Page 27 of Tears of Revenge

He froze. “Troy had a black pick-up.”

“The bastard found her,” Marcus spat out, taking in a deep breath.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to track her; it’s been too long.”

“Unfortunately, I think you are right,” Marcus agreed, frustration rolling off him.

“I remember his old licence plate. We should call Charley and see if he can help.”

“I don’t like humans getting involved.”

Varos didn’t like it either, but they needed the help. Technology wasn’t part of his expertise. “He knows to keep quiet.”

Marcus gave him a curt nod, still scanning the area.

He sent a quick message to Charley with the licence plate, wanting to know where the truck was now.

They’d been close to Charley for a few years. He’d been crucial in helping them obtain new identities. It had been hard adjusting to a world that changed every second. At least that’s what it felt like. Adapting and remaining hidden in the human world was no longer an easy task and Charley had been their secret weapon.

Marcus clearly struggled with the wait. His eyes burned red, his posture so tense he vibrated invisible to human eyes.

“She has been with him since Monday and all we are doing is standing around,” Marcus growled through clenched teeth.

“What else would you like us to do? Run all over Houston like headless chickens?”

An evil grin curled Marcus’s lips. “I’ll make sure he’s headless as soon as I can lay my fingers on him.”

With Troy’s history, Varos knew with certainty that it wouldn’t be enough for him to simply have Avalon. He would punish her, maybe even blame her for their actions the night she disappeared.

It felt like a lifetime before Charley’s reply came through.

“He said he was able to track it down with the city’s cameras.”

Marcus leaned in, watching as he searched the address that Charley gave him. The moment they knew where it was, they were gone. With Avalon in Troy’s hands, all caution was forgotten.

Seconds later, Marcus vaulted over the gate of the self-storage facility and was sniffing out Avalon like a hound dog.

“Should we let Lysander know what we discovered?”

Marcus shook his head, alert to his surroundings. “No, he’ll just tell us to let it be.”

Though Marcus was right, it felt wrong not informing Lysander. Then a noise drew their attention. A whimper, so faint it was barely a breath came from one of the back storage units. Marcus burst through the door, snatching Troy by the neck before he could blink.

Varos’s eyes honed in on Avalon, and his heart shattered into a million pieces. He moved to her, scooping her bruised and bloodied body into his arms. She was covered in cuts and bruises, bones visibly broken and blood dripping down her thighs and chest—where Troy’s name was carved into her skin over and over. Her heart was beating, though it was faint as her lungs held their last breath.

She was more dead than she was alive and before he knew it, his fangs extended.

“Varos! No!”

Eleven

Lysander

He hadn’t heard from his friends since they’d left the office. It wasn’t unusual for them to vanish like that, but something didn’t feel right. The drive home was awful as always, but unlike his two blood-loving companions, he couldn’t just speed home every day.

As soon as he stepped through the front door, he knew something was wrong. The metallic scent of blood tinged the air and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. With tense muscles and his fingernails already turning to claws, he followed the iron stench to the closest and only unoccupied bedroom of the house.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Marcus whispered.

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