Page 29 of Tooth and Nail

“I see.” The vampire took a deep breath as if trying to catch some kind of scent coming from Ari. Eoghan didn’t like the implication and immediately decided to change the subject.

“We’re headed to Union Station where we’re to turn you over to our counterparts from your clan,” he said.

“But you’re not going to?”

Eoghan shook his head. “My boss believes you and so do we. We’re risking our jobs and prison time if it ever gets out.”

“Chief Deputy Priest believes I’m telling the truth?” John leaned forward, curling his fingers around the mesh dividing the front and backseats of the prisoner transport vehicle.

Eoghan nodded. “Yes, for what it’s worth. She’s putting her own freedom on the line for you. I really hope you’ve told us the truth about what happened out there in Flagstaff.”

“Why would I lie? I need you to believe me.”

“We don’t think you would.”

“After you let me go, what’s your plan? How do you intend to help me eliminate Tillis Bradshaw?”

Eoghan exchanged a look with Ari before glancing at the king in the rearview mirror. “There are no plans to eliminate Bradshaw.”

“But you have to help! He’s killing off my clan. God knows what’s happened and how much worse it’s gotten since I escaped from the coffin two weeks ago. You have to help me. The Agency has a long reach.”

“And we told you by not turning you over to your escorts, we’re defying the Agency,” Eoghan said. “We understand your predicament but there’s nothing we can do about it without their backing and approval.”

John let go of the mesh and sat back against the rear seat, making his handcuff chains clink loudly in the car. He let out a defeated sigh which ended on a sob. “We’re dead. The whole thing has been for naught. Rudy, Carolyn, dearest Nicholas, my people…all dead so that some miserable drug dealer can take over the business of bottled blood while draining every living human in Arizona dry.”

“What did you say?” Eoghan asked.

“We’re all dead,” the king replied sadly.

“No…I meant what did you say about Bradshaw taking over the bottled blood business?”

“That’s what he’s doing.” John sat forward, once again gripping the mesh barrier. “Tillis Bradshaw is a member of the Phoenix Pagans. They’ve always been active in Flagstaff, running a massive methamphetamine trafficking ring right through the city.”

“We know about Bradshaw’s affiliation with the motorcycle gang,” Ari said. “But what does that have to do with taking over this bottled blood business?” He glanced at Eoghan. “I assume we’re talking about the synthetic blood made for vampires?”

Eoghan nodded. “Yes, that’s right. The Agency developed it years ago and then an offshoot of the FDA approved its usage for feeding vampires who either can’t find a willing, registered donor, or who just need a midnight pick me up at their work desk. It’s formulated as a nutritious supplement for a hungry vampire and from what I understand, it tastes close to human blood.”

“Close enough, I suppose,” the king said, nodding. “Not as good as the real thing, but it’ll do in a pinch.”

“Would you elaborate on how the meth business correlates with the synthetic blood you’re talking about?” Ari asked.

“Both need a distribution network and since the bottled blood plant is located in Phoenix, what better place is there to start?”

“But aren’t Flagstaff and Phoenix more than a hundred miles from each other?” Eoghan asked.

“Closer to a hundred and fifty miles but almost all of it traverses the Flagstaff reservation land, making it the perfect place to start up a distribution pipeline in the Southwest,” King John said.

“Are there distribution pipelines elsewhere?”

“There must be. As far as I know, everywhere there’s a bottled blood plant, there’s probably a corresponding pipeline. The Phoenix Pagan’s methamphetamine operation is going to piggyback on already existing pipelines throughout the Southwest but not only there…all over the country in fact. At least that’s what I was told by the sympathetic prison guard who freed me from my coffin. The guard told me that he was low level in Bradshaw’s hierarchy on the rez but even he’d heard the rumors about what the man was planning before he took over. It seems he made no secret of it. Tillis Bradshaw isn’t the brightest bulb, but his ruthlessness makes up for it.”

“And this man…this guard who freed you…can he back up your story?”

“I don’t know if he’s even still alive. After freeing me, he helped me to escape Bradshaw’s compound during the day. I nearly died out in the sunlight, and I know he was burned before being forced back down underground to try to recover. Once I was free, I found shelter and waited out the day,watching for him to emerge from the earth but he never did. Maybe they caught and killed him. I don’t know. When I could wait no longer, I started coming to Los Angeles to find you.”

“You said he has spies in Las Vegas. How do you know that Bradshaw has spies there but not in Los Angeles?” Ari asked.

“The guard who freed me told me that Bradshaw’s reach extends to Vegas. He says it’s long and getting longer. I had no idea if there’d be spies here when I arrived or not.”

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