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Chase's smile was crooked as he acknowledged the praise with a short nod.
Dante cleared his throat. "And about that offer of help... "
"Name it."
"Tess was walking a dog when the Rogues attacked her tonight. Ugly little mutt, not good for much more than a foot-warmer, but it's special to her. Actually, it was a gift from me, more or less. Anyway, the dog was running loose on its leash when I saw it a block or so away from Ben Sullivan's place."
"You want me to go retrieve a wayward canine, is that where this is heading?"
"Well, you did say anything, didn't you?"
"So I did." Chase chuckled. "All right. I will."
Dante dug the keys to his Porsche out of his pocket and tossed them to the other vampire. As Chase turned to be on his way again, Dante added, "The little beast answers to the name Harvard, by the way."
"Harvard," Chase drawled, shaking his head and throwing a smirk in Dante's direction. "I don't suppose that's a coincidence."
Dante shrugged. "Good to see that Ivy League pedigree of yours comes in handy for something."
"Jesus Christ, warrior. You really were busting my ass since the minute I came on board, weren't you? "
"Hey, by all comparisons, I was kind. Do yourself a favor and don't look too closely at Niko's shooting targets, unless you're very secure about your manhood."
"Assholes," Chase muttered, but there was only humor in his tone. "Sit tight, and I'll be back in a few with your mutt. Anything else you're gonna hit me up for now that I opened my big yap about wanting to get square with you?"
"Actually, there might be something else," Dante replied, his thoughts going sober when he considered Tess and any kind of future that might be deserving of her. "But we can talk about that when you get back, yeah?"
Chase nodded, catching on to the turn in mood. "Yeah. Sure we can."
Chapter Thirty
When Chase strode out of Dante's living quarters into the hallway, Gideon was waiting there.
"How's it going in there?" the warrior asked.
"She's still unconscious, but I think she's in good hands. Dante is determined that she'll be all right, and once that warrior gets an idea in his head, there isn't much that's going to stand in his way."
"True enough," Gideon chuckled. He was holding a portable video device, which he now turned on. " Listen, I tapped into some Rogue activity on satellite surveillance earlier tonight. More than one of the subjects appear to be Darkhaven civilians. You got a minute to take a look, maybe provide some ID for us?"
"Of course."
Chase glanced down at the small screen of the hand-held as Gideon called up the images and fast-forwarded to a specific frame. The night-vision footage, zoomed in on a decrepit building in one of the city's industrial slums, showed four inpiduals exiting from a back door. By the gait and size of them, Chase could tell they were vampires. But the human they were stalking had no idea.
The recorded feed played on, and Chase watched, repulsed, as the four Darkhaven youths closed in on their prey. They attacked swiftly and savagely, like the Bloodlusting predators they were. Gang-style attacks on humans were unheard of among the Breed; only vampires turned Rogue hunted and killed like this.
"Can you tighten up this frame?" he asked Gideon, not really wanting to see more of the carnage but unable to look away.
"Think you recognize any of them?"
"Yes," Chase said, his gut convulsing as the focus closed in on Camden's disheveled, feral appearance. The second sighting of the youth in the past few hours, and irrefutable evidence that he was beyond retrieving. "They're all from the Boston Darkhaven. I can give you their names, if you like. That one there is called Camden. He is my brother's son."
"Fuck," Gideon whispered. "One of these Rogues is your nephew?"
"He started using Crimson and went missing nearly two weeks ago. He is the real reason I came to the Order for help. I wanted to locate him and bring him back before this happened."
The other warrior's face was grave. "You know that all of the inpiduals on this satellite feed are Rogues. They're addicts now, Chase. Lost causes--"
"I know. I saw Camden earlier tonight, when Dante, Tegan, and I were at Ben Sullivan's place. As soon as I looked into his eyes, I understood what he was. This only confirms it."
