Page 3 of Blood and Bone

Eoghan nodded. “Gladys and I did. Glad called ahead to the vampire reservation where he and Riversong had escaped and told them in no uncertain terms thatifthe fugitives were located, they were to detain them unharmed until we got there.”

“It sounds like your partner was a force to be reckoned with,” Ari said.

Eoghan chuckled. “You have no idea. She warned the vampires that our fugitives had better be in good shape when we arrived or the I.S.R. would notify the Agency and there’d be hell to pay.”

Ari nodded. The Agency wielded their influence over the paranormal world more than adequately. If paranormalclans and communities didn’t fall in line and follow the rules, they lost all kinds of privileges in the human world. Those privileges included local government services like driver’s licenses and various national services like a country’s retirement benefits. In the States, Social Security benefits were one of the entitlements paranormals enjoyed as part of their treaty with the Federal government.

“In any case, when we contacted the vampires, they already knew where the couple were holed up,” Eoghan continued. “They pointed us toward a sleazy motel on the vampire rez, and that’s when we learned they weren’t alone. They had their three very young children with them. The youngest was just an infant at the time and the two others were still in diapers. In hindsight we realizedthatwas probably what saved Vandross and Wilkins from being killed the minute they crossed the border.”

“Vamps don’t eat kids?” Ari asked.

“No, it wasn’t that,” Priest said. “They have been known to feed off a human child, though, it is rare that the vampire clans we deal with are that overtly craven. The Redding clan knew if the children were harmed, it’d be equivalent to breaking the treaty with the Agency. They’d lose all privileges and risk war from other clans without the protections they enjoy if they called on the I.S.R. for help in the future. They might be able to explain away the death of thecoupleby saying they were provoked and then killed…butkids? Yeah, there was no way for the vampires to explain draining innocent children.”

“Wow,” Ari replied.

“That was our thought,” Priest said. “When Gladys called and asked what she thought she and Sapphire should do, we decided an appeal to Riversong’s motherly instincts might beour best course of action. We didn’t think she’d allow her boyfriend to put her young children at risk.”

“So, what’d you do?”

“The tribal police told us exactly where they were located. We didn’t know if they were armed and we didn’t want to put the children in anymore danger than they already were, so we decided to wait until they left the motel.”

“God, they must have been desperate if they fled onto a vampire reservation,” Ari said. “Aren’t shifters and vampires like sworn enemies or something?”

Eoghan exchanged a glance with Priest, and Ari noted them both doing their best to hide smiles.

“Come on,” Ari said. “You’re my training officer, Sapphire. We never went over this.” He pointed to the chief. “And, by the way, all thatTorchwoodstuff you made me watch never covered vampires and shifters.”

She waggled her eyebrows. “But Captain Jack Harkness is a handsome nugget, right?”

“Nugget? Really?” Ari snorted, watching the amusement on her face.

“You should give him theFringeboxed set,” Eoghan suggested.

“You’re not helping, Sapphire,” Priest warned as Eoghan did his best to smother a smile. To Ari, the expression made him look even more adorable.

“Whatever,” Ari said, “now you’re just making fun of me.” He threw up his hands and directed his next words to Eoghan. “Anyway, what happened?”

Eoghan sobered. “We knew they’d need to stock up on supplies for the children, so we waited them out. Eventually, they both left the motel and we followed them discreetly as they made their way off the reservation and toward the Oregon border.”

“When Sapphire and his partner reported their route back to me, I guessed where they were probably headed.”

“Where?” Ari asked.

“There’s another shifter reservation in Southern Oregon and we found out Vandross had a brother up there,” Priest said.

Ari nodded. “So, that’s where they were going.”

“Looks like it,” Eoghan said. “But Gladys and I knew we had to get to them before they crossed the border. Fortunately, they stopped for groceries which gave me the opportunity to follow him inside.”

“Then what?” Ari asked.

“While I watched him inside the grocery store, Gladys approached the car where Riversong waited with the kids. She showed her badge, told them they’d been caught, and appealed to her mothering tendencies. Honestly, I think Riversong was relieved to see her. The second my partner showed her the boyfriend’s rap sheet and told her how much time he was facing for this latest crime, she gave up and allowed Gladys to get her and the kids away from the car before he returned. I arrested him. Although we didn’t recover the stolen money and goods on him. We did find a watch at his house, though, dropped behind the bed. The reservation doesn’t have anything more than a small jail, so the tribe worked out something with the local authorities and he was prosecuted in state court. He’s at Folsom doing three years.”

Ari was shocked. “They put him in a civilian prison?”

“Yes,” Priest replied.

“How do they house a shifter?” Ari asked. “They can’t put him in with the general population, right?”

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