Luke Irontree & the Last Vampire War (Books 8-10), page 18
“How is Erin doing?” Luke asked tentatively.
“She’s mourning. I’m in charge for a while until she’s ready to come back.”
“That’s understandable,” Roxi said.
“So, what brings you to our little lot of chaos?” Luke gestured to the hive of activity around them.
“Mary and her lot intercepted an old friend of ours—the observer from Sherbrooke.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Alejandro nodded. “Along with about a dozen of his packmates. He’s demanding to speak with you and Erin. Since I’m covering for Erin, I’ll go speak to him, but I didn’t want to waste any of your time.”
“Fortunately, my crew is more than competent.” He turned to Roxi. “Let the team know where I’m at. I’ll be back…”
“He’s close by. I didn’t want to bring him here for obvious reasons, but we brought him into town to the pack community center.”
“Do we have anything that’s available for me to drive, Roxi?” Luke asked, looking around.
“I’m not sure. The smaller vehicles are out on errands and the larger ones are getting loaded.” Roxi worried at her lip with her teeth.
“I can run you over and back, no problem,” Alejandro replied.
Luke nodded and followed Alejandro. Fifteen minutes later, they parked by the community center and strode in. The observer, Luke never remembered his name, waited for them in the soundproof room upstairs with several of the local pack members and Mary’s pack members standing guard. Several had handguns on their belts.
“Hey, handsome, good to see you.” Mary winked at Luke.
“Hi, Mary. Alejandro tells me you caught our little spy trying to come back south.”
“Yup, with some friends, too. Says he’s got important information for us.” She shrugged. “Could be important. He seemed a lot less cocksure than he had when he was spying. A bit desperate, actually.”
Luke nodded. “I’ll see what he wants.”
Alejandro nodded and opened the door. Luke stepped through, striding toward the observer. His eyes shot open wide, and he tried to scoot away from Luke, almost tipping over backward until the two people standing guard behind him grabbed the corners of the back of the chair and shoved it back onto the ground.
“I’m told you have information for me,” Luke said.
The observer nodded nervously. “I do. Um… Just so you know, I didn’t know what my pack was supporting. I didn’t know what was going on in that camp. I’ve left the pack, as did those who came with me.”
Luke nodded. “That’s good. I’m sure you can speak to the local packs about that.” He stared at the man for a few moments. “What’s the reason you’re here asking for me? I’m leaving. I don’t care what your pack affiliation is.”
“That’s why I’m here. They anticipated your leaving,” the man said.
“Who?”
“The Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa nests as well as most of the packs in and around those cities.”
“They’ve subverted all those packs?” Alejandro blurted out.
“Yeah. Sherbrooke is only one of the packs they control.”
“Shit.” Luke paced back and forth for a few moments, contemplating the complications. He stopped in front of the man sitting in the chair. “What’s your name?”
“Matt, sir.”
“Matt, when did they deploy their forces?” Luke asked.
“The order went out last night, during all the…mayhem. The vampires headed south. As best as I can tell, Ottawa’s nest sent their vamps to Syracuse. Montreal to Albany. The QC vamps,” he shrugged, “I don’t know. I know they’re moving. I’ve got a friend inside the Montreal pack that’s passing information along to me.”
Luke’s brow furrowed as he exhaled. “What about their pet wolves?”
“They started this morning.” Matt’s eyes flicked up to Alejandro. “Someone in Erin’s pack has been passing information north.” He held up his hands placatingly. “I don’t know who before you ask, Alejandro.” He turned back to Luke. “They reported in that you all are in high activity mode and looking to move out.”
Luke gestured with his head for Alejandro to follow him. Nodding, Alejandro stepped out of the room and joined Luke in Erin’s office.
Luke tried to temper his stern expression into a more friendly and sympathetic one. “I’m sorry, Alejandro. But I need you to recall all your wolves currently helping me. I can’t risk my people’s lives. You've got a leak, and until you plug it, I’m going to have to treat them all like they could be spies.”
“I understand. I’m so sorry.”
“If you can give me a minute, I need to make a call. I’ll join you back with Matt when I’m done with this call,” Luke said.
Alejandro nodded and left, shutting the door behind him.
Leaning against the desk, Luke sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. He’d been betrayed dozens of times over the centuries, yet it still hurt and frustrated him every time. Now, he had to deal with damage control and make sure his people didn’t pay the price. He pulled his phone out and called Roxi.
“Hey, Luke. What’s the news?” Roxi asked.
“Mind grabbing Delilah, Pablo, and Sam if they’re available? I’d like to update you all at once.” Luke leaned back against Erin’s desk.
“Sure. Give me a minute.”
When she whistled shrilly, Luke pulled the phone away from his ear and shook his head, smiling.
“Oi, Sam, Pablo, I need you for a minute,” Roxi yelled in the background. “They’re coming, Luke. Delilah is off site right now running a few errands.”
“Good. Can you find a bit of privacy? I know it’s not easy with everyone there, but at least keep it to our people?” Luke yawned and squeezed the back of his neck, the muscles tense and taut.
“You tired, dōšagīh?”
“Aren’t we all? I’ll bear up. I always do,” Luke replied.
“What’s up, Rox?” Pablo asked in the background.
“Let’s take a little walk. Luke’s got an update for us and wants a bit of privacy.” Roxi kept her voice low for Pablo and Sam but spoke into the phone while she did it. A few moments later, she spoke again, using the same low voice. “We’re away from everyone.”
“If I speak at this level, can Pablo and Sam hear me?” Luke asked. He figured their enhanced wolfy hearing would let them.
“They say they can. Go ahead, Luke,” Roxi said.
“Alejandro is recalling all his people. Our spy from Sherbrooke reports he wasn’t the only one, though he’s claiming to have left his pack, for whatever that’s worth, but someone in Erin’s pack is reporting our movements to the Montreal nest.”
“Fuck,” Pablo bit out.
“So, when they’re gone, we need to sweep through everything to see if they hid any trackers anywhere.”
“I’m going to be so mad if they managed to do it without ruining any of their snap-up pants,” Pablo said.
Luke snorted. “Tell ya what, if our spy is wearing tear-away clothing, you can keep them. But we’re not going to have time to chase them down. We’re running dangerously close to not leaving until dark as is.”
“Do we want to stay another night and leave at first light?” Sam jumped in.
“I don’t know. I’ll be back shortly. We can discuss our options then. As soon as the Portland-Bangor wolves leave, sweep the caravan.”
“Gotcha, dude. Looks like they’re clearing out now,” Pablo said.
“See you shortly, Luke,” Roxi said. “Anything else?”
“No. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Luke hung up and rejoined everyone in the soundproof room. “Do you have anything else for us, Matt?”
“No, that’s all the information I have at the moment. If I get more news from my contact, how do you want me to pass it on?” Matt shifted nervously in his chair.
“Pass it on to Alejandro and no one else.” Luke made to turn, then stopped himself. “Matt. Thank you. If you truly wish to atone for your actions, help fight vampires and let it be known that you’re only my enemy if you’re aiding vampires.”
Matt nodded nervously.
“Alejandro, can you take me back to my friends?”
“Sure.” Alejandro waved Luke after him.
“I’m coming, too,” Mary said, falling in line with them.
Twenty minutes later, the three of them parked along the street next to the empty lot.
“Do I have your permission to enter the lot?” Alejandro asked. “I’d like to ensure my people are truly gone. Man, I feel terrible that someone we trusted is betraying us and your people.”
Luke hesitated for a moment, second guessing if he could trust Alejandro. Shaking his head—he had to trust himself—he nodded. “Of course. Vampires are insidious and very good at getting what they want from people. Fortunately, Matt gave us a warning.”
When they walked onto the lot, Roxi, Pablo, and Sam came over to greet Alejandro and Mary.
“Hey, y’all! Just wanted to swing by and say goodbye and say how much I enjoyed meeting y’all,” Mary said, pulling Roxi in for a hug. “You take good care of that handsome man of yours, Roxi, or I’ll have to come snatch him up.”
Roxi laughed, patting Mary’s back. “Either way, if you decide to come visit the west coast, we’ll go see about hunting up some trouble.”
“It’s a deal,” Mary said, grinning at Roxi.
Mary deployed hugs and kisses on the cheeks of her new friends, though the kiss she gave Owen was a fair bit more serious. Pablo looked at Luke and grinned, winking at him.
“When traveling’s a bit easier, I’ll take you up on your invite. You can show me your boat and take me for a ride.” Mary looked Owen up and down, then gave him a wink.
“I’ll have to let Lauren know to take out more insurance for the pack,” Sam said. “Not sure there’ll be much left standing when those two cut loose.”
Luke laughed. “Oof. That could be cataclysmic. Homeric, even.”
“I’ll have you know, I’m a perfect lady,” Mary said, then reached around and grabbed Owen’s ass.
He pulled her back in for another kiss.
Alejandro joined them after making a trip around the lot. “Well, looks like we’re good here. It’s been nice to get to know you all. Wish the circumstances had been better.”
“Agreed. It would have been nice to get some friendly tours around Maine. It’s beautiful up here.” Sam hugged Alejandro.
“Yeah. Vampires ruin pretty much everything,” Luke grumbled.
“You do seem to always find them wherever we go,” Pablo said, patting Luke’s back.
“Luke, it was an experience meeting you. That’s for sure.” Alejandro extended his hand for a handshake.
“Yeah. It was definitely an eventful few days. If things ever quiet down, come out to the other coast and we’ll try some beers together,” Luke replied. “Please give my regards to Erin. I’m sorry for her loss.”
“I will when she’s a little further from her grief.” Alejandro looked at everyone. “Good luck and safe journey.”
Mary saved Luke for last and pulled him in for a tight hug. “You stay out of trouble, handsome, but if you decide you want some, you know my number.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mary. You take care.” Luke tried to keep his blush in check.
“It was a pleasure.” Mary waved and followed Alejandro out of the lot.
“So, what’s going on, Luke?” Pablo asked.
“Well, I told you about the leak, but the other piece of the puzzle is we might have some roadblocks along the way out of here.” Luke looked around, perking up as Delilah and Simone walked onto the lot. Brutus jogged ahead, shoving his head into Luke’s hand for ear scratches. He waited until they joined the group before continuing. “Hey Delilah, to catch you up real quick, we had to remove the Portland-Bangor people. We found out there’s a spy in the pack somewhere.”
“Shit.” Delilah shook her head, folding her arms across her chest. “Why can’t people just not be assholes?”
“Well, we only found out thanks to the apparent repentance of the asshole who was spying on us for Sherbrooke. He says he left the pack, along with some others. He’s the one who provided the intelligence. But the bigger news is we might have to fight our way out of here. Several of the Canadian vampire nests have mobilized and have moved south of the border.”
“How are they getting through the border? Isn’t it still closed?” Simone asked.
Luke shrugged. “They’re vampires. They can glamour their way around border patrol.”
“How many nests are we talking about?” Delilah asked.
“Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa. I’m not sure if that’s all the nests in those cities, but they’re also moving their werewolves south with them. According to our source, that’s most of the packs in that territory, city or otherwise.”
“Well, fuck,” Delilah said.
“That about summarizes it.” Luke kicked an unoffending pebble that was within reach.
“What do you want to do?” Sam asked. “Do we stay another night and head out early? Or do we go now?”
“According to Matt, the vampires have set up at Syracuse and Albany. The final destinations of the wolves and Quebec City are unknown. I think they’re expecting us to take the fastest route across the country. Down to Massachusetts, across central New York, then down along the lakes to Chicago.” He exhaled, pursing his lips in annoyance. “That is the route I wanted to take, but I don’t think we can afford to try to slip by or muscle our way through.”
“Do we go further south and then swing over?” Sam asked.
“South…” Delilah said quietly.
“We may have to, though I’m worried it’s going to be a fight the entire way…”
Delilah pulled out her phone and looked at it, then walked away, letting off a stream of curses.
Roxi cleared her throat and raised her hand. “I don’t think we can afford to wait until tomorrow. Right now, the vampires and their wolves are in flux. They’re not set. They’re not spread out and the Quebec City nest might be behind us still. We need to move, and we need to move now. It’ll be easier to get through a wall that’s missing bricks and has wet mortar.”
Nodding, Luke gave a tight, closed-mouth smile. “She’s right. Let’s take five minutes. Get reports on all the lists we were working on. If we have people out on errands, they need to be recalled immediately.”
“Right,” Sam said, striding into action, Pablo following along.
“What’s got Delilah so agitated?” Roxi asked, redirecting Luke’s attention to their tall Black friend.
Delilah hung up her phone and jogged toward them, her face scrunched up in worry.
“Luke, I need to go to Virginia.” Delilah shuffled anxiously.
“Slow down. Why do you need to go to Virginia?” Luke asked.
“I’ve been getting a call from an unknown number. I didn’t answer. You know how it is. But I called back just now. It was my granny. She bought a cell phone and has been trying to call me. There must be a vamp camp nearby. She said there are monsters everywhere. I have to go get her.”
“You can’t go by yourself, Delilah. It’s too dangerous,” Roxi said, taking Delilah’s hand in hers.
“She won’t be.” Simone stepped up next to her girlfriend and took her other hand.
Luke pulled out his phone and opened the map app and punched in an idea. “No. You’re not going alone.”
Chapter
Sixteen
They’d slipped out of Portland, Maine, a long caravan of cars, vans, and a couple box vans. Each second that it took them to get moving chaffed and annoyed Luke, but they had to get their people back from their errands and everything stowed properly.
Luke rode in the passenger seat while Pablo drove, Roxi and Sam in the backseat, as they worked their way southwest through Maine, New Hampshire, and into Massachusetts. As the sun set ahead of them, they drew near Massachusetts’s second biggest city—Worcester.
As Pablo slowed to match the speed of traffic on I-290, Luke grumbled at the need. “Worcester isn’t that big. Why does it have this much traffic?”
“I don’t know, dude,” Pablo said from behind the driver’s wheel. “Could be an accident. Maybe the rabid vampires have something to do with it? Maybe it’s nothing. Shit’s weird lately.”
Roxi reached up and squeezed Luke’s shoulder. Before she could pull her hand back, he grabbed it and gave it an affectionate squeeze. The touch helped to calm his nerves, though not all the way, allowing them to spike to new levels of anxiety when they were forced to a complete stop.
By the time they sat without moving for half an hour, the sun was completely gone, and they were shrouded in darkness, though not as dark as Luke’s mood, especially with the glow of a city ahead of them. When they finally started moving again, traffic was being directed into a single lane by a series of flashing red and blue lights ahead.
“They must be doing monster checks or something,” Sam said. “Oh, I see an Indiana license plate.”
Luke shook his head and exhaled sharply, his exasperation getting the better of him.
“Chill out a little, Luke. I’m just as wound up as you. We all are. I’m just trying to manage it with a harmless a game of license plates,” Sam said. “Oh, Ohio, oh!”
Roxi chuckled, reaching up to touch Luke. “Does that look like a New Jersey?”
“I think it is,” Sam said.
“Is it anything like Old Jersey?”
Sam shrugged. “I’ve never been to England, but I doubt it.”
“Sorry, Sam.” Luke ran through some breathing exercises to try to calm himself down.
“Um, you got those guns covered up back there? I think our officious friends are doing a car-by-car look-see.” Pablo peeked into the rearview mirror.
“Yeah. I’ll spread out a blanket over them,” Roxi said.
“I’ll let the rest of the team know to go incognito,” Sam said, fishing her phone out of her pocket.
As they crept forward, Luke’s finger tapped out a steady rhythm on the armrest of the door.
“Only a few more cars, then that semi-truck, then a few more cars before us, buddy. Then we’re back on track.”
“She’s mourning. I’m in charge for a while until she’s ready to come back.”
“That’s understandable,” Roxi said.
“So, what brings you to our little lot of chaos?” Luke gestured to the hive of activity around them.
“Mary and her lot intercepted an old friend of ours—the observer from Sherbrooke.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Alejandro nodded. “Along with about a dozen of his packmates. He’s demanding to speak with you and Erin. Since I’m covering for Erin, I’ll go speak to him, but I didn’t want to waste any of your time.”
“Fortunately, my crew is more than competent.” He turned to Roxi. “Let the team know where I’m at. I’ll be back…”
“He’s close by. I didn’t want to bring him here for obvious reasons, but we brought him into town to the pack community center.”
“Do we have anything that’s available for me to drive, Roxi?” Luke asked, looking around.
“I’m not sure. The smaller vehicles are out on errands and the larger ones are getting loaded.” Roxi worried at her lip with her teeth.
“I can run you over and back, no problem,” Alejandro replied.
Luke nodded and followed Alejandro. Fifteen minutes later, they parked by the community center and strode in. The observer, Luke never remembered his name, waited for them in the soundproof room upstairs with several of the local pack members and Mary’s pack members standing guard. Several had handguns on their belts.
“Hey, handsome, good to see you.” Mary winked at Luke.
“Hi, Mary. Alejandro tells me you caught our little spy trying to come back south.”
“Yup, with some friends, too. Says he’s got important information for us.” She shrugged. “Could be important. He seemed a lot less cocksure than he had when he was spying. A bit desperate, actually.”
Luke nodded. “I’ll see what he wants.”
Alejandro nodded and opened the door. Luke stepped through, striding toward the observer. His eyes shot open wide, and he tried to scoot away from Luke, almost tipping over backward until the two people standing guard behind him grabbed the corners of the back of the chair and shoved it back onto the ground.
“I’m told you have information for me,” Luke said.
The observer nodded nervously. “I do. Um… Just so you know, I didn’t know what my pack was supporting. I didn’t know what was going on in that camp. I’ve left the pack, as did those who came with me.”
Luke nodded. “That’s good. I’m sure you can speak to the local packs about that.” He stared at the man for a few moments. “What’s the reason you’re here asking for me? I’m leaving. I don’t care what your pack affiliation is.”
“That’s why I’m here. They anticipated your leaving,” the man said.
“Who?”
“The Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa nests as well as most of the packs in and around those cities.”
“They’ve subverted all those packs?” Alejandro blurted out.
“Yeah. Sherbrooke is only one of the packs they control.”
“Shit.” Luke paced back and forth for a few moments, contemplating the complications. He stopped in front of the man sitting in the chair. “What’s your name?”
“Matt, sir.”
“Matt, when did they deploy their forces?” Luke asked.
“The order went out last night, during all the…mayhem. The vampires headed south. As best as I can tell, Ottawa’s nest sent their vamps to Syracuse. Montreal to Albany. The QC vamps,” he shrugged, “I don’t know. I know they’re moving. I’ve got a friend inside the Montreal pack that’s passing information along to me.”
Luke’s brow furrowed as he exhaled. “What about their pet wolves?”
“They started this morning.” Matt’s eyes flicked up to Alejandro. “Someone in Erin’s pack has been passing information north.” He held up his hands placatingly. “I don’t know who before you ask, Alejandro.” He turned back to Luke. “They reported in that you all are in high activity mode and looking to move out.”
Luke gestured with his head for Alejandro to follow him. Nodding, Alejandro stepped out of the room and joined Luke in Erin’s office.
Luke tried to temper his stern expression into a more friendly and sympathetic one. “I’m sorry, Alejandro. But I need you to recall all your wolves currently helping me. I can’t risk my people’s lives. You've got a leak, and until you plug it, I’m going to have to treat them all like they could be spies.”
“I understand. I’m so sorry.”
“If you can give me a minute, I need to make a call. I’ll join you back with Matt when I’m done with this call,” Luke said.
Alejandro nodded and left, shutting the door behind him.
Leaning against the desk, Luke sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. He’d been betrayed dozens of times over the centuries, yet it still hurt and frustrated him every time. Now, he had to deal with damage control and make sure his people didn’t pay the price. He pulled his phone out and called Roxi.
“Hey, Luke. What’s the news?” Roxi asked.
“Mind grabbing Delilah, Pablo, and Sam if they’re available? I’d like to update you all at once.” Luke leaned back against Erin’s desk.
“Sure. Give me a minute.”
When she whistled shrilly, Luke pulled the phone away from his ear and shook his head, smiling.
“Oi, Sam, Pablo, I need you for a minute,” Roxi yelled in the background. “They’re coming, Luke. Delilah is off site right now running a few errands.”
“Good. Can you find a bit of privacy? I know it’s not easy with everyone there, but at least keep it to our people?” Luke yawned and squeezed the back of his neck, the muscles tense and taut.
“You tired, dōšagīh?”
“Aren’t we all? I’ll bear up. I always do,” Luke replied.
“What’s up, Rox?” Pablo asked in the background.
“Let’s take a little walk. Luke’s got an update for us and wants a bit of privacy.” Roxi kept her voice low for Pablo and Sam but spoke into the phone while she did it. A few moments later, she spoke again, using the same low voice. “We’re away from everyone.”
“If I speak at this level, can Pablo and Sam hear me?” Luke asked. He figured their enhanced wolfy hearing would let them.
“They say they can. Go ahead, Luke,” Roxi said.
“Alejandro is recalling all his people. Our spy from Sherbrooke reports he wasn’t the only one, though he’s claiming to have left his pack, for whatever that’s worth, but someone in Erin’s pack is reporting our movements to the Montreal nest.”
“Fuck,” Pablo bit out.
“So, when they’re gone, we need to sweep through everything to see if they hid any trackers anywhere.”
“I’m going to be so mad if they managed to do it without ruining any of their snap-up pants,” Pablo said.
Luke snorted. “Tell ya what, if our spy is wearing tear-away clothing, you can keep them. But we’re not going to have time to chase them down. We’re running dangerously close to not leaving until dark as is.”
“Do we want to stay another night and leave at first light?” Sam jumped in.
“I don’t know. I’ll be back shortly. We can discuss our options then. As soon as the Portland-Bangor wolves leave, sweep the caravan.”
“Gotcha, dude. Looks like they’re clearing out now,” Pablo said.
“See you shortly, Luke,” Roxi said. “Anything else?”
“No. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Luke hung up and rejoined everyone in the soundproof room. “Do you have anything else for us, Matt?”
“No, that’s all the information I have at the moment. If I get more news from my contact, how do you want me to pass it on?” Matt shifted nervously in his chair.
“Pass it on to Alejandro and no one else.” Luke made to turn, then stopped himself. “Matt. Thank you. If you truly wish to atone for your actions, help fight vampires and let it be known that you’re only my enemy if you’re aiding vampires.”
Matt nodded nervously.
“Alejandro, can you take me back to my friends?”
“Sure.” Alejandro waved Luke after him.
“I’m coming, too,” Mary said, falling in line with them.
Twenty minutes later, the three of them parked along the street next to the empty lot.
“Do I have your permission to enter the lot?” Alejandro asked. “I’d like to ensure my people are truly gone. Man, I feel terrible that someone we trusted is betraying us and your people.”
Luke hesitated for a moment, second guessing if he could trust Alejandro. Shaking his head—he had to trust himself—he nodded. “Of course. Vampires are insidious and very good at getting what they want from people. Fortunately, Matt gave us a warning.”
When they walked onto the lot, Roxi, Pablo, and Sam came over to greet Alejandro and Mary.
“Hey, y’all! Just wanted to swing by and say goodbye and say how much I enjoyed meeting y’all,” Mary said, pulling Roxi in for a hug. “You take good care of that handsome man of yours, Roxi, or I’ll have to come snatch him up.”
Roxi laughed, patting Mary’s back. “Either way, if you decide to come visit the west coast, we’ll go see about hunting up some trouble.”
“It’s a deal,” Mary said, grinning at Roxi.
Mary deployed hugs and kisses on the cheeks of her new friends, though the kiss she gave Owen was a fair bit more serious. Pablo looked at Luke and grinned, winking at him.
“When traveling’s a bit easier, I’ll take you up on your invite. You can show me your boat and take me for a ride.” Mary looked Owen up and down, then gave him a wink.
“I’ll have to let Lauren know to take out more insurance for the pack,” Sam said. “Not sure there’ll be much left standing when those two cut loose.”
Luke laughed. “Oof. That could be cataclysmic. Homeric, even.”
“I’ll have you know, I’m a perfect lady,” Mary said, then reached around and grabbed Owen’s ass.
He pulled her back in for another kiss.
Alejandro joined them after making a trip around the lot. “Well, looks like we’re good here. It’s been nice to get to know you all. Wish the circumstances had been better.”
“Agreed. It would have been nice to get some friendly tours around Maine. It’s beautiful up here.” Sam hugged Alejandro.
“Yeah. Vampires ruin pretty much everything,” Luke grumbled.
“You do seem to always find them wherever we go,” Pablo said, patting Luke’s back.
“Luke, it was an experience meeting you. That’s for sure.” Alejandro extended his hand for a handshake.
“Yeah. It was definitely an eventful few days. If things ever quiet down, come out to the other coast and we’ll try some beers together,” Luke replied. “Please give my regards to Erin. I’m sorry for her loss.”
“I will when she’s a little further from her grief.” Alejandro looked at everyone. “Good luck and safe journey.”
Mary saved Luke for last and pulled him in for a tight hug. “You stay out of trouble, handsome, but if you decide you want some, you know my number.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mary. You take care.” Luke tried to keep his blush in check.
“It was a pleasure.” Mary waved and followed Alejandro out of the lot.
“So, what’s going on, Luke?” Pablo asked.
“Well, I told you about the leak, but the other piece of the puzzle is we might have some roadblocks along the way out of here.” Luke looked around, perking up as Delilah and Simone walked onto the lot. Brutus jogged ahead, shoving his head into Luke’s hand for ear scratches. He waited until they joined the group before continuing. “Hey Delilah, to catch you up real quick, we had to remove the Portland-Bangor people. We found out there’s a spy in the pack somewhere.”
“Shit.” Delilah shook her head, folding her arms across her chest. “Why can’t people just not be assholes?”
“Well, we only found out thanks to the apparent repentance of the asshole who was spying on us for Sherbrooke. He says he left the pack, along with some others. He’s the one who provided the intelligence. But the bigger news is we might have to fight our way out of here. Several of the Canadian vampire nests have mobilized and have moved south of the border.”
“How are they getting through the border? Isn’t it still closed?” Simone asked.
Luke shrugged. “They’re vampires. They can glamour their way around border patrol.”
“How many nests are we talking about?” Delilah asked.
“Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa. I’m not sure if that’s all the nests in those cities, but they’re also moving their werewolves south with them. According to our source, that’s most of the packs in that territory, city or otherwise.”
“Well, fuck,” Delilah said.
“That about summarizes it.” Luke kicked an unoffending pebble that was within reach.
“What do you want to do?” Sam asked. “Do we stay another night and head out early? Or do we go now?”
“According to Matt, the vampires have set up at Syracuse and Albany. The final destinations of the wolves and Quebec City are unknown. I think they’re expecting us to take the fastest route across the country. Down to Massachusetts, across central New York, then down along the lakes to Chicago.” He exhaled, pursing his lips in annoyance. “That is the route I wanted to take, but I don’t think we can afford to try to slip by or muscle our way through.”
“Do we go further south and then swing over?” Sam asked.
“South…” Delilah said quietly.
“We may have to, though I’m worried it’s going to be a fight the entire way…”
Delilah pulled out her phone and looked at it, then walked away, letting off a stream of curses.
Roxi cleared her throat and raised her hand. “I don’t think we can afford to wait until tomorrow. Right now, the vampires and their wolves are in flux. They’re not set. They’re not spread out and the Quebec City nest might be behind us still. We need to move, and we need to move now. It’ll be easier to get through a wall that’s missing bricks and has wet mortar.”
Nodding, Luke gave a tight, closed-mouth smile. “She’s right. Let’s take five minutes. Get reports on all the lists we were working on. If we have people out on errands, they need to be recalled immediately.”
“Right,” Sam said, striding into action, Pablo following along.
“What’s got Delilah so agitated?” Roxi asked, redirecting Luke’s attention to their tall Black friend.
Delilah hung up her phone and jogged toward them, her face scrunched up in worry.
“Luke, I need to go to Virginia.” Delilah shuffled anxiously.
“Slow down. Why do you need to go to Virginia?” Luke asked.
“I’ve been getting a call from an unknown number. I didn’t answer. You know how it is. But I called back just now. It was my granny. She bought a cell phone and has been trying to call me. There must be a vamp camp nearby. She said there are monsters everywhere. I have to go get her.”
“You can’t go by yourself, Delilah. It’s too dangerous,” Roxi said, taking Delilah’s hand in hers.
“She won’t be.” Simone stepped up next to her girlfriend and took her other hand.
Luke pulled out his phone and opened the map app and punched in an idea. “No. You’re not going alone.”
Chapter
Sixteen
They’d slipped out of Portland, Maine, a long caravan of cars, vans, and a couple box vans. Each second that it took them to get moving chaffed and annoyed Luke, but they had to get their people back from their errands and everything stowed properly.
Luke rode in the passenger seat while Pablo drove, Roxi and Sam in the backseat, as they worked their way southwest through Maine, New Hampshire, and into Massachusetts. As the sun set ahead of them, they drew near Massachusetts’s second biggest city—Worcester.
As Pablo slowed to match the speed of traffic on I-290, Luke grumbled at the need. “Worcester isn’t that big. Why does it have this much traffic?”
“I don’t know, dude,” Pablo said from behind the driver’s wheel. “Could be an accident. Maybe the rabid vampires have something to do with it? Maybe it’s nothing. Shit’s weird lately.”
Roxi reached up and squeezed Luke’s shoulder. Before she could pull her hand back, he grabbed it and gave it an affectionate squeeze. The touch helped to calm his nerves, though not all the way, allowing them to spike to new levels of anxiety when they were forced to a complete stop.
By the time they sat without moving for half an hour, the sun was completely gone, and they were shrouded in darkness, though not as dark as Luke’s mood, especially with the glow of a city ahead of them. When they finally started moving again, traffic was being directed into a single lane by a series of flashing red and blue lights ahead.
“They must be doing monster checks or something,” Sam said. “Oh, I see an Indiana license plate.”
Luke shook his head and exhaled sharply, his exasperation getting the better of him.
“Chill out a little, Luke. I’m just as wound up as you. We all are. I’m just trying to manage it with a harmless a game of license plates,” Sam said. “Oh, Ohio, oh!”
Roxi chuckled, reaching up to touch Luke. “Does that look like a New Jersey?”
“I think it is,” Sam said.
“Is it anything like Old Jersey?”
Sam shrugged. “I’ve never been to England, but I doubt it.”
“Sorry, Sam.” Luke ran through some breathing exercises to try to calm himself down.
“Um, you got those guns covered up back there? I think our officious friends are doing a car-by-car look-see.” Pablo peeked into the rearview mirror.
“Yeah. I’ll spread out a blanket over them,” Roxi said.
“I’ll let the rest of the team know to go incognito,” Sam said, fishing her phone out of her pocket.
As they crept forward, Luke’s finger tapped out a steady rhythm on the armrest of the door.
“Only a few more cars, then that semi-truck, then a few more cars before us, buddy. Then we’re back on track.”
