Luther's Return (Scanguards Vampires Book 10)

“Stay calm, Isabelle!” he instructed her, shouting over the noise. “I’ll have to check your surroundings first.”


She appeared to nod though he couldn’t tell for sure. Maybe she was trembling and shivering too much, fear making her body shake. A twenty-year old girl, even a hybrid, had to be scared, standing in the middle of a commotion, which she couldn’t even see. The noise was deafening now. Luther glanced over his shoulder. Several dark figures had descended from the helicopter and were charging toward the storehouse. Others were coming from the rocks to the left of the building, from a path leading up from the water. He focused his eyes on them. Frogmen? As they came closer, Luther realized that they were wearing wetsuits and had swum to the island, most likely from a boat not too far from the shore. They were surrounding the building now.

Luther turned back to Isabelle. About twenty yards separated them. He scanned the ground with his eyes, carefully zooming in on every shadow and every rock or patch of unevenness he saw, making sure it wasn’t an electronic device. Slowly he crept closer.

“I’m almost there, honey,” he said, trying to reassure her. “Nod if you’re uninjured.”

She nodded instantly.

He sighed in relief and took another step closer, continuously scanning the ground. “Isabelle, did you hear him setting any charges around you?”

She hesitated, but then slowly shook her head.

Gunfire erupted behind him, making him swivel. Bullets seemed to be flying, and men shouted orders and instructions. But the helicopter blocked most of Luther’s view. Nevertheless he saw the Scanguards men storming the storehouse.

“Bomb!” somebody suddenly screamed above the noise.

“Fuck!” Luther cursed and charged toward Isabelle.

It was now or never. If there was a bomb, he didn’t have the luxury of scanning Isabelle’s surroundings for any motion detectors. He had to act.

From the corner of his eye, he saw flashes ignite the darkness, but he didn’t stop to look what it was.

“I’m here, Isabelle! I’ve got you!”

He reached her and pulled the gag from her mouth, then jumped behind her.

“Help me, please get me out of here!” she choked out.

Luther examined her ties. She was chained to the remnants of a fence, a metal post. The blisters on her wrists confirmed that the chain Forrester had used to tie her up was silver, the only metal that was toxic to a vampire, so toxic that no vampire could break a silver chain with his hands, no matter how thin.

“Stay still, I’m gonna break the chain, okay?” He searched the hovel of rubble behind her and found what he was looking for: a piece of metal rod slim enough to insert into one of the links of the heavy silver chain. As long as he didn’t have to touch the silver himself, the metal rod would do the work for him.

“Hold still, Isabelle,” he instructed her and slid the rod into position. He twisted it, and the link broke, separating the chain. Snatching the bow of her dress and wrapping his hand with it, he grabbed one end of the chain and unwound it from Isabelle’s wrists. Even through the fabric he felt the silver burn him, but he was able to untie her completely.

Isabelle pulled her arms forward. “Thank you!” She reached for her face, pulling her blindfold off. Her eyes fell on the helicopter and the firefight beyond it. “Oh my God!”

An explosion rocked the island. Instinctively, Luther threw himself over Isabelle, tumbling to the ground with her. He felt her breathe hard underneath him, but he knew she wasn’t hurt.

Listening for the sounds coming from the storehouse where Forrester had been hiding, Luther heard voices he recognized. He realized now why. The helicopter’s blades weren’t turning anymore. The pilot had switched off the engine. Suddenly it was quiet.

Blake’s voice drifted to him. “He’s dead. We got him.”

Relieved, Luther lifted himself off Isabelle and helped her up. “Blake, we’re here. I’ve got Isabelle. She’s fine.”

Several people came running toward them. Samson was the first to reach them. He only had eyes for his daughter.

“Daddy!” Isabelle cried out and threw herself into his arms. “You came!”

Samson pressed her to his chest and stroked her hair. “Of course, sweetheart.” Then he turned his head and looked at Luther. “Thank you, Luther. I owe you so much.”

Luther shook his head. “We’re even now.” With a nod at Isabelle, he walked toward the storehouse.

Blake met him halfway. “Good job.”

Luther motioned to the structure the explosion had originated from. “What happened there?”

“He blew himself up when we charged the building. Guess he didn’t want to be taken alive,” Blake replied and walked alongside him.

Luther shook his head. “I don’t get it. He put himself in a position he couldn’t escape from.”

“Maybe he wasn’t as smart as we assumed after all.”