Moon Sworn (Riley Jenson Guardian 9)

"And if they were planning to kill us at the end of it, I guess it's probably easier to waste my cash than theirs."

"Probably. If Harris can trace the phone number for us, that'll at least give us a starting location." Though I very much doubted the phone number would relate to wherever they were keeping Lyndal. That would be a dumb move, and whoever was behind this wasn't dumb. Arrogant, yes, overconfident, probably, but not dumb.

"We've still got to get her out of there without them suspecting."

"We will."

"I don't think you and I have enough firepower to stop them."

"I don't intend for it to be just you and me."

He glanced at me. "Your brother?"

"If I can remember him, and find him, trust me, we won't need a fucking army."

He didn't say anything to that, but the sliver of fear whisked through the darkness again. Silence fell. I kept the truck thundering through the night, but it was well after one before we got back into Dunedan.

I swung the truck down a side street and drove straight to the police station. I expected the place to be lit up, but it was as dark as a grave.

Trepidation slithered through me. I pulled up by the curb rather than the driveway and threw the gears into neutral.

"He's not there by the look of it," Evin said.

"But he should be. He had two captives that needed to be locked up. One of them was a vamp." And Harris, despite his extraordinary abilities, wasn't used to dealing with vamps. I shouldn't have left him alone.

And yet if I hadn't, Evin might now be dead and I wouldn't be one step closer to much-needed answers.

I peered through the side window, scanning the building's windows and doors. There were no broken windows, no smashed locks or doors. Everything looked in order.;If this is someone's idea of a good time, then they are seriously warped."

"Yeah, he is," I said, and again heard that smooth, cultured voice telling me to enjoy the time I had remaining. Damn it, I needed to remember!

Pinpoint pricks of light appeared in the distance. There was a car on the horizon, and it was approaching fast.

Denny's backup plan, perhaps?

"What's the cell phone reception like up here?" I asked, flexing my fingers against the wheel. It didn't do a whole lot to ease the tension suddenly rolling through me.

"It's pretty shitty, actually," he said. "Why?"

I nodded toward the growing light points. "What are the odds of another car being on this particular road at this time of night? The road only goes to the whaling station ruins, and it's not exactly a good time to be viewing them, is it?"

"They had a CB radio in one of the other trucks - I heard them talking on it - but there's no way help would get here this soon."

"Unless someone was already nearby. How far does the pack's land boundary extend?"

"I have no idea."

We drove on, watching those twin specks of light grow brighter and brighter. Tension crawled through my limbs, and I was gripping the steering wheel so hard my hands were beginning to cramp. I flexed my fingers and forced myself to relax.

The lights flicked down to low beam as the car drew nearer. I pulled over to the edge of the road, allowing the other car plenty of room. He repeated the action and we passed each other quickly and without incident. I had a brief glimpse of a white face, dark hair, and sharp, arrogant nose and knew, without a doubt, who it was.

"Shit," Evin said. "That was Mike West."

"There was another murder in town tonight," I said, voice grim. "I wonder why he's here and not helping Harris."

"Maybe someone told them about Denny's plans."

"Maybe." But West would have had to have left Dunedan not long after me to get here this soon. And while I had no doubt that someone had been watching our villa, I very much doubted whether they'd have gone running to either Harris or West the minute I'd disappeared.