Read Page 25

I THREW MY gear in Brice's truck and had barely buckled in when he spun gravel and away we went. I caught movement by the woods near the house. It was Nicky, barely visible in the green of the leaves and trees. It must have been his turn on guard duty. I didn't wave, didn't do anything to draw more attention to him - he and the others had taught me that - but I watched him as we drove away, until the first curve hid him from view. I hadn't kissed him good-bye, and I hadn't thought about him until I saw him in the woods. When I could forget about someone as yummy in bed, and as dangerous, as Nicky, it just confirmed that I had too many men in my life. The trick was, what the hell to do about it?

"Would you be insulted if I said that those are two of the most beautiful men I've ever seen?" Brice said, as we skidded around a corner trying to keep up with the SWAT van.Advertisement

"Say anything you want, just don't put us in the ditch!" I held on to the oh-shit handle for dear life.

"Sorry!"

"And thanks for the compliment," I said.

"Was the one in the woods one of yours, too?" He braked sharply around the next curve and I thought we were going in the ditch, but he managed to pull it out with a spray of gravel and a whish of leaves catching in the windshield wipers.

"Shit, Brice," I said. "And yes, he's mine."

"Sorry," he said again. "I can't find one gorgeous boyfriend to live with me; how did you manage this many?"

"I was just thinking that," I said.

"What?" he asked. The windshield got another slap of tree limbs, and I yelled at him, "Slow down or I will hurt you!"

He gave a quick darting glance at me, then slowed down; maybe it was the look on my face, or maybe the fact that I had a death grip on the oh-shit handle and my Browning BDM. I wouldn't have shot him, not while he was driving, but by the time we skidded up behind the SWAT van I was motion sick. I never got motion sick.

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"I am so driving the truck home," I said, as I got the last of the gear from the back.

"You look a little green, Blake," Hill said.

"Brice's driving sucks," I said.

"Hey," he said.

I just looked at him, and he finally nodded. "Sorry, I'm not used to hills."

We split into two teams, to take the two entrances to the house. Brice would go with one, me with the other. We'd clear the house by shooting things, and if there was anything in the house that was awake in the daylight, if it ran, it would have to run toward one group or the other. SWAT normally liked more time to scout, plan, but the light was dying, there was no time. Our choices were to go in after dark with the vampires awake, or go in early with less planning. Hunting monsters is full of moments when you have bad choices, and worse choices, and no choices. I wanted our bad choice, before it turned into no choice, and the team had worked with me enough to trust my judgment. We geared up, we divided up, we had a plan, and we'd work the plan, until something big and bad changed the plan. I glanced up at the darkening sky and prayed, "God, let us be done before the vampires rise for the night." I didn't believe God would slow the sun in the sky for us, but just because you probably won't get something doesn't mean you shouldn't ask for it, because you never know, sometimes the angels hold hands. pqdm.com