Page 38 of A Hunter Turned
“Fuck off, asshole.”
He took the picture anyway. Was probably even now sending it off to Kane as proof they had her along with their demands.
“Do your thing,” was said and Jamie looked at the woman who moved around the tomb to approach, with something in her hand. Young, pretty, with smooth, dark skin that looked air-brush perfect in the flickering torchlight, and a long, heavy mass of tiny braids gathered in a thick ponytail at the back of her head. Jamie knew the woman wasn’t a vampire, could clearly sense that. A witch? The thought had barely formed, along with a hint of curiosity as to why a witch would be associating with these two thugs that had been actively killing witches when some sort of powder was blown in her face.
Jamie’s head jerked back, her entire body lurching in the chair until the thing almost tipped over, her mind went foggy, her lids heavy, she heard the bulldog mutter, “Now we wait,” the sound muffled like she was underwater, and then she was out. The powder, whatever it was, having done its job.
∞∞∞
His patrols had found young Efrem in Jamie’s wrecked SUV. The boy had a concussion, a fractured collarbone, and some broken ribs according to the healer, but he was awake and already grousing at the demand for bed rest, so Marguerite was sure Efrem would make a full recovery. Her muttered, “He’s too stubborn to do anything but,” had been a much-needed reassurance.
As for Jamie, there was no sign, no trail to follow despite her blood being found at the scene. The vehicle had been struck broadside, just behind the driver’s side door. The scraping on the passenger side suggested the vehicle had been tipped and then righted, most likely by the vampires that he knew had taken Jamie thanks to the panic-inducing information that Morgan had passed along. He didn’t have time to indulge that panic, however. Her kidnappers had said that she only had until dawn.
“I’ve got proof of life!” Kane bellowed, holding up his phone.
Archer had insisted the Born come. As Kane was the point of contact, the vampire needed to be within Archer’s proximity. Yanking the phone out of Kane’s hand, he stared at the photo and growled at the blood staining Jamie’s chin. He would kill those vampires, would rip them limb from limb, and feast on their hearts…
“She looks like she’s cussing them out,” Morgan remarked, breaking into his blood-thirsty thoughts as she peered at the image over his shoulder.
Archer had to agree. Jamie was leaned slightly forward in the chair she was lashed to, her lips curled up, her teeth slightly parted like she was telling her captors to go to hell. His brave Jamie.
Morgan’s hand approached the phone like she might try to take it from him and Archer snarled.
“Easy, big guy. I just want to zoom in, see if we can figure out where they’re holding her.”
He didn’t release the device, couldn’t have even if he wanted to, but Morgan seemed to understand the dilemma, her fingers sliding over the image as he continued to hold the phone.
“A lot of gray stone,” she murmured. “Not helpful.” And then, leaning even closer, “Wait. There on the edge. Is that a stained-glass window?”
“A church would be too public. One of the mausoleums?” Jeremiah suggested, stepping up to Archer’s side to get a better look at the image.
“Christ. A needle in a haystack, but it’s a start.”
Another text came through as they continued to examine the background for possible clues and Archer jumped on it, reading the words out loud, “Surrender yourself or she dies. Choose.”
Without waiting for the peanut gallery to chime in with their opinions, Archer fired off his response:Address for the exchange.
The reply was several minutes in coming and everyone seemed to be holding their breath.The statue at Jackson Square. Come with the Hunter. We’ll tell her and only her where your woman is once you’ve turned yourself over to us.
“It’s a trap,” Travis snarled, his eyes shifting to that of his dragon, the pupil elongating to reptilian proportions. “You do as they say and they have all three of you.”
Archer completely agreed. Raising his voice so all could hear, he asked, “Can anyone trace this number?”
Kane let out a scoffing sound. “Yeah. Jamie, but she’s not here.”
“I can try.”
Archer’s head swung around at that shy voice and Sissy quickly ducked her head as all eyes focused on her. Her shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I’m pretty good with computers.”
He hadn’t known that about her. Shit. What else had he been missing? Promising himself he’d devote more time with his juveniles once this was over, Archer barked out, “Someone get this girl set up with a computer.”
“I’ll go grab Jamie’s laptop,” Kane remarked, already striding away. Turning to walk backward, he winked at Sissy. “She has all the cool toys.”
“I can do a flyover of the cemeteries,” Travis suggested, his head tilted to the sky. “Only a sliver of a moon tonight, so unless someone’s got a telescope trained in that area, no one’ll see.”
Christ. A dragon in the sky over New Orleans? But they needed to find Jamie. “Shit. Yeah. Do it.” Then, turning to his assembled pack, he ordered, “I also want noses on the ground. She’s bleeding, so we should be able to pick –”
“No.”
