Hunting Season (Aurora Sky (22 page)

Before I could finish cutting him loose, the soles of Jared's shoes flew at my face. I screamed. Pain exploded over my skull. The dagger fell from my hand.

The world went momentarily dark. Nearby, Tommy barked. The noise increased, turning into a snarl as he closed in.

I blinked the spots away in time to see that Jared had leapt out of the trunk. As Tommy bounded toward him, Jared kicked the revolver then dagger under his car. Tommy grabbed him by the pant leg, teeth bared, snarling like a maniac. The friendly retriever suddenly sounded like Cujo.

“Call off the animal,” Jared yelled.

The whole front side of my face throbbed and my heart raced. I sucked in a deep breath, pulling oxygen into my brain.

My heart beat like a jackhammer against my ribcage. I couldn't have called Tommy off even if I wanted to. Speech escaped me. Jared better not have caused brain damage. He'd already killed off hundreds of brain cells for sure.

My head hurt, my heart was all over the place, and my weapons were now beneath Jared's car.

Jared tried to move. Tommy snarled with renewed rigor, his jaw not easing up. Jared screeched.

“Raven!”

I breathed in and out evenly, giving my heart and head a moment to ease up.

“Good boy, Tommy,” I said, taking my time. “Now drop it.”

I still had to get Jared to the exchange. The sooner he was out of my life, the better.

Tommy didn't let go. If only Dante could see his loyal companion—the golden retriever did him proud. Maybe when we returned to town, Dante could start a K-9 division of the agency. Right, since Melcher was so pet friendly.

I patted my hand against my leg. “Tommy, come here.”

Tommy released Jared's leg and trotted over to my side, eyes still on Jared. He smacked his lips.

Jared leaned over and inspected his leg.

There was no way to tell if Tommy had bitten through flesh. It wasn't like Jared could get rabies. He probably already had it.

Jared straightened and scowled. “Did you have that dog inside my car?” he demanded.

“You can send me the cleaning bill later.” Like never. “We're moving over to the Subaru, anyway.”

With the tips of my fingers, I massaged my forehead. Jared kept his eyes on Tommy.

“You're not winning any points here, Raven.”

“I just want to get Dante back. You were going to let Valerie come. She would have put his life at risk.”

Jared pursed his lips. “Maybe, but you're still not off the hook.”

“Let's just get going,” I said.

“What about weapons?” Jared asked, eyes moving to the back tire of his car.

Yeah, right. Like I would turn my back to him and crawl under there.

“Take my pistol,” Jared said, nodding his head at his car. “It's in the trunk, already loaded.”

Jared had a loaded gun with him inside the trunk? Wonderful. I thought Noel had done a thorough search of the trunk before dumping him inside. She'd found the revolver and ammo and left them on the passenger's side. How did she miss a pistol?

“I prefer the revolver,” I said.

“Do you want to keep wasting time or do you want to get going?” Jared asked impatiently.

Now who was eager to get to Giselle?

Giving myself a wide berth as I passed Jared, I peeked inside—one eye on my captive the entire time.

“There's nothing in there,” I said, quickly stepping away from the trunk.

No way was I leaning over the trunk where Jared could push me inside and slam the door. Fool me once.

“Hidden beneath the lining,” Jared said impatiently.

I looked from the trunk to his condescending sneer.

“Step away from the trunk,” I said.

Jared smirked and backed away slowly. “Now who has trust issues?”

“Can you blame me?”

Once he was a fair distance away, I found the loose section of fabric in the trunk and pulled back. In a compartment beneath there was a pistol just as Jared had said there'd be. A quick scan didn't come up with anything other than the gun. I snatched it and turned to Jared.

“Okay, I see the gun, but got any ammo?”

“I told you it's already fully loaded.”

“What if I need to load it again?”

“It only takes one bullet to kill. Tick-tock, Raven.”

More like a ticking time bomb.

Tommy's ears perked up as though awaiting my decision. I took a deep breath.

“Let's go get Dante.”

I opened the passenger's door of the Subaru for Jared. He shook his head.

“She could have eyes on us as we approach the final destination. I'll sit in back as though I were your captive.”

You are my captive
, I thought.

After I opened the back door, Jared slipped in—his lips pressed together tight. I shut the door behind him and moved around to the other side.

“Come on, Tommy.”

My golden wingman could keep an eye in back on Jared while I drove. He trotted around the car, following me to the rear door behind the driver's seat. When I opened it, Jared scowled. “I don't want that animal anywhere near me.”

“Too bad.” I turned to Tommy. “Inside, boy.”

As he jumped in, Jared said, “Keep your teeth to yourself.”

Once we were all inside the car, I leaned over and opened the glove box. There was a cell phone inside, just as Giselle said there'd be. It was an old-fashioned flip phone. A note was taped to it with a number and the words CALL THIS NUMBER in the same neat block writing she'd used to pen my name on the envelope she left at mom's French class.

I settled back into the driver's seat, flipped the phone open, and dialed.

Once she picked up, I asked, “What's next?”

“Now head back to Anchorage.”

I squeezed the phone in my hand wishing it was Giselle's neck.

Drive back to Anchorage! She had to be kidding.

I refrained from spouting profanity into the phone. She was playing it cool, and so would I.

“Got a particular location for me?” I asked.

“I'll call when you get closer. Make sure to answer the phone.” With that Giselle ended the call.

I slammed the phone shut. “Damnit!”

Jared chuckled from the backseat. Glad he found all this so amusing. It wasn't as if he had to worry about rescuing a friend. All this was just a game to him. A hunt. The more difficult Giselle made things, the more he probably liked it.

I started the car, threw it into reverse, and zoomed backwards in a tight arch. Once pointed forward, I pressed the pedal and gunned it forward. I was sick of dragging this thing out. I was tired of games.

Jared chuckled louder. “I see my darling little demon daughter is getting under your skin.”

“She has me driving back to Anchorage,” I said, waving one hand at the windshield. “Five hours of driving for nothing. Why would she do that?”

“Her attempt to throw me off,” Jared said. “She knows I'll be trying to figure out her next move and is hoping to turn me around.”

“Have you figured out her next move?”

“I know my next move, and that's all that matters,” Jared said. “It doesn't matter where she takes us. Today she dies.”

Wrong. Today Jared died, and before he did, I wanted to get as much information out of him as I could.

“Why didn't Melcher tell me I was a vampire from the beginning?” I asked. “I mean, obviously agents have to figure it out at some point when they notice they're not aging.”

Jared folded his arms. “You're awfully curious. You know what they say about curiosity, don't you?”

“Yeah, well, I'm not a cat.”

“No, Raven, you're not,” Jared said solemnly. “You won't age, but don't forget, you only get one life.”

I thought that was the end, that Jared wouldn't answer my question, but a few minutes later he spoke.

“All recruits are on probation for the first couple years. It gives the agency time to evaluate your performance. If it doesn't go well, there's no sense telling you what you are.”

“What do you mean ‘if it doesn't go well'? What happens to recruits who don't perform?”

“Oh, them. Into the slammer,” Jared said in a tone that instantly conveyed how little he cared.

“You mean into a cell to be used during initiation?” I demanded. My stomach twisted. That could have been me, or Noel, or Dante locked away if we hadn't performed to Melcher's satisfaction. Right now, that was Josslyn and Henry.

“Not at first,” Jared said. “First we get them hooked on blood. A week before a new recruit's initiation, we deny them that blood—get them good and thirsty until they're desperate enough to attack.”

Psychos!

“What happens if an agent freaks out when you tell them what they are?” I asked.

Jared sniffed. “Rarely happens. If agents make it that far, they've already seen and done enough to numb them down. By then I think they know deep down that they're a vampire.”

“But what if they don't want to work for the agency anymore? Maybe they don't want to hunt their own kind.”

Jared snorted. “Retirement is not an option.”

“What if they make a run for it? Did Melcher implant a tracking device inside us? A kill switch?”

My grip on the wheel tightened. My heart beat wildly with anticipation. At the moment, I felt fortunate for the opportunity to get answers. I dreaded them at the same time.

There was no answer from the backseat. I could feel Jared's eyes boring a hole into the back of my head. Maybe I'd pushed it too far—made him suspicious. It didn't matter. If Giselle was truly clever, she'd take him out. I may have dangled the bait, but she was the one setting the trap. I had no idea what we were walking into. Before it all went down, I needed to get as much information out of Jared as I could.

I risked glancing in the rearview mirror. Jared's teeth gleamed when I did.

“Thinking of making a run for it, Raven?”

“Yeah, right,” I said without a second thought. “Where would I go? What would I do? How would I support myself?”

“At least you're a rationalist.”

“So, is there a tracking device in me? In you?” I pushed. Jared claimed there weren't any in our phones, but the agency had all the resources they needed to implant one inside agents.

“Gabriel doesn't use tracking devices,” Jared said. “He doesn't need to. Besides, what fun is there in a tracking device? That kind of technology is for humans. If Gabriel wants to find someone, he'll find them. His tracking skills are as good as mine. Not that he needs to use them. He has me.”

I fought back a shiver by grinding my teeth together instead.

“You enjoy the hunt,” I said.

“Even more than the kill.” Jared's eyes gleamed in the rearview mirror.

Tommy's head had disappeared the moment we got back on the highway. Nothing like taking a snooze after nearly biting a vamp's leg off.

“What about the antidote?” I asked. “What happens if I stop taking it? Obviously I won't turn into a vampire since I already am one.”

“Nothing happens. It means your blood will no longer poison other vampires.”

I thought maybe it was just a placebo, but it was worse: poison.

“It also prevents you from being poisoned by another vampire hunter,” Jared said. “If you were to bite another hunter you'd go into temporary paralysis without your injection.”

“Why would I bite another vampire hunter?” I asked.

“By accident. It's very rare, but we did have an informant once bite a hunter unwittingly. They were unaware of each other. The informant was posing as a vampire and the hunter as a human. Nearly got each other killed. Now informants are injected with an anti-poison every month to counterbalance the toxin if they're idiotic enough to bite a hunter. We can't have our own people dropping down.”

The same anti-poison went into my injection. I remembered Melcher telling me that. Otherwise the poison I carried in my blood would attack my entire body. It would make the convulsions my victims experienced look like massage therapy in comparison to what I would experience from a full dosage of poison working its way from the inside.

Having that in my body couldn't be good for me. I couldn't wait to get off the injections. I wouldn't have to worry about biting a hunter. I didn't plan on biting anyone. I'd get my blood from blood bags—the civilized way.

“Does Melcher ever allow recruits to retire?” I asked. “He can't expect them to serve him indefinitely.”

“Of course he can. He gave you everlasting life. You're a solider in a never-ending war. The sooner you accept that, the better.”

“And what about our families? What do we tell them, or do we have to fake our own deaths at some point?”

My question was met with silence. So far Jared had been forthcoming, which meant one thing. He didn't see me as a threat. I was just a teenage girl, another soldier he could order around for all eternity.

“Can you stop talking for one minute?” Jared snapped. “Women and their blah, blah, blah. Can't leave a guy in peace. No more questions.”

I lowered one hand and flipped him off. He couldn't see it, but it made me feel better.

Jerk.

I wasn't just thinking about my family, but Dante's. He'd mentioned he was close with his folks. How did Melcher handle that one? My mom had been entrusted with information about vampires, but she didn't know I was one. If Melcher was so hell bent against Selene telling her family, I couldn't imagine he'd want Dante informing his family or me telling my mom. Valerie said he'd told her family she was dead. She could never see them again.

My heart squeezed into a fist. An ache of sadness filled me at the thought of never seeing my mom again. My family would be safe. We would see each other soon.

I said these things over and over to myself all along the drive.