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“You’d have to ask him, but it’s certainly possible.”
Gavin had to wait between the two gates as well, and Lauren told him, “I’d have thought they would let you right through.”
“Sensors check for bombs, extra people, and other things. I’d hear a heartbeat if another person was in the car, but I might not know if someone put a bomb in the engine compartment, the trunk, or the undercarriage.”
“Oh. We have a place where guests have to stop on the way into Homewood, but they don’t make me stop.”
“Cora probably has something from Aaron that I’m not privy to. Also, your cars are parked thirty yards away from the main house in a separate building, and our cars are parked in an attached garage, directly abutting living spaces.”
Gavin parked her car in the garage, shut the engine off, and turned to her. “What do you want to do? Swim? Walk the property? Hot tub?”
“The shooting range? It feels as if I need to make sure my new vision works okay with aiming.”
“Absolutely. Yes. I’ll have someone bring the rifle down from your bedroom. I can scent your Sig on you, so I’ll have some nine millimeter practice ammo ready. Have you practiced with your knives?”
“My knives are second nature. I look at where I want them to land, and they do. Guns take a little more thought.”
“We’ll do both, while we’re there.”
Chapter 10
The Branson area sat over a vast network of caves and caverns, and Gavin’s predecessor had created access, which gave them a way to flee the premises in an emergency, but also gave them a fun little underground playground. Gavin had sent spelunkers out to explore, and he’d gone through their memories when they’d returned. Eventually, he’d walk the main routes and a few side routes himself, but for now, he knew enough to feel comfortable using them, if necessity showed itself.
Tonight, though, after an hour in the shooting range, he took Lauren down as a fun game. He outfitted members of his security team with garments to keep a knife from piercing their heart or taking their heads off, and then sent them out in the largest cavern, full of stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. He brought enough lighting down both she and her hawk would be able to clearly see, and he loaded her up on throwing knives, with the two belts around her waist and hips holding a total of twenty-four.
“You have fifteen minutes to stick a knife into as many of my staff as you can. There are twelve of them, and you should focus on hitting from the base of the ribcage down — they’re all wearing armor that will make a chest-strike impossible. Anyone who lasts the fifteen minutes without getting stuck will get a one-thousand-dollar bonus on their next paycheck. If someone gets hit, they’ll move to another room andchangeif they’re able. If not, I’ll get them into another room and help themchange. All are shifters, and all will survive your knives on the lower half of their bodies. None will be aggressive towards you. All are going to try to stay hidden, or to move so fast you can’t hit them.”
* * * *
Lauren couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. Once she had her bear tattoo and better night vision, she’d wanted to recreate this without the lights. She was using the moving shadows as much as the moving people to hone in on locations, which was excellent practice for a daytime real-world scenario, but doing this in the dark would be a whole different ball game.
She had one knife left when a buzzer went off to let her know time was up. Gavin had been floating near the top of the cavern, watching from above, and he drifted down to stand before her. “One man left standing.”
The man she hadn’t been able to hit stepped out from behind a column on the far end of the cavern and gave a sweeping bow. “A worthy opponent. You nearly had me a few times.”
“How are you so fast?” Lauren asked. He was nearly as fast as a vampire, blurring when he ran.
“I enjoy a personal blood bond with a vampire, created in such a way I can borrow some of his speed.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re a cheetah, and at first I thought you were using your animal’s speed, but this was even faster than…” She blew out a breath. “Yeah, I can see it as vampire speed. Not quite as fast as them because I could still see you moving, but you blurred with it.” Kind of like trying to hit The Flash with a knife while he ran, but some supernaturals didn’t like being compared to comic book characters. Some liked it, but she wasn’t going to say anything without knowing this man’s thoughts on the matter.
Lauren turned back to Gavin. “Thanks so much for setting this up for me. I was trying hard to keep this from being an expensive game for you. Are you sure everyone’s okay?”
“Absolutely certain. Lots of bruised egos, but they’re all physically fine.”
Lauren walked the cavern and collected the knives, counting as she went. She had fourteen of them when Gavin said, “I have ten, and I don’t see more on the floor.”
“I have fourteen, so that should be it. Do we need to help anyone up and out of here?”
“All have already been escorted up and are being fed. It’s just us.”
“I want to do this again once I have the vision of a bear, but in the dark. I know there will need to be a tiny bit of light, but not this much.”
“You made excellent use of the shadows.”
And she’d learned how to do so from a man Gavin saw as an enemy.
“Why don’t you like my Shifù?”
