Page 52 of Lucas
When he pulled into the motel’s parking lot, we both glanced at the air mattress in the back and laughed. It had been days since we’d shared any real form of intimacy.
The van door opened, and Bella stuck her head inside. “I think we might have some activity. Let’s go.” She picked up the groceries we’d bought before leaving the stakeout.
I grabbed my purse, and we hustled to the room.
“Where are Rom and Jacques?” Lucas asked.
“Rom had returned to our room for a meal when I spotted a woman in the office who appeared to be asking questions. She looked like she might have been touching the clerk, so I made an assumption she might be mesmerizing him. Then she returned to a car with a single driver. It’s the gray sedan on the other side of the lot.”
“Have you been back to your room?”
“No. I was on the staircase, waiting for you. Jacques has a clear line of sight to the vehicle. He’ll keep us updated when she moves.”
I glanced out the peephole I’d made in the curtains. The doors to both rooms were visible. The trap was set if this woman was actually a vamp.
“Do you think the other person in the car is Philipe?” If it wasn’t, Philipe had more vamps involved than we ever considered.
Lucas considered the question. “It wouldn’t be wise.”
“I agree.” Bella tapped my shoulder, and I relinquished my seat. “If this is Fiona, she might have mesmerized a human to drive her here.”
I grabbed my dagger and prepared for whatever was to come. Minutes ticked by. “What are they waiting for?” I hated that Lucas and Bella were so calm. My skin itched, my feet refused to settle in one spot, and my fingers ached from gripping the dagger so tightly.
Bella glanced at her cell then watched for movement beyond the gap in the drapes. “The woman is moving for the motel.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, searching for that zen moment Simone taught me—the calm before the storm.
“Go!” Bella yelled.
I trailed two steps behind Lucas with Bella on my heels. Rom and Jacques were already out their door. By her quick movements, it was obvious the woman was a vamp. No one moved like a vamp, but she didn’t move fast enough to escape.
Rom pulled her back to the room where he’d been waiting with Jacques. When Jacques called out a warning, he shoved her through the door. More vamps were coming.
Rom grabbed my arm and pushed me in with the vamp. “Guard her.” He slammed the door behind me.
I stood in an attack posture that Simone had taught for guarding a prisoner. My dagger was in one hand while I raised the other in an attempt to calm the vamp, who brandished her own weapon. “We’re not here to harm you. We only have a fewquestions, but we need to take care of whoever followed you first.”
“You’re human?”
“Is that going to be a problem?” I said it with more bravado than I felt. And I had to admit I was a bit hurt when she lowered her weapon and cocked her head to one side.
“I’ve never known Romero to keep a human as a bodyguard.”
“Maybe you should stay in touch more frequently.”
I had no idea what was going on outside, but I could hear swords clashing. “How many vamps followed you?”
The woman laughed. “You have no idea what you’ve brought down upon yourselves.”
I would have laughed in turn, but I was beginning to think she was right.
“Halt!”
The word was yelled from outside and didn’t sound like anyone from our group. But it was enough to startle me.
The vamp rushed me.
My reaction was pure instinct. I immediately kicked out, clipping her arm with the dagger. When she stumbled by, I spun and kicked her in the back. The force smacked her into the wall. She turned around and wiped her nose, leaving streaks of crimson on her hand. After taking a long moment to stare at the blood, her face became a vengeful mask.
