Hit List (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 20)

EDWARD'S PHONE RANG. He slipped it from his pocket. "Forrester here."

I heard the murmur of a man's voice on the other end but couldn't tell more than that. Edward made little um noises, and then finally said, "We're ten minutes out. Wait for us."

He listened some more and then turned to me, phone still to his ear. "The psychic has pinpointed the vampires as very close to the first kill site here. Close enough to find them and stake them before full dark. Some of the other police are pushing Newman to be a man and go into the woods before we get there. Apparently the fact that they think we're fucking has cost both you and me credibility."

"They're going in with SWAT, then?" I said.

"They didn't think the vampires would be in the woods. They didn't put out a full call, and by the time they get out here to the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere, it'll be dark."

"The vampires are still asleep, but the wereanimals aren't. There is at least one wereanimal near the vampires, maybe more, I'll guarantee that."

Edward handed me the phone and started driving fast enough to make the narrow tree-lined road exciting, but not in a good way. I held on to the oh-shit handle and hoped it didn't earn its nickname.

Tilford said, "Why are you so sure that the wereanimals are near the vampires?"

"Because they are their animals to call, which means their main job is to help their vampire masters. If the vampires are just buried in the leaves in a wood, then no way would their wereanimals leave them totally unguarded during daylight hours. A large animal could uproot them and expose them to sunlight. It's just too dangerous to leave a vampire alone like that. You saw how fast he was, Tilford. Do you really want to go into the woods around here with only a handful of marshals and local PD?"

"No," he said.

"Then don't," I said.

"You know if the rest of them go in, I can't stay behind."

"Don't let them bully Newman, then; protect him, damn it, and protect the rest of them even if it's from themselves."

"The other marshals don't think you and Forrester being here will make that much difference. They'd rather not lose the daylight."

"Do you believe that less than ten minutes will make that big a difference?" I asked. Edward took a curve and with the phone in one hand I had to brace my leg and hold on to the handle very tightly. I muttered "Jesus" under my breath.

"What's wrong?" Tilford asked.

"Ted's trying to cut down on our arrival time. We'll be there really soon if we don't go off the road."

"We won't go off the road," Edward said, eyes still on the road as he hit the gas harder, and I tried to pretend I believed him.

"I'd rather have you both with us, but neither of you is exactly everyone's favorite person right now."

"Because everyone thinks we slept together?"

"I didn't say that," he said.

"Ted said that's why he lost his street cred with some of the marshals. I know my rep was already trashed."

"I'm sorry," he said, which meant it was the truth.

"They're just jealous," I said. I fought not to make one of those girly squeak noises as the side of the SUV brushed tree limbs on the side of the road.

"What?" Tilford asked.

"Either they want to know why I won't sleep with them, or they hate the fact that I fucked someone and I still kill more monsters than they do."

"I don't think the first, but the second, maybe."

"It's a guy thing, Tilford; it's not that they really want to sleep with me, it's just if one guy is, then why not them? It's just a fucking stupid guy thing."

He was quiet for a few breaths. "We're going in."

"We're almost there, I swear."

"If the thing that hurt Karlton is in there, the two of you won't make that big a difference, Blake."

"You'd be surprised," I said.

"What can you do that we can't?"

I didn't know what to say to that, but finally settled on, "I can sense wereanimals and vampires sometimes."

"So can the psychic," he said.

"But can she shoot them?" I asked.

He gave a small chuckle. "Probably not. We're going in."

"Tilford, please wait."

Edward half-yelled, "We're almost there!" The SUV skittered around a corner and then Edward slammed on the brakes so hard that only my braced leg and the desperate grip on the oh-shit handle kept me from kissing the dashboard.

"What the fuck, Ed . . . Ted?"

"What's wrong?" Tilford asked.

"There's a truck in the middle of the road," I said.

"A wreck?" Tilford asked.

The truck was upside down, the cab partially crushed, some of the windows broken as if it had flipped. "Yeah."

"Any injured?"

Edward and I kept staring at the truck. "No one we can see," I said.

"If there's injuries we can have one of the locals call it in," Tilford said.

Edward's hand was on the door handle, but he wasn't getting out. I touched his arm. "We'll call you back," I said, and handed Edward his phone. He put it away, and we looked at the wreck, and then we both started looking around at the trees so close to the road.

"The truck doesn't look right," I said.

"There isn't room to flip a truck that size on this road," Edward said. "It should be in the trees, maybe on its side, but there's no way to flip it."

"Yeah," I said.

I undid my seatbelt. Edward's was already undone. I moved the MP5 around on its sling so it was in my hands and ready. Edward had his FN P90 in his hands. But he dropped one hand off to sort of caress the M4 where it sat against his leg.

"Debating between guns?" I asked, as I scanned the trees on my side.

"The P90 from the car, but once we hit the woods I'll switch to the M4." I knew without turning around that he was scanning his side of the road.

"Mine's still at the gun shop being modified," I said. All I could see was trees, lots of trees.

"I'd have done it for you," he said.

"You're in New Mexico; it's a little far to go for gun repair," I said.

"I thought you said it was being modified, not repaired."

"Yeah."

"You getting the specs I suggested?" he asked; his voice had gone very quiet.

"Yeah," I said, and my voice was doing the same thing. We were talking, but we were also listening. You always did that, even though with wereanimals our most likely bad guy we'd probably never hear them coming. You still strain for it, and try to listen; all the while your eyes are almost hurting because you're looking so hard. I tried to let my gaze relax and just look for movement, just look for anything that didn't look like trees. I needed a shape that was out of place.

"I don't see anything," Edward said, finally.

"Me either," I said.

"Did they do this to keep us from going in with the other marshals, or is this an ambush just for us?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Three choices," he said.

I kept scanning the trees. The shadows were thick in them. We were maybe an hour and a half from full dark. I said, "We get out and hike to join the hunt, or we stay put, or we back up and get out of here."

"Yep," he said, and I didn't have to turn around to know he was scanning his section as hard as I was scanning mine.

"Can't just stay put," I said.

"No," he said.

"Either they're going to jump us the minute we get away from our truck, or they'll wait until we start hiking through the woods toward the other marshals."

"That's what I'd do," he said.

"Shit," I said.

"There are moments when I hate the fact we carry badges," he said.

"Because otherwise we could just back up and try to leave," I said.

"Something like that," he said.

I had a thought. "What if we back up like we are leaving?"

"You mean that if they think we're running, it will force them to show themselves."

"Yeah," I said.

"Good idea." I felt him turn in the seat, but he said, "I'd rather you drive and I shoot, actually."

"I would have had us in the ditch two or three times, Edward. I can shoot, but you're a better driver. The question is, are we actually driving, or is it all about shooting?"

"Are you admitting I'm a better shot?"

"From a distance, with a rifle, you are."

"Belt yourself in; this isn't about distance, and we may need to drive."

I did what he said, and was now trying to keep my attention on the entire area. Which wasn't possible, but Edward had to drive, so I'd do my best. I actually put one knee in the seat, raising myself up and trying to steady myself as I scanned the road, the woods on either side.

"Behind us, Anita, make sure they don't cut us off."

I did what he said, but I said, "We're not really leaving, right?"

"We have to make it look good," he said.

I couldn't argue with that, but I didn't want to leave our fellow police on their own in the shadow-filled woods. I did my best to keep an eye on everything as he backed up, at a speed that I wouldn't have even attempted on this road, especially going backward. I put a hand on the headrest to steady myself and the MP5, because it would be a bitch to fall and accidentally shoot Edward. I'd never tried to aim and keep watch on this much area, while the vehicle I was in was speeding backward down a narrow road. My pulse was in my throat, and a little voice screamed in my head, There's too much. I can't keep an eye on it all. I shoved the doubts away and held on, and just had to believe that if the time came I'd be able to shoot the bad guys.

I saw movement to the right, but to aim I had to come to my knees in the seat. The seatbelt was around my legs and officially useless. I prayed that Edward wouldn't have to slam on the brakes, and wrapped one arm around the headrest to help steady me and the gun. Whatever I'd seen was gone. There was nothing but trees, and the road, and a fallen tree in the middle of the road. It took me a blink to realize what I'd seen, and then I yelled, "Tree in the road!"

Edward slammed on the brakes. I clung to the seat desperately, no longer worried about shooting, just about not going through the windshield. The car skidded to a stop and we had that second of breathless silence while the blood roared in our ears, and the body feels too full of blood, as if the adrenaline makes everything feel like more.

Edward said, "That wasn't there five minutes ago."

"I know," I said. I was back to aiming the gun again, trying to find something to shoot. "We're boxed in, now what?" I asked, cheek snugged up against the MP5.

"It's an ambush," Edward said. "The best cover we have is the car, so we stay put. We make them force us out into the open."

I undid my seatbelt so it didn't tangle my legs as I sat back down. "They've used swords up to this point; let's hope they don't go all modern on our asses."

"Agreed." He got his phone out as he continued to scan the area. He answered my look. "I'm calling Tilford, because if this is a trap for you then it's a trap for all of us, and you're the only one they want alive."

I realized he was right; they wanted me alive, and that was that. "Shit, Edward."

"Yeah." He spoke into his phone, "Tilford, it's a trap. They've blocked the road that leads out."

I heard Tilford's voice a little louder this time, but still couldn't quite make out the words.

"Wrecked a truck and pulled a dead tree across the road." Edward listened and made small noises, and then he turned to me. "They've found a vampire dressed in full gear complete with mask. Newman has already staked him and they're about to decapitate him."

I shook my head. "They wouldn't have left their masters alone and unprotected, Edward. They may want me, but not enough to risk their masters' death."

"Tilford, check the teeth," Edward said.

Almost a yell from Tilford, but Edward said, "If there's modern dentistry, then it's not the vamps we're looking for."

I thought about that. "Not necessarily," I said. "Chipped teeth might still happen, I don't know for sure, but no cavities. Check for cavities."

Edward repeated that. We waited for Tilford to do it. We kept the guns ready, but the lack of movement and the growing shadows were beginning to get on my nerves. I realized that they had us boxed in; all they had to do was wait for nightfall.

"Shit," I said.

"What?" Edward asked me.

"They're waiting for dark."

He nodded, and then spoke to Tilford. "Four modern cavities; then it may be a vampire but it's not one of the ones we're looking for. It's a decoy, Tilford."

Edward hung up, and then said, "Tilford believes us."

"What about the rest of them?"

"Not sure."

"Edward, we can't just sit here until it gets dark - then we'll have not just the one or two wereanimals but both of their vampire masters. The odds are better now."

"Are we heading to the other marshals?"

"More guns are better," I said.

"They only want you alive, Anita. The rest of us are just hostages, or collateral damage."

"If I go in the opposite direction of everyone else, they may not attack anyone but me."

"You can't fight them all by yourself, and you can't walk out of here after full dark."

I took a deep breath in and let it out slow. "I know."

He studied my face for a moment. "Where you go, I go."

"Yeah, but what about everyone else? Do we move toward them, or away? Do we hope the bad guys follow us, or risk that they'll go to the other cops without us there to help them, and either slaughter them or take them as hostages to make me do what they want like they did with Karlton?"

"You're overthinking this," he said.

"Okay, then tell me what to think."

I watched his eyes go distant, cold, and knew he'd shoved all the emotion away so he could make his decision based on nothing but facts. It was a nifty trick if you could pull it off. I'd never managed to be as dispassionate as Edward.

"I think they'll follow you. So we lead them away."

"Okay," I said.

"We have to kill the wereanimals before the vampires rise," he said.

"I know."

"We have just over an hour before they rise."

"I know," I said.

We had a moment to look at each other and have a thousand things pass between us. There were no words, no need for them. Edward put his hand on the door handle; I did the same on my side. Edward counted down, "One, two, three." We got out.