Page 94 of Betrayed in Blood
At this point, Roxie should be changing the security codes on the gates. We didn’t want anyone leaving by vehicle. It didn’t mean someone couldn’t escape on foot, but they’d have to scale the walls. And we were ready for that.
“Team Five is in position.” Now that the targets were at the manor, Team Five would spread out, forming a secure perimeter around the front of the mansion, including the garage, the front door, and the path leading to the pool.
“This is Team Five. We count four from the first vehicle. April, Jasper, one other vampire, plus the driver, who’s moving the vehicle toward the garage. The second vehicle also has three plus the driver. They also appear to be vampires. The last vehicle is moving toward the garage, the number inside unknown. Everyone has cleared the front door.”
Teams Three and Four remained on the first floor. This was the tricky part. The house was huge, with a lot of rooms and hallways on both floors. The issue with the first floor was the front rooms. They were the largest in the house and built with an open floor plan and, with the current decor, left no good places to hide.
The other rooms were smaller, and if Mom and April kept things like Christopher always wanted, several of the doors were always open while a few others were kept closed. Finding spots to hide eight vampires on the first floor and still be effective would require craftiness.
Our goal was April and Jasper. The plan was for Teams Three and Four to remain hidden until Devon gave the order to go. April would want to change into something more comfortable and would likely head to her bedroom first. If she was close with Jasper, it was a fifty-fifty chance he’d follow her up. They might also want to confirm that Mom was still where they’d put her.
At the same time, they’d want to check on the two vamps they’d left to watch her. One had been in the room down the hall from where Devon and I currently hid, and we’d made the assumption Jasper would check. The problem was the one on the first floor. It came down to whether our teams could remain hidden until April got to her room.
It didn’t take long to hear voices, even with my human hearing. Devon took point at the door while I stood on the opposite side, watching his face, ready for any signal.
Voices grew nearer. Someone was coming up the stairs, but they were too far away to make out the words or whether they were male or female. Devon nodded. At least one of them was April, and it was quickly confirmed when she reached the hallway.
“I’ve got to get out of these shoes.” April’s voice sent a shiver of memories through me. The good April, the one who tried to make my life easier.
“I’d like to help you get out of other things,” said some unknown I assumed to be Jasper.
I rolled my eyes, and Devon shook his head. He was all business, but honestly, couldn’t the vamp come up with a better line?
It didn’t seem to matter to April, who just giggled. Hells bells, was she mesmerized or really into this dude?
Their progress slowed, and now it was Devon’s turn to be annoyed. He didn’t roll his eyes, but he closed them. He was making a decision, and I wasn’t sure why.
Then I heard someone bump into a wall. They were close.
Then April groaned.
I rolled my eyes again. I couldn’t help it. They’d stopped to make out. They wouldn’t get to her room before someone downstairs was discovered. Devon opened his eyes, and he nodded.
We weren’t going to wait for them. We would use their making out to our advantage. The plan was for him to take Jasper while I restrained April. For a split second, I took the time to quickly run through how Simone showed me to take someone out without hurting them. I’d practiced the routine dozens of times. Now was the real deal.
Devon held up a finger. On the third count, he’d give the go command, followed instantly by us rushing out to take them.
When he reached the second count, a violent crash came from downstairs.
“Team Three engaged.” It wasn’t Simone’s voice, but Devon didn’t care.
Devon yelled, “All teams go.”
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Simone madethe decision to hide in the pantry. She knew vampires. They didn’t need to eat often, but when they were stationed at a particular place over an extended period of time, they got bored and lazy. Over the centuries, she’d come to the conclusion that having the same vampire with the exact same job for more than two days was problematic.
It wasn’t their fault. It was vampire nature. The fact a vampire was at the bottom rung of a security hierarchy didn’t mean they lacked intelligence. Someone had to be at the bottom, and they held that position for one of several factors. They could be new to the security detail, they lacked experience or skill for that particular job, or there were just more senior vampires on that particular detail.
And it was the vampire’s superior intellect that created the boredom. Yes, vampires could remain in a single position for hours without moving. That didn’t mean their mind stopped working. At some point, vampires required stimulation. From what Devon told her, humans had similar traits, the only problem was that their attention span was much shorter, and she thanked her maker that she only had to deal with Cressa and Ginger on security details.
The problem in this particular instance was that the vampires had returned from a vampire party. They would be overstimulated and ready for action of any kind. That included wandering the house, and, just like humans, they would either gravitate toward the bar or the kitchen. If it were one of her details, they would have immediately searched the house upon their return. Team Four reported that someone was coming down the hall on the other side of the house, most likely searching for the vampire currently hidden in a closet.
That had been a minute ago.
“Hey, get me one of those seltzer waters.”
She’d counted two vamps based on their footsteps and heard the refrigerator door open.
