Hot Blooded

ages old, going back to prerecorded history. If the Vampire Queen hadn’t wanted something from me so desperately, there wasn’t a chance we would all be standing here tonight.

As they continued forward, my wolf’s unease changed to agitation. They are not the enemy today.

We have to do it this way. There’s no other choice. She swatted her tail and kept a steady growl. I guess it didn’t hurt to be on the lookout for trouble. Remember, they are bound by their Queen. They won’t risk her displeasure—unless, of course, we force them to by being rude.

She wasn’t convinced.

I’m not sure I was either.

The siblings were clad in jeans and matching dark knit tops, which beat the French period outfits they’d worn when I’d seen them last. I didn’t know which outfit was more ominous—looking appropriately dressed for the Renaissance or looking deadly normal.

What I knew about vampires could fill one sheet of paper—if I wrote with a big crayon. The old mythologies appeared to be true for the most part, from what I could tell from my brief interactions with them. I knew they could fly—hard to keep that one under wraps—but how they did it was still a mystery. They were rumored to have some mesmerizing abilities over humans. Their hearts didn’t beat. I knew that because I’d just been surrounded by a roomful of them and there’d been nary a beat.

They slept during the day and drank blood. They could be killed by beheading, like we could. That’s how my father had always brought them true death. I didn’t know if fire could end them or not. They also had individual “gifts” like we did. These two could apparently track and sense better than other vamps, which is why their Queen had sent them.

Other than that, they were a complete mystery. I wasn’t surprised they guarded their secrets like every Sect. The more we shared about ourselves, the more vulnerable we became.

“Hello.” Naomi came to a stop in front of me, her voice laced in soft French undertones. What came out sounded like ’Ello. “We have arrived.”

“Yes, that was quite an entrance. I’m Jessica.” I didn’t hold out my hand. I was pretty sure vampires didn’t like to be touched, and actually, the thought of touching their cold, creepy skin was a little unappealing. “This is my team.” I gestured to the boys behind me.

“The Goddess we search for resides north,” Eamon declared stoically, coming shoulder to shoulder with his sister. They were remarkably similar. Both had sharply defined cheekbones, large wide eyes,

and the same chestnut-colored hair. Eamon wore his shoulder length; Naomi’s flowed freely down her back. Maybe being frozen in death in their twenties had honed their similar porcelain features over time.

“Okay, north it is.” I nodded at the pair. “That sounds easy enough.” North of Minnesota meant

Canada. He could’ve said the Congo, so this was decidedly better as far as I was concerned. We anticipated that Selene hadn’t been able to go far from the Ozarks, where we’d seen her last. She was toting an angry werecat, and Rourke would’ve put up quite a fight once he’d broken her spell.

Goddesses could fly, but her time in the air would be limited. I was glad she’d headed north and not south.

“Mademoiselle, there will be nothing easy about this journey,” Eamon snipped. “The Lunar Goddess is a powerful being. She is a fearsome warrior. We shall be lucky to escape with our lives.”

I bristled. Gods, I hoped vampires weren’t all this stuffy. “I wasn’t talking about her being easy to defeat, monsieur. I was referring to being able to point the car in a northerly direction being something we could accomplish easily enough—and in fact, we can do so right now.”

Both vamps stared at me with clueless expressions, which on a vampire was a face void of any emotion and so still it was eerie. They looked like they were carved out of stone.

Alrighty then. “Okay. Enough chatting. It’s time to get moving.” I broke away from the group and walked around the Humvee with purpose, my wolf yipping excitedly in my mind. We were finally leaving. I yanked the driver’s side door open and jumped on the running board. No one had followed me. The wolves weren’t willing to move until the vamps did. I stood, peering over the roof at the immobile group and cleared my throat. “The plan is to head due north,” I said, wondering fleetingly where they were going to sleep during the day, and then the thought was gone. Not my problem. “If anything changes with you, give us a sign. If we have issues we’ll pull over. Sound good?”

“That is acceptable,” Eamon said. “When the road runs out, we will be waiting.” Without warning,

they both shot up into the air almost quicker than I could track. Almost.

“Well, that was a bit vague, wasn’t it? We’ll be waiting sounds like something out of a bad horror flick.” Danny came around and pulled open the side door and climbed in next to a still unconscious

Ray. “Creepy lot, vamps are. Though that female had a nice taper to her waist. Did you see her eyes when they flashed that bit of silver gray?”

“Leave it to you to find something endearing about a vamp.” Tyler climbed into the passenger seat without protest. I wanted to drive. I was too restless to ride shotgun and was relieved he wasn’t going to fight me for it. “I thought they looked even more hellish this time,” he declared. “Their faces are the color of old, bleached bone, and they stink like decaying syrup. They can’t possibly be seen in public. If I were a human and I got a gander of the two of them, I’d run for my life.”

“I don’t think they get out much, hence their propensity to wear pantaloons and corsets when they’re at home.” I slammed my door, which took more effort than it should’ve, and turned the key.

The monster revved up, sounding like an airplane prepping for takeoff. “I’m actually surprised the

Queen was so willing to give us these two. Having us interact with each other so closely is bound to expose some of their most guarded secrets, and it’s going to cost her. I’ve heard a rumor that they can mesmerize an entire room of humans without blinking. I wouldn’t mind seeing if that one was true.”

“They aren’t required to blink anyway, are they?” Danny added. “Being dead, they’ve no use for wetting the eyes. Thus, no blinking necessary. Right?”

I arched my eyebrow in the rearview mirror, meeting Danny’s sardonic grin. “Must you?”

“Yes. Of course.”

I rolled down the window with the manual handle. James and Nick stood at the edge of the parking lot. “James, tell my father I will connect with him on the road,” I called. “Nick, make sure you take the brunt of the office work until I get back. Marcy can’t do it alone, and tell her that was a direct quote.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Nick smiled. “Don’t get yourself killed, Jess. I mean it.”

James stepped forward. “Take care and watch your back, Jessica. The Goddess will be hard to best.” Wolves weren’t a sentimental bunch, but I could scent their combined concern. “Use whatever means necessary to win this battle.”

“I plan to,” I said. “You and my father do the same. The South is not going to be any easier to subdue. I hope Redman Martin cooperates and decides to join us, but if he doesn’t, I hope you beat him into submission quickly.”

Tyler leaned over my seat. “She won’t be alone, Irish. We’re not planning on failing. We’re coming back. You still owe me a hundred bucks and I plan on collecting.” My heart constricted and I

had to stop for a second to catch my breath. The last time I’d heard James called “Irish” was by

Rourke right before the barroom brawl where we’d met for the first time. I’d never heard Tyler use that nickname before.

James stepped back and gave us a salute as we pulled out. Nick stared ahead with a pensive gaze as he waved goodbye.

Once we were out on the road everything went smoothly.

Until Ray woke up.

“Shut the bloody hell up!” Danny yelled for the fourth time. “Or you’ll end up worse than just rotting unconscious! I will sever your neck from your body if you continue to push me.”

It was just after midnight and we were almost to the Canadian border. We’d chosen to take the interstate