“I believe him,” Saxon said.
“Why?” Ronan asked.
Peeling away a piece of the label, Saxon laid it neatly on the bar as he spoke. “Because he doesn’t want our help.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. Killean might not want our help because he’s safely ensconced with Joseph three miles from here and is simply waiting to attack,” Lucien retorted.
“Then why call in the first place?” Declan asked as he twisted a lollipop stick between his fingers. A strand of his dark auburn hair had fallen into one of his troubled, silvery-gray eyes.
“To learn what we’re doing,” Nathan said.
“He didn’t ask about any of us,” Saxon replied. “He didn’t ask if we were still here or if we moved after he left.”
“Because he might already know we didn’t move,” Lucien said.
Lucien could be right, but Saxon refused to let his pessimism deter him. “He called to give me the information he has in case they don’t make it out of Vermont.”
“He really hasSimone?” Kadence whispered.
“Yes,” Saxon said. “I spoke briefly with her. They turned her, but Killean said she’s not a Savage. He freed her before that could happen.”
“And he could be lying about that too,” Lucien said.
“Ishea Savage?” Nathan asked.
“I’m not sure what he is. I don’t think he’s one of them, not entirely, but he’s not the same man who left here.” That was easy to discern by talking to him. “How different he is, I don’t know.”
“What about the other hunters Joseph took?” Nathan inquired.
“Killean couldn’t save them.”
Vicky rested her hand on Nathan’s arm when his shoulders slumped and sadness filled his blue eyes.
“Killean told me to look into a wedding reception in Vermont,” Saxon said. He told them about the reception Killean and Simone fled from. “He’s not sure of the location, but he thinks it ended in a fire with no survivors.”
“That shouldn’t be hard to find. I’ll get my computer.” Declan rose and left the room. He returned a minute later with a laptop and settled into his chair. Opening the computer, he tapped rapidly at the keys.
“Were there other hunters turned into vampires in the past?” Ronan asked Nathan.
“No,” Nathan replied. “I know our history, and that wasnevermentioned before.”
“Could they have kept it a secret?”
“If anyone knew about such a thing, it would be my line as we’ve always been in charge. Kadence was the first to make the transformation.”
“If it did happen, could your ancestors have buried it to keep it hidden?” Ronan asked.
“I’m sure they wouldn’t want that dirty little secret getting out,” Lucien muttered.
Nathan looked about to deny it, but then he held his hands up before him and shrugged. “They may have wanted to keep such a thing hidden, but I think they would have preferred us prepared if we ever came across something like that.”
“They might have been ashamed or refused to believe it themselves and decided to hide it,” Vicky said.
“I’ll ask Roland and the other elders if they’ve ever heard of such a thing to make sure, but I doubt they’ll know anything either. If this is a hunter turned vampire, then it is most likely someone the other hunters believed dead all these years, but who was instead turned and has been in hiding.”
“That’s a frightening thought,” Kadence said. “But maybe Killean was mistaken about what he saw in there.”
“Or maybe he’s feeding us lies,” Lucien said.
