.Chapter Four .

Deven waited and silently watched the conversation between the girl and Quinn. He couldn"t be sure exactly what they could get out of this encounter if the vampire they"d come to see wasn"t even awake.

But he was fairly certain that Quinn was pushing for an in person visit to confirm Bella's current state. There were certain signs, indications of when a vampire had fed last. If she had snuck out to a nearby bar and slaughtered and drained a bunch of highly trained soldiers, one look would give her away. Quinn might claim to just be here to check on his sister, but it was certainly more like checking her alibi.

Normally he could catch the scent of any nearby vampire, but he couldn"t smell or sense any vampire here other than Quinn. Did that mean the woman was lying? Or was this Bella just better at hiding her presence than the average vamp? Quinn was hard to detect too. If he wasn"t so familiar with him, he might be invisible. If this one was as old as him, it could be the same.

"Stay here." Quinn was following the woman out of the room.

Zeven straightened and growled. "What are we, his pet dogs?"

"It"s fine." He was busy focusing his senses on any details outside of their room.

"Like hell it is."

"You know he doesn"t mean it like that." He'd known the old man long enough to read his tone more than his words. Quinn just came off as gruff when he was worried. He switched to telepathic speech. "It"s code for, keep alert."

This time Zeven just nodded in response.

He wasn"t exactly being honest. It was more like he was sharing his interpretation of the old man"s gruffness. If there was something here that had Quinn on edge then they indeed needed to keep alert for anything, everything. He may have finally shared a little about his connection to this woman, but he was sure there had been War and Peace amount that he"d left out.

What he did know was that in all their years intervening with paranormal violence, they rarely met any vampires even half Quinn"s age. And never another first generation one. Surely there were others, but he"d only ever heard about Quinn and now, Quinn"s two siblings. The bigger question was, what did that mean in regard to the case?

Since they were here, Quinn must believe that Bella was either involved or could offer some information regarding the murders. Could the killer "Father Time" actually be Bella? Or the other one, Georgie? If they were as strong as Quinn, and now had created a nest, were they even stoppable? Let alone by a couple werewolf pups and a vampire who might be reluctant to hurt them?

Unless Quinn really was just here to check up on someone that he"d lost touch with. He was starting to hope for that option.

He extended his senses and tried to learn more. Anything about what Quinn was doing or even about the movements of Bella"s people. Quinn had moved off to an area on the far side of the mansion. If he had to guess it was a separate wing of the large structure.

The people seemed to be going about in normal duties. Some in the kitchen, cooking something spicy. Scents from the outside tangled around the cool languid air from inside. Moist dirt, animals. A dog, or two. further out... sheep and geese? Though he couldn"t tell how many.

Then he heard the sound of weapons clashing.

Zeven moved to the window and looked out on the courtyard. "They"re training with spears."

They were sparring using what appeared to be bamboo spears of various lengths. In a world of advanced weapons, why would they go back to the past like this? Then he noticed that several of the spears had cloth flags attached. The sparring was more of an elaborate dance than any kind of battle. It was beautiful but somehow also sad. He couldn"t put his finger on why.

Zeven moved to a closer window. After a moment he said, "I think it tells a story."

He watched as they returned to the beginning and started over again. The one dancer who was unarmed swept around in flowing red robes. And the others followed along performing unified moves that shadowed her gliding motions. Then she spun and charged at them. Their weapons turned on her. Driving her back until she was pinned to the ground by a dozen spears. One paused with the spear raised high above her heart.

"It"s a vampire hunt." Zeven whispered.

His brother was right. The symbolism was blatantly clear. What they'd just watched suggested that her followers were also her prison guards. They were prepared to put her down if she ever threatened them. "We should get out of here."

Zeven let the curtain fall into place. "Do you think Quinn"s okay?"

"I"m fine." Quinn stepped back into the room. "They are not a threat to us. We"re going home." Quinn led the way with his typical stoic style, back out through the house to the entrance.

Their rental car was gone. In its place was an all-white SUV. One man held the door to the backseat open in invitation.

With little more than a quiet thank you and nod as the still smiling guards opened a giant black parasol for him to get into the new vehicle.

Zeven hesitated. "Where"s our ride?"

"This one is a loaner. It has more protection."

He started around to the driver"s seat but found it already occupied by one of the tanned surfer boys. "It comes with a driver?"

"Two drivers. The second one will return the rental for us."

There were a lot of things he wanted to ask Quinn. But for now, he bit down on them all and just followed his lead. He circled again to take the co-pilot seat, but Zeven was already sliding inside.

"I"ll watch the driver."

That had been his plan, so it worked fine to leave it to Zeven. A glance at the rear seat showed Quinn had slid over to make room for him. He climbed inside while feeling a bit like a kid who had lost out calling shotgun.

After so many decades of it being just him and Quinn, adding Zeven into the mix was unsettling him. But it wasn"t bad at all. This way he could speak more with Quinn. "You said our destination is the airport, rather than the hotel?"

"Yes."

How would they handle the clear sunny day during a plane trip home? No, if this was the plan that meant some kind of protection had been arranged or perhaps, they were being loaned more than a car. "Private jet?"

"Yes."

They were being very accommodating, far more than he would have expected from potential murder suspects. "Does that mean you were able to talk with Bella?"

"No." The finality of that answer left no room for more discussion.

Not that Quinn was ever chatty by nature. But to shut it down so completely could mean a couple of different things. Seeing his sister in a weakened state had been too emotional for him to share. Or perhaps whatever he"d discovered could not be discussed in front of the driver. But did that mean Bella had nothing to do with their case? Or were they just not in a position to stop her?

Would Quinn even choose to stop her if she was the killer? He didn"t talk about his past and demonstrated his version of justice firmly. But he also felt strongly about family ties and loyalty to those he cared about. Where would that leave them if Bella was the killer?

And if she was... shit. She had a virtual army of staff. And almost certainly overpowered stats herself. Yeah, so quiet retreat made sense for today.

"Do we have an ETA? I can update Tess."

"We should be home by dinner time."

Seriously? Even a private jet and all the travel time... Wouldn"t that be a tight schedule? He shook off the surprise and called Tess. "Hey, looks like we"ll be returning right away. Should be back in time for dinner according to Quinn."

"That"s good." She seemed distracted.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, fine. Just buried in some research. See you when you get here." And the phone clicked. She"d hung up on him. Again.

* * *

Tessa had told Harley that she"d avoid using the visions, but her tech was coming up empty handed. Sure, she"d found the location where they could catch the vamp, but she couldn"t figure out the timing.

If she didn"t find more specific details, the boys would have to stake out the chapel for who knew how long. It was still a workable plan. But it wasn"t good enough. What if he didn"t show up for weeks, maybe even after he"d struck again?

What she needed was a time frame to work with. If he wasn"t going to be there soon, she needed to find another place they could connect.

Piecing it together, the vampire in question was the soldier who had just been created. Since the boys hadn"t caught him at the scene, that meant he"d either been taken with Father Time or he had managed to escape on his own despite what must have been an extremely traumatic reawakening. The glimpses she'd had in the visions had suggested that he'd fled the scene alone and even managed to kill and feed.

She couldn"t even imagine how he could function. Or what would motivate him. Was he little more than a blood crazed animal? Or had he managed to retain any of his humanity? Perhaps even the ability to use his military training?

According to Quinn and the agency training files, very few unguided baby vampires were able to consciously choose right from wrong. They needed to be cared for and taught how to live or they fell victim to their own maddening hungers within days of rebirth. And once they'd started hunting in order to satisfy that thirst for blood, it quickly became like an addiction. It was nearly impossible to escape the desperate cravings that drove them to continue to chase the high of the last drop.

"The high of the last drop." Maybe it was something only a vampire could understand fully, but it seemed that the blood taken as a victim was dying was particularly potent, offering something more intoxicating than any other blood.

If she wasn"t able to find where the soldier was now, then what options remained?

Only finding when he would be at the chapel. And she couldn"t imagine a single piece of technology that would be able to divine that little bit of info. Which meant she"d have to risk forcing another vision.

Harley was distracted with teaching Joseph how to bake cookies. If she wanted to keep it a secret, she could do it now. She gathered up her tools. Note pad, pens, the phone and the pin to provide the blood needed. She was spreading it all out on the coffee table when the office door pushed open again.

Harley entered carrying a small bowl. "I brought baby carrots for now, but we'll have cookies... soon. What are you doing?"

She shifted slightly to block Harley"s view from the door. "Nothing much."

"You"re going to do another vision, aren"t you?"

She sighed. "Yeah."

After crossing to sit down beside her, Harley said, "And you intended to do it alone while I was busy, didn"t you?"

She still had enough of a guilty conscious to duck her head and admit the truth. "I thought it would keep you from worrying."

"Unless of course, I find you collapsed in here afterwards."

She felt her face heat up and she raised her hands with her far too weak self-defense. "It shouldn"t happen. This should be completely safe. It only ended up that way last time because that vision was so strong and sudden that it didn"t let me prepare for it."

Harley stared at her. "Why risk it?"

She took a slow breath. "I know there is a small risk, but what we need to know isn"t something I can get from my usual methods. And it"s time sensitive. If we miss the window, people will die. The boys will be back in a couple more hours and if I have something for them, it will soften the miss out in LA."

"You know they won"t hold that against you." Harley caught her hand and held it tight.

"I know."

"You still want to continue?"

How could she explain it so that she wouldn't be misunderstood? "I have to take the risk. The guys go out into the field and face the bad guys and we don't try to stop them even though it's bound to be dangerous. This is my part in the process. I do everything I can to minimize the risk and then I do whatever it takes to get the info that they need."

Harley gave an exaggerated sigh. "Okay. How can I help?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I"ll let Joseph handle the rest of the baking so I can help you do this safely." She set the bowl of carrots down and headed back out the door. "I"ll be right back."

That had been unexpected. Maybe she"d been judging Harley wrong. She"d thought she was more likely to object than she had. Then again, they hadn"t spent much time together. Having another woman in the house had been a nice change but she was more or less one of the boys in most matters, so it had felt a little weird too.

Well, whatever. Having Harley in on the crime was a blessing.

She settled back onto the sofa and looked over her materials. The phone had a full charge which for some reason seemed to matter. She picked up her pen and started writing the same line over and over on the notepad.

Soldier Boy at the chapel. Soldier Boy at the chapel. Soldier Boy at the chapel. It was the repeated pattern that helped focus her visions. Soldier Boy at the chapel. Soldier Boy at the chapel. Soldier Boy at the chapel.

If she could home in on the right topic, then she would hopefully learn what she needed rather than other random details. And what she needed to know was when Soldier Boy would be at the chapel. A vision of that exact scene should hopefully offer enough details to figure out the timeline.

Harley came back into the room while rubbing the small of her back. "Should I sit beside you or on your computer chair?"

"Take the chair. It should be better for your back anyhow."

"What can I do?"

"Just watch. We"ll consider you my back up medical support just in case something goes wrong. Which it almost never does." That was the point of using the phone as a medium to channel the visions. It took the pressure off her brain and put the magic into the tool instead.

She set the phone in front of her and picked up the pin. One swift jab and she squeezed the blood onto the screen.

It swirled purplish inky smokey... but this time it was full of sparks. As if she was reaching out and hitting someone else"s magic. It bit at her. But only in tiny manageable nips. What was she seeing through that smoke? She was there. So was Deven. They were in the aisle of the church... walking down the aisle? Her arm tucked in his. "What the hell is this?" Her heart was racing. He smiled... or something like a smile.

Then she saw the man they were approaching. He looked like the usual preacher, and then he didn"t. What was he? Was he just a human? Nothing in the vision said it but she just knew he was an identity forger. He helped non-humans start new lives. Like a freaky version of witness protection done for a hefty fee of course.

Deven smiled down at her. He looked... happy? Wasn"t this a mission? Weren't they there to catch the vampire?

No, that wasn"t it. They"d missed him. How could they have already missed him?

She shook away her thoughts about the vision and closed the phone for a moment, letting it all reset.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but it"s not telling me what I want to know." It was frustrating. Why hadn't the programing worked? There had been no sign of the Soldier Boy besides the feeling that they'd missed him.

"Maybe it"s not something you can see."

Harley might not understand how it worked, but she also might not be wrong. "I"m going to try again."

"Is that dangerous?"

It could be but usually wasn"t a problem now that she used the phone as a medium. "It"ll be okay." She set it all up again. This time she focused only on seeing the vampire at the chapel. No matter how much she was amused by walking down the aisle with Deven, she needed to see the Soldier Boy at the chapel.

As the magic settled, she finally saw the soldier, but he wasn"t in the chapel. Or was he? It wasn"t the main room but did seem to be part of the building. An office? A handful of paperwork, a wad of cash and several wallets. Those were probably his payment for the new identity. But what day? What time? There had to be some clue of when this would happen.

She blinked hard at the phone and tried to see around the edges of the vision. It was dark of course. And there was a calendar open on the desk. What day did it show? Damn, it was a weekly schedule. Showing this week. Scribbles across the columns of days. Tonight? Tomorrow night? she couldn"t make out the words on any of his notes.

She closed the phone again.

"Did you get it?"

"Some, but not enough. I need a minute and a cookie, and I want to try again." At some point a plate of cookies had been added to the table. She hadn"t even noticed if Harley had gotten them or if Joseph had brought them in.

"Are you sure? You"re starting to look pretty pale."

"Sugar will help." She snagged a cookie and started munching. The first one calmed her twisted stomach. The second and third were just because they were so dang tasty. "Joseph did a good job."

"Tell him that later." Harley nibbled on a cookie. "You don"t look much better. Is another try very important?"

"Maybe." But if she was to be completely honest, she wanted to see more about why they were doing the wedding march.

"If you think you should, but this is the last time. Anymore and I"ll insist you wait until Quinn gets back to okay it."

Last dive in then. Was there anything else she needed to see? Or would it be okay to focus on something a little more frivolous? She set it up while considering the possibilities. She wasn"t being completely selfish. Seeing how the mission played out could help them be prepared and get more from it. Yeah, she absolutely wasn"t doing this vision just to see him smiling down at her like a lover from some romance drama.

Though it had been a very nice smile. One she rarely saw him wearing in day-to-day life.

Within minutes she was watching the mission play out again. Chatting about nothing. Touching almost constantly. The walk down the aisle. Ah... the vows. Abbreviated but still life changing. Yes, she"d say yes. So would he.

Her heart was thundering from the excitement.

Then they were in the chapel office. He kissed her. Deep and dangerous, like their lives depended on every touch. Deven cleared the desk with the sweep of one hand. Then he fell on her, ripped her underwear off and took her right on top of the desk.

"Tessa?"

She snapped the phone shut, holding it close to her chest.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"Oh damn..." The flashing images had been so deeply engraved on her heart that she kept seeing them over and over. Was that really going to happen? How? Why? And she could hardly wait.

Harley"s hand closed over her arm. Her gaze was full of worry.

"I"m okay. Better than okay, I'm great, absolutely fantastic." She nervously fussed with closing the notepad, noticing that her fingers were still trembling.

"Are you sure? Your face is very red."

"I"ll bet." She shook the images away. "Yeah, I"m good. That last one was a bit personal."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Ah... no, I don"t think so. Not yet." She did want to share it but was just as afraid to talk about it out loud. As if exposing the vision to anyone else, even Harley, might somehow jinx it. She wasn't about to risk anything changing that particular future. "When will the boys be back?"