Chapter Three

Madeline's Albuquerque Bunker

Saturday, 9:00 AM

Maddie had finished her short call back to the villa in only a couple minutes. In this case, no news wasn't ideal. But it changed nothing. During the call and after, she'd watched Quinn through the small panel of one-way glass built into the wall.

She'd had nearly two decades with Bella listening to her friend's stories about this vampire. Bella had idolized him, maybe even loved him romantically at one point. Though according to her friend, Quinn had never even noticed. They'd been together for most of eight hundred years, and he'd only ever treated her like a little sister.

Those stories had perhaps gone a long way to changing her opinion about vampires in general. They'd offered secondhand evidence that Bella and her gentle nature were not just an anomaly. That it was possible for vampires to be positive influences in a world filled with people they could easily view as little more than prey.

Watching Quinn, she felt a bit awed to be in his presence. Sure, she was no slouch, but he felt different, stronger than any other individual that she'd ever encountered. Maybe Bella's little sister perspective had worn off on her a too much.

Looking at him as he was, he didn't look any different from an average human. Well, not exactly average. He looked like he belonged in a board room, or perhaps leading a nation. Was that the meaning of a power suit? He wasn't flexing or flashing fang, but still looked like he was in control of every particle in his world.

And he'd had that same look when tied to a chair with her magical cords. That wasn't how he should have looked when held captive and supposedly helpless.

She sighed. She could watch him for hours and not figure out his secrets. She might as well get this mission started. She reentered the room but stopped when his flashing green gaze locked on her.

"Welcome back."

"Yeah." She stayed in the front of the fairly large room, putting a long table between them and busying her hands with sorting out the various experimental materials.

"Did you learn anything new?"

Even her sharp eyes hadn't seen him move. But he was beside her in a second. She was rather proud of herself for not jumping at his fast approach. It probably helped that he didn't smell aggressive. His body language too, was relaxed as he set the handful of cords onto the table. The same ones that she'd used to restrain him.

Didn't he hold a grudge over the mistreatment?

"How's your wound?"

"Closed already. Would have been almost instantaneous if it hadn't been for the silver."

"Good." She picked up the knife and slid it back into her belt sheath.

"I suppose I wouldn't make much of a partner if I'm not healthy enough to pull my weight."

"Exactly. With that in mind, I believe you should contact your people and see what help they can offer." His agency might be able to track down more information than Bella's family had, which was damn near nothing.

"I'm not sure how much you know about Division Eight, but they won't be able to offer much help right now."

"Are your big bad werewolf pups not very useful?" The comment slipped out before she could stop herself. She hadn't meant it to sound so bitchy.

Seconds ticked by before he responded. "They are young, but still very capable."

"If they are that good, why not use them?" More manpower would certainly be helpful. Even if they were just on tracking and intel.

"I don't intend to use my children like tools." His steady, cold expression left zero room for flexibility. "As you said, they are young, and I won't knowingly put them in a position that is so obviously above their power level. They are far too precious for that."

She didn't have a response to his emotional declaration. His children, he referred to the young werewolves as his children. Had her suggestion pissed him off that much? Did it make it seem like she thought of his family members as disposable? That hadn't been her intention.

"We do need to form some kind of plan, I suppose." He leaned against the table, looking sexy enough to make her move a step further away. He didn't let it phase him, just reclaimed half the distance. "Where are we now?"

"Guess you did miss the drive."

"Indeed."

"We're outside Albuquerque at a small campground that I own."

"I didn't expect it to be so close to my home." He looked around. "Seems like you've had this location set up for a while. Seems a little too convenient. Enough to be suspicious."

She knew what he was asking and didn't see any reason to hide the truth from him. "A few years ago, I bought and renovated this location exactly because it was close to your agency. After hearing stories about you, I felt you and yours were worth keeping an eye on." Okay so it wasn't the complete truth. She'd set up her little secret lair more than a couple decades ago. Back then she'd still been fairly sure she'd have to eventually eliminate Quinn. Probably Georgie and Bella too.

She'd been so untrusting back then. Nearly her whole life had been spent hunting down and stopping vampires. Never before had she met one like Bella. Though… now that she looked back on her past with more honesty, she'd never really tried to see them as individuals. Never even considered that they might be anything other than murderers that needed executed.

"I have several similar locations. The income isn't huge from the rental cabins but does keep them financially in the black. And having safe houses scattered around the country is useful for a lot of reasons."

"The more I talk with you, the more questions I have."

She wasn't in the mood to share her secrets just yet. "Save that for later. Let's focus on finding Bella for now."

"I won't ask my team to put themselves in danger, but I don't see any harm in making contact with them, so they at least know I'm not needing rescued."

She nodded in agreement. It wouldn't be very helpful to have his pups chasing after them intent on trying to save him.

"Did you bring my phone?"

She moved to the shelves beside the door. Opening one cabinet, she took out a small box full of his belongings. "Here." The cabinet was lined with lead to block out any kind of tracking device that might have been among his things. She'd considered stripping him and putting his clothes in there too.

He casually put on his expensive looking Rolex and set the phone on the table. The rest was just a silver lighter and some pocket change, which he slipped back into his pocket.

"Need privacy to make your call?"

He shook his head and started dialing. She could hear the quiet ring of the line.

"Mr. LaFontaine!" The young male voice was loud enough to be clearly heard.

"It's okay, Joseph. I need you to do me a couple favors. Can you do that?"

This time the response was almost too quiet for even her sharp hearing to pick up.

"Good. There is no need to bother Theresa and Deven. I'm sure Zeven and Harley are busy with the twins. I want you to do this yourself if you think you can." Another long pause while Quinn waited for the young man to reply. "It's not too complicated. I know you've been getting training on Theresa's equipment. I'm sure you can handle some simple searches."

She smiled at how carefully Quinn was speaking to the young man. Her files hadn't included a man named Joseph as part of their agency. No that wasn't right. Joseph was the name of the victim of one of the vampire killings. She remembered he'd been listed as missing.

"Thank you, Joseph. If I give you a list of names, I'd like you to run all the basic searches to see if you can pick up any indication of travel plans. Start with nighttime plane fares beginning two nights ago out of LA." A slight smile flitted across Quinn's lips. "Ready to write them down? Good. Belladonna Rousseau, Barbara Russell, Berta Grande, Bella Reigh, and any combination of those that you can think of."

"Tell him to check for Babett Faine, too." She added one more to his list. She'd made up the name for a weekend escape that the two had taken a few years back.

"Try Babett Faine, as well." He grinned while adding the addition to the list. "I know you can do this. I'm sorry to ask this of you when I'm sure you're already tired. But please do your best. Get me as much information as you can by sundown."

He exchanged a few more words of support and then clicked the phone off.

"He sounds young."

"Joseph would have been twenty-two years old if he hadn't been killed and turned into a vampire last year. Now he'll be twenty-one forever."

"And you took him in?" The idea boggled her mind. He'd been involved in tons of vampire cases over the last few decades. He'd seen how much damage they could cause, especially the young hungry ones. And his response was to bring the fledgling into his home.

"Someone had to accept him if he was going to have any chance of continuing with what is left of his life."

"I wasn't criticizing. I think it is admirable that you are trying to show him a way to live with his new condition." This might be how she thought of it now, but in her past, she would have put the boy down like a rabid dog and never even looked back or wondered if there was a better way. To her, he would have been lost the moment he was turned.

"I just can't give up on them that easily. It can be a heart-breaking journey, and many can't find their way even with a lighthouse and a guide."

"But you still try." Was it his compassion or optimism that let him go to such lengths?

"Even one success is worth the effort."

"Will that one, will Joseph make it?" She couldn't help imagining that it was a long shot at best. But maybe…

"If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on yes. But he still has many challenges to overcome."

"I don't think I'd bet against him if he has that much support day to day." She finished sorting through the small bottles that held outdated anti-vampire knock out sprays. She'd improved on this formula several times already. She moved that box back onto the shelves.

"I've been meaning to ask. What is that fragrance that you wear? It seems to be a mix of lavender and something else."

She bit back a chuckle. She'd started wearing the scent many years ago after Bella said she smelled tasty. "Sorry, it's a trade secret." The truth was it was specially made to disguise her scent. To keep her from smelling tasty to vampires. The lavender had been added to the formula after visiting Quinn's home for the first time. His plants had been in full bloom and the scent had touched something deep inside her. The addition had made the perfume far more appealing. While still maintaining its anti-vampire nature.

"Fine, don't tell me. I'll figure it out eventually."

"You can try." She was a little bit on edge. Was it because he seemed to be flirting with her? Even if it was rather fun to verbally spar with him, could she keep it up for hours?

Because here they were stuck in the bunker while they waited to hear more from Quinn's baby vamp. Who knew how long they'd be waiting, and it wasn't as if they could go for a walk outside.

"I suppose we might as well settle in for a wait." He turned away and started wandering around the room. "If you have some cards, we can at least entertain ourselves."

"Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Thanks to your drugs I'm feeling quite refreshed. I guess Bella must have told you about my card shark days."

In fact, she had, but she was pretty good with cards as well. Battling it out with Quinn would likely be quite enjoyable. "Unfortunately, I don't have any cards here."

"That's disappointing."

She did have another option though. "Have you ever played Wari?"

"I haven't. Is it difficult to learn?"

"It isn't. The game is based on counting." Truthfully it did take some strategy and the purpose was to dominate your opponent which her wolf spirit enjoyed. "Pull a stool over to the counter here and I'll show you how to play."