All the lower windows of her house were black, but when she noticed the dim glow of the upstairs hallway light through the curtains, her heart stuttered with panic. It was the light Sam always left on. Crap, she wasn’t home, was she? Mackenzie had gotten so used to Sam staying over at her boyfriend’s place, sometimes she forgot she even had a roommate. Okay, whatever. She’d be in and out so fast it wouldn’t matter.
She fumbled with her keychain, trying to find the large, oval-shaped key that unlocked the back garage door, when a sudden thought nagged her. What if Sam’s loser boyfriend was staying here tonight? What if Sam hadn’t dumped him after Dom beat the crap out of him? Sam had never brought him here before, but still... Even if the guy wasn’t a loser, he was still a vampire and Mackenzie was still a sweetblood. She gripped the gun tighter. Nothing she could do about that. She’d deal with it if she had to. All that mattered was Corey. With the key in her left hand, she awkwardly reached for the lock.
Branches rustled behind her. A twig cracked. She froze. The air was still—it wasn’t the wind.
The hairs on her neck bristled when she heard another sound. A growl. Low at first, but it instantly escalated into a high-pitched cry. Cold panic seized every nerve. She lost her grip on Hello Kitty and the keys tumbled to the ground with a jangle.
But when another shriek joined the first one, she let out a heavy sigh and cursed.
A damn cat fight.Stupid unfixed male cats.They surprised her every time. A set of shiny eyes stared at her from under the bushes then disappeared.
Her hands were still shaking as she unlocked the door. Once inside the garage, she flicked on the light and there it was. Her motorcycle—alone—which meant no Sam, no boyfriend. The bike appeared to be in pristine condition. The pearlescent paint unmarred, the chrome shiny. Dom must’ve had it fixed for her, she thought, as she dashed into the house.
Please let Sam’s boxes still be in the dining room.
They were. She pawed through the contents, scattering tiny plastic bags everywhere, before she finally found what she was looking for. Yes. One of Sam’s large, sterling silver, gothic crosses. She rubbed the pad of her thumb over the sharp points.You have to have faith for that to work on me, Mr. Vincent.God, she wished that was all it took. A cross, a little faith and the evil vampire would cringe and leave. But that was just a movie. This was real life. After saying a quick prayer, she looped the leather cord around her neck, tucked the cross inside her T-shirt, and within minutes, she had pushed the Triumph into the moonlight and was racing through her neighborhood.
Weeds grew from the cracks in the driveway leading up to Corey’s old high school, unused since the area’s two rival schools had been merged into one big high school on the other side of town. She had just finished stashing her bike in the bushes when her cell phone rang. It was Dom. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she answered.
“What the hell are you doing, Mackenzie?” His accent sounded a trace thicker than normal. “Where are you?”
“At the old Seaview High School near my house. In case I have to shoot, it’s the only place I could think of that Corey could easily find. I didn’t want them in our neighborhood or in a public place where people could get hurt.”
“No. Do not take them on, Mackenzie. Get out of there. Leave. You’re no match for them. I’ll be there in less than an hour.”
She tried to block out the desperation she heard in his voice, because she knew she couldn’t do as he asked. “I don’t have that much time. Corey’s almost out of gas, and the Darkbloods are right on his tail. They’re too close for us to get Corey past the cloaking shields at the field office. Since he’s not a sweetblood, they must want him for something else. If they get to him, we’ve got to assume they’ll take him to their research facility, which you haven’t?—”
“Goddamn it. They don’t want Corey. They want you.”
“He’s my brother, Dom. He’s all I have. I can’t just sit back and let those monsters take him.”
“You have me,” he said, his voice thick with anguish. “You have me. Don’t do this, Mackenzie. Wait and we’ll find him together.”
She heard the sound of a ferry’s horn through the phone line. He was too far away. “When Corey pulls up, I’ll shoot the two Darkbloods, he’ll jump on the back of my bike and I’ll take him to the field office. Without the Darkbloods on our tail, Cordell can drop the cloak. This is the only way.” A set of headlights flashed through the trees. “He’s here. I’ll call you when I have him. I love you.” She ended the call and loaded a round into the chamber of the Ruger.
Corey wished he could talk to Mackenzie one more time to double-check that she was in place and ready, but naturally his phone battery had died after he hung up a few minutes ago and he didn’t have his charger. For the millionth time he glanced in the rearview mirror. They were still there.
His sweaty hands slipped on the steering wheel as he turned onto the winding, tree-lined entrance of Seaview High School. He downshifted into second and the crappy little engine jerked him forward, rattling loudly as it accelerated up the hill.
On both sides of the cracked pavement the trees and brambles disappeared into the darkness beyond the twin glow of his headlights. Mackenzie should have plenty of places to hide, he thought, scanning left and right. Nothing but black.
He was halfway up when the Jeep’s headlights flashed behind him. She’d better be here, otherwise they’d have him for sure.
At the top of the hill, the old gymnasium loomed ahead like a darkened hulking box and around back was the bus turnaroundwhere he and his friends had spent many days smoking weed. Several pairs of fluorescent green eyes flashed in his headlights and two hunching shadows lumbered out from the covered walkway. Raccoons.
He whipped the car around the corner of the gym to face the direction he’d come from, parked it and opened the door. Before he could climb out, two quick staccatos cracked in the night air.
Mackenzie? Was that her? What had his sister done?
He heard what he hoped was the low rumble of a motorcycle engine. It had better not be a Jeep coming up the driveway. For a split second, when light shined through the underbrush, he considered locking himself in the car. But then he realized it was the single headlight of a motorcycle and relief flooded through him.
In a flash, she swung the bike around and idled next to him.
“What the fuck, Kenzie! Did you actually shoot those guys?” He had a really bad feeling about this.
She whipped off her helmet and shoved it at him “Here. Get on. Hurry.”
“You just scared them off, right?” He put on the helmet and started to reach into the car to turn off the ignition, but he stopped and turned back around. “Wait. Why can’t I just drive myself out?”
