Page 13 of Slay All Day

“We’ll also have Owen. He—”

I held up my hand to interrupt Connor, shaking my head. “Owen needs to hang back when we get there. The three of you have plenty of battle experience, even if it isn’t with vampires. I’m trusting you all to hold your own so you won’t be too much of a distraction from what I need to do. Owen is less experienced, and I haven’t spent any time with him. Having him involved in the fight would mean my focus is divided. The best thing he can do is call E.V.I.E. if things go sideways and we don’t come back.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Trey squeezed my thigh. “No way in hell is one of these vampires going to take you down. Not after I just found you.”

I wished I had his confidence, but going after four of them at once exponentially decreased our odds for success. “Vampires who live in nests together tend to be more vicious and cruel than those who live and hunt alone. It’s as though their evilness grows just by being near each other.”

“It doesn’t matter how evil they are, we have fate on our side,” Trey insisted, sliding his hand up to pat the blade I had strapped to my upper thigh. “And a kick-ass slayer who can shift into a motherfucking dragon. If worst comes to worst, you can just fry their asses with fire while the four of us protect your flank.”

“Fuck yeah,” Jake muttered with a nod as he pulled over on the side of the country road lining the east side of the forest preserve. Owen was waiting on the edge of the woods and came striding over as soon as he spotted us.

“Where are they?” Connor asked.

“It was the strangest fucking thing.” Owen jerked his chin toward the woods to his left. “She parked her car about a quarter of a mile ahead and followed those dudes into the forest.”

Connor took Jake’s keys and tossed them at Owen. “Head south for a mile and wait for us. If we’re not back”—he paused to glance at me, and I held up one finger—“in an hour, use the number Denica gives you to call for help and get the fuck out of here. Then call Jace and tell him to get his ass back into town. Send out a 9-1-1 text to every member of the streak and meet up with them at my house. Wait there for whoever E.V.I.E. sends and let Jace know they’re his best bet for getting the rest of you out of this alive.”

Owen shook his head and parted his lips—no doubt, to argue about leaving us—but a quelling look from his alpha made him back down. I unlocked my phone and changed the settings so Owen wouldn’t need to enter the password again. Handing the cell to him, I instructed, “Try Jude first. If he doesn’t answer, give Rowan a call. She’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of the vampires and avenge our deaths.”

“Rowan sounds like a woman I’d love to meet.” Jake wagged his brows, seemingly undaunted by the possibility of our impending demise.

Thinking about the news my slayer sister had shared with me before I took the case I’d wrapped up so quickly, I smiled and shook my head. “Only if you want to meet the wolf shifter she recently agreed to mate, too.”

“Damn, all the badass women seem to be taken,” he complained.

Connor patted him on the back. “I guess you’ll just have to be satisfied with becoming a badass yourself.”

“Good plan,” he agreed, eyeing the forest ahead. “Let’s go kill some vampires.”

“Quietly,” I instructed as we started down the path the glamoured girl and bloodsuckers took, leaving Owen behind. Not a single word was said until we reached a stone outcropping. Holding my fist up, I came to a halt.

“They’re hiding in a fucking cave?” Jake grumbled softly, shaking his head.

Trey’s hand brushed against mine, and I gave it a squeeze. I found strength in the knowledge that I would go into battle with my mate at my side. Connor and Jake stopped next to us and waited for my signal. The element of surprise was on our side, and we needed every advantage we could get in the coming fight. Taking a deep breath, I centered myself and drew upon my magic. The nest’s lair was directly in front of us, and the vampires would have laid traps so nobody would enter when they were defenseless as they slumbered during the day. Surrounded by darkness, the nightwalkers wouldn’t be vulnerable when we attacked, but we couldn’t wait until sunrise—not when they had the girl inside with them. We remained silent while I used my magic to painstakingly unwind the traps. Once I tackled the enchanted snakes that were poised to attack and cleared the toxic vapor that would have poisoned intruders, nothing else stood in our way. The time had come to defeat the vampires.

12

Trey

Denica signaled that it was safe for us to enter the cave, and I claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss before shifting. My tiger was more than ready for the battle ahead—to keep our mate and streak members safe from the vampires. Jake’s shift took him a minute longer than mine, and Connor pulled out the daggers Denica had given him while remaining in his human form.

I knew my mate could more than handle herself, but that didn’t stop me from sending a thought to Connor since he was the only one who would be able to communicate with Denica during the battle.“Watch her back and warn me if she gets into trouble.”

He jerked his chin up in acknowledgment before following her into the cave with Jake and me right on his heels. Slurping sounds echoed off the damp walls in the darkness, which didn’t bode well for the girl they’d lured into their hideout. We moved carefully, taking full advantage of our improved night vision as we navigated the subterranean passages. When we reached an opening that split off three different ways, Denica paused. With the sounds bouncing off the walls, it was difficult to pinpoint which direction to go. She must have figured it out, though, because she entered the passage to the left and picked up speed.

The stench of evil in the air grew stronger, and I stuck close to my mate, filled with a sense that the enemies were nearby. I noted the position of each stalactite hanging above our heads, rocks on the ground, and pools of gleaming water we passed. If we needed to make a quick escape to save our lives—especially my mate’s—I wanted to be certain of the path we’d need to take.

Any thought of fleeing disappeared when we reached the end of the passageway, and it emptied into a cavernous chamber. The girl was spread out on a stone altar, her hands and feet tied to each corner. Four male forms were bent over her body with their mouths latched onto her wrists and ankles. Her screams filled the air but then abruptly cut off, replaced by a gurgling sound. She appeared to already be beyond saving, and the vampires continued to drain the little blood that remained in her veins.

Before Connor, Jake, or I reacted to the scene unfolding before us, Denica crept forward and leaped toward the nearest creature. Striking swiftly, she slammed one of her daggers into his back. The vampire’s scream was gruesome as it bounced off the walls of the chamber, alerting the other three undead to our presence. The other three lifted their heads, blood dripping from their mouths. Their eyes gleamed red as their gazes turned to the battle between my mate and the member of their nest.

We couldn’t give them the chance to strike against Denica when she already had a battle on her hands as the bloodsucker she’d stabbed whipped around to fight back. She crouched low, avoiding his blow, while we raced forward to take on the other vampires. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Denica jump and turn in midair. As she plunged the sharp blade deep into the chest of the nightwalker she was facing off against, I went for the throat of the one who’d been drawing blood from the girl’s other ankle. My claws dug into his neck, and I roared in pain when he sank his talons into my side.

We faced off, blood dripping from our hands. He bared his fangs, running his tongue over the pointy tip of a cuspid. “You just signed your death warrant, shifter.”

The vampire was cocky as fuck, wasting time to boast while clashing against a six-hundred-pound tiger who was determined to end his undead existence. The knowledge that my mate fought a similar battle only feet away from me urged me forward. While he was busy bragging about how he was going to kill me, I struck out with my paw. My claws drove through bone and muscle, aimed straight for his heart. Piercing the organ, I jerked hard and pulled it from his chest. After I flung his heart on the floor, Denica aimed a flame at it. There was a loud popping sound—just like she’d described—and the heart burst into ash. The vampire was still alive, screaming in agony. But not for long.

The loss of his heart had weakened the nightwalker, making him more vulnerable against my next attack. As though fighting in unison, my mate and I struck out at the same time—her with her daggers and me with my claws. She staked her vamp through the chest, and I tore the head off mine. They both exploded into a spark of ashes, leaving us with only two more of the evil creatures to vanquish.

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