Chapter 12

"I'm not the police." Brigid sat against the wall of the trailer, her elbows propped on her knees. "I don't give two shites about your work. I want to make you safe, and I'd like to take care of these bastards so they don't hurt anyone else."

"It wasn't all of them," the woman said quietly. "There were a few who left me alone."

And maybe karma left them alive.

Brigid didn't say it. Talking to victims of assault never got easier for her, but it was something she forced herself to do. She had a responsibility to be there for them. To stand up and listen when they spoke. If they could live it, if they could survive, then she could listen. For them and for the girl she'd been. The girl no one had seen until the monsters called.

So Brigid sat on the floor of a dirty trailer in the middle of the forest and listened to Renee tell her what had happened, smoking a cigarette with the woman after she hadn't picked one up in ten years.

"It was a pretty standard job," Renee began. The guy hired her in Redway and paid in advance. He seemed nice enough, but she should have listened to her gut when he said he wanted to head to his trailer instead of the hotel she suggested.

That had been three weeks ago.

"Renee, I don't want to put any pressure on you, so only answer if you want to." Brigid leaned against the wall, propping her forearms up on her knees while Renee drank a soda Natalie had found in the refrigerator and smoked her cigarette.

The woman was probably in her early thirties but looked a decade older. "What do you need to know?"

"Jamie, the man who found you, he's out here in California, looking for his daughter. She was up on the coast trail hiking with her boyfriend," Brigid said. "She had long curly red hair and a Southern accent. Pretty distinctive. Have you heard any—"

"Yeah." Renee looked out the window and sniffed. "They'd take people pretty often. Maybe… once a week or so? They'd pick people from the hiking trails. They said…" She frowned. "I'm trying to remember. The Russian guy—he never touched me, but he was the scariest—he told these guys to pick people who could ‘handle it.'"

"Handle it?" Brigid asked. "Handle what? Did he say?"

Renee shook her head. "Nah. I tried to stay away from him. He was, like, the scariest guy I ever met."

Brigid frowned. "Why?"

The woman looked confused. "I… I dunno. There was just something about him."

Instinct. Brigid nodded. The woman had good instincts. She knew a predator when she saw one. "Summer went missing about two weeks ago. That would have been a week or so after Jerry took you."

She bobbed her head. "Yeah, I think I heard them. She was real sweet sounding." A light went on behind Renee's eyes. "Yeah, she had a country accent like him. Like the guy who found me. And the guy they took with her, he sounded Mexican. I mean… like a Spanish accent, you know?"

"Did you hear them speaking?"

"Just a little. But the other guys? They all sounded like… regular. Like from around here. Except for the Russian if you count Ivan. So it was easy to hear they had new people."

"I understand. What happened to them?"

"Uh, the Mexican guy, he was hurt or something. They kept arguing about what to do with him, but the girl was saying he'd be fine. You could tell they were pissed at her, but she was just like…" Renee smiled a little. "She was like a pit bull. So the guys argued about it, but then Ivan came in and said he wanted both of them."

"Then what?"

"Nothing." Renee took another drag. "They left. That happened a lot. Ivan would come and take people with him. He usually brought the pot for the guys to sell—at least I'm pretty sure that's what they were doing—and then he'd leave again with any people the guys grabbed."

"And?"

Renee shook her head. "And nothing. If Ivan takes people, you never see them again."

Damn. The knot in Brigid's stomach tightened. "Okay. Thank you, Renee. Can I get your number so I can check on you in a couple of days?"

"Sure, I guess." She took a drag on her cigarette. "Thanks for the smoke. I quit, you know. Like a year ago."

"I quit ten years ago," Brigid said. "Don't tell my aunt. Sometimes you just need one, am I right?"

The woman was staring at the opposite wall. "Yeah."

"Who can we call for you?" Brigid asked softly. "If you want to go to the police, we can."

"No. No cops. The sheriff's deputies up here hate me. Park rangers aren't much better." She leaned her head back against the wall. "I guess my sister. She's up in Shively."

"You gonna be okay if we send Jamie with you? We've got to clean up here and get back to our place before anyone comes looking."

Renee's face went pale. "I heard the shots. And the fighting. Is it bad?"

Brigid shook her head. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. Nothing you're gonna see. I just need to know if Jamie is okay to drive you. I'd trust him to carry my sister or I wouldn't even suggest it."

Renee nodded. "Yeah, that's okay I guess. I can tell him where to go."

"We're a ways away from our vehicles," Brigid said. That was an understatement. "Is there an extra truck around here?"

"Yeah, there's the quads in the shed, but there's an old truck back behind that if you look. I didn't notice it at first 'cause it's kind of covered up with brush, but it works, 'cause that's how Jerry picked me up."

"Thanks." She patted Renee's knee. "Give me a minute to talk to the boys and I'll be right back."

Brigid walked out, told Jamie about the truck, and gave him the news about Renee's sister in Shively. He nodded; then he and Ross went out to get the vehicle running while Brigid looked for Carwyn and Natalie.

The Mackenzies had thrown carpets or dragged furniture over the worst of the bloodstains in the front room where Carwyn had broken the door. She could take Renee out that way to avoid the remnants of violence.

"Natalie?"

The redhead pulled open a set of accordion doors that separated the front room from the den. "Looking at the carnage?"

"This place is a mess." Brigid peered at the bodies in the corner.

"Yeah," Natalie said. "Luckily, there's enough pot in the kitchen that the anonymous tip we can call in will make sure they all stay in prison for a good long time. I haven't seen a hint of a permit around here, so you know they weren't following the law. The guns alone will send them away."

"Can't do that." Brigid shook her head. "No police on this one."

Natalie stared at her. "What are you saying?"

"The police find this place, they'll probably get the woman's fingerprints. I don't want her mixed up in this. She's already said she doesn't want the police called on what they did to her." She nodded to the four gagged and tied men. "She confirmed that these are the men who took Summer and Dani along with any number of hikers from the trail. They obviously know about vampires because they've been working with Ivan." She turned to Grigor. "I say we take them to Katya. Let her decide what to do with them."

Grigor nodded. "Sure. We can take them to Katya. Or we can let the mountain vampire kill them. He would do it quickly."

The tied-up men watching them went deathly pale.

"That's right," Natalie said. "I bet Ross would enjoy it too. Work a little tension out of his system."

"We may need information from them, so I don't want to kill them yet." She kicked the foot of one gagged man. "Oh, darling husband?"

Carwyn glanced at her. "My love."

"Get these four on the trail back to the forest. Bj?rn can watch them with Jamie today. We'll sort out what we want to do with them tonight. But we need to get going; we're running out of night."

Carwyn saluted. "Your wish, our command." He nodded down the hall. "Take care of the young woman. We can head back with Bj?rn, and Grigor can wait for you and Ross."

"Sounds like a plan."

Summer ran along the rocks that lined the creek, tears pouring down her face. She could hear the men shouting and kicking at Dani behind her, but she forced herself to keep running.

Follow the water.

Find people.

Get help.

If she could find help, she could find her way back.

Summer, run!

She ran, and she didn't look back. She jogged through the shallow stream, her boots becoming soaked with freezing water. Her legs were heavy and her throat burned.

Follow the water.

Run, Summer.

Keep going.

She grew hopeful when the sky began to lighten. Daytime brought people and made the monsters hide. In the distance, she saw a bridge over the creek. A junction where the water met the road? The best of both worlds.

As she approached, she crawled up the riverbank, watching over her shoulder for any hint of the guards. She had no idea where she was, but she'd been running for at least an hour.

When she saw a truck approaching from the south, she crawled up the side. Coming from the south was opposite of where the farm was. She stood in the center of the road and waved her arms.

Help.

Help me. Help Dani.

"Help." Tears poured down her grubby cheeks; her face was so hot she thought she might be running a fever. "Please."

The truck slowed down, and Summer fell to her knees. It would be a farmer or a tourist. Anyone was better than—

"Well, well."

Her eyes shot up when she heard Ivan's voice. "No!"

He smiled and cocked his head. "You are a resourceful girl."

Summer sprang to her feet and ran, but Ivan was immortal. She was in his grasp before she could even let out a proper scream.

"No!" She pounded on the arm that wrapped around her waist and held her. It was as effective as beating on a rock. "No, no, no, nooooo!"

"What a mess you've made." He dragged her at his side, kicking and screaming. Then he threw her into the back of the truck, slammed the cover down, and she heard a lock click.

All the things she knew about breaking out of a car trunk were useless in the back of a pickup. She kicked up at the cover with all the force she could muster, but it wasn't enough. When they arrived back at the farm, she heard Ivan get out of the truck and knew it was hopeless.

"Hey, boss. You find her?"

"I had to loop back around the river, but yes."

"What do you want to do with her?"

There was a long silence.

"For now, just leave her in the truck. Where's the other one?"

Another silence that made Summer's heart stop.

"Yeah, Ricky kind of lost his temper with that one. The kid beat up his hand real bad, and he has that club…"

"What are you saying? Did the buffoon kill him? That one was valuable."

"Yeah… He's gone."

Pain ripped through Summer's chest, leaving her unable to breathe. Unable to move. Unable to even cry.

No, no, no, no, no!

"I'm real sorry, Ivan."

"A lot of idiots you are!" Ivan muttered curses in Russian. "Do you think I'm keeping them for a hobby?" Ivan's voice was acid. "For some… collection? You fucking idiot!" The sound of a slap cracked the air. "Don't let this one die. Check on her every few hours and make sure she doesn't overheat."

"Yes, boss."

Summer curled into herself, forgetting the blisters on her feet and the bruises over her body. Everything in her felt cold. Dani was dead.

Dani. My beautiful Dani.

I shouldn't have left you.

I never should have left.

"Summer?" Ivan's voice was patronizing when he patted his hand on the truck cover. "I'm very sorry about your boyfriend, but this was your fault for trying to escape. Behave today while I'm gone."

Dani.

She had nothing left. Nothing left to fight for. Nothing left to live for.

Dani, Dani, Dani.

"Summer, do you hear me? Be good today."

I'm going to kill you, Ivan.

Summer closed her eyes and rolled over, praying for the oblivion of sleep.

I promise, Dani. I promise.

I will kill him.