Page 22 of Blood Illusions

“Sawyer.” Damon glared. His tone was keep-your-mouth-shut.

Justice blurted, “I know. He told me if he couldn’t solve this or….” He hesitated for a minute. “If something happened to him, he wanted you to follow up because he thought you two were the best hunters.”

Damon gave him a don’t-try-to-shine-me glance.

Ignoring my scowling brother, I drew a deep breath. “Do you think something happened to him?”

“I don’t know,” Justice admitted quietly.

Damon got his focused hunter look on and held up his phone. “We need to send these to Dad. If anyone could decipher this, he would. He’s been studying up on vampires ever since—” He abruptly stopped.

Justice crossed his arms and leaned in slightly. “Ever since what?”

“Not important,” Damon muttered as he tucked his phone away.

Justice glanced at me, and I gave him a helpless shrug. I had no intention of telling him about Mom’s death. I still didn’t trust him. He was a vampire.

I looked between them. “First, we have to bury these poor people.”

“Those vampires could come back,” Damon insisted. “We need to get out of here.”

I stuck out my chin. “I’m not going to leave these poor people to rot.”

Damon gave me a stubborn make-me look.

“We don’t know much about this new type of creature.” Justice lightly stroked his chin. “For all we know, these poor souls could return as one of them.” His voice was heavy with worry, and the meaningful look he gave me made my stomach turn.

Damon and I glanced at each other uneasily. That was the last thing either one of us wanted to hear.

He looked at Justice, anger and determination flashing in his gaze. “Better be ready to get your lily-white hands dirty because the only way to kill these bastards is to cut their heads off and stab the skull.”

Justice stiffened. “I’m not opposed to hard labor, hunter.”

Damon and I returned to the car, and I retrieved two machetes from the back of the trunk. They were easier to use than a sword or dagger to decapitate vampires. We also retrieved shovels to dig two big holes. One for the bodies and the other for the heads.

Damon sighed. “After we’re done with this, we’re still going to blow this puppy up. I don’t want the vampires-on-steroids coming back to their pound with any more strays.” His low voice rumbled like a smooth engine.

I braced my shoulders and stared at the mine entrance, dreading what we were about to do. “They’ll only find a new place to make their nest,” I stated softly, my gaze darting around the discarded rusty tools and mine carts.

He slammed the trunk, determination burning in his eyes. “Let’s not make it easy for them.”

The next few hours would be grueling, but it was part of the job. The part I hated.

Justice waited for us at the mine. He cast his gaze over me, and I felt the weight of his judgment. “If you like, you could dig the holes, and I’ll go with Damon to take care of the bodies.” His tone echoed with chivalry, but all I heard was you can’t handle this.

I lifted my chin. “This isn’t my first rodeo.”

“She’s tough as nails, fang. No withering violets in our family.” Damon edged himself between us as if he was afraid of a spark blossoming there.

There wasn’t. No way was I going to end up like my poor mom. Justice was a necessary evil right now. Nothing more.

Justice nodded, his face contorted with apology. “I didn’t mean to insult her, but?—”

“Good,” Damon interrupted as he shot him a warning glance. “If you want to be her knight in shining armor, you can carry the bodies out.”

Justice grumbled under his breath as he followed Damon and me into the cave.

My heart was pounding as I stepped closer to the first dead body, the beam of my flashlight shaking. It was a young blonde woman, her green eyes wide with terror and fear. There were bite marks on her skin where the monsters had fed.

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