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I swung the car into the farthest space available, right next to a grassy knoll. Over the top of the small hill more undeveloped land stretched across the landscape—most likely awaiting a future Home Depot or Wal-Mart. There were a few young trees and bushes dotting the boundary, but otherwise it was pretty bare. It was the perfect location for someone like Drake to take someone unaware. Which was exactly why we were here.
“How do you want to run this?” I asked, turning to Nick, before snagging another sweet, delicious roll. I licked the sticky caramel from my fingers. He was the levelheaded-planner type and I was the take-action-and-ask-questions-later type, so Nick usually ran the points.
“When it gets dark, one of us stays,” Nick said. “And one of us heads back into the trees until he shows. If he’s agitated, he won’t be able to hold out long. Once he finds a suitable target, he’ll move.”
“Okay, I’ll take the trees. I’m too pumped to sit still anyway.” More cars pulled into the lot. “I hate when we have to deal with the lowlifes. It’s always so depressing.”
“I know, but a world without Drake on the streets is a better world. If he does decide to make a grab and tries to take her back to his car, I’ll be the diversion. I’ll maneuver him back to the trees instead. He’ll have no choice but to head there if I’m too close. We take him once he’s over the hill.”
We both knew Drake would not surrender. In a case like this, it was within our rights to use a “reasonable amount of force” to bring him down, which is how it was worded in the description of a citizen’s arrest. I loved the ambiguity, since “reasonable” for an imp meant a considerable amount.
“Here.” Nick held out a small black device. It was thin and about the size of a pack of gum. It worked like a vibrating pager between the two of us. If I depressed my button, the one Nick carried would go off. Small, easy, and effective. “One buzz for visual contact, two for a change of plans, continuous for backup. We rendezvous at the southeast corner of the building if anything goes wrong.”
“Got it.” I took it from him and swapped out my ID, which I stuck in the glove box next to my Glock. I maneuvered it into my pocket, positioning the device facing out, so I could activate it through my spandex.
Slipping from the car, I disappeared over the knoll.
I picked a place with the best vantage point. There was still time before the last of the daylight vanished. Drake wouldn’t come until full dark. I inhaled, curious to see what I could identify with my new nose. I immediately caught stale popcorn, a mixture of greasy fast food, and more than a hint of human urine. Gross. It wasn’t a surprise with everyone slurping a super-sized soda. I just didn’t need to know about it. I picked up a family of rabbits nearby. I was surprised to find I liked the smell. It was a sweet musk and it made me hungry—hungrier than I already was, which wasn’t saying much.
For the next hour and a half, cars entered the lot but few left. Around nine, the main area stayed full. It was late summer. At nine-fifteen the streetlights blinked on, triggered by the fading light, spreading dull pools of light over the asphalt. Ten minutes later, when the sky settled into darkness, our man Drake pulled into the lot.
I knew it was him by the make and model of his car. The battered Lincoln Continental floated up the lanes, right into the overflow area. My hip buzzed a second later, Nick alerting me to his arrival. Drake swung his boat into a spot not ten feet from where I crouched.
His features through the car window were sharp and hawkish. Once he turned off his engine, his fingers immediately started drumming the steering wheel. He glanced over his shoulder every two seconds to survey the lot.
You’re not getting any tonight, boyo.
He’d make his move tonight. There was little doubt.
The thought of permanently wiping that smirk off his face sent a sweet rush of adrenaline racing through my veins, much stronger than it had been earlier today.
Prey.
The word flashed through my mind like a rocket and suddenly my wolf stood at attention, front and center in my mind. She wanted a fight. Uh-oh. I couldn’t fight a Dominion battle now, all hell would break loose if I lost.
She growled. It was a low menacing sound.
Shit.
Drake chose that moment to ease himself from the car. He half slouched, half crept his way through the parked cars. I had no choice but to follow, but I tried to reason with my wolf as I went. You have to let me have this one. I edged along the tree line, staying low, keeping him in my sights. I can’t let you have control again. We already did that, and I’m not looking for a repeat of the farmer fiasco. This is too important, you have to let me lead.
The wind shifted and I caught a whiff of something faintly sulfuric. A beat later an overwhelming sense of Otherness hit me, climbing along my skin like a warning. The hair on my arms rose to attention and my body gave an involuntary shudder. My sensing had kicked in and I’d picked up Drake’s magic, clearly marking him as a supe. That was handy. My wolf sat up straighter, scenting real danger for the first time. Crap.
I knew the moment Drake picked his target, because the scent of his lust wafted over me. His pheromones were repellent, like stale moldy bread. I wrinkled my nose and tried to breathe through my mouth as I crept closer. His lust scent, mixed with the rotten egg smell—the demonic part of his Otherness—was now officially burned into my memory banks like a bad acid trip. My brain efficiently categorizing it away for later. Wolves could recognize scents, even years later. Not exactly a smell I wanted in my arsenal, but it was good to know that if he got away, I could track him down.
Drake’s victim, or victims in this case, were two girls of no more than fifteen or sixteen. The girls giggled as they walked, totally consumed by their discussion of the boys they planned to meet inside. They were perfect targets. Too totally preoccupied with their upcoming adventure to notice the odd man lurking a few car lengths away from them.
I slid in closer, shielding myself behind the last tree at the edge of the lot. It wasn’t much of a cover, but Drake was fully absorbed. The noxious amount of lust he was emitting told me he was using all of his primary brainpower on seizing his victims instead of keeping alert for possible danger—which made him a dumbshit, as well as a pedophile. I was only four car lengths away from the group now.
Drake eased forward, and I dropped to the ground. The girls were chatting more animatedly as they approached a large gap separating this lot from the main parking area. Drake would lose them if they cleared the last row of parked cars.
