Chapter Twenty-One

EOGHAN

The situation at the office over the next twenty-four hours proved to be dire to say the least. With Priest missing and presumed kidnapped, the Agency had sent over an acting Deputy Chief from Vegas who preferred to sit in Priest’s office and bark orders, demanding updates on what was being done to find her rather than laying out a game plan of his own. It was hard for Eoghan to ignore the vibration from his cellphone as he listened to Ronald Cummings, Priest’s temporary replacement, prattle on as they sat in front of her desk for their end of day update. All he wanted to do was check his message, especially when he knew it had to be the boss in question. He was grateful when they were dismissed.

Cummings wasn’t a very impressive guy and he’d never been a deputy chief before, but he seemed like he genuinely wanted to find her, just had no idea how. Eoghan had assumed he was just totally out of his depth in a big office like L.A. the minute he’d called them into Priest’s office before lunch. They were coordinating with other law enforcement agencies, though. After a quick meeting and even quicker dismissal, Eoghan and Ari were sent off to figure out what had happened to her without any instruction on how to do that. He’d call the liaison for the investigation and gone from there.

The update from Cummings wasn’t very helpful. But hopefully, they had their hands full and they wouldn’t be required to be anywhere. As soon as they were out of the office, he reached into his pocket and checked the message.

“I heard your phone buzz when we were talking with Cummings. What does it say?” Ari asked, watching him check his messages.

“Just to meet ‘us’—whoever that is—back at the warehouse. I assume King John arrived. It’s after dark. I really hope he has news from his people. It would be good to have a whole bunch of vamps joining us.”

“Do you really think that’s safe, Eoghan? I mean these guys are hungry. The whole reason they’re on our side is because they’re being starved,” Ari said.

They’d left the building and gotten on the road immediately. Eoghan dragged his eyes away from the freeway and looked over at Ari. He wasn’t looking very sure of himself. He offered him a half smile and reached across the console, taking his hand. Ari squeezed it hard. “Don’t worry about that. King John will see to it that anyone from his clan is well fed before joining with us. He wouldn’t want us put in harm’s way and you heard what Vance Ross said. The Vegas vampire clan isn’t affected by synthetic blood shortages and they’ll be well fed. I think the chief knows this or she wouldn’t ask any vamps to join us in this fight.”

Ari nodded. “You’re right, Eoghan, in this as in everything.” He lifted their clasped hands and put a soft kiss on the back of his hand.

Eoghan felt chills wash over him, exactly the way he always felt when Ari showed him affection.

“Why do you think the Agency sent someone like Cummings to head up the search and take over the Los Angeles office?” Ari asked as Eoghan drove back to Sun Valley. “Do you think he’s working with Katerina Rojas?”

Eoghan looked over at him, thought about it for only a second before shaking his head. “No. Remember what Vance Ross said about Vegas? Cummings is from Vegas and as far as we know, Bradshaw’s vamps haven’t infected that territory so far. I doubt Cummings is anything other than a marshal who’s been around a while and can be trusted to get back to the brass in Washington. He struck me as more of a brown noser than anything else. He’s certainly never run a kidnapping investigation before.”

Ari nodded. “Because he simply sent us back out into the field and basically said, ‘find her.’”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. Anyway. I’m convinced that he’s just lost and doesn’t know what to do. Based on what I’m seeing, he’s guaranteed to report back to the brass in D.C.”

“Report what? That he has no idea what he’s doing and has no idea how to run an investigation?” Ari asked.

“It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we need to check in with Priest and find out whether King John arrived or not.”

“You’re right.”

Eoghan glanced over again. “Will you stop worrying? King John wouldn’t let us get hurt. If he wanted to hurt us, he could have done it in that garlic field out in Gilroy.”

“You’re right,” Ari said, taking a deep breath and relaxing back against the seat.

Eoghan pulled into the parking lot in Sun Valley a half hour later. They knocked on the door and it was opened by a tall, bald vampire wearing black, leather pants and vest with no shirt beneath. He was intimidating as hell by size alone as he towered over Ari who was well over six feet himself. His eyes flared red the moment he pulled the door open.

“What?” The inhuman growl sent chills racing down Eoghan’s spine, but he stared up into the thing’s eyes with narrowed eyes of his own, refusing to be intimidated by him.

“Frank! Step back and let them in. I do believe that’s the lovely Marshal Eoghan Sapphire and his equally handsome partner, Aristotle Brown,” King John said from the interior.

The creature took a long sniff, and his nostrils flared before he bared several rows of jagged fangs in what appeared to be his version of a smile. “Which one of you smells like dinner?”

Ari began laughing and the vampire immediately lost his grin, turning to Ari at the same time as Eoghan did. He wanted to scream at him and ask why he was taking a risk insulting a strange vampire by laughing at him. While he didn’t think this Frank dude would kill them—not with the king calling him off—it was still not a great idea to poke the bear.

“Frank!” John called out, getting closer. When he came into sight, and Frank turned toward him, bowing his head, Eoghan let out a long sigh of relief.

“Your Highness,” Frank said, diffidently.

“I’ll take it from here.” John turned toward them as the vampire closed the door and locked it.

One glance around the room told Eoghan that even more supernaturals had joined their group and there were now over a hundred bodies milling around, some sitting, others talking in small groups. Priest was pushing her way through the throng and walking toward them but before she got there, John reached out and wrapped his arms around Eoghan, picking him up off the ground like he weighed nothing, and hugging him hard before setting him back down.

“Eoghan, how are you?”

Before he could answer, he was doing the same to Ari who just laughed and hugged him back. By the time he’d put him down, the chief had joined them.

“I’m good. How are you doing, King John?” Eoghan asked.

“Good! Good, my boy. I can’t really believe we’re this close to the end. I just hope there’s some of my clan left to save in Flagstaff.”

“We’re going to do our best, Highness,” Priest said. “I just wish we hadn’t been hobbled by the spies within our Agency all this time, but I am very glad this is finally happening for you.”

“So, what’s the plan, Chief?” Ari asked.

Eoghan watched him looking the room over, probably trying to pick out faces of anyone he knew just like he’d done. All the pack leaders and tribal chiefs including Joe Two Trees and Alo were walking their way. Eoghan couldn’t help but smile at the two grizzlies who’d become good friends throughout this case. They all exchanged greetings and shook hands. Eoghan watched as the grizzlies stood well away from John. And he noticed that the other shifters and werewolves in the room were keeping as much distance between their packs and clans and the vampires as they could. Judging by the number of vampires in the room, the clan from Vegas had arrived. He noticed Vance Ross talking to Frank and another big male vampire whose glowing red eyes were a dead giveaway.

“As you might have noticed, the vampires from Vegas are here,” she said, raising her hand and motioning one of them over. The vamp who walked over, wasn’t the one he’d pegged as the leader. This one wasn’t even a man. The tall female had long, unnaturally red hair and wore stiletto heels beneath her skintight, leather pants. Her full breasts nearly spilled over the top of a T-shirt so tight, Eoghan was sure there wasn’t space for a hair between cold skin and fabric.

“Elora, these are my marshals from L.A., Eoghan Sapphire and Ari Brown. They’re the last of our party. We should head out now,” Priest said.

“Delicious,” the vampire said.

She must have been gorgeous when human, Eoghan thought. As a vampire she was exceptionally beautiful, almost too much so. She reminded him of every Hollywood vampire movie villainess he’d ever seen, way over the top in sexiness and scariness. He had no doubt she would have made short work of every drop of blood in them, had it not been for the king standing between them. Still, he judged that she just might make an intimidating fighter once she and her clan were given the go ahead to wipe out Bradshaw and his weak, underfed vamps in Flagstaff.

“That’s enough, Elora,” King John said. “I’ve warned you to behave.”

She turned and looked at him. “Alright, John, I get it. You have pet humans.” She turned and gave Eoghan and Ari the once over from head to foot before turning back to him. “When this is all said and done, I may get some myself.”

“As much as I’d love to let this conversation go on, I think it’s time we all head to our states and towns,” the chief said, interrupting the two vampires who were clearly acquainted but not friendly. She looked back at Eoghan and Ari. “What’s going on in the office?”

“Not a whole lot, Chief,” Eoghan said. “I guess you’ve met Ronald Cummings?”

“Briefly. I’m frankly surprised he’s the best the Agency had available,” Priest replied. “He never really impressed me as a self-starter or a go-getter so I’m kind of surprised that’s who they sent to follow up on my kidnapping. It’s a little insulting if I’m being honest.”

“There are other LEO’s involved. But he basically just said, go find her and sent us out of the office. We didn’t see Kellen at all,” Ari said. “I’m not sure he’s been back to the office and since I didn’t know who was listening, I didn’t ask anyone, even Night. But I wouldn’t worry too much about that one, Chief,” Ari said. “He’s a total coward and I doubt he wants any part of this fight. He’s no doubt out getting his dick wet in someone as we speak.” Ari looked around the room, and Eoghan noticed he looked nervous with all the shifters and strange vampires in the room. The tension was high if he had to say so himself.

“We should probably get going,” Two Trees said. “Flagstaff is a long drive.”

“We’re not flying?” Eoghan asked.

“No. We decided we need to take too many weapons, and paranormals like to avoid planes. And if there are delays for any reason, the vampires wouldn’t be able to travel during the day,” she said.

“That’s true,” Elora said. “I can’t put my clan at risk of being stuck on a runway if there was even the smallest possibility that we couldn’t take off and beat the sun. Then, if we were diverted? No. We don’t do planes unless we’re locked in cargo coffins and even then, only if we’re traveling with trusted partners.”

Eoghan nodded, noticing her accent was more than likely Hispanic, perhaps South American. “All good reasons to drive.”

“Sapphire, go and park your Prius somewhere safe and we’ll pick you up. This is why I didn’t want you taking a Charger. If Katerina or McGillis decide to pull up the GPS on the car you’re driving, they’d know where you’d been and were going.”

“Good idea,” Ari said.

“No one wants to walk into a trap,” Joe Two Trees said as he smiled at them.

“Okay, everyone!” Priest called out. “Please get your groups together and head out to your states. I know you’ve all brought weapons with you, and I trust that you’re all committed to this very important common cause. Thank you for trusting me and your clan leaders. It’s the spirit of cooperation in this room that I want all of you to take away from this gathering today. I want each and every one of you to know that if it was your tribes, clans, or reservations at risk, you could call on these same brothers and sisters and ask for their help. Thank you so much.”

She looked down at her watch before looking up. “It’s seven-thirty L.A. time. Let’s plan on midnight Pacific time the day after tomorrow as the moment we begin our attack. Does anyone here believe they can’t make it to their destination by then? Juan Garcia and Edward Walters, your two packs have the farthest to go, Albuquerque and Santa Fe.”

“If we drive straight through and trade off drivers, we can do that, Chief. No sweat,” Juan Garcia said. He looked at Edward who smiled sweetly at his lover and nodded before looking back at the others. “We’re good too.”

“It’ll take us longer than anyone to get into place because we’re traveling with vampires,” Priest said, looking at King John and Elora. “Otherwise, we’d be making a go of this tomorrow at midnight. When you get to your destinations, please rest up. Once we go the day after tomorrow, we’re not stopping until every last one of Bradshaw’s bad vamps are neutralized. I’ve already told you what that word means. Your mandate is to spare every innocent life you can. You all have new phones. Dump your old ones. They’re no good to you anymore. You all know what to do when you’ve cleaned up your city.”

There were murmurs of agreement all around, and Eoghan was anxious to know what he and Ari had missed as she handed them each a brand-new phone. “Use only these,” she said before turning back to the room. “Okay, head out!”

Ari and Eoghan stepped aside with the grizzlies and John. Severin and Invictus, who’d been silently watching from the other side of the warehouse walked over as everyone else began walking out. Only their leaders remained behind to make sure all their clans exited the building without causing a clash with the vampires which was probably a good thing. Finally, Two Tree’s pack and Elora’s clan filed out, new phones in hand. King John walked over and hooked a thumb at the retreating backs of the vampires.

“I will see you in Flagstaff,” Elora said, giving them one more insolent up and down. “You sure you don’t want to ride with me, novio ?” she asked staring right at Eoghan. “We could have so much fun together.”

“No thanks,” Eoghan said. “I’m good.”

“No snacks for the road, Elora,” King John said. “You’d better see to your vampires.”

“Oh, poo,” she said, winking at Eoghan before turning and clipping out on her tall stilettos.

“Have a safe trip,” the king said, rolling his eyes as he turned to them. “Sorry about that. I’ll be riding with Elora’s clan.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice almost to a whisper. “I don’t like her but she’s a means to an end and I am glad she agreed to come from Vegas. I’m only happy there will be some vamps on this terrible journey. I’ll see you at the end of the line in Flagstaff.” He pressed a hand over his heart and bowed before throwing his hand out in a flourish. “Farewell, until we meet again.” With that, he spun around and vanished at vampire speed. They saw him a split second later standing beside Elora at the back of the semi which the other vamps were climbing into.

They laughed at the king’s antics and then watched Rana, Andy, Vance, Edward, and Juan leave with their clans, giving them each a pat on the back or a smile or in the case, a big hug when it was Rana’s turn.

“Okay, that just leaves us,” Priest said, holding out a hand to Joe and Alo. “We’ll meet you in Flagstaff.”

The two men shook her hand and smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll get set up and do as you asked, laying the groundwork for the attack just as asked, Chief.”

“Thank you, Joe. We should be there just before dawn on the day after tomorrow,” she said. “Let’s go.”

“We’re not going with them?” Ari asked.

The chief shook her head. “The three of us are going to trail the vampire’s semi and stop with them in Lake Havasu. We can spend the day in the desert and then get back on the road after dark when it’s safe for the vampires to travel. I didn’t want them going it alone even though Elora brought along four human guards who travel with them at all times. If something happens and the Agency figures out what’s going on before we get to our destinations, everyone else will be able to flee day or night but our vampire contingent, including the king will not.”

“You’re right, Chief,” Eoghan said.

Eoghan and Ari watched the vampires climbing into the back of a semi-trailer while Joe’s folks did the same. Eoghan was amused to see several couches and a portable toilet strapped in at the back of the semi, along with overhead lighting and an AC unit. After everyone but the chief, Severin, and Invictus pulled out of the parking lot, Eoghan glanced at the dragons.

“How about you guys?”

“We’re flying,” Invictus said.

“Flying?” Ari asked. “I thought we decided against anyone flying.”

The dragons both grinned, and Severin pointed up. “Flying.” A second later, they’d transformed into giant, winged creatures. Before Eoghan could catch his breath, they’d flapped their iridescent wings and lifted off the ground. They all looked up as the frightening creatures vanished above the rooftops only to come into view a few seconds later, silhouetted against the nearly full moon briefly, before disappearing into the darkness altogether.

“Wow, that’s really something,” their boss said, watching them go.

“I guess that means we’re next,” Ari said. He looked over and met Eoghan’s gaze. “Better go.”

“Yes, I guess it does,” Priest said. “Come on.”

“You’re not going with us” Eoghan asked.

“No, I figured I’d follow you to wherever you’re going to park your car and we can catch up to the vampires after that,” she said.

“Okay, we’re gonna park in the underground parking at the Sherman Oaks galleria so that you can pull in there and collect us,” Eoghan said.

“That’s a fine idea, Sapphire,” the chief said. “See you there shortly.”

He nodded to her, and then they got into the Prius, heading out of Sun Valley, glad that they were about to bring this long-assed case home.