybe you were following your gut, but instead, I find you here with Cassidy DiRocco. I don’t think that’s a coincidence, do you, Rowens?”

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Agent Rowens’ deep voice intoned.

I squinted into the flashlight, but my eyes still hadn’t adjusted. I could discern a second blob next to the first, whom I assumed was Rowens, but if more officers were out there, I couldn’t see them.

“I don’t know what it is you
think
you know, but you’re mistaken, Riley. Put down the gun, and let’s sit down and talk about this man to man.” Walker took a step forward.

“Not one step closer, Walker, I’m warning you! And put your hands on your fucking head!”

I balled my hands into fists, trying and failing to stop their trembling. Montgomery reminded me of Walker, barking orders from the business end of his gun, but this time, I was the one on target. Jolene’s ruined face sprang to mind, and I shuddered. I didn’t want to die, but I especially didn’t want to die like that.

“Tone it down, Montgomery.” Rowens’ deep, steady voice interrupted.

“I told you we’d find them together,” Montgomery hissed.

“I know you did, and here they are,” Rowens agreed. “Cool it.”

“She wasn’t the only one present at all the crime scenes. Ian Walker was with her. They’re conspirators!”

“No one’s conspiring with anyone,” I snapped.

“You’ve known me our entire lives, Riley.” Walker inched forward. “You can trust me. Put down the gun.”

“Stay where you are!”

“I said, calm down. You’re pissing me off, Montgomery,” Rowens said, “And if you take one more step closer, Walker, I’ll shoot you myself.”

“That’s not necessary,” I said.

“I’ll determine what is and isn’t necessary,” Officer Montgomery continued. “People got hurt last night, and you don’t want a repeat, remember?”

“You’re taking our conversation out of context and twisting it,” Walker said.

“I know what I heard.”

My eyes were finally beginning to adjust, and I could see that Montgomery and Rowens were the only officers there. Although Montgomery still had a gun in his hand, it wasn’t pointed at us anymore. I let my arms drop to my sides.

“You’re wasting your time here on us,” I said, trying for reason. “Every second counts in a missing persons case. If you don’t find Colin tonight—” I sighed and shook my head. “It might already be too late!”

“You’d better pray we find him tonight or that’s on you, too.” Montgomery stepped forward.

“Montgomery,” Rowens warned.

A soft but distinct growl rattled from behind us, and I remembered that Bex was still hidden in the shadows across the cave. If Montgomery moved too closely or too suddenly—if Bex thought Walker was in mortal danger—Rowens and Montgomery were toast.

Walker stiffened. He’d heard her growl, too. “You don’t know what you’re poking your nose into, Riley. Back down.”

“Are you threatening him?” Rowens asked, his tone low and dangerous, but not as dangerous as Bex behind us. “Montgomery might be hot-headed and jumping to conclusions, but he was right. I’m inclined to believe what he’s saying, so you might want to start explaining yourself.”

“There’s nothing to explain,” I said.

Rowens ignored me. “What are you doing out here with Cassidy that’s more important than finding Colin? You’re lead on this search, Walker, yet you left us.”

“Now
I’m
lead on the search?” Walker crossed his arms. “You were singin’ a different tune a few hours ago.”

“I’m here to lead this investigation, but you know damn well we needed you out there tonight,” Rowens said calmly. “You know these woods like the back of your hand. You grew up here. You’ve tracked game and other missing persons, and you should have fought me for lead on this search. You did, in fact, right up until you left.”

“Are you building up to a question or did I miss it somewhere in all that bullshit?”

Rowens cocked his head. “What did Logan say to you before you left?”

“The one has nothing to do with the other.”

“What did he say?” Rowens pushed.

Walker threw up his hands. “He asked how the search was going and how close we were to finding his son. Jesus, what else would he say?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

Montgomery was twitchy with the need to act—that man was a loose cannon—but Rowens was unflappable. He looked comfortable with the thought of standing in the dark woods all night if it meant getting answers.

My gut twisted. We didn’t have all night.

“Was it the guilt?” Rowens continued when Walker didn’t answer. “Was reassuring Logan too much, knowing he’ll never find his son’s body? After all, no one knows the woods like you.”

Walker tightened his hands into fists. “You’ve crossed the line.”

“Looks like Officer Montgomery’s not the only one jumping to conclusions,” I muttered.

“Maybe,” Rowens said, “Then again, Montgomery’s conclusions were right, so maybe not.”

“Then why did you leave the search?” Montgomery insisted. “What are you—”

Montgomery was knocked down by a shadow the size of a mountain. Flashlights went flying. Their light beams swirled the air in a crazy strobe before hitting the ground and dousing us in complete darkness.

The sun had set.

Montgomery shrieked. Blood sprayed the air like a macabre fountain and splattered across Rowens’ Kevlar. Rowens rushed forward, gun first, but Montgomery had already stopped screaming.

The shadow lifted its head to face Rowens. Its muzzle glistened with Montgomery’s blood.

Rowens squeezed off two shots. Walker grabbed my shoulders and dragged me down with him as he hit the ground. The shots didn’t seem as loud as they should have, not nearly as deafening as Walker’s sawed-off shotgun, but my hands snapped over my ears reflexively anyway.

The thing didn’t even flinch. Rowens had shot it point blank in the face, and it didn’t so much as
flinch
.

It reared over Rowens and knocked him to the ground. Rowens squeezed off an entire clip. The monster clawed at his chest, unfazed by the bullets. It started growling, that low, deep, rattling growl I knew so well from the vampires, but this creature was different. Although its ears were pointed, its hands were like talons, and its legs bent back like the hind legs of a bat, just like the others of its kind, this creature had scales, and from the effect Rowens’ bullets weren’t having on its body, I’d say those scales were impenetrable.

It continued clawing at Rowens’ chest, and like the sweet, fresh inhale of an epiphany, I realized that Rowens wasn’t screaming. His Kevlar was protecting him from the creature’s talons. I didn’t know how long the Kevlar could hold against its assault, but by the pinched, grim expression on Rowens’ face, I wasn’t betting on the Kevlar for very long.

Walker reached inside his vest and pulled out a gun. I yanked out my silver nitrate spray from the inner pocket of my leather jacket, but as defense against this creature, the spray seemed woefully inept. Walker shook his head and searched the other side of his vest. He pulled out a curved-tipped bowie knife. I accepted it, squeezing the handle tightly in my sweat-slicked palm.

Rowens slammed a second clip into his gun and squeezed off another round.

The creature reached out with its massive claw and crushed Rowens’ gun hand. Rowens did scream then, loud and shrieking, and the creature tore the gun away, and with it, Rowens’ right arm.

The arm tore at the shoulder, ligament ripped from ligament, so fast that one moment I mourned for the use of his crushed hand, and the next moment, the bone snapped with a wet, suctioned
pop
and there wasn’t even a hand to mourn. The creature tossed his arm to the side to resume clawing at Rowens’ chest. I stared at the limp, detached arm a few feet away. The hand was a mangled, bloody mess of twisted fingers and protruding bones.

I swallowed bile.

Staring at Rowens wasn’t any better. His shoulder had torn in long strands of skin that dangled from his collar onto the ground like wilted daisy petals. Blood sprayed in a wide crescent and was now squirting from the missing limb in pulses.

I glanced at Montgomery, where he’d fallen and hadn’t moved since. His arms were shredded from the monster’s claws and his chest was now a gaping wound where his heart used to be. I looked past the carnage and fear and narrowed my eyes on Montgomery’s missing heart,
his missing heart
, and I realized with delayed, dawning recognition that this wasn’t just any vampire. This was our murderer, and we were its next victims.

I turned back to Rowens. His residual limb was still squirting blood in pulses and the creature, that mountain of a creature, was still on top of him, clawing at his chest.

I leaned into Walker and covered my mouth around his ear as I whispered. “It’s going for his heart. This is our guy.”

Walker nodded. He aimed the gun, and I braced myself for its fire. Seconds that felt like minutes passed, but Walker didn’t shoot.

“Shoot, damn it. What are you waiting for?”

Walker turned his lips to my ear and whispered, “Rowens’ bullets didn’t penetrate. Shooting will just piss it off. We need to ease back slowly.”

I blinked. “What about Rowens?”

Walker’s face hardened. He turned his face away from mine to stare at the creature and what was left of Rowens, giving me his profile. The muscle in Walker’s jaw ticked.

“If that were me,” I whispered, “would you just stand by and watch? Would you ‘ease back slowly’ as I was ripped apart and that thing ate my heart?”

Walker glared at me. “You know what I’d risk for you.”

I looked at him, looked at the creature pointedly, and then back at him.

“You saw what it did to Rowens’ arm when he shot it,” Walker muttered. “I want to keep both of mine attached to my body, thank you.”

“He didn’t have silver bullets. You do.” I looked back at Rowens. The creature hadn’t broken through the Kevlar yet, but Rowens wasn’t conscious anymore. He was going to bleed to death. “We need to do something now while we still can.”

Walker nodded slowly. “Ease back to the cave. When we’re on the cave’s ledge, I’ll shoot.”

“Shoot it now,” I argued.

“No, we ease back first. If it comes at us, we can jump into the cave.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I’m not sure I’d prefer falling to death over having my heart torn out.”

“Bex won’t let us fall.” Walker jerked his head to the side, and against everything that felt right and humane, I eased back toward the cave.

The creature was getting frustrated with Rowens’ Kevlar. It gave up with its claws and snapped at the frayed material with its teeth. The Kevlar still held, even against those long rows of sharp fangs, and the creature growled. It clamped its jaws around Rowens’ torso and shook its head like a dog. I winced. If its fangs didn’t puncture through the Kevlar, Rowens’ ribs were surely crushed. If his ribs weren’t crushed, his neck was likely snapped. And he was bleeding to death. I pressed my lips together in a firm line not to give voice to the ache in my throat.

We were only a few feet from the cave when the creature completely gave up on Rowens. Maybe it had sensed our escape or maybe it had grown impatient with the Kevlar and wanted easier prey. Either way, it dropped Rowens and turned its emotionless, black shark eyes on us.

Walker didn’t hesitate this time. He squeezed off one shot.