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Sorry, not sorry.
We hit another bump, and I braced myself on the backseat. I’m fairly certain a monkey laughed at me from a tree nearby. Bastard.
“I don’t mean to offend you, Ms. McQueen, but you are a very small woman. Are you sure you don’t want any help from our unit?”
“That depends, Eduardo.”
“On what?”
“Do you want your men to make it home alive tonight?”
Two
When I’d pictured ruins, I had thought of moldering old fortresses or castles in disrepair. What I hadn’t imagined was a series of doors carved into the face of a huge stone ledge beneath a waterfall.
Which, of course, would be a perfect place for vampires to hide.
Better yet would be if the ruins couldn’t be reached by road and were only accessible via the sheer cliff face.
Now this was my idea of a vacation.
Eduardo parked the jeep near the top of the waterfall, and we both made our way to the rocky outcropping that looked down into the cool teal pool below. The sound of crashing water cancelled out all the rest of the jungle noises, until the only thing I could hear was the dull roar of the waterfall and my own heartbeat throbbing in my ears.
“We think they are gaining access from there.” He pointed out three caves near the water, each about twenty feet from the other.
Most of the front-facing edifices that might have once resembled something like the rock mesa homes in New Mexico had crumbled thanks to the damp environment and pressure of the running water. Still, there were definite signs that this used to be a place dozens of people lived.
Now life had returned to these homes, but not like before.
Today death would visit as well.
“Do you have what I asked for?” I gave him an expectant look, realizing I should have clarified this before we’d left civilization.
He blushed, almost sheepishly, and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I could not find exactly what you requested. Not many shops carry katanas on short notice.” The way he said katana was slightly wrong, but sounded better than the original somehow. He must have seen the way my brows were coming together in concern, because he raised a hand quickly. “But I have something I think will work just as well.”
We went around to the back of the jeep, where I pushed the bulletproof vest aside and grabbed my duffel bag. The vampires wouldn’t shoot me, and I wanted to be light and quiet going in. Adding a bulky Kevlar vest to my frame would only slow me down.
I’d save it for the next time I went head-to-head with necromancer bikers or insane human servants.
As I unzipped my bag, Eduardo opened up a lockbox that was tucked behind our seats. While he dug around for whatever he’d brought me, I strapped my Sig’s holster to my thigh for easier reach and stowed a few spare clips of silver bullets in my belt pouches. A hunting knife—also silver—fit perfectly inside the special slot I’d had added to my knee-high boots.
I had to admit, it was pretty nice to be able to work with silver weapons now and not need to worry about the metal burning my flesh.
Desmond—being a werewolf—wasn’t thrilled with me keeping them around the apartment, but he knew what he was getting into when he married me.
Once I was outfitted—including a too-tight climbing harness—Eduardo held out what he’d brought me. “It’s not a sword, but I think you’ll find it very efficient.”
He placed the machete in my waiting palms, and I withdrew it from the leather carrying case. The blade—matte steel—looked sharp and well used. The weight of it in my hands was slightly heavier than I was accustomed to, but still comfortable.
I touched the blade, just to be sure, and my finger opened up so easily I barely felt the cut until it started bleeding. Sticking the wound in my mouth, I sucked and gave him an approving nod. “That’ll do.”
Eduardo smiled, pleased with my reaction.
Sword or machete, it didn’t really matter as long as the thing was sharp and sturdy enough to take a guy’s head off. I’d need to account for the shorter, wider surface area, but I was a quick study when it came to instruments of death.
It took one to know one.
I affixed the machete’s sheath to my belt at an easy grabbing angle and got the AR-15 out of the front seat where I’d left it. I wouldn’t be able to comfortably use both weapons in the caves, but I could figure out which one I wanted to carry when I was down on solid ground.
