chapter 32
Rose stared out the window. The sun had just set, and she was beside herself with worry.
Quinn had done everything he could. During the day, human Scanguards personnel had roamed the city to find Keegan’s hiding place, but they had come up empty handed. Even though Nina and Wesley had witnessed Blake’s abduction and taken note of the van’s license plate, the information hadn’t helped locate her grandson. The plates belonged to another vehicle and therefore wouldn’t lead them to Keegan.
Thomas was busily looking at all available surveillance videos from businesses and schools in the neighborhood to see where the van had disappeared to, but so far nothing had shown up on any videos. As if they’d been swallowed up.
Nervously, Rose chewed on her fingernails. Quinn had urged her to rest a little, but instead of lying down, she paced in her room. She had to do something. Sitting around and waiting for Keegan to contact them was driving her nuts.
Determined to bring this charade to an end, she pulled out the cell phone from which she’d texted Keegan a day earlier. For many long seconds, she stared at it, composing a message in her mind, which would compel Keegan to act.
She still had what he wanted. Now it was time to use her bargaining chip.
If you touch him, I’ll destroy it, she texted and hit send.
Her heart beat into her throat as she waited anxiously for a reply. Quinn had explained that despite the fact that the cell phone was untraceable, anybody whom she’d texted from it, could text back to this secret number.
From downstairs, sounds drifted to her. Everybody had a job to do, everybody but her. Quinn had tried to assure her that they were professionals and knew what they had to do. But even though she believed him, it made no difference. Blake was her flesh and blood, and she couldn’t just sit idly by while he was suffering at Keegan’s hands.
She wasn’t a shy debutante in Regency London anymore; she was a woman of action.
A humming sound interrupted her thoughts. Her eyes shot to the phone in her hands and read the message that flashed on the display.
You destroy it, and I’ll tell Quinn what you did to Wallace.
Panic made her heart stop. How did Keegan know? She’d never told anybody. Never confessed her crime to anyone.
Another hum announced a second message.
After I turn Blake.
Keegan had the upper hand, and he knew it. How long had he known about her secret? Had he been sitting on this piece of information for a long time, waiting for the right moment to use it against her? She assumed as much. It was exactly what Keegan did: blackmail people. And now he was blackmailing her.
Ready to talk? the next message came.
What do you want? she asked, even though she knew the answer already.
The data. Meet me at the top of the Lyon’s steps in ten minutes. Alone. Be one second late, and Quinn finds out about Wallace.
She wasted twenty seconds on her smartphone trying to find where the Lyon’s steps were located, then realized she would have to run full speed, once she’d snuck out of the house, if she wanted to make it in time. Keegan obviously knew that and wanted to make sure that she had no time to notify anybody or take any precautions for herself. Luckily he had no idea that her own cell phone contained several pre-programmed alert messages. She scrolled through them, selected the protocol labeled Hostage Scenario, took ten seconds to modify it with a couple of specifics and pressed the send button—now her hope was that the recipient would execute her orders swiftly enough. Then she tossed the phone into the closet.
Rose used the side door leading to the tradesmen entrance to sneak out of the house undetected. Not telling anybody about her exchange with Keegan was a risk, but knowing that her adversary wouldn’t think twice about telling Quinn that she’d killed his maker, such disclosure was a deadly chance she couldn’t take. Not only would she forfeit her own life, but Blake’s too. Now her only hope was that the people who owed her loyalty would be able to help her.
As she sprinted through the night, her body cutting through the crisp air so fast any human observing her would merely see a blur, her mind frantically worked on a plan of how to defeat Keegan and snatch her grandson from his clutches.
Checking her watch in mid-run, she increased her speed, knowing that Keegan wouldn’t hesitate to execute his threat should she arrive late. Looking ahead, she spotted a sign and the gate for the Presidio. To its right, the Lyon’s steps descended into the Marina district. From their top, they afforded an unobstructed view over the Palace of Fine Arts below, and the Bay beyond.
Two dark vans were parked next to several sedans where the street ended and the Park began. Rose came to an abrupt halt.
“Always loved the way you could move,” Keegan’s icy voice came from the opposite street corner.
Her head whipped in his direction. He stood in the shadow of a hedge. Slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, he emerged and crossed the distance to her.
“Let’s cut to the chase, Keegan,” she said, her chest barely heaving from the run.
The moonlight cast a shadow on one side of Keegan’s face, illuminating the other. There was something eerie about the sight. It only underscored the seriousness of her situation. If the hasty plan she had concocted in the short time she’d had didn’t work, she would be out of luck.
“Where’s Blake?”
“In good company.”
“I doubt that.”
Keegan chuckled, shaking his head at the same time. “And you think your company is more appropriate? After all you’re a murderer too. Just like the rest of us. And to kill your own maker in cold blood . . . tsk . . . tsk. That’s very bad of you. Very bad indeed.”
At the recollection of that event, Rose suppressed the chill that traveled down her spine. “How did you find out?”
She’d been careful never to reveal anything about her past to him.
“It’s funny what kind of information surfaces if you keep digging long enough. You remember Charles, the gentleman who witnessed your dirty deed?” He released a short laugh. “What am I saying? Of course you do. After all, you stayed with him for a few months, before you robbed him blind and disappeared. Hard to forget that, isn’t it? A man like that is more than willing to share information with anybody who asks the right questions.”
“He deserved it. He was using me.” She’d believed him at first when he’d pretended to want to help her, but in the end, he had turned out to be just as selfish as everybody else. He’d used her to lure unsuspecting humans and vampires into his trap. She’d been his bait.
“How ungrateful of you. After all, he helped you survive. Had he not warned you that Quinn would avenge the death of his maker, you wouldn’t even be here tonight.”
Rose clamped her jaw together. “I don’t need a history lesson.”
She understood well enough what Wallace’s murder meant. Charles, the vampire who had witnessed it, wasn’t the only one who had explained it to her. Years later, when she’d been with a clan, she’d seen how such a revenge killing had taken place: A vampire had killed his long-time lover after finding out that she’d killed his maker, a female vampire, out of jealousy. She’d never witnessed such a brutal killing before.
“Well, then let’s talk about the present. I want the data back. And I want it now.”
Rose sucked in a quick breath. “First I need to know that Blake is still alive—and that he’s still human.”
“Very well.”
Keegan pulled a small walkie-talkie from his pocket and pressed a button. “Open up.”
When she heard a sound coming from one of the dark vans a moment later, her gaze shot to it.
The side door opened. Blake’s head and upper torso were held by strong arms, shoving him just outside of the van, keeping the rest of him inside. He appeared uninjured, yet he looked fearful. At the same time, relief flooded her: His aura was still human.
“Rose?” he croaked.
“Blake. Just hold on! I’ll get you out of this. You’ll be safe soon.”
Before he could reply to her, he was pulled back into the van, the door shutting behind him.
“I hope you have every intention of keeping your promise to him,” Keegan said.
Rose turned back to face him. “As long as you keep yours. I want him freed, now.”
He laughed out loud. “You’re funny, Rose. You really are. First the data, then Blake. That’s how it works. I’m sure you’ve seen enough movies and are familiar with how an exchange works?”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Of course you are. So I won’t need to explain anything else, will I?”
She hated his condescending tone, and under any other circumstances, she would have robbed him of the ability to spout any more insults by driving her fist into his mouth, but at present, he held all the cards. She would have to wait her turn.
“So where is it?” he repeated.
“I hid it.”
“Where?”
“In San Francisco.”
“Good. We’ll go together. Hope you won’t mind, but considering that you shook me off last time, I’m sure you won’t mind if I’ll stick to you like glue on our second attempt, will you?”
He motioned to the second dark van. “Get in there.”
“I want to ride with Blake,” she insisted quickly.
“Not a chance. His van will follow us. If you lead us into a trap, my men have orders to hurt him.”
Clearly, Keegan had learned from his mistakes. She hadn’t expected anything else. Now she could only hope that leading him and his men to a place where she had allies would provide her with sufficient advantage to fight him off.
When she stepped into the van and felt the door close behind her, she closed her eyes and allowed her nerves to calm. She needed all her wits about her now, because one false move, and she and Blake would perish.