“They’d experimented on them. It was the dead of winter, so the bodies were frozen. Some were stuck in mid-transformation. Others had tumors on their bodies. But there were animals too. It looked as if they’d been in the process of shifting—a dog to a pig. A horse to a sheep. A monkey to a…”
He shook his head, and his eyes were haunted when he continued. “I swore I’d track down the bastard and kill him myself with my bare hands. But I’ve fumbled around for ten months, tracking leads in New York City. And then I heard about what you and Lea did to the facility there, and I knew you were the ones who could find the bastard. The vamp murders around the city made me realize she was a Cazador, which meant she could really find and kill the bastard. I only planned to tail you until Lea hopped into my taxi. Then I knew it was my destiny to help you two, that you would finally help me avenge their deaths. Her death.”
“Whose death?” I asked quietly.
“Patricia.” His voice was rough. “My wife.”
His eyes were glassy with unshed tears. Stravinsky—and the people behind the Asclepius Project—had stolen someone from both of us. I fully understood why he was here now. I put my hand on his arm. “You need some rest, my friend.” My voice broke, so I cleared my throat. “You need to sleep if you’re going to have the energy to rip Stravinsky’s head off with your bare hands. I’ll do my best to make sure that honor is yours.”
His eyes sank closed and I made a quick check of my bag. While it still contained my laptop, it was broken into pieces. At least I could probably rescue the hard drive. I had a thirst to get moving, to track down Stravinsky, the bastard who’d destroyed life after life. But I knew I needed to deal with Lea and Antonio first.
I slipped out the front door and lifted my face into the wind.
Sayid lived on a dirt path, and while Antonio had hid our tracks as we fled the crash scene, he hadn’t bothered to cover them here. His footprints led around the back of the buildings, then inside the outer wall of the town. I found him lying with his stomach on the hood of a Jeep, looking out at a rare field of grass dotted with sheep.
“If you’re trying to sneak up on me, you have failed miserably,” he said, not changing his position.
“If I had intended to sneak up on you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“You should get some rest, mi guerrera. You’ll need all your strength for the fight.”
“What are you? Really? And don’t give me some vague answer.”
His eyes filled with appreciation as he turned to glance at me. “What do you think I am?”
“A Cazador. Lea thought there might be another. So she’s not alone?”
“No, mi amor. She is not.”
“So you’re along for the ride because you want to kill Stravinsky and every vampire we find in the facility? Like we’re handing you a Disney Fast Pass?”
He chuckled and straightened, moving slowly toward me with the grace of a panther. “I like you more than I expected.”
“I have no idea what that means, but you better keep your fucking hands to yourself, Antonio.”
He stopped in front of me, resting his hand on the driver’s door. “You are this delicious combination of bark and bite.”
“You haven’t fully been introduced to my bite,” I said with a sneer. “But I can pull it out for you if you’d like.”
He chuckled again, then snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me to his chest. But I was ready for him. I spun away from him and assumed a defensive stance.
“Why can you not give me a chance, mi amor? We are good together.”
I rolled my eyes in disgust. “Save the happily ever after shit for someone who buys it. Besides, we have more important things to worry about. Like surviving.”
“I fully intend to survive, Rachel. And I fully intend for you to survive as well. I need a partner who is my equal.”
I snorted. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I already have a partner, thank you very much.”
“A partner or a yoke?”
“What the hell does that mean?” I shook my head. “I would love to leave you behind, but we need all the help we can get. So—against my better judgment—you can stay.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “I thought that was a given.”
“Nothing is a given. Nothing.”
His smile faded.
“When this thing is done, you fucking walk away, do you understand? You walk away. You touch a hair on Lea’s head before you go, and I will hunt you to the ends of the earth and kill you myself. Go it?”
His eyes darkened. “You don’t know what you ask, mi amor. I must free you of your bond.”