“I let Zoey know. They’re on their way up.” Antoine walked to where Nico lay on the floor, his disfigured neck drawing the eye.
“He’ll heal that,” Gabe commented. “Want to leave him for the cops?”
“I told him the next time I saw him, I’d kill him.” Then he muttered, “Besides, he put his hands on Cally.” Antoine drove his boot into Nico’s skull, caving it in with a wet crack. “He won’t healthat.”
Gabe gave no reaction. “What of Tobias?”
The crippled vampire dragged himself across the carpet toward where Antoine now stood, spine twisted, legs limp and useless. His single-minded purpose seemed to confirm Gabe’s theory.
Antoine watched him come, face expressionless, then raised a foot once more.
“No, wait,” Gabe said urgently, making him pause. “Don’t you see? This is the evidence we need.”
“For what?”
“To prove to Anastasia and the others what Roberto is capable of.”
Antoine gave him a long look, then his boot lashed out, catching Tobias’s head. But it wasn’t the death blow he’d applied to Nico; he only struck hard enough to knock the injured vampire unconscious. “Now we have too many to carry.”
Zoey arrived in the doorway with a wheezing Marcel, who clutched at his chest as he caught his breath. She took one look around the room and raced to Noah’s side.
“Good evening, sir, madam,” Marcel said between gasps, greeting Gabe and Belle. He turned to Antoine. “The police are outside. I suggest you use the skylight exit, sir.”
“We were just figuring out the logistics.”
“I’ve got Eve,” Gabe said quickly. “I’ll take her back to my place. She’ll be safe there.”
Cally gave him a quick look, but he held her friend with such gentleness that she knew he’d take good care of her. Besides, he was the closest they had to a doctor. “She’s not marked,” Cally said anyway. “She won’t heal like we do.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll give her more of my healing if I need to.”
“That’s two,” Antoine said. “I’ll take Cally, but I can’t manage Marcel or Noah.”
“I’m not going anywhere, sir,” Marcel said slowly, no longer breathless. “I will return to the panic room and wait for the police to find me. Someone will need to explain tonight’s events.”
“Thereisno explanation,” Antoine said. “We are all fugitives now.”
“Not at all, sir.” Marcel drew himself up. “The house was attacked, our over-eager defense contractors employed weapons we knew nothing about, and you were absent at the time.” He said with a perfectly straight face. “I can’t stay here tonight anyway, so I will welcome a short stint at the police station.” He almost smiled. “I have very expensive lawyers on retainer; I won’t be there past breakfast.”
“Noah’s waking up,” Zoey said from near the wall. “I’ll take him through the backyard, to Tom and the other thralls.” She lifted him like he weighed nothing and slung him over her shoulder. “I’m going to leave now, while I still can.” She nodded to Marcel as she passed.
“I suppose that just leaves me,” Belle said. “I will take Tobias back to my house, and keep him incapacitated until you decide what you wish to do with him.” She picked him up and slung him over her shoulder, with a lot less care than Zoey had shown Noah. “Don’t dawdle now,” she added as she left.
Cally quickly gathered the spell books and laptop, shoving them all into Eve’s bag. She hooked it over her shoulder andhanded Eve’s phone to Gabe. “Ask her to call me when she wakes up?”
“Of course,” he said. Then he winked at Antoine. “Stay in the shadows.”
Antoine laughed ruefully. “Thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for saving Eve’s life,” Cally said, and he gave her a nod as he left.
“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” Antoine asked Marcel, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Of course, sir. I need to destroy the databases and ensure there’s no footage. If you will excuse me.”
“Call me in the morning, when you’re out—or sooner, if there are any problems.”
“Yes, sir.”
