Page 20 of Scout’s Honor

“What operation?”

“You know, ‘The Cause.’”

“No.”

“Even though she’s a switch?”

“Bonhi’s not a switch,” Jameson grumped, finality in his tone.

Dallas didn’t say anything, feeling oddly crushed.

“My other line’s ringing,” Jameson said. He hung up.

Dallas put the phone back in his pocket, retrieved his rag, and continued to wipe down the lathe.

Just as Dallas was finishing up, Aven walked in, his feet bare. He wore sweats and no shirt and looked relaxed as hell.

“Who’s Aila?” Aven asked.

“What?”

“You wrote Bring Aila home on the chalkboard in the kitchen.”

“Wasn’t me,” Dallas grunted. “What the hell happened in the caves last night?”

“You first,” Aven said, sitting on a stool at the workbench. “Why’d you run off so fast?”

Dallas looked up at the ceiling. “It was fucking with my head, man—first the vampires and seeing all those women they fed from.”

Aven nodded. “The vampires inside the caves were waiting for the women but they got switches and shifters instead. There were two twin vampires, real Count Chocula motherfuckers, wearing suits, with crazy blond and black hair, and they seemed to know me, and they definitely knew Maze.”

“Dude!” Dallas lightly punched Aven in the chest. “Maze fucking smells like Cage.” Cage had been Aven’s buddy, too, back when they’d been three lone shifters in military units full of humans.

Aven stood and grabbed Dallas by the upper arms, shaking him. “You got it! I didn’t know if I should tell you or not. I wanted to see if you smelled it on your own.”

Dallas nodded and Aven relaxed and sat back down. Dallas sat across from him on another stool.

“He scents just like him,” Dallas said, “but I thought that wasn’t possible. I thought it was like fingerprints.”

Aven nodded. “I thought the same… until now. Those vampires in the cave hated Maze. I know you were shot with a bloodbullet, and I think those two were involved. They had bloodblades in their hands.

Dallas shot to his feet. “Are you fucking with me?”

“Nope,” Aven said, shaking his head.

“Shit,” Dallas said, heading for the door. “Can we find them? Kill them?”

Aven didn’t move. “Only a switch can kill a vampire.”

“Dakota!” Dallas shouted.

“She’s sleeping, finally,” Aven said, waving him back to his seat. “But we can’t find the vampires.”

“We don’t know where they live?”

“No, and they can phaze—just disappear and travel from place to place instantly.”

“Fuck.” Dallas sat and thought, then he remembered something. “Last night, did the women that got out of that van look strange to you?”