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“How do you feel?” Riggs asked.
“Like I could punch a hole through a steel wall,” I said. “The better question is how you feel. Now that I’m not afraid you’re going to die because I sucked you dry I can transition to the part where I call you a stubborn idiot for not pushing me off.”
“Call me crazy, but when you’re sucking on me, the last thing I want is to push you off.”
“You could’ve died,” I said.
“Nothing good comes without its risks.”
Kyla and I both sighed at the same time. Clearly, he was refusing to take the issue seriously, and that was all there was to it.
“Are you at full strength, though?” I asked.
“Close enough,” Riggs said.
That wasn’t super comforting. I still didn’t know the full extent of his plan, but I imagined it would always be better to have Riggs at full strength.”
“And are you sure this is the best idea?” I asked.
Riggs nodded. “When your enemy knows you will come, the best response is to come in a way they didn’t expect.”
I fidgeted with my hands. “I guess that does make some sense.”
Riggs saw me squirming and reached over, enclosing my hand with his. I felt myself calm down immediately at his touch. This was Riggs, I told myself. Riggs had yet to fail me, and I was starting to wonder if there wasn’t anything beyond his ability to fix.
“Trust me,” he said. “This way, we’ll get Lazarus to leave Westwick. By the time he knows something’s wrong, the pack will hopefully have everyone out of that hellhole and all we’ll need to do is run.”
“Run from an ancient, scary vampire who can turn into shadows?”
“Right. All we need to do is survive a month, remember? We don’t have to kill Lazarus to win. If you and Maisey are alive when the month ends, you become officially sanctioned vampires in the eyes of the Coven—rebels or not. You’ll be protected by the truces.”
I’d honestly forgotten about the original terms Lazarus had set. Part of me never believed he’d honor the deal, so it felt like the only way out of this was him or us. Still, I wondered if the fact that I’d only been turned less than a week meant I still had three weeks until I was clear from the Coven’s wrath, or if I was contractually lumped in with Maisey’s timeline since he was pursuing both of us.
I took a shuddering breath, trying to force myself to be as calm as he sounded.
We stopped the truck in a graveyard, of all places. Riggs said it was about a mile from Westwick, where The Pack was hopefully still standing by until they sensed Riggs get close enough.
“So what is the pack going to do in there? Start a bloodbath?” I asked.
“Not if they can help it. The plan is to sweep the building as quietly as possible, extract the hostages, and leave. That’s all. The fewer bodies, the better.”
“And our job is what? Just keep Lazarus talking long enough to give them time?”
“Mostly. The more vampires he brings to this meeting, the better.”
“What did you tell him to get him to agree to meet us like this, anyway?”
Riggs grinned. “That I’d discovered the vampire who killed one of his former cleaners.”
“Wait, what?” I asked, looking between him and Kyla.
Kyla shrugged a little shyly. “Long story. But one of Lazarus’ former colleagues and I had a bit of a disagreement a few years back. He has wanted my head ever since.”
“And he believed you’d give up your sister?” I asked.
“The three of us are the only ones who know Kyla and I have mended our relationship.”
We got out of the truck and waited by a large cross-shaped gravestone. “Did it really have to be a graveyard?” I asked.
“It was the only real landmark outside the grounds. Close enough that he won’t suspect something but far enough to give the pack time.”
I folded my arms. None of this sounded very concrete. It was a bunch of “this should work” and “probably won’t” type of ideas. But I guessed that was real life. You couldn’t perfectly predict what other people would do. You just layered your plan with failsafes like Riggs had and hoped for the best.
It was a windy night and a chilly breeze rustled through the oak trees hanging over the graveyard. Behind us, I saw the dusty dirt trail snaking away until it wound behind the trees. In every other direction there was just gentle hills, trees, and grass.
I found myself whirling around, expecting to see shadowy figures emerging from every tree at any moment.
“How long will it be till he comes?” I asked.
“I assume he knows we’re here by now,” Riggs said. “Any minute.”
“You assume correctly,” Lazarus said.
The three of us turned in unison. Lazarus had appeared seemingly from nowhere. He had two women beside him I hadn’t seen before. All three wore scarlet colored leather trench coats like some sort of dorky uniform. I tried to tell myself that, at least, but the truth was they looked intimidating. They looked like killers. Hunters. Like beings who you weren’t meant to survive seeing.
