Chapter 38

Outside the castle walls, two syndicate helicopters were standing by. Brien, Cain and I climbed into one, and three enforcers piled into the second.

As I'd told Eden, our motorboat hadn't sabotaged itself. There had been at least one other person on the island. Fortunately, that had occurred to Brien, too, and while he and Twilight were waiting for Cain to come back with the dinghy, Brien had disabled Lemaire's boat.

Whoever it was wouldn't have an easy way off. Yeah, they could swim, but it was a long, energy-draining trip, even for a vampire, and the closest inhabited land was Lilith Island. Most likely, they'd either called for pick up or were swimming in our direction. Either way, we might still be able to capture them before they slithered back into whatever hole they called home.

Cain and I took the seats in the back, and Brien took shotgun next to our pilot, a soldier named Gianna. We donned our headsets and Gianna took us up, the second bird immediately after.

The wind off the ocean buffeted us. Gianna cooly steadied the small aircraft and swung northwest. The other pilot followed, keeping a distance of about a hundred meters. Both pilots flipped on their searchlights.

I leaned forward trying to see something, anything—a swimmer, another boat, even a helicopter. In the seat ahead of me, Brien did the same. He muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?" asked Cain.

"Just wondering how the fuck Lemaire established a lair this close to Lilith Island without us realizing it."

Technically, this was Maritime Syndicate territory. The entire Maritime Provinces were. But our focus was on the mainland, as it had been for Brien's parents before us.

"It wouldn't be a smart use of resources to monitor every uninhabited island," Cain pointed out. "There are too damn many."

He was right. In fact, there were close to three hundred islands within a twenty-five-kilometer range.

"This island was different," said Brien. "Jules took me there once when I was still a kid. He even showed me that lair, but I'd forgotten all about it until tonight. That was our lair, originally—Jules had it built back when he first came to North America. He was planning to establish his base there until he struck the deal for Lilith Island. It was bigger, and a little farther from the mainland. And, of course, Bluebeard's Cove is wider and deeper than any cove around."

"I never stepped foot on it before tonight," Cain said.

I nodded. "Same here."

"Might be worth rebuilding," Brien mused. "A backup lair in case of emergency."

Cain and I murmured agreement, then fell silent, our full attention on the search again.

I'd told Brien and Cain that Lemaire had sold Eden to someone as a blood slave. The vampire who came to mind was Nazaire, the QCS enforcer who'd tried to buy Twilight at a private auction. In fact, the whole setup reeked of him.

Take Twilight and Eden and he'd have the two women most important to us. It was ingenious, really. The SOB could strike a blow at the heart of our syndicate while at the same time feeding his addiction for unwilling females.

"Whoever bought Eden," I said, thinking aloud, "whether it was Nazaire or someone else, he wasn't on the island. Lemaire was taking her somewhere by boat."

"I wish I'd known Lemaire had sold Eden into blood slavery," Brien said. "I'd have kept him around long enough to get a name out of him."

"The buyer could even be on a nearby island," Cain said.

If he's not on Lilith Island itself.

I shook off the stray thought, telling myself not to be paranoid. But Lilith Island wasn't impregnable—it was too large for that. Yeah, we restricted access, but it wasn't a fortress. And even the most secure fortress can be breached. Brien's mother had been slain within sight of Castle Leclerc.

Uneasiness whispered up my spine. Maybe I shouldn't have left Eden.

They can't get to her. She's not even their main target.

Somehow, I wasn't reassured.

Our destination came into view and Gianna spoke into her mic. "Where should I put her down, my lord?"

"There." Brien pointed to the smoldering shed. "Near the fire. We'll start at their lair and work outward. There may have been an exit or tunnel we missed."

"Very good, sir." She touched down on a flat patch of grass about fifty meters from the building's charred remains.

"Keep the motor running," Brien ordered. "We may have to leave in a hurry."

"Roger that."

Brien, Cain and I ripped off our headsets and jumped out. As Cain shut the door, he told Gianna, "This door stays shut, understand? We don't know how powerful this bastard is. He could be lurking in the shadows, waiting to hitch a ride."

"Yes, sir," she said.

The second bird touched down and three enforcers, all vampires, exited. We divided the island into six sections and set off at a run.