Izzy sat at the conference table with Crystal, Sam, and Susie. “So, we just what? Waltz down there and check it out?”

  Crystal nodded. “We find where the party is going to be and go observe. We don’t go in, we don’t engage, just stand in the shadows and see who and what is going in and out. If we see a lot of vampire activity, then we know we found ourselves a hotspot. If we see humans, then we turn it over to the human authorities.” Crystal pointed to a spot at the map. “Thanks to Susie’s information, we could confirm a contact and the location of the party.”

  “Who is the contact?” Izzy asked, looking at the spot in the middle of nowhere in Florida. She really wanted someone to tell her the contact was Ayden, but she doubted it with the way he hadn’t reached out to her yet.

  “An independent Hunter named Harper. She’ll meet us there, but she’s going into the party and we were told not to interfere with her mission.”

  Interesting. “So I’m assuming that the vampire activity there has kicked up.”

  “She doesn’t think it’s lycan-related, that’s for sure.” Susie jumped in. “We tried to rule out any other creatures who might cause problems. The wolf pack down there has moved recently and merged with another pack. There’s no other known lycans down there.”

  Izzy tried not to entertain the idea of an alligator lycan strain. “Okay, so when’s this party? Is the idea about going over Thanksgiving break still on?”

  Susie shook her head. “We have a week.”

  Izzy’s stomach fell. “I won’t be ready to go on an out-of-state mission in a week.”

  “You don’t really have a choice.” Professor Belle walked in. “We have no one else to send out, so you’re going to have to make it work. I’ve talked to the rest of your professors and you’ll all be taking this week to prepare for Florida, two days to prep, three days to drive. Susie will be here monitoring the situation.”

  Izzy frowned. “Monitoring it? From here?”

  “Professor Belle is sending us in with trackers and panic buttons, I assume?” Crystal asked. “Like when the Masters go into situations where they can’t control the outcomes.”

  Professor Belle nodded. “The panic button will allow us to know that you’re in danger and the tracker is obvious.”

  Izzy glanced at Susie. “Are you comfortable with that?”

  Susie nodded. “I can monitor everything from the dorm room, and we’ll make sure that all the items work before we send you out.”

  “I’m not an Elite yet, I’m barely even a Skilled.” Izzy looked at Sam. “Are you comfortable with this?”

  “I trust Crystal enough to have my back on the field.” Sam nodded. “I think it’s a good plan, and as long as we don’t engage, we’ll be fine.”

  She could do that. Go in, observe, get out and get home without any additional damage or enemies. “Crystal?”

  She nodded. “I’ve been on observation missions before. This is no different.”

  “Well, I guess I’m out voted then.” Izzy sighed.

  “Yes, get your homework together for the week and then start preparing. Crystal will drive you out there.” Professor Belle stood and left the conference room.

  Izzy gaped at her. “We still have to do homework? When the hell am I going to find time to do homework?”

  Sam chuckled. “In the car, because Crystal won’t let anyone drive her SUV.”

  “It’s still new, still has the new car smell and everything.” Crystal shrugged. “Eventually I’ll let someone else drive it.”

  Sam mocked her, and Crystal nudged him a little. “We’ll see you in a couple of days for the drive out there. I have some loose strings I need to tie up on a different mission before we leave.”

  She and Sam both stood and left, leaving Izzy and Susie sitting there.

  “You’re really apprehensive about this,” Susie stated.

  Izzy nodded. “I have this uneasy feeling that something is going to happen, and I don’t like it.”

  “Nerves,” Susie promised. “Come on, let’s go start collecting homework and making a plan.”

  Izzy stood and grabbed her bag, following Susie out of the room.

  They rounded the corner of the hall and almost ran right into Joey.

  Joey put a hand to his chest. “You two scared the shit out of me.”

  Izzy raised a brow. Joey should have been able to hear them coming. “Sorry, we just got out of our pre-mission meeting.”

  “How did it go?”

  “I leave for Florida in two days. I’m going to need any assignments from you.” Izzy tried to keep the worry out of her voice.

  Joey shook his head. “No, you’re not cleared for out-of-state hunts yet.”

  “Professor Belle and Professor Winter both signed off on it.” This from Susie. “Crystal Dunox and Sam Dodd are going with her.”

  Joey met Izzy’s gaze. “Crystal is good at what she does. She’ll have your back. What’s the full scope of the mission?”

  “To get down there, observe a party that may prove an increase in vampire activity, and then return with that information so that the Hunting Society can analyze it and see what needs to be done.”

  “Observation mission, okay. There’s not a lot that can go wrong with that.” Joey let out a short laugh. “Just make sure no one sees you.”

  “Right, that’s the key.” Izzy crossed her arms. “I tried to express that I wasn’t comfortable going, but that didn’t seem to matter.”

  Joey shrugged. “Take some confidence from you going out last year and coming back alive. You’ve grown since. There’s no reason to worry.”

  Yet, she didn’t miss the tightness in his voice and the pinch at the corners of his eyes. He wasn’t comfortable with it either.

  “Go get your assignments. I’ll email you forms to work on. Ask Crystal to help you with them. She aced her hand-to-hand.”

  Izzy snorted. “You know, I’d probably do better in my classes if I stopped going on crazy missions and swapping classes. Hell, I think my accelerated courses start this week.”

  “That’s going to be a pain in the ass for sure. Do your best, most professors understand.” Joey put a hand on Izzy’s shoulder. “And be careful.”

  “I will. Thank you.”

  He dropped his hand and walked down the hall, grumbling to himself.

  Izzy shrugged. “I don’t think he’s happy with the arrangement.”

  “I think something else is on his mind.” Susie shook her head. “There're the murders, and then the disappearances. As a Master, I’m sure he’s got a lot on his mind.”

  “Yeah, maybe it’s that.” Izzy continued down the hall. Gathering her homework would take most of the day, and then there was preparing for the trip. She had a long couple of days ahead of her.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “What do you mean they are sending her to Florida?” Ayden growled over the phone, trying to keep his voice even. “She shouldn’t be out of state.”

  “She’s being sent with an Elite and another Skilled,” Joey said easily. “I just wanted to tell you they are heading your way.”

  “You said it was a possibility not even a week ago.” Ayden pinched the bridge of his nose. “And Harper said nothing about them coming out.”

  Joey growled. “Look, you knew it was a possibility. Now go find her and tell her to come home. This mission is too much for her.”

  That gave him pause. “You were so confident in her skills last year. What’s changed?”

  Joey was silent for a moment. “Nothing.”

  “You’re lying, Joey, and I don’t even have to be standing next to you to know that.”

  “Look, Isadora was sneaking around Isaac’s office. When I went in after her, I found a sheet of paper with her name on it. There were several other names, just the last, some were circled. Isadora’s name had a note next to it that said Keeper, Original.”

  Ayden waited for a moment. “And you think?”

  “That Isaac traced down her bloodline, and she’s now a target.”

  “You think he sent her out here to get killed.” Ayden swallowed.

  “If he confirms Isadora has a tie to an Original, you know what happens.” Joey’s voice became low.

  The Academy would kick her out. “I can’t tell you anything about that, Joey. What I can tell you is that you need to take care of Isaac before he gets more people killed.” Ayden said.

  “I’ll see what I can do. It seems to me that more of the Elder Masters are siding with him and his desire to accelerate students than are siding with those of us who want to keep the younger generation off the field.” Joey sighed. “You will get Isadora home.”

  Ayden swallowed. “I will try my hardest.” Joey hung up and Ayden walked out into the kitchen where Harper sat. “You’ve been in touch with the Hunters from Colorado?”

  She looked at him from over her tea. “I have. They wanted in on the mission. They aren’t going, just observing.”

  “You think that’s wise?”

  She frowned. “They are trained Hunters, Ayden. Their Master contacted me and assured me they can handle the job.”

  “Will he be coming with?”

  “He didn’t say.”

  “The group coming is made up of one newly Skilled Hunter, who was escalated to her station last year, one normal Skilled, and an Elite.”

  She hesitated. “Okay, you need to join them then. You’re right. I had assumed that the Master would come with it being such a complicated job.”

  “There’s a lot going on at that location. They need to do some clearing out of their higher-ups.” Ayden muttered. “Do you know where the group is staying?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, middle of town, Hotel Sunshine.”

  He was familiar with the place. It had a breakfast place attached to it. It was a smart choice for Hunters traveling in new territories. “Okay, I’ll see if I can meet them there.”

  “That girl is part of the team, isn’t she?” Harper asked, smiling over her tea.

  Ayden snorted. “Yeah, she is, and I need to keep her safe and get her back where she belongs.”

  “And where is it she belongs Ayden?” She sat her mug down.

  He thought about that for a moment. Her bloodline meant she belonged in the vampire world, but her heart was with the Hunters. Maybe he could convince her to run off and be an independent Hunter with him.

  “Daydreaming?” She asked.

  He shrugged. “Even after all these years, sometimes my heart wishes for a normal life.”

  “Don’t we all.” She raised her teacup. “If you want to go meet that group, then you better head out.”

  He nodded and walked out the door.

  Izzy threw her bag on the bed and flopped on it. “That drive is way too long.”

  “At least you got most of your assignments done.” Sam pointed out. “You and Crystal will room in here. I have a room that’s connected.”

  Izzy nodded. “What’s the plan from here then?”

  “We look at our evidence, go scope the place out once during the daylight and then go observe as the party starts and goes late into the night.” Crystal shrugged. “We need to keep a low profile while we’re here.” She put her bag by the window and opened the blinds. “And really, other than that, let’s enjoy the warm weather, maybe go see the beach before we head back home.”

  Izzy smiled at that thought. A warm beach after a long night of work. “That sounds great.”

  Sam shook his head. “No, we head back the day after. We don’t linger here.”

  “It’ll draw suspicion if we use vacation as our cover and leave the day after a big event.” Crystal raised a brow. “That’s what we discussed before.”

  Sam hesitated for just a moment. “Isaac said we needed to be back ASAP.”

  “He didn’t say anything to us about it.” Izzy sat up. “Or at the briefing.”

  Sam shrugged. “Maybe he expected me to relay the message.”

  “Maybe. I’ll call him and ask later.” Crystal smiled. “Let’s go get some dinner, I’m starving.”

  Izzy nodded. “Yeah, the breakfast place here smelled so good as we passed by.”

  “You two go enjoy the safe space. I’m going to go hit up the steak house down the road.” Sam waved and then walked out of the room.

  “I thought we were supposed to stick together.”

  Crystal nodded. “Sam gets a little more freedom because he’s almost completed his Elite year. I’m not worried about him doing much, except maybe hooking up with a woman tonight. Which I mean, he’s an adult, that’s his choice.” She laughed. “It’s not like he’s going to go out and find a fated mate.”

  “Humans don’t have fated mates.”

  Crystal snorted. “So they say.” She walked out of the room and Izzy followed.

  “You think differently?”

  “Well, I don’t think that humans and humans have fated mates, but I do believe that lycanthropes, vampires, and such can be fated to a human.”

  Izzy raised a brow. “Do you think you’re mated?”

  Crystal paused for a moment and then shook her head. “No, I don’t. I’ve seen it happen before though.”

  Izzy shrugged. “No fated mates for me, please. I’ll take my single freedom because it means no one to worry about when I’m hunting.”

  Crystal shook her head. “You were pretty into that guy last year. Ayden? The one that just kind of showed up in the records.”

  Yeah, he’d just kind of shown up because he wasn’t supposed to be there. She shrugged. “Yeah…” She paused as they walked into the hotel of the lobby to see Ayden standing there. “Ayden.”

  He looked up and gave her an awkward wave. “Hey Izzy, um…”

  Crystal raised a brow. “Um?”

  “Yeah, um?” Izzy tried to keep any emotion out of her voice. She had assumed he’d left the country like Joey said. Left without saying goodbye or giving any explanation. She clenched her fist and fought against the need to smack him and the desire to kiss him at the same time.

  He motioned to the entryway of the connected breakfast place. “We have a lot to talk about. Come sit?”

  Crystal jerked her head toward Sam as he was walking through the lobby. “I think I’ll join him for steak.”

  Izzy was about to grab her and drag her back, but she resisted. She probably didn’t want Crystal there for the conversation, anyway. “Yeah, we do.” She walked toward the place and Ayden took her hand.

  She thought about pulling away, but it felt right. They were silent as the hostess sat them and left them with menus. “You left. With no explanation.”

  “Joey really didn’t give me a chance to explain. He made it pretty clear that I needed to be out of there.”

  Izzy sighed. “No letter, no call?”

  “I didn’t want to upset you more. I know we can’t do this.” He squeezed her hand. “We’re from two different worlds. You hate my world, and I can’t be part of yours.” He dropped her hand. “You need to go back to the Hunting Academy. This is not the place for you. This is not the mission for you.”

  Izzy frowned. “Joey said that you had a link to the vampires. Is that the world you’re talking about?” She was going to ignore his request for her to go home. Right now, all she wanted was answers from him.

  “Yes, I can’t tell you that connection…” He hesitated. “Just know, I would never hurt you and I respect you not wanting to be anywhere close to the vampire world as anything other than a Hunter.”

  She tried to figure out how to explain her hate for them, but let it go. “We’ll be leaving as soon as we observe the party tomorrow night.”

  They over the menu. Izzy set it down. Her stomach growled since she hadn’t eaten the last leg of the drive.

  “That party is a potential human slave trade party. You need to stay far away from it, observing or not. Isaac should never have sent you here.”

  “I’m with two other Hunters, it’s fine. I’m not going to give up on the mission. I can’t just walk away from it and return to the Academy as a failure.” She shook her head. “I tried to talk my way out of it, but now I’m more comfortable with Crystal and Sam at my side. Susie is back at the Academy tracking our every move. If something goes wrong, we’ll have backup.”

  Ayden set the menu down and they both ceased the conversation as the waiter came up. “What can I get you two?”

  “Pancake Party, please.” Ayden put the menu back.

  “Eggs in a basket.” Izzy never took her eyes off Ayden.

  The waiter wrote the order down and bounced off.

  “You aren’t a failure if you go back. You’re barely a Skilled. The Elder Masters should know that you shouldn’t be on out-of-state missions yet.”

  Izzy was about to argue when a strange, familiar feeling crawled through her. She lifted her eyes and turned to see a dark-haired vampire standing in the doorway. His eyes flashed red for a moment, and she knew who he was when she studied his face. Markus.

  Her breath caught in her throat. Next to him was another blond vampire who was walking with a woman. She held her head down, her long blond hair blocking most of her face.

  Ayden followed Izzy’s gaze. “Stay calm, keep your head down.”

  She nodded and did as told. “Why is he here?”

  Ayden didn’t answer as they walked past them and were seated in the back of the restaurant.

  “We can’t discuss that here.” Ayden shook his head. He snagged the waiter as he walked by. “I’m so sorry, something came up, can we please have our meals to go?”

  The waiter nodded. “Of course, it’ll be up as soon as they can.”

  Izzy tried to keep her focus in front of her on Ayden, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her. Her hand itched for her weapon, but pulling it in a safe place was a quick way to get herself killed.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11