Hit List(44)

Edward slammed on the brakes. I clung to the seat desperately, no longer worried about shooting, just about not going through the windshield. The car skidded to a stop and we had that second of breathless silence while the blood roared in our ears, and the body feels too full of blood, as if the adrenaline makes everything feel like more.

Edward said, “That wasn’t there five minutes ago.”

“I know,” I said. I was back to aiming the gun again, trying to find something to shoot. “We’re boxed in, now what?” I asked, cheek snugged up against the MP5.

“It’s an ambush,” Edward said. “The best cover we have is the car, so we stay put. We make them force us out into the open.”

I undid my seatbelt so it didn’t tangle my legs as I sat back down. “They’ve used swords up to this point; let’s hope they don’t go all modern on our asses.”

“Agreed.” He got his phone out as he continued to scan the area. He answered my look. “I’m calling Tilford, because if this is a trap for you then it’s a trap for all of us, and you’re the only one they want alive.”

I realized he was right; they wanted me alive, and that was that. “Shit, Edward.”

“Yeah.” He spoke into his phone, “Tilford, it’s a trap. They’ve blocked the road that leads out.”

I heard Tilford’s voice a little louder this time, but still couldn’t quite make out the words.

“Wrecked a truck and pulled a dead tree across the road.” Edward listened and made small noises, and then he turned to me. “They’ve found a vampire dressed in full gear complete with mask. Newman has already staked him and they’re about to decapitate him.”

I shook my head. “They wouldn’t have left their masters alone and unprotected, Edward. They may want me, but not enough to risk their masters’ death.”

“Tilford, check the teeth,” Edward said.

Almost a yell from Tilford, but Edward said, “If there’s modern dentistry, then it’s not the vamps we’re looking for.”

I thought about that. “Not necessarily,” I said. “Chipped teeth might still happen, I don’t know for sure, but no cavities. Check for cavities.”

Edward repeated that. We waited for Tilford to do it. We kept the guns ready, but the lack of movement and the growing shadows were beginning to get on my nerves. I realized that they had us boxed in; all they had to do was wait for nightfall.

“Shit,” I said.

“What?” Edward asked me.

“They’re waiting for dark.”

He nodded, and then spoke to Tilford. “Four modern cavities; then it may be a vampire but it’s not one of the ones we’re looking for. It’s a decoy, Tilford.”

Edward hung up, and then said, “Tilford believes us.”

“What about the rest of them?”

“Not sure.”

“Edward, we can’t just sit here until it gets dark—then we’ll have not just the one or two wereanimals but both of their vampire masters. The odds are better now.”

“Are we heading to the other marshals?”

“More guns are better,” I said.

“They only want you alive, Anita. The rest of us are just hostages, or collateral damage.”

“If I go in the opposite direction of everyone else, they may not attack anyone but me.”

“You can’t fight them all by yourself, and you can’t walk out of here after full dark.”

I took a deep breath in and let it out slow. “I know.”

He studied my face for a moment. “Where you go, I go.”

“Yeah, but what about everyone else? Do we move toward them, or away? Do we hope the bad guys follow us, or risk that they’ll go to the other cops without us there to help them, and either slaughter them or take them as hostages to make me do what they want like they did with Karlton?”

“You’re overthinking this,” he said.

“Okay, then tell me what to think.”

I watched his eyes go distant, cold, and knew he’d shoved all the emotion away so he could make his decision based on nothing but facts. It was a nifty trick if you could pull it off. I’d never managed to be as dispassionate as Edward.

“I think they’ll follow you. So we lead them away.”

“Okay,” I said.

“We have to kill the wereanimals before the vampires rise,” he said.

“I know.”

“We have just over an hour before they rise.”

“I know,” I said.

We had a moment to look at each other and have a thousand things pass between us. There were no words, no need for them. Edward put his hand on the door handle; I did the same on my side. Edward counted down, “One, two, three.” We got out.