“It means you hit them too hard.”
“Well, I’m not used to fighting humans.”
“You spar with Cameron all the time.”
“No, I don’t. I spar with immortals. Cam spars with other Seconds.”
“But you’ve fought humans in the past. Hell, we just fought a minor war with them.”
“And we fought to kill. Vampires can take a punch. I can fight to wound them, crack their skulls, and they’ll recover. How the hell would I know how hard I can hit a human?”
Chris was silent for a moment. “Okay, I see this is going to be a problem.”
“Dead,” another guard called.
“Dead. Sheesh. What the hell did you do to this guy?”
Étienne winced.
Richart approached—tugging off his own shades, head covering, and gloves—and stood next to Étienne. He was pretty blood-splattered. Had he run into the same problem?
“Did you get anything from their thoughts?” Richart asked.
Étienne shook his head, frowning as Richart weaved on his feet. “Are you wounded?”
“Huh?” He glanced down. “I don’t think so. Maybe. A couple of gunshots. Why?”
Sheldon walked up, looking as though he had rolled in a puddle of mud. Reaching up, he yanked a tranquilizer dart from Richart’s upper back. “Dude, are you okay?”
Chris reached into one of the pockets on his thigh and drew out an autoinjector full of the antidote. Flicking off the lid, he jabbed it into Richart’s neck.
Étienne took his brother’s arm and steadied him until it kicked in. He gave Sheldon a once-over. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Some asshole shot the hot water tank. The water spilled down into the crawl space and muddied the shallow end. I had to take cover there after they figured out someone was shooting from the house.”
Richart straightened.
“Better?” Étienne asked.
He nodded.
“Did you leave any men alive?” Chris asked.
Richart sent him a sheepish look. “Yes, but your men seem to think I scrambled their brains.”
Grumbling, Chris took out his cell phone and dialed. “Seth? Chris. You have a minute?”
The leader of the Immortal Guardians appeared beside Étienne, pocketing his cell phone. “What’s . . . up?” He glanced around and swore. “Mercenaries?”
“Yes,” Étienne, Richart, Sheldon, and Chris responded.
Seth studied the house, the grounds, the bodies. He returned his attention to the younger immortals. “Go home. Rest. And be at David’s an hour after sunset tonight.”#p#分页标题#e#
Étienne looked at his brother. “Don’t you want us to stay and tell you—?”
“I know what happened. Go home. And, Étienne, when you come to the meeting tonight, bring the woman.”
Merde. Had he read Étienne’s thoughts and seen Krysta? Seth was so powerful that he could do so without Étienne even knowing it.
“What about the brother?” Chris asked. “What do you want us to do with him?”
Seth eyed Étienne. “Will you be going home or staying with Richart today?”
Étienne consulted Richart. “Can you teleport us to my place?”
“Yes.”
He turned back to Seth. “Home.”
Seth nodded and told Chris, “When her brother gets off work, provided no one comes looking for him before then, take him to Étienne’s home. Ensure you aren’t followed and can’t be tracked. Station guards outside the home and around the property’s perimeter.”
“Is that really necessary?” Étienne asked.
“Which part?”
“The guards.”
“Yes.”
He didn’t like it, but said nothing. One didn’t argue with Seth.
Frowning, Seth looked up at the helicopter, made a brief motion with his hand, and stopped the music. “Show’s over.”
Chris motioned for the helo to land.
“Go home,” Seth instructed the d’Alençons.
“Should I bring the brother to the meeting?” Étienne asked.
“Yes,” Chris answered, monitoring the cleanup.
Étienne looked to Seth.
Seth nodded.
Richart touched Étienne’s shoulder.
Krysta listened with amazement as Jenna described her recent courtship with Richart, which had been a bizarre combination of conventional and unconventional.
The tale helped calm Krysta’s nerves. As well as her fears. Jenna seemed so human. So normal. She’d been a single mom, struggling to put a son she’d had way too young through college, when she had met Richart. Her concerns seemed so not paranormal. And her love for Richart so sweet. Still fresh and new.