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Leaving the hotel, I walked down the street. I couldn't take my car because they might check my tags for my identity. In fact, I'd left everything that could trace me back to the Durands at the house in Seabrick. Darren had booked the hotel room under an alias and paid cash. No one but us and Gretchen knew we were here.
I'd taken some sick days at the office to carry out this plan. So, as far as Jack and Bethany were aware, I was out with the flu. I just hoped I would be done before I ran out of time off. Not that losing that job would hurt me or anything. The Durands were still paying my salary and besides, this was all for them anyway.
The black boots I wore clomped against the concrete, my leather pants tucked into the tops at the calf. The shoulder holster sat on top of my long-sleeved shirt, the V-neck of it showing off a generous amount of cleavage. I hadn't been kidding when I said I hoped a lone, attractive female would draw the right kind of attention. The kind that led to information and a way to get my guys off the radar and my life back in order. I didn't know about the rest of them, but I had about enough vampire drama to last me a lifetime.
The vampire hunters’ base of operations sat on an acre of land surrounded by a sharp-edged fence. The mansion behind the offensive gate looked more like an old museum than a base for vampire hunters. Without a sign showing it was one thing or the other, it just seemed like an unassuming, stuffy old building. One that I had to somehow get inside of.
Walking around the fence, I found the front of the gate. It had a call box with a keypad to type in some code.
Damn. I should have thought of that.
What was I going to do now?
I glanced up at the gate and the menacing sharp points. I winced. No way was I going to be able to get over that.
Blowing a raspberry, I clicked my tongue and shifted from side to side. I guess I should just go back to the hotel room. What a waste of a good outfit. Plus all the time and energy it took to get it on and the teary goodbye to Darren. I didn't know if I had it in me to do that again.
Just as I was about to turn away from the gate, a crackling voice came over the speaker. "Did you forget the passcode again?"
I scratched the side of my face and bent down to the box, trying to look sheepish. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. Do you think you could let me in?"
"Fine," the voice snapped. "Just write it down next time."
"Of course!" I straightened up, lifting my hand to my forehead in a salute. I didn't know why I was doing it, or if they could even see me, but it felt like the right thing to do. Seconds later, there was a buzz and the gate popped open on its own.
Well, that was lucky.
Or it was a trap.
Nope. Nope. This was a good thing. I couldn't be in deep shit yet. I might have had bad luck, but not that bad. I thought. Maybe. Whatever. I wasn't looking a gift hunter in the mouth.
Sauntering through the gate, I walked with as much confidence as I could. If I was a vampire hunter, I had to ooze badassery. I'd never heard of a wimpy and simpering vampire hunter. And I doubted they would believe my disguise if I acted that way.
The closer I got to the entrance of the building, the less confident I felt. The shadows seemed darker than normal, every sound made me jump in place. What was wrong with me? I shook my head and forced my back straight and my eyes forward. The guys were depending on me. I had to do this. There was no other way to get the hunters off their trail.
Once at the door, I didn’t hesitate to open it. Now was not the time to be indecisive. The hunters would be able to smell the weakness on me and then this would be all for nothing.
Inside the manor, hunters sprawled out on various couches and chairs. Its entryway was a lot larger than the House of Durand, with stairs going up one side of the wall. They didn’t bother with decorations or even with matching furniture. Everything seemed to be for functional purposes only. Including that large rack of weapons that lined the back wall.
Holy mother of all that was badass. Billy would have a field day with this! They had every weapon I could imagine, and then some I never dreamed of. My eyes I drifted over the weapons before stopping on a ball with sharp-pointed spikes. Yowch. That looked painful.
“Hey, you!”
I jolted in place. My gaze darted from the weapon rack to the hunter coming right for me. A few of the other hunters looked up from where they were repairing their weapons or talking in low voices, but the majority of them didn’t even give me a second glance, or a first one, for that matter. Not like the beefy one who didn’t halt his trajectory until he stopped right in front of me.
If anyone in this place did steroids, it had to be this guy. Bulging muscles strained against his sleeveless black tank top. Veins popped underneath his skin, making him look more monster than hunter. His dark eyes narrowed on me, locking me in place.
“What do you want?” I demanded with as much attitude as possible. Couldn’t let them think they could walk all over me, now could I? Crossing my arms, I cocked one hip to the side and stared the man down.
Strangely enough, the man balked at my rudeness. He stopped and held his hands up. “I was just going to tell you the pin code so you wouldn’t forget again.”
Okay…so apparently looks could be deceiving, even in a vampire hunter lair.
He held a piece of paper out to me with a nervous look. “Uh, here.”
I reached out to take it, confusion on my face. “Thanks. I guess.” Were these guys really the big, bad vampire hunters making my guys run for their lives? It was hard to believe it.
The beefy guy stayed around for a moment longer, seeming to want to ask me something.
