Page 30 of Life Blood
The gate slowly opened, showing the road winding up and twisting around the mountain. We rode for a few miles through the forest to the back side of the mountain before the trees opened up and I saw the huge, rustic lodge situated in the middle of a meadow.
Braden stopped the bike on neatly placed, flat stones that surrounded the house and the park like setting situated on what seemed like the top of the world. I took my helmet off, astounded by the 360-degree view of the valleys and ranges below us.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Our home. We’ve owned this land for many years. This isn’t the first time we’ve lived in this town, you know.”
“That lodge is yourhome?” I asked in disbelief.
“One of them, yes. It’s the only one we own in Oregon, anyway.”
“Wow,” I said. I didn’t really know what to say. I’d never known anyone with access to such a place. “I can’t believe I never knew this place existed.”
“That’s kind of the point,” he said as he led me toward the stairs leading to the front door.
“Can you tell me why we’re here?”
“You’re here for your safety,” Braden answered.
I glanced up when the front door flung open, and Zac and Cole sprang down the steps in a rush with serious expressions on their faces.
“You got to her in time. Good,” Cole said. “Get her into the house so we can get this shit figured out,” he ordered Zac.
“Wait!” I held Zac off with a hand to his chest. “Get what figured out?” I looked at Braden. “What’s going on?”
“It’s about you being left alone,” Braden answered.
“My mom?” I said in a panicked voice.
“Don’t worry about her,” Cole answered. “We already have people tracking her for her safety. She’s safe. We need to make sure you’re safe now.”
I stood there numb to what I was hearing.
“Oh shit,” I finally said. “Oh my God.”
Braden placed an arm around me, “Don’t lose it on us. We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Mom’s safe. Now that you’re here, so are you, but we need to figure out who donated that money to get her out of here and away from you.”
“Do you think it was those—”
“Collectors,” Zac finished my sentence. “We need to go now.”
“Come with me and Zac, Braden,” Cole encouraged. “Logan’s here, and he’s on duty to make sure you stay calm while we get this sorted out.”
“Reassuring,” I responded.
“Hurry, Zac,” Braden ordered. “The longer we stay here, the longer it takes to figure out what the fuck happened.”
I took Zac’s offered hand, and as we reached the top of the steps, I froze. “How do you guys know about what happened with my mom? I thought that gift was from you guys.”
“You need to relax. Your mom is fine.”
I stepped away from Zac and glared up at him. “Really? Relax? What the hell do you take me for? An idiot girl who gets saved byvampiresafter her mom is taken and she just calms down because she’s told to?”
“Jesus!” Zac snapped. “Listen. Braden overheard your mom and you talking about the donated money and her trip out of here. That raised a serious red flag. He would have been faster getting to you if he didn’t have to run here to get his bike.”
“Right. He was on day shift protecting me.” I smeared my hand across my forehead. “Please just tell me mom’s okay, and don’t bullshit me.”
Zac glared at me, “Like we told you, your mom is safe. We have people watching out for her.” He looked down at where Cole and Braden stood in conversation. “You, on the other hand, could be in deep shit if you don’t let us get out of here and do our job. There could be collectors all over town hunting you down.”
